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NPD: Nintendo Says Wii U Had Its Best Week In The US Since It launched Back In 2012

Overall sales of Nintendo 3DS software in November increased by more than 40 percent over the same month in 2013, thanks in part to three huge games:

Pokémon Omega Ruby and Pokémon Alpha Sapphire: The next great Pokémon adventures for Nintendo 3DS launched on Nov. 21 and have already sold nearly 1.5 million combined physical and digital units in the U.S. alone.

Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS: The best-selling individual portable game in the U.S. so far in 2014, Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS has sold more than 1.5 million physical and digital units in the U.S. since it launched on Oct. 3.

November was also a strong month for Nintendo on the console side, as sales of Wii U hardware and software increased by more than 10 percent and more than 90 percent, respectively, over the same period in 2013. In fact, the week of Nov. 23 was the biggest single week of Wii U hardware sales since the system launched in November 2012. Other Wii U highlights for the month include:

Super Smash Bros. for Wii U has sold nearly 710,000 combined units since launching on Nov. 21. With a current Metacritic score of 92, the latest iteration in Nintendo’s venerable fighting franchise is one of the best-reviewed games in the current generation of systems.

Nov. 21 also saw the arrival of amiibo, Nintendo’s new platform where gaming’s most recognizable characters can be used in different ways in many compatible games. Sales of amiibo are approximately equal to sales of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U so far, while Link, Mario and Pikachu (in that order) have been the best-selling figures to date.

“This is a ringing endorsement from families and fans that Nintendo has the best variety, the best value and the best gaming experiences for sale this holiday season,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We’re extremely confident in our holiday proposition and look forward to closing this year strong and starting 2015 with a full head of steam.”

Just a few days ago on Dec. 5, Wii U fans got the one-two punch of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, the intrepid explorer’s first stand-alone adventure, and NES Remix Pack, which combines previous digital-only games NES Remix and NES Remix 2 in one convenient physical package. More great games are coming for Nintendo systems in the first part of 2015, including Splatoon, Yoshi’s Woolly World and Kirby and the Rainbow Curse for Wii U, and Code Name: S.T.E.A.M. for Nintendo 3DS.

145 thoughts on “NPD: Nintendo Says Wii U Had Its Best Week In The US Since It launched Back In 2012”

    1. I knew when it came to Nintendo talking about the Wii U that we’d get %%% bullsh1t talk again. I was thinking if they talk about hard numbers it’s done well but if they do their usual smoke and mirrors percentages that Wii U didn’t perform well.

      “Nintendo has the best variety.” I’m sorry I love Nintendo but that’s a lie. As an example it’s smothered with platformers but we have no sports games. Guess who do?

      “Just a few days ago on Dec. 5, Wii U fans got the one-two punch of Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker, the intrepid explorer’s first stand-alone adventure, and NES Remix Pack, which combines previous digital-only games NES Remix and NES Remix 2 in one convenient physical package. ” Wow! Is that supposed to sell the Wii U? Captain Turd in a nappy and a lazy 8 bit rehash of old games. Nintendo need to cop on. It’s no wonder they’ve had so much trouble.

      In the last month I’ve bought the double pack of Bayonetta 2 and Smash Bros. Wii U and they’re great but I won’t be buying any more Wii U games until Zelda and Xenoblade Chronicles X.

        1. How is it paywall when they’re figures (not dolls) that can be used for multiple games not just one like Infinity and Skylanders which BTW Skylanders is more of a BS paywall than Infinity.

      1. No one cares about sports games, except for people who feel like paying $60 every year for the same game with updated rosters.

          1. You mean you actually spend money on them? I guess if there is local multiplayer sounds ok. Otherwise Sports games are worth a rental at best. I don’t think I’ve played one since I was like 12 and I’m 33.

            1. sherlockwillfightbilbo

              Me? Heck no. The majority of people who own game consoles? Yes. Fifa is always in the top 10 in the sales charts. I don’t believe I have ever seen it absent in the past three years.

            2. Wait… You’re 33 years old and you still play games?!!?! AWESOME!!! Hey how often do you play games?!?! I’m 15 and I’m worried that when get older I want have time for gaming!! Please tell me there’s still hope! I plan on majoring in medicine to become a doctor! Is there any chance of me playing games when I do become one?!?!? PLEASE HELP!!! IM SCARED!!

              1. There’s a guy at my job who’s 42 and still plays games. I usually see him come in with his tablet browsing sites like IGN and he occasionally has a Gameinformer issue sitting around him. And he was just talking about the Destiny DLC the other day.

                1. OH THANK GOD So maybe if I stay dedicated enough I’ll have a chance! But still the more older I get, the more responsibilities and the more responsibilities the more complicated life gets and the more complicated life gets the more I’m gonna have to give up less important things in life!!! FUCK! WHAT’S GONNA HAPPEN TO ME?!?!?! NOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!

                  1. Yeah, but he isn’t married or anything. In pretty sure he has a lot of free time on his hands after work. If you plan to get married and have children and stuff in the future, well… You’d better enjoy the game time you have now. Because it’s definitely going to decrease. A lot. Well, unless you get lucky or something and your wife just happens to be a hardcore gamer. Lol, I really doubt it’d be easy to find one of them though. Let alone any woman that even plays video games…

                    1. Wait… That person isn’t married…? FUCK I PLAN ON GETTING MARRIED AND HAVE KIDS!!! And I’m not really looking for someone who likes gaming!(by that I mean I’m not gonna refrain from getting married just because I can’t find someone who’s into gaming if that makes any sense) This really sucks :( Well… It looks like I’m gonna have to say goodbye to gaming forever one day… :'( :'( But…. Yes but… There’s still a chance maybe! Maybe if I could just make small time to just sit relax and play I could still have a chance! Or maybe if my wife wants to have 1 child!(because I know THEY decide how many children a couple should have…) Please what do you think?! I know this is a really stupid conversation but I feel I really need to know!

                    2. Having kids is actually a reason in itself to play games. It’s tough when they are in thier infancy, but after that it’s game on. The reason your parents don’t play video games, or other older people, is becouse they did not grow up playing them like we did. And my Gf is a gamer. Getting married has no effect on gaming if you marry the right person. You’ll never have to stop playing games if you choose not to!

                      The fact of the matter is, when you get older, time is MUCH more precious. You have to make time for the things you enjoy. When someone says they don’t have time to play video games, it’s more than likely that person doesn’t truly love playing them. If you like going camping, you make time to do it. Like cross country biking? You make time. You like playing video games? You make time. My uncle is a very successful business man, lives in a huge house in the richy part of town. He is 64 years old and has played to completion every major FPS game. I am not joking. He loves his computer games. He is also dieing to get Half-life 3!

                      1. Well kudos to you bro! I feel the exact same way! If I really like playing video games, which I do, I’m gonna have to obviously make time to do so and even with my children! Plus when I have a kid, I’m gonna make sure he sucks Nintendo’s dick! LMAO Not really but I’m gonna make him love Nintendo! lol

                      1. The leader of a diagnosis team would definitely not be a huge killer on your gaming. Speaking of, I should watch another episode of House MD tonight. lol

                2. You’re going into medicine to become a doctor? Sorry to tell you man, but you’re going to need to put games on hold at least for a little bit when you do your residency. It’s going to be demanding and you’ll have very little time to do the things you want, including sleep. But after that, you’ll have a good job, and be helping people!

                  1. How long do you think I would have to put off gaming during my residency?(whatever that is! lol) Also I won’t have time to even sleep?!?!? WHAT?!?! Well whatever. I think I’m capable of doing that anyway. But I’m still curious about how long I’d have to put it off for.

                    1. You’re residency is a part of your medical training, it’s after you graduate from medical school and are basically working in hospitals for your training when you’re going to be practicing medicine, it is very demanding. It lasts for 3 years about, and the first year is typically seen as the toughest. But you seem pretty young, so don’t too much about all this yet. Though I would suggest reading a bit on the process of becoming a doctor.

                      1. Thanks for the advice! So that’s after I graduate from medical school? Then when do I get into medical school? Is that after college then? I know you’re right that I don’t have to worry much about this stuff right now but I’ve been curious about this for a while now.

                        1. Medical school is college. It’s just a program that a college/university will offer. Though not everyone does, my school, for instance, does not have a medical program.

                      2. If you want a visual explanation of what berserkalchemist is talking about, I suggest watching the first few seasons of the doctor show Grey’s Anatomy. It will show you EXACTLY what you’ll be going through once you graduate medical school.

                  2. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

                    Sorry but if you plan to become a doctor then you probably won’t have enough time as stuying to become a doctor requires your full attention, it’s not comparable to most other educations out there as people will be dependent on your diagnosis in the future…

                    Maybe when you are a fully qualified doctor will you have time to play again…

                  3. Yes, there is still hope…adults still play video games. Eventhough there is less time, there is still time especially if you have a family.

            3. SNES didn’t have many sports games and nearly not as many as Genesis (it didn’t even get Madden until long after) and it is regarded as one of Nintendo’s best systems. Sports games don’t break a system.

                1. Because he’s a fan of those mature dude-bro targeted FPS shooters. If it doesn’t have blood, obscene language, or realistic graphics it’s not a real shooter in his eyes…..smh

                  1. I’ve seen the gameplay footage, I’m not impressed.

                    Yeah, ikr, like those times I bought Metroid Prime, or those times where I bought GoldenEye 007, or Portal… it’s called an opinion.

                2. sherlockwillfightbilbo

                  The art style makes me think most people won’t buy it, which limits the online population severely. Furthermore, Nintendo’s online features are pretty lackluster so there’s doubt about how well the game will work.

                  The game has other problems but it hasn’t released yet and everything is subject to change.

              1. I’m not impressive with Kirby being moved with the stylus. Everything else did. I’m thinking of picking up Toad Treasure tracker this weekend. It looks very fun. But I’m worried that once I beat the game it will lose my value since the set ups are Hugh and don’t change. It just looks like if you play the stage once it is easy after that.

                1. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

                  Like me, I think you should wait until the price drops a little, I don’t think the current price justifies the purchase…

                2. Playing Zelda: Phantom Hourglass, Zelda: Spirit Tracks, & Kid Icarus Uprising definitely deter me from getting the Kirby game so I’ll pass.

          2. Sir Isaac Newton of Judah

            You need to calm down before you develop hypertension. If MS or Sony employ you, that is not our fault. A Metroid symbol and you are mad because us video game players of all creed are enjoying Nintendo making profits every where. It is the Christmas season, I shall pray for you.

            F=ma.

      2. The best week since launch and still worse than the other consoles?

        Also, all those 2015 games look fucking awful. Unless you like games where you paint walls. Lmao splatoon is the definition of child’s game.

        1. Zelda looks incredible. If you say it looks awful then you have 0 credibility. Hiding behind an anonymous name. How brave you are.

        2. Sir Isaac Newton of Judah

          We were all once children. Unlike others Nintendo caters to the whole demographic. young, in between and old. From Splatoon to devil’s third. Xenoblade Chronicles X, to Mario maker.

          F=ma.

          1. Nintendo didn’t make Devil’s Third. I don’t think Nintendo has ever actually made an M rated game before to be honest.

      3. No, CoD is the childs game. I guarantee there will be more adults in Splatoons Multiplayer, vs Cod’s.

        I’m guessing Nintendo sold about 500k Wii U’s that week. I’m also guessing that those sales will increase every week until the new year. Btw, you say 2015 games look awful? Name me just one game that can compete with Star Fox, Xenoblade, and Zelda… pffts.. enjoy your broken Driveclub..

          1. No, but it’s also not the only broken game. I guess I should have used a broken Xbox game as an example.. I actually enjoy the Ps4.

      4. Pingback: Official Wii U/ Nintendo Sales Thread - Page 39

      5. I’m glad to see it getting better at least. A few Wii U games I’m really looking forward to next year are Splatoon, Starfox, Legend of Zelda, and Xenoblade Chronicles X.

        1. Hollowedgrapesjuice u know what I’m looking forward? I’m looking forward that you can suck my 3inches dick really hard

      6. So Nintendo just confirmed that Splatoon and Yoshi’s Wooly World will be releasing in the first half of next year along with Kirby And The Rainbow Curse? 2015 is already looking good for Nintendo and I expect for a Nintendo Direct to be coming in January to gives us updates on the already announced games as well as a couple of surprises

        1. Don’t forget about Devil’s Third and the new Xenoblade for Wii U and don’t forget about the New 3DS which comes out in U.S in the Spring and the previous Xenoblade remake is coming too along with Project S.T.E.A.M!!! Oh and Star Fox is coming out “before” Zelda Wii U (which is obviously coming out for Christmas time next year), so We can expect Star Fox maybe in the middle of the year in 2015.

          Add in all the other games that we DON’T EVEN KNOW ABOUT YET and 2015 is looking mighty fine… mighty fine indeed. Also, we are getting more Mario Kart DLC , amiibos, Mewtwo DLC in smash…

          All this stuff I mentioned came off the top of my head so I KNOW I’m forgetting a bunch of stuff too…

      7. Glad to hear! Even if Nintendo isn’t “number 1” they are still thriving very well. Wii U is officially a success. Chalk that up for a point in Nintendo’s favor. They did a nice job turning things around. All they have to do is ride the hype train to the finish line.

        Hopefully their next console will be the one to finally lead the pack.

          1. Nintendo is making a profit off of every Wii U sold, the Wii U is selling much better at this present time than it did last year, Amiibos are selling out left and right, Smash Bros is dominating the US and Japanese sales charts, and Zelda has the whole gaming world buzzing about it so why in the hell would that not considered a success for the Wii U……smh.

            1. “Nintendo is making a profit off of every Wii U sold”
              That goes for nearly every other console out there

              amiibo has nothing to do with Wii U success

              “the Wii U is selling much better at this present time than it did last year,”
              Well nothing can beat last year honestly

              Smash isn’t dominating in UK or US.

              It’s not a success because it hasn’t beaten the competition. Would you say the GCN was a success because Nintendo is making a profit off of every GCN sold, the GCN is selling much better at this present time than it did last year, Melee is dominating the US and Japanese sales charts, and Twilight Princess has the whole gaming world buzzing about it?

              1. A console doesn’t have to “beat the competition” to be a success. It just has to be highly profitable and amiibos do count towards the Wii U’s success, because they are peripherals to the console. That’s like saying the games that come out for Wii U don’t count towards the console’s success, because they aren’t the actual consoles themselves.

                Anything made towards the Wii U attributes towards it’s success plain and simple.

                Wii U is a success, because Nintendo sees it as a success. That is all that matters to a company.

              2. Damn. You effectively just said the PS3 & XB360 were failures since they got beat by the Wii outselling them: the competition.

              1. It’s sold 8 million with next to little no advertising hardly on television but obviously your hatin ass didn’t get the memo and yes a product gaining profitability is important because it determines the longevity of ANY company. Yeah the PS4 is selling very well but what has it cost Sony financially? All of those PS4s being sold still won’t get Sony out of their NINE year financial debt and btw the Vita is still losing money for the gaming division. Sony may be winning the war but their dying from those battle wounds LOL

      8. Any word on if the majoras mask collectors edition will be coming to anywhere else besides Europe/Japan? Lucky bastards the lot of ye :p

      9. So Nintendo didn’t have to make any changes to increase Wii U sales….unlike Xbox One. Sad for Microsoft I know.

          1. Sir Isaac Newton of Judah

            The WiiU was built for affordability, with a well designed Chipset that houses a grand CPU with a GPGPU that produces 1080P/60fps games, while using less power consumption than the original Wii. Microsoft is losing money with each Xboxone sold at those low prices.

            F=ma.

            1. ” a grand CPU”
              News flash, the iPhone 5s has a faster CPU than Wii U

              “GPGPU that produces 1080P/60fps games”
              Yeah, loving those 3 1080p 60fps Wii U games right now

              Well designed? That explains all the complaints about Wii U being hard to develop for huh?

              1. I’m guessing IPhone five graphics are suited for Uncharted 4 then since the CPU is faster. Huh? Uncharted 4 looks really really good.

              2. I know that you are tech challenged so let me explain to you the abilities of the Wii U. First off the Wii U has a very efficient CPU that’s based off of Watson super computer meanwhile both the PS4 and Xbox One have mobile/tablet based APUs that come from AMD. One core of the Wii U’s CPU equals to two cores of the PS4’s and Xbox One’s APUs. And just so you know, the PS4 and Xbox One APUs are not really ” 8 cores ” their really quad core APUs with 4 caches with the cores being split up to make it into it being 8 cores. Because of the number of the cores and caches the PS4 and Xbox One have a very narrow slight edge over the Wii U but far from a decisive one and the Wii U’s CPU in a lot of cases has more advantages than the PS4’s and Xbox One’s do. Now as far as GPUs are concerned yes the PS4 and Xbox One’s are more powerful but it’s because their’s are more modern than the Wii U’s but the Wii U can still hold it’s own especially with it’s GPU having more than 3 times the eDram as the Xbox 360. So in a nutshell, the PS4 and Xbox One are more powerful consoles but the Wii U isn’t too far from them and games like Bayonetta 2, Smash Bros, Xenoblade Chronicles X and the new Legend Of Zelda all prove that 3rd party developers aren’t trying hard enough……..hater

                1. It seems you completely missed my point. Please read my comment above.

                  You know WHY third parties aren’t trying hard enough? EVEN IF THEY DO TRY HARD, THEY NEVER GET ANY SALES FROM THE FANBASE. Look at Bayonetta 2. Isn’t it some glory third party that you guys keep praising? And how is it doing right now? Complete shit

                  How am I a hater? I’m excited for Star Fox, I love Smash Wii U, and I bought the Wii U on day one. You really can’t tell the difference between a hater and someone who isn’t trapped in Nintendo’s dreamland

                  And the Wii U isn’t too far from them? Hahahahahahah

              3. Nintendo Commander Quadraxis

                And yet the Indie Tribes manage to make games without bigger problems along with certain Third Class Empires…

                The ones complaining are ironically the infidels known as Electrons, Ubisians and other mongrel inbred…

              4. The complaints against the Wii U being hard to develop for are WAY outdated. This was already explained months ago that when the Wii U was in prototype stage (when a lot of developers begin to create games for a newly launching console), the Wii U was not built well and was hard to develop for. However, after it’s initial launch and everything was ironed out, the Wii U is one of the easiest consoles to develop for.

                Only complaints now would be hardware limitations, but that doesn’t count towards “ease of development.” That counts towards “possibility of development.”

        1. Sir Isaac Newton of Judah

          My brother from Judah, yes they did not have too. Between the Amiibos, Bayonetta 2, Smash brothers WiiU 1080P/60fps, 3DS and a slew of hit games like Smash bros 3DS, Monster Hunter 4/ 4 Ultimate they made a lot of hard earned wise humble money.

          F=ma.

        2. Let’s see:
          We started off with 2 Wii U versions, Basic and Deluxe
          Deluxe was packaged with Nintendo Land
          Few months later they scrapped Basic bundle
          They released a new Deluxe bundle with WWHD
          For the next few months retailers kept on slashing the price of Wii U
          Holiday season Nintendo made a deluxe bundle with SM3DW and NSMBU
          Currently they have 3 different bundles:
          -Deluxe with SM3DW and SMBU]
          -Deluxe with NSMBU and NSLU
          -Deluxe with MK8 and Nintendo Land

          1. Yeah the 32gig version outsold the 8gig version. People.didn’t buy the cheaper $300 version. Not really a physical change. They just axed out the cheaper version Just one price cut that happened like 14 months ago. Every Wii U still comes with a game pad still. No additional gigs to wii U console. Nintendo just needs some experience how to hype and lie like Sony.

            1. Then explain all those game bundles. You mean they aren’t indirect price cuts??
              No additional gb is still bullshit from Nintendo
              And as usual, you fail to elaborate on how Sony ever lied. I don’t see Sony getting sued for false advertisement, I don’t see any complaints. What a fanboy…

          2. You forgot the other bundles with the GC adapter and Smash Bros Wii U. Great deal. I don’t think the Wii U is that hard to develop for. Just don’t want to go fro. An X86 to a power PC. Strange it is not problem making 360 games though. I wonder why?

          3. ” For the next few months retailers kept on slashing the price of the Wii U ”

            Yeah RETAILERS not NINTENDO Einstein and did retailers do those TWO price cuts for the Xbox One? Umm NO because MICROSOFT did. Thanks for owning yourself LOL

              1. ” What I’m saying is that retailers lost all confidence in Wii U and wanted to clear their shelves dumbass. ”

                Umm….yeah but Nintendo didn’t lose confidence in the Wii U but obviously Microsoft did with the Xbox One because they were the ones who OFFICIALLY cut the price not once but twice in less than a year and that was my point asswipe

        1. Launch sales of Wii U I think was over $3million in Novemeber. Though after that sales declined until Pikmin 3. Then they really increased when 3D world arrived until late January. Then we didn’t see any increase until MK8. Now Smash. I’m not sure if Yoshi can do it bit it may put some momentum on Wii U sales for a couple weeks. Starfox will really put a ton of momentum on Wii U before Zelda U. Then the next 3D Mario game.

      10. And yet no mention of Bayonetta 2, I don’t care if it sold 5 copies, Nintendo needs to also tell us how much it sold and continue bragging it has a 92 metascore.

      11. Wii U commanded only 6% of sales. Even Xbox 360 sold more. Even with Smash, Nintendo was unable to gain additional hardware sales.

        1. You are referencing a survey that pooled less people, than what was sold for Wii U on Ebay in 17 minutes on Black Friday.

      12. Question-What Wii U game are you all most looking forward to in 2015? Zelda is my most anticipated Wii U game for next year…

      13. Pingback: GAME Is Now Stocking Wave 2 Amiibo Figures | My Nintendo News

      14. Pingback: Nintendo reporto las mejores ventas del Wii U en una semana - TierraGamer

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