Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told Reuters last month that the sales of the Wii U, which debuted Nov. 18, were “not bad.” Well, new numbers show that it’s worse than that.
CNET is reporting that Nintendo sold just 57,000 Wii U’s last month, barely 20 percent of what Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (281,000) sold during the same time frame. That’s also a far cry from its predecessor, the Wii, which sold 435,000 units in its first January on shelves in 2007.
Things aren’t exactly going well for Nintendo. On its earnings call two weeks ago, the company reduced sales forecasts for the Wii U, Nintendo 3DS and DS for the current quarter. That followed a previous reduction in October. Nintendo had expected to sell 5.5 million Wii U’s by March, on a cumulative basis, but now the company predicts the total number will be just 4 million.
Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the top-selling console in February in the United States, marking its 25th straight month atop the U.S. console market. The company finished ahead of the PlayStation 3, Wii and Wii U.
Previously on GeekWire: A gamer’s dream: ‘The Art of Video Games’ exhibit debuts Friday at the EMP
