Nintendo Ships 50 Million Wii Consoles
The news was broken by Nintendo's own Satoru Iwata at the Game Developers Conference, where he also proclaimed that the Wii was the fastest selling game hardware in history. Specifically, about half of total sales were made in Canada and the United States, with Europe making up 40 percent and Japan the rest. If you'll recall, the Wii first took over in the US in November of 2006, while it launched in Japan and Europe the next month. During the lead-up to the Wii's release, many pundits doubted the Wiimote's ability to catch interest in the marketplace, and the fact that the Wii was underpowered compared to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 also didn't help matters. All that being true, Nintendo managed to push through and create a worldwide phenomenon. Even today it's tough to find ample stock in multiple stores, and we still figure that shortages will be present during the holiday season. Oh, and given that Nintendo also announced the 100 millionth DS shipment earlier this month, we'd say things are looking up for Mario and Company.
Comments
|
I had a wii.. got it at launch... then I sold it... now I want one again... dammit |
|
And they still can't meet demand... |
|
At least they are upping supply more than they were...as I said in a previous post, my Best Buy maybe got 20 once a month or so (obviously would disappear in a day) for more than a year -- now we pretty consistently get a handful on most trucks we get (2 trucks per week). I wonder if people are putting Wii's in every room of the house or something? |
|
Nope, they're just appealing to such a broad install base that electronics retailers, (and Nintendo even) can't predict how much actual demand there is. It's not like a traditional console like the 360 which has a burst of sales near the start when dedicated gamers make the switch, and then predictable demand throughout its life. The Wii is truly a different beast in more ways than just one. |
|
Yep, freeman hit the nail on the head. The Wii is unique, and the target audience for the Wii is why it is selling like it is. MS and Sony should take note that they are the only ones competing in the upper teens/twenties gamers market, where Wii is going for the kids and people that are casual gamers. As long as people dont stop having babies, Nintendo will keep selling very well. I also love that Nintendo actually makes money off of selling their console, not like MS or Sony that loose money on their console. |
|
great news for Nintendo, hopefully their next console will have great graphics and some other cool innovation. |
Post a Comment
