Think Nintendo not going aggresively for Black Friday deals hurt them in sales units, but their whole focus will be on the margins. That said, you'd expect Smash to have driven Wii U sales a bit. Disappointing imo. Let's see what December holds I guess.

MK8 sold more than SSBU+Black Friday+Holidays.

I don't have a Wii-U, but I plan to get one (the deluxe bundled with Super Mario World at target for 249.99). I was wondering for the users that have one already, is the pad (the tablet controller or whatever it's called) really integral to the experience?

I imagine if Nintendo got rid of it the way Microsoft did with Kinect (well, making it optional) and lowered the price to 200.00 they could really change the sales trajectory. And they'd probably still make money on each console.

Yes, I used NPD numbers for the op

How do u figure? These numbers are rounded

January NPD-50k (2013-60k)

February NPD-80k (2013-70k)

March NPD-70k (2013-70k)

April NPD-50k (2013-35k)

May NPD-60k (2013-30k)

June NPD-140k (2013-40k)

July NPD-80k (2013-30k)

August NPD-60k (2013-30k)

September-90k  (2013-90k)

October NPD-70k (2013-50k)

November NPD-240k (2013-225k)

December NPD-???? (2013-480k)

At this rate Dec NPD will likely be 500-550k

It all depends how it is implemented in the different games. Games like The Wonderful 101 for example is specifically designed with the pad in mind, while other games like New Super Mario Bros U don't really use it at all or just only for minimal features. Basically, it's often underexploited but rarely left out completely.

I do like playing with the gamepad. I got big hands with rather long fingers to boot, so the size doesn't bother me as much as often stated. It is also surprisingly lightweight, after some time you don't even feel like having something else than a normal controller in your hands. Even with games that don't use the gamepad much (or at all), I still prefer playing with it instead of a classic or pro controller. I am probably in the minority with this, but that's how it is.

That all said, dropping the Gamepad would be a really bad decision. Not only are more games coming out who put good use into the gamepad, but also without it, what's left to the Wii U? A doped Wii (making the 2 even less distingushable for casual buyers) or a really underpowered PS4/Xbone, making the console even less appealable even with a lower price. After all, even a 99$/€ pricetag didn't save the gamecube, and that one had at least more horsepower than the PS2 as a possible selling point.

Edit: ninjaed by RolStoppable

Dadasider, the gamepad is just an optional extra. You can just put it on the table and not use it. You can power up and down the console and do everything except the settings page without the gamepad. The gamepad allows dual screen multiplayer and off screen play which you won't realize until you buy the console, but it's awesome. Just trust me. I thought the gamepad was stupid because of the media, but I was wrong.

If Nintendo's satisfied, they must be doing well. That's all that matters really. Numbers are numbers.

Because:

May+June = 200k (MK8)

Nov-Oct = 170k (ssbu)

Why are u subtracting Oct from Nov?

May+June=200k (32 days of MK8)

November-240k (9 days of Smash U)