Wii U Sales Increased, 1.19 Million Units Sold

Some of the level making possible in "Super Mario Maker." http://supermariomaker.nintendo.com/

After going through a slump, it looks like things are back to being fine for Nintendo, as the company’s console the Wii U has sold 1.19 million units in the last six months. The company’s Amiibo figurines are also doing well and have been a favorite purchase among many Nintendo fans.

The reasons for the company’s newfound success with the Wii U seem to be related to the new CEO Tatsumi Kishima. According to The Verge, these were the first sales figures that were shown since the new CEO took over. This is good news considering how Nintendo had recently lost Satoru Iwata last July, but it seems like the company is in good spirits again.

One other reason the Wii U has been doing well has been certain games that are exclusive to the platform, like “Super Mario Maker” and “Splatoon.” GameSpot stated that both games played a role in revitalizing the platform, since previous games for the console have mostly been ports of older games.

“Mario Maker” alone sold 1.8 million units worldwide and was popular enough to get a Wii U bundle that came with the game. “Splatoon” sales are also up, reaching 2.42 million units being sold.

While sales for the Wii U have gone up, it looks like the same thing can’t be said for the company’s handheld the 3DS. This is likely due to the lack of any major games coming to the platform. It’s reportedly a minor slip and nothing a high profile release can’t fix, like next month’s “Yo-Kai Watch.”

Taken as a whole, it seems like the success of the Wii U was due to exclusive games for the console, one of which is an original IP and the other is a new twist on an old formula. The popularity of both games shouldn’t be underestimated, as the Inklings from “Splatoon” are set to appear in the fan favorite “Super Smash Bros.” fighting game.

The sales for the console should continue to do well, with upcoming releases like a new “Legend of Zelda” game and the highly anticipated “Pokken Tournament” coming next year. This should tide fans over before the arrival of the next Nintendo console, currently called the NX.