In an interview earlier today with Reuters, Nintendo President Satoru Iwata commented on Wii U sales so far. Iwata said despite Wii U not matching the Wii’s initial sales numbers during its launch in 2006, sales for Wii U are steady:
“At the end of the Christmas season, it wasn’t as though stores in the U.S. had no Wii U left in stock, as it was when Wii was first sold in that popular boom. But sales are not bad, and I feel it’s selling steadily.”
Nintendo managed to sell about 400,000 Wii U consoles in it’s first week on the market in North America, just 200,000 units shy of the original Wii in its debut week. The company expects to sell 5.5 million Wii u consoles by the end of march.
Iwata also admits in the interview that there were some difficulties in production of the Wii U. Offering two different home console models to consumers was a first for the company:
“It was the first time Nintendo released two models of the game console at the same time … and I believe there was a challenge with balancing this. Specifically, inventory levels for the premium, deluxe package was unbalanced as many people wanted that version and couldn’t find it.”
Consumers may have an easier time finding Wii U consoles on store shelves when compared to 2006 and with Wii’s limited supply, but could this be a sign that the Wii U will never match the success of it’s predecessor? Why do you think the Wii U hasn’t yet grabbed consumers in the same way the Wii did? Let us know what you think in the comments below.
