Even though the NPG Group, the first word on United States gaming hardware sales, is yet to release it’s estimates, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter did state in a research note to investors that Nintendo’s Wii U has sold only 80,000 units in February.
How bad is that? That’s the same number as original Wii units sold in the same period.
Pachter stated that, “The Wii sold nearly double our estimate as the Wii U vastly underperformed our expectations, likely due to a relatively thin release slate and an unusual number of returns.
“It is difficult to envision a turnaround in Wii U hardware sales without a price cut or until more compelling software becomes available, but we think that weekly sales of 20,000 units is likely.
“We think that the long-term appeal of the console will be severely limited by the perception that the next consoles from Microsoft and Sony will be much more powerful with greater online integration and multimedia functionality.”
No official comment from Nintendo in response thus far. Stay tuned.
Source: CNET