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Nintendo’s future called into question as Wii U sales plummet

Published Feb 15th, 2013 11:50AM EST
Wii U Sales January 2013
Image: Chris Sewell

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Nintendo (NTDOY) now faces the very real prospect of having an absolute flop on its hands. As Microsoft (MSFT) moved an estimated 281,000 Xbox 360 consoles in the U.S. in January to take the top spot for the 25th consecutive month, Gamasutra reports that Nintendo sold “well under” 100,000 Wii U consoles last month. The site estimates that sales may have fallen between 45,000 and 59,000 units in January, which could mark the worst month for a Nintendo console since before the original Wii launched.

This is not the first sign of trouble for Nintendo’s Wii U. The new console has not been well received in the U.S., U.K. or even in Japan, and Nintendo recently lowered its first-quarter outlook as a result. With Sony (SNE) set to unveil its next-generation PlayStation 4 next week and Microsoft prepping a new Xbox console, the door is quickly closing on Nintendo’s latest effort.

Relief will likely not come anytime soon for Nintendo. New video game consoles take years to develop and typically remain on the market for the better part of a decade. What’s more, Nintendo has said it will not lower the Wii U’s retail price — the company is already selling the Wii U at a loss — so it remains unclear how Nintendo plans to reverse its current slump and bolster sales.

Will the Wii U be Nintendo’s last home video game console? The possibility is looking more real with each passing month.[bgr-post-bug]

Zach Epstein
Zach Epstein Executive Editor

Zach Epstein has been the Executive Editor at BGR for more than 10 years. He manages BGR’s editorial team and ensures that best practices are adhered to. He also oversees the Ecommerce team and directs the daily flow of all content. Zach first joined BGR in 2007 as a Staff Writer covering business, technology, and entertainment.

His work has been quoted by countless top news organizations, and he was recently named one of the world's top 10 “power mobile influencers” by Forbes. Prior to BGR, Zach worked as an executive in marketing and business development with two private telcos.