Will the Wii U ever sell 20 million units?

The current sales are at just under 9 million units sold worldwide. I'm wondering what games coming to the Wii U could sell another 9 million consoles from now until the end of it's life cycle? I mean most of the big hitters are already released now. Everyone is just waiting for Zelda and then what? Zelda will sell well to the current install base but I don't see it moving millions of Wii U's.

I say yes

depends on how long they stick with it, assuming it has 3 more years then yes but if only 2 years left then no

It'll outsell the PC.

I'd say so, but then again I can concede that maybe it won't.

I don't see it dropping price in future. And every game store I go to has the worst support for Wii U games. My local Best Buys don't carry much but an odd selection of Wii U games like Lego Hobbit and Batman Arkham Origins and what have you, the leftovers of what they can't sell, and absolutely no signature games for sale like Mario Kart 8, Hyrule Warriors, Smash Bros, Mario 3D World, Pikmin 3, Wind Waker HD, Zombie U. GameStop only carries used games, unless you buy from their initial shipment and inventory, but once that's gone it's all used. Target and Toys R US are the only retailers with any somewhat respectable Wii U section in my area and those aren't the kinds of places gamers go to shop for games, horrible selection of new copy inventory at a bad price.

If the market were the way it were 10 years ago, where gaming retailers tried to keep everything in inventory then sure I could see the Wii U doing much better, but not in these days where games are like collectibles, get them while they last.

Of course it will.....by the time PS5 and Nextbox hit.

It is more likely, but that depends on whether Nintendo will continue to support it in the next few years.

Nope.

It's sales seem to be accelerating, but I think it might barely touch 15 million, depending on when a successor is announced and then released.

I think the Wii U's inability to move consoles despite an excellent lineup might be a blessing in disguise for Nintendo fans who are sick of this crap. I'm one of the biggest Nintendo fans around, but we can't deny that Nintendo's been employing the "we can do whatever we want because we're Nintendo" mentality long enough, and in doing so, have been ignoring what their consumers have been asking for. I love my Wii U, and if Nintendo keeps pumping out the high quality exclusives, it may end up being my favorite Nintendo console ever, but Wii U owners have been placed at a severe disadvantage this generation because of Nintendo's arrogance toward the gaming industry.

Now, it must be acknowledged that we don't know how -- or even if -- Nintendo games would suffer if the company launched a more traditional gaming console, but the fact they haven't at least found some kind of middle ground means that Wii U owners who want to frequently play games are forced to either purchase a second console or develop a severe bitterness because their console of choice has some of the best games the industry has to offer but only sees a handful of these releases every year.

Of course, this is a well worn argument, because Nintendo fans have dealt with this for generations, but the fact that their newest console may not even approach GameCube numbers *might* force them to reevaluate their practices, and we *may* benefit because of it. But knowing Nintendo, we'll probably just be forced to deal with their shortcomings forever because new Zelda's and Mario's are always worth having their consoles.

maybe 20, with a price cut

I don't think it will, sales are at a massive crawl, and with some amazing games out right now at that.

The top Nintendo sellers are already released. Zelda will most likely only sell well to the the current install base. There aren't millions of people waiting to pickup a Wii U just for Zelda. Splatoon will be lucky to sell 1 million units. Star Fox never sold all that well. I personally think the vast majority of die hard Nintendo fans have already bought a Wii U.

If the Wii U manages to sell 20 million units in its lifetime I will be impressed, but I highly doubt it. The Gamecube went down to $99 and still only managed to sell 20 million units. Why would the Wii U fair any better?

20 million tops.

I've always figured 17-20 mill for the WiiU... closer to 17 probably.

Here's a question to you, TC? Do you really care if it does?

Maybe if it lasts 3 more years.

I obviously care enough to ask the question. I'm just wondering if it can approach Gamecube sales.

Well, considering you've said that you haven't had interest in what Nintendo has to offer (be it their games, hardware, whatever) in recent memory.

I currently own every Nintendo home console with the exception of the Wii U. If Star Fox U turns out to be a solid game then I'll pick up a Wii U, which hopefully will see a price drop soon.

Well I do hope so.. Although I've never been a huge Nintendo Fan, I still want them to continue being a huge part of the gaming industry..

so the new games that are coming out in 2015 are going to give it a bigger bump than mario kart/mario 3d/smash did? lmao

its at 9m WITH the bump it got from its biggest system sellers, kart and smash. those 2 franchises are the biggest kidtendo has to offer FACT. dont know why the hell u are assuming lesser franchises are going to give it a bigger bump and no they dont have the best exclusive lineup

Knowing him, he gets his jollies far more from watching Iwata swimming naked in a pool full of money than playing his "best exclusive content."

here is an interesting tidbit for those interested, ninty consoles sales, with the exception of wii which was lighting in a bottle, have been declining ever since nes. these numbers are official posted by ninty themselves, obviously wiiu number is outdated as its from march 2014

Do you think the Wii U actually has a shot to sell better than the Gamecube?

what increase are u talking about? wiiu shipped 5.86m in its first year so if the 9m figure is correct (last reliable figure we got was 7.29m shipped on 30th sep 2014) then wiiu sold better in its first year.

no shot in hell

Still waiting on Zelda, Starfox, Metroid...i think it is possible for it to reach 20million lifetime sales

No.......WiiU is a failure.

never

It's been on its death bed for a while. Just because Iwata keeps feeding it delicious grapes from time to time doesn't mean it's going to cure it.

I hope to pay my respects to it before it finally drops off, mainly for that Bayonetta 2 shaped grape.

It will be lucky to reach 15. Smash and Kart didn't do anything so their last hope is a huge price cut.

No. It'll probably be just shy.

I disagree with this, because I really just want Nintendo to give me a cheap way to play their games. They are never going to put a console out that can compete with my PC. I never buy anything but exclusives for any console, and Nintendo consistently puts out more high quality exclusives than Microsoft or Sony at a much lower price. Nintendo going the route of Sony/Microsoft (either releasing a $500-$600 console or subsidizing the price with an annual fee) would just make a purchase much harder to justify to me. I certainly wouldn't buy it within 2-3 years of the launch date, whereas I bought the Wii U on launch day.

Doubt it and the console is destined for last place this gen.

I think it will just scrape past 20 million before the end of its life; though by then the XBO and PS4 will likely both be past 60 million with some life left.

I don't think the xbox one is going to get anywere near 60 million until near the end of this gen if it does eventually get anywhere near 60 million.The xbox one is guaranteed to sell anywhere from 6-10 million per year(maybe more than that during peak years). I do not think the WiiU will ever get past 20 million, but it will get past 15 million eventually.

No, it won't. My final numbers are this:

PS4 - 100 million

Xbone - 50 million

Wii U - 18 million

The Wii U won't be able to compete with the other consoles sales wise or games wise.

Im guessing it will sell 15-20M lifetime. It will be one of those systems that didnt sell too well but will be remembered for its kick ass games.

If greedy Nintendo would cut the price to $169.99 than sure, I'd snap one up. :P

well it took 2 years for the Wii U to hit 9M so i'd say another 2 years for another 9M...yeah, they can hit that 20M mark.

did u even read my prediction? i said if they continued it for another 3 years then it might break 20m but if they sold it for another 2 years than no and averages are just that, averages. wii started off amazing and than died near the tail end, ps2 started slow but kept going. wiiu best days might be behind it, if wiiu did sell less in its 2nd year than whos to say the sales dont decline further in the third year.

also gamecube was being sold for $99 2 years after its release, that is the only way it reached 20m. u must be in lala land thinking wiiu is gona outsell gamecube

It most likely will with price cuts, bundles new marketing campaigns and game releases. And if it doesn't, its because nintendo doesn't even have that as a target and didn't make the slightest efforts in reaching it.

Selling an additional 10 million in two years isn't that hard with the right price. I just don't think it matters all that much. Console has been profitable for a while and the user base seems to be supporting development costs so far so...

You must be high if you think thats gonna happen lol

I think it's going to exceed that and break 200 million when its all said and done. I mean hey, the Chinese launch is just right around the corner.

So the PS4 is gonna be the best selling console ever? Its gonna move more units than the PS2, in this day and age?

Bwuahahahahahhah