Nintendo Ships 50 Million Wii Consoles
If you've been following along, you won't be at all shocked by this news. If not, you still probably won't find it too hard to believe. What we're alluding to is the fact that Nintendo has just shipped its 50 millionth Wii console -- a tidbit that you'd already know if you realized that AMD just shipped the 50 millionth Wii GPU and IBM just shipped the 50 millionth Wii CPU.
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.
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.
