Will Wii U Salvage Nintendo’s Lagging Sales?

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Everyone knows that Nintendo’s sales figures are suffering.  Nintendo sold only 4.5 million Wiis in the US last year, which may not seem bad at first blush since that accounts for nearly 400,000 units every month in the US alone.  But to analyze why this figure isn’t so great, it’s necessary to take a look at the context.

This was the first year since 2007 that Nintendo failed to sell 7 million console units in the US.  Indeed, in 2008 the company sold 10 million Wii consoles, and sold almost as many the next year.  In 2010 those numbers dropped dramatically to 7 million units.  As of last year, they have plunged again to just a fraction of their original sales.

Aren’t lagging sales just par the course with an old console?  To some extent, yes—but then again, Sony and Microsoft have proved that it doesn’t have to be this way.  Sony is probably going to sell 15 million units by the time their fiscal year ends in March.  Sony’s sales have actually increased over the years.  Microsoft set sales records for its Xbox 360 just last holiday season.

Why are Nintendo’s sales figures so bad?  It is probably because the Wii is so far behind the current generation of competing consoles that it seems archaic in many respects.  It can’t support HD graphics, motion gaming, and it has a very sparse third-party game library.  Considering that the Wii was a surprise to many when it first came out, perhaps we’ll find that Nintendo is about to make a comeback with the Wii U.  We don’t know a lot about the Wii U yet, but we do know it’ll include HD graphics and will be designed to rival current and new technology in the console world.  Perhaps Nintendo can rise out of their slump yet.