It's time for this question once again.

On October 26, 2000, Sony far surpassed all launch records in North America with the biggest first day sales revenue ever in the history of entertainment.  This of course was the full category revenue launch (consoles, games and peripherals) of the Playstation 2, topping $250 million in its first 24 hours.

http://ps2.ign.com/articles/087/087394p1.html

Of course first day sales are not necessarily indicative of sustained success, as Sega proved with the Dreamcast launch at $97 million, the previous record holder, but a record is still a record, and that's what this thread is about.  In fact to this day, the only things that beat PS2's first day in North America - of any mass consumer product (games, movies, etc) - are the Call of Duty game launches since Black Ops in 2010.

But Playstation 2 definitely owns console/system launches in NA.  The Wii might have been able to best it if, first, it wasn't limited by supply on the first day (PS2 had around 500,000 units available), and second, if it wasn't $50 cheaper than PS2 was.  The WiiU, however, is rumored to have anywhere between 300,000 and 400,000 units (possibly more) available for day one, and its deluxe SKU is actually $50 more than PS2 was.  Add to that the fact that WiiU has the second most retail launch titles available since the PS2 itself, and the possibility to dethrone its first day sales record is certainly there.

So, do you believe NA will have a new first day revenue champion of consoles with WiiU?

It's gonna be thought but it could do it.. I'm buying 5 games... Haha!

i currently am buying 4 games, with a chance of 2 more. also i am buying 2 pro controllers and a eternal hdd.

It may have made $250million in revenue in the first 24hours, but the better question would be how much profit did it make in that time frame? as we know Sony sold for a loss.


Since we know WiiU wiill be sold for a small loss, same question applies.

idk... this record sounds like a big deal.

But the fact that it's 50$ more, more games and also don't forget that alot of ppl will buy a controler pro at 50$ alongside the system. Because of these three reasons, I'll say it has a shot.

Launch day/week sales aren't a good indication of a successful console. Just look at the Vita, it had a pretty good launch and so did the 3DS. We know what happened with the 3DS, and look at how the Vita is performing.....

So to answer your question, no, I don't think Wii U will beat the PS2 record. The supply isn't enough and the competition is too strong. Don't forget that we got iPhones and iPads that kids are asking for these days. These things are indirectly competing for your money now more than ever.

it has a decent chance

It's likely to happen.

Maybe. Tough to call -- don't forget about digital sales. There will be quite a few games available digitally day one. They could be the difference, though they probably won't be.

I want to say yes. If they have enough to cover the preorders for the various retailers. With just the figures Gamestop released that will make the initial total 169million with just games and systems. (Though to get that number I figured the same number of regular bundles as deluxe or an average of $325/console though it will be more since more are buying the deluxe.) If you add digital on top it has a very good chance. (Since most who bought the Deluxe set will more than likely buy some digital games.) But they will still have to make 81million off the peripherals/other stores.