Wii U suffers historically bad US sales performance

Estimated sales of just 64,000 units in February have left Wii U facing up to the reality of being the worst selling new console in two generations.

Many had expected a better performance last month after an influx of pre-owned units on the market in January was blamed for poor sales at the turn of the year.

In fact, Gamasutra reports that sales in January were so poor that Wii U posted worse numbers than were ever seen with PS3, Xbox 360, PS2, Xbox or Wii.

Interestingly the only console that has in recent memory posted comparable numbers was the GameCube, and only then when the machine was on its last legs and its successor had already been announced.

Xbox and PlayStation machines have only ever posted similar numbers in weeks before a price cut was scheduled to be introduced.

Voices of dissent from within the industry are growing increasingly louder, with the perception being that Nintendo has to act quickly if Wii U is to reverse its fortunes.

Big hopes are now pinned on upcoming Wii U exclusive LEGO City Undercover, which hits the UK on March 28th. The game has a fairly decent 79 per cent average on Metacritic, but with Wii U’s install base still disappointingly small the game will have to hit the status of system seller if it is to have an overtly positive impact.