The Wii U has hit a low point in terms of sales for the month of January, selling around 57,000 units during the month, according to a report by the NPD Group. February did not fare much better for the system, as it managed a slight boost to 64,000 units, Gamasutra reports.
While hardware sales are down overall thanks to the speculation around the next-gen consoles, the Wii U managed to sell significantly less units than the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360, despite being the first next-gen console available to consumers. To put the numbers in perspective, IGN states that the Xbox 360 sold the most units during January, selling 302,000 units, over five times the amount of units the Wii U sold.
A large part of the problem is the lack of software available to Wii U owners since the launch. Many are pointing to the upcoming Lego City Undercover to be the first major game out for the console in months after it's release. However, one game will probably not be enough the reverse the poor sales for the Wii U.
In addition, of the top 10 software sales the NPD Reports, only four are available for the Wii U (note: NPD lumps together all sales of a game together, so there are no individual numbers for each consoles. NPD also does not keep track of digital sales, DLC or in-game purchases) This does not signal that the Wii U is in good health.
The Wii U needs to improve sales dramatically if it is going to survive the current environment. The system has sold 3 million units before the end of the year last year, so it can be successful, but it needs the software in order to do so. Hopefully Lego City Undercover is the start of an upward trend on that front, and leads to more overall success for Nintendo.
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