Nintendo’s 2012 year-end sales of the Wii U are steady, though not trumping the sales patterns of it’s Wii predecessor when it first launched, Reuters has reported.<\/p>\n
Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said in an interview: “At the end of the Christmas season, it wasn’t as though stores in the US had no Wii U left in stock, as it was when Wii was first sold in that popular boom. But sales are not bad, and I feel it’s selling steadily.”<\/p>\n
No details were given on actual sales figures or forecasts thereof. Nintendo reportedly said in October 2012 that it is targeting 5.5 million Wii U sales by the end of March 2013. At last official sales count statement from the company, 400,000 units were sold in the US during its first week of sale.<\/p>\n
Nintendo sold 638,339 Wii U consoles in Japan between December 8 and 30, according to data from game magazine publisher Enterbrain, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
By contrast, Nintendo has sold nearly 100 million of the original Wii units since its launch in 2006.<\/p>\n
Iwata said that Nintendo needed to focus on developing attractive software for its 3DS handheld device to draw new users, and increase Wii U sales as it battles competition from popular mobile devices.<\/p>\n
Iwata said that of the two Wii U models available, most customers wanted the premium package, which sold out quickly in many places, leaving many standard packages on the shelves.<\/p>\n
“It was the first time Nintendo released two models of the game console at the same time…and I believe there was a challenge with balancing this. Specifically, inventory levels for the premium, deluxe package was unbalanced as many people wanted that version and couldn’t find it,” said Iwata.<\/p>\n
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