Fri, Jan 11, 2013 | 00:24 GMT
NPD: Wii U shifts 460K units, 3DS manages 1.25M
Nintendo’s Wii U managed to shift 460,000 units in the US in December 2012, for a life to date total of 890,000.
After just 41 days on the market, the Wii U has generated over $300 million in hardware sales in the US. Nintendo said the incredibly successful Wii had managed just $270 million during the same period.
“The demand for the Deluxe SKU, which was essentially sold out at retail this holiday, and the strong attach rate of New Super Mario Bros. U, shows that we have the value and the games to drive momentum in 2013. We look forward to offering great new experiences and bringing smiles to millions of new faces throughout the year,” Nintendo of American executive Scott Moffitt said.
New Super Mario Bros. U reached 580,000 units sold, an attach rate of more than 65%.
In total, Nintendo made 2.65 million hardware sales in December 2012, indicating at least 2.2 million sales of DS, 3DS and Wii combined. It brings Nintendo’s annual total US hardware sales to something over 8 million units, the 11th consecutive year it has done so.
3DS
Over 1.25 million 3DS units were sold during December 2012, bringing its US lifetime sales to 7.7 million.
New Super Mario Bros. 2 became the fourth Nintendo 3DS title to surpass 1 million units sold in the US, with over 1.45 million sales under its belt.
Both hardware and software sales for the 3DS are outperforming the DS’s during its own lifetime; the DS went on to be one of the best-selling consoles of all time.
Wii and DS
The Wii now has a whopping 40.8 million hardware sales life to date, having shifted a further 475,000 units during December 2012.
Just Dance 4 charted strongly on all platforms, but its little brother Just Dance 3 became the tenth Wii title to sell more than 5 million units life to date.
The DS is also still going strong, pushing out 470,000 units for a total of 53 million life to date.
Full NPD December 2012 figures available here.
20 comments
#1
lexph3re
11/01/13, 12:37 am
odd usually theres about 5 million dedicated nintendy fans that purchase thei devices in the the first 2-3 months. christmas must have backed them up.
I for one wil be waiting to after a major announcement that appeals to me comes up before I decide to buy this. Heres hoping for that robust e shop and heavy polished nintendo exculsives!
#2
Telepathic.Geometry
11/01/13, 12:41 am
Same here. I’m in the position where I want to get a Wii U, but I’m just waiting for Ninty to fix what’s wrong before I get on board. I’m hoping that it’s only a matter of time, even if it’s a year or two…
#3
killersense
11/01/13, 12:46 am
to put this into perspective ps3 sold 490k in its first december. ps3 was such a disaster at launch and it was 599 at that point. i hope there is a huge nintendo direct with blockbuster games coming holiday 2013 or earlier because this is gonna get ugly. microsoft still ruling the roost in US atleast it seems selling more than double the amount of ps3.
#4
lexph3re
11/01/13, 12:46 am
I’m generally on board with buying all consoles to be honest. But, i puposely wait it out because I know the semi odd number of games I would buy and not enjoy fully I skip other games I would enjoy fully. Annnnddd I personally can’t repeat those errors again
#5
SlayerGT
11/01/13, 12:48 am
@2 when you say “what’s wrong”, what are you referring to? Just curious.
#6
daytripper
11/01/13, 1:01 am
Nintendo needs a really good E3 2013
#7
OlderGamer
11/01/13, 1:28 am
Numbers seem good to me. Off to a solid start.
#8
Telepathic.Geometry
11/01/13, 1:43 am
@SlayerGT: Well, I can only say what I personally see as a problem, and also I’m only going off of what I’ve heard secondhand, but…
No GC BC, no trophy support (despite it being “promised”), very long load-times on the interface, and dodgy online.
To put this in perspective, when the PS3 came out, the price was too high, they had fuck all online, no trophies and the games weren’t there yet, but I got on board years later, and am loving it now.
I didn’t actually own a PS2 or any games for it when I got the PS3, so I didn’t have to shell out for the 60GB one with BC. I imagine that that would have pissed me off to no end if I’d been sitting on a load of PS2 classics at the time.
#9
Clupula
11/01/13, 2:36 am
Hmmm…How much did the Wii cost at launch again? Just trying to figure something out in my head.
#10
Telepathic.Geometry
11/01/13, 5:34 am
Wasn’t it $250?
#11
Clupula
11/01/13, 5:55 am
Okay, I thought so. Because I found it funny that Nintendo were trying to make the system out to be more successful than the Wii but, instead of units sold, pointed out how much more money it made.
But if it’s $100 more expensive, of course it did. Very shifty, Nintendo.
#12
Dragon246
11/01/13, 6:57 am
@11
Marketing speak obviously.
#13
Telepathic.Geometry
11/01/13, 6:57 am
Yeah, but in a way, that is a valid sales measure. It shows how much revenue you were able to bring in. It shows how much money the consumer base was prepared to pay, so that is valid.
Obviously from Ninty’s point of view, they break even on every sale they make (assuming they can sell at least 1 game), whereas the Wii actually made them money on every unit sold, so it’s tough on Nintendo, but the figure they give shows the amount of money the consumer base is prepared to hand over. I think that’s reasonable.
In fairness, Ninty were always the least dodgy of the big three when it came to massaging their figure, which I assume they are obliged to do for their shareholders’ sake.
#14
Francis O
11/01/13, 8:19 am
High Attach rate for New Super Mario Bros U, wait till they unleash Mario Galaxy 3 at E3 this year…. sales through the roof.
#15
DrDamn
11/01/13, 9:10 am
@14
What they need is Mario Something New. A new 3D Mario game which is designed around the pad rather than an existing Mario franchise with the pad shoe-horned in somehow. As it stands the ones showing how interesting the pad is are Ubisoft.
No doubt Mario Galaxy 3 would sell a fair number of consoles, but Nintendo should be leading with this not following.
#16
Dave Cook
11/01/13, 9:12 am
@15
“What they need is Mario Something New”
This?
#17
Showmeyomoves!
11/01/13, 9:24 am
@14 More likely scenario: Critical acclaim through the roof; sales numbers nowhere near NSMB games.
#18
DrDamn
11/01/13, 9:48 am
@16
Ha. Fine as long as it is centred around good use of the pad.
#19
FabioPal
11/01/13, 10:08 am
The WiiU is (mostly, target-wise) a “kids” console, as the Wii was.
So I’m not surprised that its start has been “slower that expected”, give all the kids (and new kids) time to understand that there’s a “new console”, that their little friend had the “new console”, that the grannies with the money become aware of the fact that there’s a “new console”.
It’s a diesel
Oh and, please, I know that most of you love the WiiU and it’s a hardcore console and stuff, but don’t try and tell me that Nintendo is NOT targeting kids as their main audience with both the WiiU and the 3DS.
#20
Gadzooks!
11/01/13, 10:16 am
WiiU hardware sales look solid so far. No cause for concern there.
What is a cause for concern is the software lineup for 2013. It’s a very slender portfolio at the moment, and unless they get some major announcements (and not just a bunch of straight-up sequels) in before E3 or the NextBox reveal then they are going to have a very hard time gaining traction.
#16
In all seriousness, a Grand Theft Mario game would sell a cajillion mershmillion copies.
It looks like Grand Theft Lego is going to get there first though. That game is looking pretty damn sweet so far, and could be a great shot in the arm for WiiU.