The Wii U sales thread - 220k shipped last quarter

[Jamo3103]

If you're a parent at christmas and you can pay £400-500 for Nextbox for little Timmy, or £200 for Wii U with Mario Kart (with Wii Fit U available for all the fat mums to lose weight after Christmas) what will happen? Well we saw what will happen in the christmas just gone with Xbox 360 against Wii U.

Why is the Nextbox going to cost £400 - £500 quid? The Xbox 360 launched at £209 for budget version and £279 for the premium one. I expect pricing to be the same for this one. "Little Timmy" or anyone else for that matter is going to care about 'Mario Kart' when he see sees the next-gen eye candy of the new consoles. And his fat mum will be well catered for too (built in Kinect remember).

It won't attract the so-called hardcore or the COD crowd but that was never Nintendo's target and they never reached that crowd with the Wii either, for the family crowd however the Wii U will be the more attractive prospect at Christmas.

Why?

What's Nintendo's gimmick for capturing the casuals this time round? Because the tablet ain't doing it.

Microsoft are almost certainly going to want to force Kinect on Nextbox buyers, if they want to do that and make anything notably more powerful than Wii U then its going to cost £400 minimum surely? Unless they want to make a huge loss on hardware which I'm fairly sure they can't afford to do.

If kids are so enticed by shiny graphics then maybe they'll be asking for a new PC so they can experience the next-gen early, to a better standard and with actual working backwards compatibility.

You can't really say the tablet isn't doing that, most people who fit into that market who I know think its a good idea but they also think its incredibly overpriced at the moment. Bring the price down and you have the sales.

Of course when all the stories start hitting the news at Christmas of Nextbox power leads setting carpets alight, or consoles failing left right and center, or whatever trick MS have up their sleeves this time then that's surely going to put a few people off spending so much on it as well?

You could also argue that maybe there are gamers that would rather play some exclusives that aren't space-based shooters so they'd rather have the Wii U than the Nextbox but I'm not going to get into that.

[Drunken_Master]

Microsoft are almost certainly going to want to force Kinect on Nextbox buyers, if they want to do that and make anything notably more powerful than Wii U then its going to cost £400 minimum surely? Unless they want to make a huge loss on hardware which I'm fairly sure they can't afford to do.

They made a loss on the 360, they made a loss on the Xbox........ Also, Microsoft CAN afford it.

If kids are so enticed by shiny graphics then maybe they'll be asking for a new PC so they can experience the next-gen early, to a better standard and with actual working backwards compatibility.

Kids....PCs....

You can't really say the tablet isn't doing that, most people who fit into that market who I know think its a good idea but they also think its incredibly overpriced at the moment. Bring the price down and you have the sales.

No, all we can do is look at its sales. Especially in comparison to the Wii.

Of course when all the stories start hitting the news at Christmas of Nextbox power leads setting carpets alight, or consoles failing left right and center, or whatever trick MS have up their sleeves this time then that's surely going to put a few people off spending so much on it as well?

You can see into the future now?

You could also argue that maybe there are gamers that would rather play some exclusives that aren't space-based shooters so they'd rather have the Wii U than the Nextbox but I'm not going to get into that.

This space based shooter thing is becoming rather tiresome. If you look at the most popular game on LIVE at the moment, it isn't a 'space based' shooter. It's Minecraft.

Most anticipated game? It's probably Bioshock Infinte, again not a space shooter.

[TheTurnipKing]

Time to find out if MS has been hiding anything good in the games cupboard, basically.

[The Watching Artist]

I've seen the Lovefilm ad that mentions the Wii U more times then any actual Wii U ads. Good work Lovefilm.

[Jamo3103]

Microsoft are almost certainly going to want to force Kinect on Nextbox buyers, if they want to do that and make anything notably more powerful than Wii U then its going to cost £400 minimum surely? Unless they want to make a huge loss on hardware which I'm fairly sure they can't afford to do.

They made a loss on the 360, they made a loss on the Xbox........ Also, Microsoft CAN afford it.

If kids are so enticed by shiny graphics then maybe they'll be asking for a new PC so they can experience the next-gen early, to a better standard and with actual working backwards compatibility.

Kids....PCs....

You can't really say the tablet isn't doing that, most people who fit into that market who I know think its a good idea but they also think its incredibly overpriced at the moment. Bring the price down and you have the sales.

No, all we can do is look at its sales. Especially in comparison to the Wii.

Of course when all the stories start hitting the news at Christmas of Nextbox power leads setting carpets alight, or consoles failing left right and center, or whatever trick MS have up their sleeves this time then that's surely going to put a few people off spending so much on it as well?

You can see into the future now?

You could also argue that maybe there are gamers that would rather play some exclusives that aren't space-based shooters so they'd rather have the Wii U than the Nextbox but I'm not going to get into that.

This space based shooter thing is becoming rather tiresome. If you look at the most popular game on LIVE at the moment, it isn't a 'space based' shooter. It's Minecraft.

Most anticipated game? It's probably Bioshock Infinte, again not a space shooter.

I was exclusively a PC Gamer up until my mid-teens, so were a vast majority of people I know. So why kids wanting a gaming PC is laughable is beyond me.

I can't see into the future but in two out of two Microsoft console launches so far they have had enormous problems so would it be unreasonable to say that based on that there's a high probability it will happen again this time, particularly with more powerful and complex systems? I would say not.

Maybe you missed where I said exclusives. Minecraft is available on PC and iOS and Bioshock Infinite is available on PC and PS3. Exclusives wise MS have kinect games, most of which have been tat so far. Fable games which have progressively been getting worse with each installment. Gears/Halo which are space based shooters and the Forza series. It's an astonishingly limited base of exclusives in comparison to any other system on the market.

Also the point about MS having Kinect to attract the fat mums is missing that the majority of games that attract them aren't defined by their high end graphics so the difference graphically between Wii Fit U and Kinect Fitness games, and the likes of Just Dance etc. is likely to be minimal - The current Wii Balance board can be used with Wii Fit U, but can the current Kinect be used with Nextbox games? We don't know but I'd say unlikely. In that situation that market will likely go for the cheaper alternative, which will be the Wii U.

360 launched on the market at a good price-point, at a time where people were spending more on luxuries. It had no real competition for over a year. Nextbox will not have that luxury and I'd be astonished if it comes even close to matching 360's initial success. I think its altogether more likely we'll be having a similar thread to this about Nextbox this time next year.

[Drunken_Master]

I was exclusively a PC Gamer up until my mid-teens, so were a vast majority of people I know. So why kids wanting a gaming PC is laughable is beyond me.

PC gaming hasn't reached a point where it could be considered 'mainstream' IMHO. It's easier than it used to be. But it's still a faff. When you go into a shop and buy a console game, all you need to know is the format. As long as you buy the correct format you're guaranteed the same experience as everyone else.

With PC gaming, there are all sorts of other variables to do with spec which still leaves it in the domain of the geek. And definitely not something for the majority of kiddies.

I can't see into the future but in two out of two Microsoft console launches so far they have had enormous problems so would it be unreasonable to say that based on that there's a high probability it will happen again this time, particularly with more powerful and complex systems? I would say not.

The Xbox, reliability wise was bulletproof. We all know about the 360. I'm sure MS have learnt their lesson and will deliver a more reliable product. We shall see.

Maybe you missed where I said exclusives. Minecraft is available on PC and iOS and Bioshock Infinite is available on PC and PS3. Exclusives wise MS have kinect games, most of which have been tat so far. Fable games which have progressively been getting worse with each installment. Gears/Halo which are space based shooters and the Forza series. It's an astonishingly limited base of exclusives in comparison to any other system on the market.

Minecraft on IOS isn't the same thing. Besides, the point I was trying to make was they're not on Wii U.

Also the point about MS having Kinect to attract the fat mums is missing that the majority of games that attract them aren't defined by their high end graphics so the difference graphically between Wii Fit U and Kinect Fitness games, and the likes of Just Dance etc. is likely to be minimal - The current Wii Balance board can be used with Wii Fit U, but can the current Kinect be used with Nextbox games? We don't know but I'd say unlikely. In that situation that market will likely go for the cheaper alternative, which will be the Wii U.

So, if these games aren't defined by high end graphics, why buy a Wii U? Why not just use the old Wii and Wii fit? I'm sure the majority of the audience for Wii U fit would already have a Wii + Wii fit? is the new Wii U going to make you work harder?

360 launched on the market at a good price-point, at a time where people were spending more on luxuries. It had no real competition for over a year. Nextbox will not have that luxury and I'd be astonished if it comes even close to matching 360's initial success. I think its altogether more likely we'll be having a similar thread to this about Nextbox this time next year.

We've been on this gen since 2005. The market is ready.

[Qikz]

My Dad got me my first PC in 1995. Even when I was 5 years old I could follow simple DOS Commands to run my game and I could also read the back of the box to see if my PC could run a game.

People play off the PC specs are hard to understand bullshit far too much.

[Rik]

I read on Gaf the other day that 360 is now a profitable venture for Microsoft, also they sat aside 1.1 billion for the Rrod but they wrote a fair amount of that back into their accounts as they said it came nowhere near that figure. Also the 360s seems to be one of the most reliable consoles ever, I haven't seen any reports of even normal faults unlike Wii U and the new PS3.

Microsoft have been building studios towards this gen, they actually have more first party studios than when 360 started and more than Sony. Yes they will deliver Halo/Forza/Gears again this gen, people want them and they sell. Also they will have new stuff from the likes of Black Tusk and probably Rare, they will also be able to get third party exclusives a lot easier when installed bases for next gen are at zero.

People like to keep trotting out the same lines but the truth is quite different.

[gamerforever]

Do you work for MS Rik?

[Rik]

Do you work for MS Rik?

Gotten to

[Zellery]

My Dad got me my first PC in 1995. Even when I was 5 years old I could follow simple DOS Commands to run my game and I could also read the back of the box to see if my PC could run a game.

People play off the PC specs are hard to understand bullshit far too much.

That's all well and good but it doesn't change the fact that the majority of kids play games consoles, not PCs.

[Drunken_Master]

My Dad got me my first PC in 1995. Even when I was 5 years old I could follow simple DOS Commands to run my game and I could also read the back of the box to see if my PC could run a game.

People play off the PC specs are hard to understand bullshit far too much.

Are you for real?

Do you think the average five year old, could edit the config.sys/autoexec.bat files to allocate enough memory to run games? Do you think they'd know the IRQ and port numbers of their soundcards so they could have sound in their games?

Because that's what you had to do in the old days.

[Drunken_Master]

Do you work for MS Rik?

I hear they pay more than Sony. Perhaps you ought to defect.

[TheTurnipKing]

My Dad got me my first PC in 1995. Even when I was 5 years old I could follow simple DOS Commands to run my game and I could also read the back of the box to see if my PC could run a game.

People play off the PC specs are hard to understand bullshit far too much.

Are you for real?

Do you think the average five year old, could edit the config.sys/autoexec.bat files to allocate enough memory to run games? Do you think they'd know the IRQ and port numbers of their soundcards so they could have sound in their games?

Because that's what you had to do in the old days.

LOAD "" CODE

Never underestimate what a kid will be able to memorize if it means they can play games.

[GrinWithoutaKat]

If a kid asks for a nextbox or PS4 for Christmas and got a Wii U instead, there'd be carnage. I don't think Nintendo can rely on patents picking it up because its cheaper these days. Lets face it, even £400 isn't that much when you see how many kids get iPads these days. One of my friends got her kid one for Christmas and he only turned two yesterday. We live in a crazy world.

It's pretty simple. I don't want to pay £300 for a system with no games that interest me. I'd happily pay £400 for a system with a few that did. The price is almost irrelevant.

[Monkey Man]

4 million Wii Us forcast to ship by end of March (down from 5.5m)
16 million Wii U software forcast to ship by end of March (down from 24m).

Shipped 2012
US: 1.32
Japan: 0.83
Europe: 0.9

Sold 2012:
US: 0.89
Japan: 0.64
Europe: Unknown

http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.php?t=510710

[Victor Mildew]

kids get iPads these days. One of my friends got her kid one for Christmas and he only turned two yesterday.

WAT

[Fatal Exception]

kids get iPads these days. One of my friends got her kid one for Christmas and he only turned two yesterday.

WAT

That baby should be aborted and the parents sterilized.

[TheTurnipKing]

My nephew got an iPad Mini for Christmas but I suspect the reasoning behind it was to stop him wasting his mums phone battery.

[Jenuall]

My Dad got me my first PC in 1995. Even when I was 5 years old I could follow simple DOS Commands to run my game and I could also read the back of the box to see if my PC could run a game.

People play off the PC specs are hard to understand bullshit far too much.

Are you for real?

Do you think the average five year old, could edit the config.sys/autoexec.bat files to allocate enough memory to run games? Do you think they'd know the IRQ and port numbers of their soundcards so they could have sound in their games?

Because that's what you had to do in the old days.

Are you for real?

For a start 1995 is not "the old days" - by that point the chances of needing to modify config.sys and the like were long gone for the vast majority of games. As for IRQs and port numbers, kids would do what everyone else did, either not care or not know what hardware they had and just select SoundBlaster and off they would happily go. Not to mention the fact that the installers for most games by the early 90s would offer you an immediate "Test your config" option, so it would be all of a 2 second job to try a different option if the default didn't work.

PC gaming is not as difficult as people make out, isn't now and it wasn't then.

Kids are cleverer then you are making out.