It is surprising the Wii U still doesn’t have a price or a release date. However, Nintendo has revealed that they have high hopes for the console. Nintendo hid a Wii U sales forecast in its recent quarterly financial results.

According to NowGamer, Nintendo’s Quarter 1 Financial Year of 2013 report reveals that Nintendo expects to shift a combined total of 10.5 million Wii and Wii U consoles before April next year.

Wii sales have declined at a rate of about five million units a year since sales peaked in 2009, and the recent announcement of 710,000 Wii sales during Q1 of FY2013 confirms the same rate of decline, which is down 156,000 units during the same period last year.

This suggests that Nintendo will sell less than five million Wii consoles this year, and that means the 10.5 million sales projection comprises around 5.5 million Wii units.

Here are Wii sales via the yearly sales figures below:

9,840,000 FY2012
15,080,000 FY2011
20,530,000 FY2010
25,950,000 FY2009
18,610,000 FY2008
5,840,000 FY2007 (launch)

96,560,000 Lifetime sales to date (as of June 2012)

Wii U is set to launch some time this Holiday season, meaning Nintendo will have at least three months to sell 5.5 million of them. Who plans on getting a Wii U for Christmas?