Wii U sales surge year-over-year as 3DS profit falls… wait, what?

It might seem an odd headline to actually see in print, but the Nintendo Wii U is enjoying a sales boom, which the handheld 3DS is faltering a bit.

Of course, it’s pretty easy to see what the 3DS isn’t doing the bang-up business that people have become used to seeing. The reason of course, is that there’s a console refresh on the way for the handheld that includes a second analog stick (of sorts). If you were in the market for one, ‘why buy now’ would be the question that you’d have to ask yourself.

The Wii U on the other hand, that one just kind of came out of nowhere. The console, which had struggled so mightily at launch and for a full year and some odd months afterwards, has started to turn it around. Now, with over 7 million units sold, it still doesn’t hold a candle to the impressive record of the Sony PS4 or even the Microsoft Xbox One really. How’s that possible when the Xbox One seems to have about the same sales numbers as the Wii U? Easy- though the number might seem similar, it’s important to remember that the Wii U had a year’s head start on the two other consoles, so it’s really not as close as it seems. You wouldn’t say, after all, that the Wii or PS3 is beating any of the current-gen consoles would you? No, probably not, and that’s because they’ve been on sale a heck of a lot longer.

That’s not to downplay what’s happening here though, merely to put in a little perspective. The bottom line is that the Wii U has doubled its year-over-year sales and is finally showing the promise that fans were hoping for when it debuted back in Holiday 2012. And with titles like the long-awaited Bayonetta 2, Super Smash Bros, and Captain Toad: Treasure Tracker on the way fort this buying-season, it should get even more of a kick in the pants. And that’s something that’s good for everyone.

Source: MCV