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Wii U to beat Wii's launch records, but not its tail - analyst

The Wii U will sell hugely at launch but fail to live up to its simple forebear, according to one analyst firm.

The Wii U consoles will sell 3.5 million units worldwide before the end of December this year, according to IHS Screen Digest, as reported by Forbes.

The Wii sold 3.1 million over a similar period in 2006, so that's a 12% increase, which IHS believes may lead to stock shortages.

Unfortunately, IHS isn't back the console to continue this momentum; it predicts about 53.2 million sales in its first four years of life, just 70% of the Wii's 75.9 million.

“This time around, Wii U’s pure innovation, coupled with a limited volume of high-quality Nintendo software, will not be enough to drive the ongoing sales momentum we witnessed with the Wii console, especially at a higher price point,” IHS senior principal analyst Piers Harding-Rolls explained.

“Long-term success depends on ongoing consumer engagement delivered through the constant release of high-quality content from both first and third parties, a competitive non-games entertainment proposition and a sound digital and online strategy to go along with such innovation. Nintendo is still some way short of delivering a comprehensive engagement-led value proposition at the launch of the Wii U.”

The Wii is the best-selling console of this generation, with close to 100 million units sold worldwide. The Wii U launches on November 18 in the US and November 30 in Europe and beyond.

Thanks, GamesIndustry.

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Brenna Hillier avatar

Brenna Hillier

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Based in Australia and having come from a lengthy career in the Aussie games media, Brenna worked as VG247's remote Deputy Editor for several years, covering news and events from the other side of the planet to the rest of the team. After leaving VG247, Brenna retired from games media and crossed over to development, working as a writer on several video games.

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