Nintendo WiiU Sales Suffering, Vita Outsells 3DS For First Time

By Davi on Friday, March 15th, 2013

It was an interesting move for Nintendo to release their next generation of console way out before Sony and Microsoft were even talking about there plans. Releasing first worked for Microsoft with the Xbox 360, but things aren’t going so hot for Nintendo this time around. Sales data for the WiiU have been released by NPD and things are looking ominous.

In January, the WiiU pushed 57,000 units. They bumped that up to 64,000 in February but that’s still worryingly low. In fact, it’s worse than any week the current generation of consoles have had in their lifetimes. Compare it to the 360 which topped the charts at 302,000 units, Nintendo have got some thinking to do.

Shigeru Miyamoto, Nintendo’s guiding light, has spoken out saying that he wished they had had more bigger hitters ready to launch with the WiiU. In an interview with TIME, Miyamoto said he wished Pikmin 3 could have been ready for launch. The Wii came out with a new Zelda game and the family hit Wii Sports ready to show off the hardware, but Nintendo Land and New Super Mario Bros U aren’t cutting it apparently. However, he has also said he has no worries for the future of the console, believing it has a long life ahead of it.

This huge dip in sales seems to be down to the complete absence of any notable games in months. Before Christmas the console sold 3 million, a respectable figure by all accounts, but the lack of compelling software has seen a drastic dip in units shipped.

Awaited release of Soul Sacrifice did wonders for Vita

In other news, Vita sales are finally picking up in Sony’s home territory of Japan. For the first time ever, including (unbelievably) the Vita’s launch week, Sony’s handheld is outselling Nintendo’s 3DS behemoth. A dramatic increase from 12,000 units shipped the week before the price cut, it’s now pushing 63,000 units. This is likely helped by the sudden influx of games marketed to the east, like Soul Sacrifice and Tales of Hearts R.

It’s important to note thought that it’s not all champagne, strippers and sherbet in Sony land though. The Vita was able to outsell 3DS when it had a deluge of content, while the 3DS looked relatively quiet. The second a title is put out on the 3DS, sales will likely have a big jump, especially with Monster Hunter 4 looming on the horizon. With titles like Animal Crossing 3DS selling 3 million copies in Japan alone, I don’t think Nintendo have anything to worry about on the handheld front!