Poor Wii U, it's a solid little console but it was never sure what it wanted to be. It doesn't have the horse power to appeal to the hardcore and it doesn't have a gimmick that appeals to the masses. I said from the launch of the console that Nintendo was trying to split the difference between the two markets and that because of that the console would struggle to find an audience.

I still love my U. I think Nintendo's going to face a problem now if they plan on launching new hardware without alienating those that actually bought a Wii U. I know I'll be pissed if I can't play Mario Kart 8 or Smash Bros U online on what ever new system they launch.

The estimate is low but reasonable, I personally think that Smash will have a bigger effect on console then 3D Mario, because the fan bases for the games are very different (less crossover with other Nintendo IPs then Mario.)

Haha, still bugs me he called so many people out but has now slinked off because he can't face the failure of his predictions.

"I won't be going anywhere this time, and I'll have PLENTY of time to discuss the going's on at vgchartz."

Such a way to say goodbye.

At this point the number almost doesn't matter.  Who cares if it's 2.5mil, 3.0mil, or 3.5mil a year?  

Completly agree with you OP.
And this is way we get a "Digital Event" separated from the other companies at E3, there's nothing more that MK8 and SSB (big) for this year,
Yet people keep defending their laziness and mistakes like DK and delaying games for the sake of the "quality".
This is a bussiness, and as a bussiness, Nintendo is facing one of their worst times.

As grim as Wii U's sales future is, I somehow find "comfort" in the fact that they at least aren't being delusional about it anymore. If they are being realistic and know that it's kind of a dead-weight, that means they'll focus on giving the software that WE want (rather than what they think we want)--the Ruby and Sapphire remakes are a great example of something fans have long asked for--AND they'll be much more creative and careful about their next hardware. The Wii/DS success clearly had them smug, arrogant and overconfident that they could release hardware at inflated prices with weak software lineups for the first year. So as much as I love Nintendo, I hope they've learned something.

Yup, people need to understand the difference between being conservative (which I think is the case) and intentionally lowballing estimates. Companies base production and ordering off of their internal estimates so lowballing would not really benefit at all. Oh, and they probably know MK8's pre-order numbers and they might not be good.

Wow denial is so strong in this thread!

Ohh surely they are low balling the estimation, cause there is nothing better to bring confidence to the investors and publishers, developers than such an awfully low projected year! I expect announcements to go through the roof when Wii U actually sells 3,9m instead of 3,6m!

Truth probably is, they decided to finally be realistic, cause they realise that nobody would believe they koolaid estimate of 9m after that 2,8 fiscal year except for a few forum "analysts".

As for lifetime, looks like surely it will be below the 20m mark, absolutely abysmal after coming off of 100m sold. Worse even that it looks like they still are losing money per unit, how is that even possible is beyond me, but after looking at the projection they are not going to cut the price anytime soon, which is probably a good call cause they can't afford it, but it leaves them between a rock and a hard place.

Really dude? Its actually impossible. We already know practically 2 months of thier sales this FY and Nintendo will be basing production off those estimates... meaning even if we see a surge in interest then it will be supply constrained for months

Retailers wouldn't even take on that many systems, even if MK gives it an uptick.