I'd actually like to know the metric used here... below expectations by whose standards? The analyst's? Gamestop's?

The only expectations that matter are Nintendo's and we won't know that 'til March.

That said, the Wii U is in for a rough time in Q1. Nintendo needs to announce *something*. Just give us a glimpse of what's coming out. Right now, I know I'm only buying two games for the Wii only: Monster Hunter 3G Ultimate and Rayman Legends. I'd really like to know what's coming out for the rest of the year. Granted, we do have E3 for that, but a few trinkets of info would really go a long way.

And the usual suspects are overreacting as usual. And some of you are downright hypocrites. Why is the Vita allowed a full year before being a failure/doomed but the Wii U is given a month? Nevermind that the Wii U has had better launch performance than the PS3 and 360 so far. You guys really need to lay off this fanboy stuff and be objective every once in a while.

Going from this:

"Where I see the sales falling short is the elitest graphic-whore gamer who previously bought the Wii to try it out, and then spent 5 years complaining that it was collecting dust while refusing to buy good games on the system."

to this:

"The Wii sold to many technophiles back in the day because the Wiimote was a flashy piece of technology and lots of people wanted to try it."

It is a clear case of moving goalposts. First you claim that people who only cared about graphics are the problem and then you say that the people who wanted wii for its innovative controller were the problem. Bravo, my good man. I'll consider this discussion to be forfeited. Have a nice day.

There is something I personally find interesting when looking at the 3DS and PS-Vita when considering the next generation of systems. Both systems started out rather slowly but Nintendo demonstrated a willingness to do whatever it takes to make the 3DS successful while Sony was unwilling or unable to make similar choices for the PS-Vita. With this in mind, people are under the impression that Nintendo is the one who will be unable to react to (potentially) a slow start with the Wii U, while Sony will launch cleanly and be able to do whatever it takes to make the PS4 a success.

At the moment we don't know whether the Wii U will meet Nintendo's expectations by March 31st, but I think it is a fairly safe bet that Nintendo will do whatever it takes to make the Wii U meet their expectations in the following fiscal year. If Nintendo releases several big games and slashes the price of the Wii U it could see a similar large sales boost as the 3DS, and if Sony struggles with the PS4 (the way they did with the PS-Vita) they could fall far behind

@yak, I've gone over this in other threads. You don't understand what supply-constrained means, so there is no point in disscussing it and I'm too tired and bored with the topic to explain it to you. You just continue to think it won't it hit targets, I'll continue to think it will and we can chat about it in April when it does.

The Wii SOLD 5.84 million. If WiiU sells 80% of that, it will have SHIPPED it's 5.5 million... or at least really close. Get the difference between sold and shipped down pat before arguing points.

Try not to take quotes out of context ...

In both cases I'm referring to the tech obsess graphics whore gamer who saw the Wii controller as a flashy piece of technology. I'm sure everyone (except you) understands that.

Are you claiming that these gamers are buying the Wii U in the same numbers as the Wii, or are you continuing with your dishonest straw man argument?

No.  The Wii shipped 5.84 million.  http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/pdf/2007/070426e.pdf

You might want to brush up on your numbers, Mr. "numbers person".

Also your argument has always been that potential demand has not been met due to a lack of supply.  Not that supply has been moving through the chain at a moderate rate.

Comparing the Wii U launch to the PS360 is funny, can't you nintnedo fans (its the recurring theme for them the last 6 weeks) wait 10 months to make actual, practical, comparsions; next gen to next gen, or is that the only way to make you guys feel better?  

If you look up the analyst and his company online you will see he doesnt cover Nintendo, Sony or Microsoft, so this is projections based for Gamestop.  And Nintendo reports earnings on January 21st so we will get a sense of what they expect then, not march.  And im sure he would not be making these assumptions so early in the new year if he did not have any information or data from gamestop themselves about their Wii U projections, so no, no one is overracting.

Gamestop's Wii U sales below expectations: thats obvious, look up Wii U availability, Best Buys are sold out while being surrounded by Gamestops that have them in stock. This is in many locations and has persisted for weeks. This coming in the context of a Gamestop analyst is not surprising.

Wii U's Gamestop Sales below expectations: what's obvious here is gamers are an easily incensed crowd. The second I came across the OP on NeoGaf, I expected the troll had succeeded. There is a big difference in Japanese are prostitutes vs these prostitutes are Japanese.

My take: As a company that solely relies on gaming, it's obvious Gamestop wanted big numbers and perhaps over stocked on Wii Us after launch week. Wii U's are selling below full shipment figures, yet have pockets of sold out stores. Could the sell through numbers have improved had some supply distortions been anticipated? More shipment to cities that sold out, more shipment to Best Buys vs Gamestop etc. Had better micromanagement of supply been achieved, what if it improved overall sell through by just 5%?

Buttomline is Wii U as a console is underwhelming when it comes to buzz so far. As such, opponents of Nintendo get to pounce on any signs of weakness any chance they get to exact revenge on simply being pwned for so many years by a gimmicky device. Proponents of Nintendo need to just sit back, ignor the abuse, reflecting on 3DS as just a recent and vivid example of when sales figures will eventually silence the critics.

Everyone will compare Wii U launch numbers to the new consoles when they come out, obviously.  For now, we have historical data, which is what EVERYONE compares to, not just "Nintendo fans", so just stop!  And Nintendo said it wants to ship 5.5 million by March, not 5.5 million by January 21st.  That's the only expectation that matters here.  And I guess Gamestop is the only retailer that carries Wii U now, according to your thought process, so yes, getting unsubstantiated opinion (which is what it is with no quantitative value) from one analyst based on one retailer and crying doom is overreacting.

And not everyone is so emotionally involved in console sales like you are, so please... stop projecting (like you always do).  In conclusion, I notice you cry a lot in these threads; and like I said to you before, try not to let what "Nintendo fans" say bother you so much.  ;)  Good day!