Nintendo Wii U Sales Improve But Fail To Surpass Sales For Original Console

The Wii U is experiencing an increase in sales volume ahead of the Microsoft Xbox One and Sony Playstation 4. The company sold just 360,000 units of its new console during the first six months of release, a number that has increased to 460,000 units over the last six months.

Nintendo has struggled to find a solid audience for its new Wii U controller, something that the company addressed in September.

In the last six months console sales were likely helped along by the release of Pikmin 3 and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD. The Zelda series has always been a big selling point for Nintendo and was likely the biggest reason for a change in sales momentum.

In the last six months Nintendo has moved 6.30 million Wii U software titles. Nintendo has fared bettered on the 3DS site with 3.89 million hardware units sold globally, alongside 27.38 million 3DS software units in the same six month period. Nintendo scored some big software wins with Animal Crossing: New Leaf and Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon.

The Nintendo DS added 100,000 units while the original Nintendo Wii, which is now out of production, added 470,000 units. The original Nintendo Wii, despite its 7-year shelf life, outsold the company’s new console thanks to deeply discounted pricing and a large number of available titles.

While Nintendo acknowledges that sales levels are nowhere near that of the original Nintendo Wii, the company is also optimistic for the holiday shopping season thanks to upcoming titles Wii Party U and Super Mario 3D World. The gaming giant will also add a price drop and value-added bundles into the mix in time for the Christmas shopping season.

The Nintendo 3DS will also be helped along by the Pokemon X/Y and the Nintendo 2DS.

Analysts are already predicting that the Nintendo Wii U will be trampled by the PS4 and Xbox One, of course they made that same prediction when the Nintendo Wii debuted.

Do you think Nintendo can survive the upcoming onslaught of next-generation gaming consoles?