Wii U sells less units but for more revenue

The Wii U's sales may not have quite matched those of its predecessor, but it's winning in one significant area. Nintendo revealed today that the system has brought in $300 million in the U.S. with 890,000 units sold after 41 days on the market, whereas the original Wii had pulled down $270 million by this point in its lifespan.

"While the Wii launch established new benchmarks in the United States, Wii U has surpassed its predecessor in perhaps the most important category: revenue generation," said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America executive VP of sales and marketing.

The comparison should come with some footnotes, however--Wii U is more expensive than Wii, with its Basic and Deluxe sets respectively costing $50 and $100 more than the Wii's $250 launch price, thus less consoles sell for more. Wii U is also sold at a loss for Nintendo, albeit a relatively slight one.

With that in mind, Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata's recent pronouncement that Wii U sales are "not bad" makes it sound a bit more like the two gentlemen are describing the same console.