Nintendo recently announced that they expect to sell 5.5 million Wii U consoles by March 2013. Analyst Michael Pachter believes this number is unrealistic, because, according to Pachter, Nintendo will face heavy competition this holiday season, with the new iPad Mini and other devices.
Pachter says that they (analysts) expected sales of 6-7 million Wii U consoles by March of next year, so he sees Nintendo’s rather conservative numbers as disappointing. Pachter also commented on Nintendo’s forecast of selling 24 million software units by March 2013, saying it’s “highly unrealistic” given that it would mean an attach rate of over 4 games per console.
He did have some positive comments, saying that the launch schedule is better than expected, with high profile titles such as Assassin’s Creed 3 and Black Ops 2. He concluded that demand for the Wii U will drop once the core Nintendo fans have purchased the first 5 to 6 million consoles.
Pachter has commented on the Wii U numerous times before. Sometimes he was optimistic — back in September, he said that he thinks the Wii U will sell out for months, eventually selling 7 million consoles by March 2013. He also claimed that he would buy a Wii U just to play Bayonetta 2, since he was a huge fan of the original. Other times, Pachter has been very dismissive of the new console from Nintendo.
