Nintendo's figures (well any game company really) are always in units shipped, in other words "sold" to retailers. Technically they are sold, but not to end users. I have no doubt that they sold over 2 million Wii U consoles though.

VGC: New Super Mario Bros U 1.46m units global. Nintendo Land 1.56m global. ZombiU 320k global.

No its not. Please don't post something that is not factual.

By the end of Q3, according to Nintendo's Financial report, the Wii U sold 430k in EUR, 890k in US, and 627k in Japan. Which brings a total of 1.94 million. Add Australia, Canada, Mexico and Latin America, which was not shared by Nintendo, the result is more than ''under 2 million sold.''

Good day.

Pretty much this. 

How am I missing the question btw? I'm saying that headstarts don't always equal success.

Okay, even given if that's how it really is (I really wouldn't know at this point), it still shows he's wrong. 

Well, the launch was weak for sure, but my outlook on this is that Nintendo had an extra year to work on their big titles. When Sony and Microsoft are launching their consoles, Nintendo will be launching their big games. It could be dangerous for Sony and Microsoft this holiday if the Wii U gets the support we all expect it to.

This site is also 2 weeks behind of the current sales.

I think Nintendo's head start could help a bit. Orbis & Durango will now have to play catch up sales-wise.

Plus, I understand that Nintendo kind of screwed up post-launch by delaying their 5 Nintendo-published games. I think it won't hurt it too much and it is better to have the games be of high quality rather than rushed in order to look good.

I do think however, that Nintendo intentionally chose to release Mario Kart, 3D Mario, and Retro's next game after or during Orbis & Durango's launch. It will make the Wii U look more appealing next to the newer systems.

The funny thing is, we're still basically going off speculation that ps4 and nextbox will release this year. We know sony is having an event, but we really don't know if they'll be ready by xmas 2013. I having a strong feeling, neither sony or microsoft will have a new system ready until 2014 (or they'll rush it, which inevitably will lead to problems rrod, etc)

Yeah, the Wii U was announced over a year before it released. 

Currently it seems like a lost opportunity; however, as outlined by Iwata, there will be a steady flow of games starting as of March. Things should pick up a bit by then. Nonetheless you are right, the short term outlook seems gloomy.

However, people seem to forget the launch and response of Xbox 360 during its first year on the market; it was not successful and did not show much promise with seeling less than 6 million units.

Nintendo will release their most prominent software during the holiday season in 2013 to try and negate PS4 and Xbox 720's offerings. Nintendo will most likely be the cheaper alternative and I think this is when things turn to their favour, with a bigger catalogue and bundled Mario (White Sku will be discontinued with NSMB U pre-installed for the same price).

This is how I see how the Wii U will play out this year:

As odd as it may sound, Nintendo will most likely concentrate on locking the Japanese market (Wii U), before moving forward to the Western market. Nintendo has developed strong ties with Japanese 3rd party developers thanks in large part to the success they are having with the 3DS - they will want to keep those strong ties moving forward. Nintendo will be driving the install base starting from March with a steady flow of games in Japan - Game and Wario in March, Dragon Quest X in April and so forth. Sales will start picking up, gain momentum and hopefully hit 1.5 million by October.

From November to December, Nintendo will have their big guns out to try and negate the hype surrounding Sony's PS4 in Japan.. I see Nintendo following the same release pattern as the 3DS with the release of 3D Mario, Mario Kart and a big 3rd party game for the Nov-Dec period; sales will be off the roof. Its going to get ugly for PS4. Nintendo wants the Japanese market all to themselves and I see nothing stopping them. Furthermore, if Nintendo is smart, one might see a Wii U app, a la Pokemon Dream Radar, to coincide with the release of Pokemon X and Y on 3DS.

The same cannot be said for the US and Europe market though - they will be moderately successful. Wii U sales will drop more until Raymand Legends release date hits. March will be the best month in Q4 for Nintendo as the Wii U will gain momemtum with Monster Hunter and Lego City Undercover, the latter being a surprise hit. A steady flow of games should follow from here on out. Moreover, there will be no price drop as they are already losing money per console. I see Nintendo releasing a 8GB bundle with New Super Mario Bros U pre-installed at 299.99$ or 329.99$ to replace the by-then discontinued 8GB White Sku (Nintendoland bundle at 349.99$ will stay); sales will increase as a result as consumers will see value, Mario game + affordable price.

Much like the Nov-Dec Japanese schedule, I see Nintendo following the same strategy but serving more as a re-launch with heavy marketing and promotions in the US and Europe. Judging by Nintendo's 3rd Quarter Results, Nintendo did not spend as much as one would expect on marketing this quarter - 300 million US, which includes 3DS, Wii, Wii U and DS budget.