Wii U Sales: 3DS and Xbox 360 Outsell Nintendo Home Console
The Wii U was outsold by both the Xbox 360 and 3DS in the U.S. for the month of October, according to numbers released by Microsoft.
Gamespot reported that the 360 sold 166,000 units while the 3DS pushed an astounding 452,000. The 360 was the top seller of the home console's while the the 3DS handheld was top seller in overall sales, which includes the 2DS.
Microsoft revealed that they made $283 million in overall video games sales, which includes consoles, accessories, hardware, and software.
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The Xbox One is arriving to shelves on November 22, with around 1 million pre-ordered. However, the 166,000 360's sold is a testament to Microsoft's popularity in the U.S. The PS4 is expected to sell more than the next Microsoft console, and even more so globally.
However, Wii U sales have spiked in Japan thanks in large part to the release of Wii Party U and its great opening sales numbers.
Wii U Party sold around 80,000 copies in its launch week in Japan. "Wii Party U is the first Wii U title to make it into the top 10 in a while," said visual studies professor at Ritsumeikan University, Akinori Nakamura, to Famitsu magazine. "Considering that the Wii U still has a while to go in terms of hardware propagation, selling nearly 80,000 copies in the first is a pretty decent number."
In the first week of November alone, Japan sold 40,000 Wii U units, a 1,500 percent increase. In September they sold about 1,000 a week, according to Polygon.
"Family/party games are always strong holiday sellers, and you can see how this game might be a long-seller," Nakamura said. "Casual games like these have moved over to smartphones and tablets in droves as of late. Wii Party U has taken assorted steps to emphasize the experience of playing in front of a big screen; it's a 'casual' title, but on a design level, it's very different from a smartphone game."
Wii Party U was released on October 31 in Japan and on October 25 in the U.S. and Europe.
