Are you sitting down? This may come as quite a shock to you, but it appears Nintendo has sold more than 600,000 Wiis since they launched the little white machine. In fact, the company saw it necessary to flood media inboxes everywhere with a press release saying so.
Built on a foundation of pure fun, Nintendo’s new Wii™ video game system sold through to more than 600,000 consumers in the Americas in just its first eight days of availability. That’s a rate of nearly one per second continuously since the Nov. 19 launch. Including just first-party software and accessory sales, Wii instantly has become a $190 million business in the Americas.
Want more self-serving masturbatory Nintendo action? Check after the break. Be prepared though, because you may also be shocked to know that Zelda sold very well. Surprising, I know, but I swear it's for reals.
REDMOND, Wash., Nov. 27, 2006 - Built on a foundation of pure fun, Nintendo’s new Wii™ video game system sold through to more than 600,000 consumers in the Americas in just its first eight days of availability. That’s a rate of nearly one per second continuously since the Nov. 19 launch. Including just first-party software and accessory sales, Wii instantly has become a $190 million business in the Americas.
During the Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend, there was plenty of conversation across the nation about the high demand for the Wii system, with the acknowledgment that if you see one, you’d better buy it.
“Even with sales already in excess of 600,000 units, demand continues to exceed supply, as it’s clear this is one of the ‘gotta-have’ products for the holiday season,” says Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “We’ve shipped retailers several times the amount of hardware the other company was able to deliver for its launch around the same time - and we still sold out. Given the inclusive nature of Wii game play, we’re seeing this new form of video gaming is already a huge hit with gamers and newcomers alike. It continues to be a phenomenal launch.”
The system also is succeeding in its stated mission of reinvigorating current players, while attracting new ones. Every Wii system includes the five-game Wii Sports™ software, which is the talk of the Internet, featuring countless reports on how previously devout non-gamers have suddenly been converted via the amazing new way games are experienced using the system’s remarkable controller. At the same time, the masterful The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess, a favorite of avid gamers, already has achieved sales of more than 454,000 units in the Americas, representing more than 75 percent of all hardware purchasers.
Licensees, pleased not only with the sales performance of the Wii, but also its creative development capabilities, are publicly sharing their comments:
“Madden NFL 07 is a great example of how the Wii gives players a whole new experience on their favorite games,” says EA Studio President Paul Lee. “EA’s creative teams are working to build more Wii features into some of our most popular franchises.”
“The creativity we’ve been able to unleash on the Wii system with our game Red Steel has been eye-opening for our development teams,” explains Ubisoft President Laurent Detoc. “Having the opportunity to design and develop entirely new game-play experiences using the Wii Remote and Nunchuk is both exciting and rewarding.”
Classic games also are proving to be a hit on Wii, which offers downloadable access to 20 years of the best of Nintendo®, Sega Genesis® and TurboGrafx16™ hits via the system’s Virtual Console™ feature.
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Contest:
7:44 PM on 11.27.2006
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If you start foaming at the mouth every time somebody says something about your console company of choice that may be construed as negative, you really have to recheck your position in life.
Grow up.
I can't be the only one that sees the pattern of Wii news being shown in the worst possible light when Summa is involved.
I merely suggest he let someone else post the Nintendo news and see if it gets the same reaction when his obvious sarcasm towards Nintendo is removed from the front page. What has that got to do with defending anything? Seems to me he's constantly whining about not being able to satisfy the Nintendo Fanboys well lets see if its him or them at fault.
And frankly if he posted just half the sarcastic, incorrect flamebait in the comments section as anyone other than himself he'd get told to piss right off. Kinda like you're doing to me now.
I'm merely being sarcastic about the news itself, not Nintendo. But you fanbots are quick to jump on me about any perceived bias.
If it bothers you that much, just head on over to Kotaku for your Nintendo news. You know you CAN filter out what you see on the Destructoid website. Personally, I really don't care. Summa isn't being a journalist here; he's being a blog writer. Last time I checked, someone writing in a semi-informal style on a weblog is allowed to be more opinionated than others.
Plus, as far as I can tell, he did some excellent Wii coverage shortly before its release. I learned a lot about the system from his videos.
So dude, just stop this personal crusade. You aren't going to change anything, and you're just wasting your time.
I was a little irked by the opening statement... It's like they're telling us the Wii was made using rainbows and children's laughter.
Multinational corporation sends positive press release about self!
Internet fanboys angry about sarcasm!
Devil's advocate net journalist continues to troll!
Let's all stop being so melodramatic here. So summa likes ragging on the wii. Who the fuck cares? Are you afraid his opinion is going to somehow rub off on you and make you start hating the wii? Feel free to take summa's posts with a grain or two of salt.
Fsking love the pic, though.
But I digress, my attempt at trying to effect change has gone from rational argument, to petty name calling and now pointless repetition.
I appologise to anyone I've bored to death with my rants, my intentions were always concerned with the flip arrogance attached to the news and not a considered opinion. Consider the matter closed.
However, for the record, I didn't really think this news post was that bad. The majority of the other Summa-ites are though.
Deiga - I was a little irked by the opening statement... It's like they're telling us the Wii was made using rainbows and children's laughter. You say that like that's not true. Of course Wii's made of rainbows and laughter! (With a dash of puppies to boot!)
Isn't it...?
Please stop jumping down Summa's throat whenever he posts about Nintendo. It's old meme.
If you have time to get upset over the internet then you should go find something constructive to do, because you're not going to make a difference There's nothing wrong with a little sarcasm, unless you're one of the idiots who take the internet too seriously ;)
Dtoid Rules!
i see summa's point, but compared to sony's arrogant attitude, i honestly still prefer some nintendo pr-masturbation, i mean at least they manage to release their device in all 3 mayor regions within less than a month, something sony never achieved yet.
I'm on board with the STFUAJPG idea.