Nintendo has announced that only 160,000 Wii U consoles were sold during the April-June quarter, worldwide.
The console was first launched in November of last year. 425,000 consoles were sold in the first week in the U.S. alone, but it appears that sales has plummeted in recent months. The 160,000 figure includes 90,000 units sold in Japan, 60,000 in the Americas and only 10,000 units in Europe and elsewhere. As a comparison, the Xbox 360 sold 140,000 units in the United States just in June.
Nintendo said that the poor result was due to the lack of first-party releases. A strong line-up including new Mario, Donkey Kong, Zelda games, and an updated version of Wii Fit, is expected to lift console sales according to Nintendo.
Nintendo says that better communication of the benefits of the Wii U is also needed to lift sales.
"Moreover, Nintendo strives to improve the sales by communicating the compelling nature of our hardware and software to as many people as possible through our new network service called 'Miiverse,' which offers an environment where people can empathize with others and share their gaming experiences. We also strive to improve hardware profitability by reducing its costs," explains Nintendo.
Lifetime Wii U sales now stand at 3.61 million units, some ways off the 9 million units Nintendo's sales forecasts predicts for March 2014; a forecast that Nintendo still stands by.
In related news, major UK retailer ASDA has announced that they have stopped carrying stock of the Wii U at its stores due to low demand.
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