Wii U software sales are "struggling a bit" in the US, according to Cowen & Company analyst Doug Creutz.

Reacting to last night's release of NPD sales data for the US market in December, Cowen said in a research note: "Software sales for the Wii U remained well behind launch levels for the original Wii and GameCube in December. "Totals for the November-December period were -43% lower than software sales for the Wii and -50% lower than those for the GameCube."

The relatively low Wii U software sales appear to have been masked somewhat by news of the revenue generated by the platform since launch. North American Wii U unit sales during the console's first full month failed to match those set by the Wii in December 2006, though the new system has generated more revenue in the same time frame. Taking Wii U's relatively low software sales into account, it appears that the system's higher launch price ($300 for Basic model/$350 for Premium, compared to Wii's $250) was the main reason the new console's launch revenue exceeding its predecessor.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/386207/wii-u-game-sales-far-behind-launch-levels-for-gamecube-and-wii/

I guess in this economy, everyone wants cheaper games. Just look at the complaints on the psvita's price point. maybe if nintendo reduces the price to 250 or even better 150, it would sell.

I doubt the Wii U could be dropped to 150$ any time soon. (250$, maybe.)

The next few months will not look pretty. Maybe the next ND can bring some new game reveals etc to keep the hype rolling until E3

I think lower software sales have something to do with the fact that Wii U games cost $60.

What about digital sales? I imagine a lot of the people who bought the wii u have bought some games on the eshop.

Fortunately, the Wii has boosted the popularity of most Nintendo IP's since the Gamecube. Additionally, the Wii U has "Wii" in its name, thus ensuring a few bonus sales down the road (when the price is more casual friendly) simply by brand recognition. Not to mention that Nintendo barely supported this launch themselves.


This console has much more potential than the Gamecube. Remember that games like Wii Sports and Wii Fit haven't even arrived yet.

I don't find this particularly unsurprising. The Gamecube seems to be the highest, which is expected assuming they don't count bundled game. The Gamecube was useless without a game, so everyone had to buy at least 1. I'd imagine many people bought one less game than they would have if Wii Sports/Nintendo Land weren't bundled.

The Wii U is 100 dollars more expensive than the Wii was, which means a bit less money for games.

Not a good thing obviously, but not really unexpected. I'd be curious to know how this stacks up with other consoles.

Hard to say how big the digital numbers are, the number 1 game digitally is NSMBU and I can see that game being a max of 100k, the rest of the games are probably way lower than that. 

Since when?

Last time I looked Trine 2: EC was #1 and NSMBU was #3.