The numbers are in, and Nintendo’s new Wii has sold through to more than 600 000 consumers in America in the first eight days of its availability. For those of you who are not mathematically minded, let me work out an interesting stat for you, these figures mean that nearly every second since the launch of the Wii in the US, a Wii has sold. The Wii has become the cash cow that most predicted, becoming a $190 million business (including just first party software and accessories). Over Thanksgiving there was an unspoken consensus in the US, if you see a Wii, you had better buy it!

You just gotta-have 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,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, President of Nintendo America. “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.”

Attracting both new and hardcore gamers

Nintendo’s plan was to appeal to non-traditional as well as current gamers, and it seems they are doing just that - and more! The Wii includes Wii Sports, which features five games on one disk, and reports on the internet indicate how many non-gamers have been attracted to the wonderful world of gaming after having experienced the unique Wii controller. It also helps when one of your launch titles happens to be none other than epic The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. It seems the game has lived up to the hype, with more than 454 000 units being sold in the US, a hardy 75% of all hardware purchases.

Licensees happy with sales

Licensees are pleased with how well the Wii has sold, but also had a bit to add about its creative development capabilities. EA Studio President Paul Lee commented “Madden NFL 07 is a great example of how the Wii gives players a whole new experience on their favourite games. EA’s creative teams are working to build more Wii features into some of our most popular franchises.”

Ubisoft President Laurent Detoc said, “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. Having the opportunity to design and develop entirely new game play experiences using the Wii Remote and Nunchuck is both exciting and rewarding.”

Blast from the past

The Wii also features downloadable Virtual Console titles, and these older, classic games are also proving to be a hit. Featuring the best of Nintendo, Sega Genesis and TurboGrafx 16, did anyone expect any less?