Pikmin 3 enters UK chart at number 2

McHaggis

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Nintendo's latest Wii U exclusive has made its debut at number two in the UK all-format software charts, an impressive showing that was only denied top-spot by a significant surge in sales for Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition. It's all-the-more notable considering the Wii U's modest userbase to date, while the original Pikmin only managed number 32 back in 2004, though that was nearer its system's launch.​

For any other game on any other console I'd have just shrugged at this, but for the struggling Wii U I find this rather interesting. The Wii U itself is (was?) barely selling in the UK, so it's surprising to see even a first-party release in the top 5.

If anything, this proves how strong Nintendo's brand is for software. With more 1st party titles on the way over the next few months, do you think this is only the first step in the successful resuscitation of the Wii U?

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BlackWizzard17

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Of course this does not matter to me as I don't like pikmin but it is good to know that if these first party games can sell a lot then third party companies would be able to open the brains and port good and new ports with full features from there competitors
 

FAST6191

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Normally we do not go in for sales news but this is an upset of sorts so it counts.

What I do want to ponder though is given we are technically in the middle of the mid year drought might that have troubled things as far as stats go?
 

xist

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With only a week of sales data unfortunately this doesn't mean anything....the game starvation the Wii U has seen, the sudden promotion of Pikmin 3 on freely available TV channel adverts and the desperation of people for some reason to use their Wii U's could all account for this initial flurry.

The question is will it remain selling at a good rate, because if these figures (Over 5.729 - Under 16.102 according to a guy on Neogaf) disappear it'll be more worrying...it's much better to have a slow burner with sustained sales than a couple of weeks of fame and then nothing. This game alone, especially after one week, is not enough to say anything about the fate of the Wii U other than quite a few people in the UK actually own the console and want games gaems.

(and being beaten by Minecraft would irritate me if I were a U owner.)
 
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Hadrian

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"Holy shit, Sainsbury's are now selling 5 Wii U games".

That was my first thought when I saw this on sale, the other 4 games were Injustice, NSMBU, Some Ubisoft budget sports game and LEGO City Stories. I never saw any other Wii U releases likes RE: Revelations.

The sales are not surprising to me, most places have it for 35 quid (Nintendo could easily charge more what with the drought) and it's not just one of the most anticipated Wii U titles but one of the years, people have been wanting this game for several years.

Dunno if it would have much impact on the sales of the console but it won't hurt and they will rise as Nintendo themselves have at least one big release a month between now and Xmas, there could even be a big spike in sales that'll make the Wii U look like it's doing well but then the Dreamcast had the same thing and then the PS2 came out...

I can't believe people are so eager to play LEMMINGS 3 ;O;
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xist

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This is definite proof that the Wii U sales aren't as bad as people make them out to be.
Or every single person with a Wii U bought the game.

No it's not. If the sales abruptly cease or even rapidly decline next week and those following it's potentially worse news as it's indicative people aren't being spurred to buy new Wii U consoles.

Until we have more data it doesn't mean anything.
 

Gahars

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This is definite proof that the Wii U sales aren't as bad as people make them out to be.
Or every single person with a Wii U bought the game.

The problem is that this doesn't list how many copies were actually sold, which is kind of important in determining if this is actually a big win or if it reached its position because people are buying less games right now.

The Wii U has only managed to sell 179k units in the UK since January, so it's pretty clear the system's sales are weak in the region. If I had to be a sourpuss, and I do, I'd say that the latter option is closer to the truth. Pikmin 3 is the first high profile exclusive to come out in a long while, and it doesn't really have any competition on the system; if you're a Wii U owner, Pikmin 3 is just about all you have right now. These factors are probably driving the surge in sales more than anything else.

If the game can maintain its sales and spur more people to pick up the system, that will be a success for Nintendo. Until we see that happen, however, it's a bit too early to celebrate.
 
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McHaggis

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Wait wait wait... It got beaten by a retail release of an already digitally released game that's been out for years?

In some (not all :P) fairness, Pikmin was released on Friday (so it's Minecraft's 7 days vs 3 days), and retail sales could have been hampered by download sales due to the promotion for 30% off The Wonderful 101 you get if you buy Pikmin 3 from the eShop.

The Wii U has only managed to sell 179k units in the UK since January, so it's pretty clear the system's sales are weak in the region. If I had to be a sourpuss, and I do, I'd say that the latter option is closer to the truth. Pikmin 3 is the first high profile exclusive to come out in a long while, and it doesn't really have any competition on the system; if you're a Wii U owner, Pikmin 3 is just about all you have right now. These factors probably driving the surge in sales more than anything else.
FWIW, I'm a Wii U owner and I'm passing on Pikmin 3 right now. I remember enjoying Pikmin, but not enough to buy the sequel or this iteration of the series. I'm just patiently waiting for other games at this point, though I lament being an early adopter of the Wii U. I hope sales keep up for the sake of the console, but I suspect you might be right.
 

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I'm glad the Wii U sold so many copies of a game: but I think it'll have to have another success story with another game before people take a gamble to release other games for the system.
 
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Deleted_171835

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Am I the only one not particularly impressed that a somewhat high profile release only topped #2 in a dead week and was beaten by a retail release of Minecraft for the Xbox 360?

Like if this was September it'd be a completely different ballgame but alas it's not.
Eh, Minecraft also got third spot in the June NDP. It's still crazy popular.
 

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