It's no secret that the Wii U is struggling. However, the extent of which the console is struggling might surprise you.
According to Nintendo, between April 1 and June 30 of this year, the Wii U sold 160,000 units. Those are global sales figures. Over three months. Ouch.
Simple math tells us that the Wii U is selling, on average, fifty-three thousand Wii U consoles each month since April. That's not very good! Here's how Nintendo explained the numbers:
The worldwide sales of 'Wii U' hardware and software were 0.16 million units and 1.03 million units respectively mainly due to the release of few key first-party titles this quarter to strongly drive the hardware sales.
Nintendo added that part of its operating loss was due to "research and development for 'Wii U' software."
Software sales were better, with over a million games between sold worldwide, but even those number pale to the 3DS software sales during the same three month period: a whopping 11 million games sold globally.
Even the Wii outsold the Wii U, moving 210,000 units during the last three months.
Nintendo also mentioned how it plans to turn things around:
For the 'Wii U' system, we will attempt to concentrate on proactively releasing key first-party titles from the second half of this year through next year to regain momentum for the platform. Starting with 'Pikmin 3,' which was released in Japan and Europe in July and will be released in the United States in August, we plan on releasing key titles such as 'The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD,' 'Wii Party U,' 'Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze,' 'Super Mario 3D World,' and 'Wii Fit U.'
Moreover, Nintendo strives to improve the sales by communicating the compelling nature of our hardware and software to as many people as possible through our new network service called 'Miiverse,' which offers an environment where people can empathize with others and share their gaming experiences. We also strive to improve hardware profitability by reducing its costs.
For the time being, things for the Wii U, sadly, are not looking up. This past April, Nintendo reported that the Wii U only moved 390,000 consoles globally, which were well below expectations. These numbers are well below that.
Read more here or in the links below.
Consolidated Sales Transition by Region [Nintendo]
Earnings Release: First Quarter Ended June 30, 2013 [Nintendo]
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