The Wonderful 101 initial Japanese shipment just 30,000 - rumour

According to a Japanese retail report, Nintendo has released just 30,000 copies of The Wonderful 101 in Japan.

The news comes via Siliconera, but originated with Sinovi, a blog about Japanese games retail which has a spotty track record for accuracy with its sources.

It's a significantly smaller shipment than one would expect for a new major release, and even allowing for inaccuracies, that the report went live at all suggests the shipment size is at least a little smaller than is usual.

A reduced initial shipment suggests either an attempt to drum up interest via artificial shortages or, more likely, that Nintendo has low sales expectations. That's puzzling, given Platinum Games' track record, but the Wii U install base is still quite small.

The Wonderful 101 has had some great reviews, although Dave found it a bit frustrating. It hits Europe on August 23, Japan on August 24 and North America on September 15.

Thanks, CVG.