Almost 2 million Wiis in US by year's end[/size]
Reggie tells Reuters that 1 million Wiis will be in the US by early December and expects an additional million in the country by the second week of January.
By Michael Kanellos, News.com
Nintendo will bring approximately 2 million Wii game consoles to the US by the end of the year, a wave of machines that could help the company gain ground in the console wars.
Speaking with Reuters, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said that he expects 1 million Wiis in the region by early December and 2 million by the second week of January. The previous official company line simply stated that 4 million Wiis would be available worldwide by the end of the year.
Nintendo plans to restock US distributors and retailers on a weekly basis, according to the company. The console will next launch in Japan on December 2 and in Europe on December 8. Earlier this month, Nintendo said it would ship around 400,000 consoles into Japan this year.
Of the three console makers, Nintendo so far seems to have done the most thorough job in getting retailers and distributors stocked. The $250 Wii console, which went on sale over the weekend, was available in several retail outlets. Some early buyers are selling consoles on eBay, but generally current bidding is in the $300 to $400 range with games and extras.
By contrast, Sony will only bring a few hundred thousand PlayStation 3 consoles to the states by the end of the year, according to various estimates. eBay bidders are putting $700 and $900 bids on the $499 and $599 consoles. (Some buyers are listing minimum bids of $1,000 or more, but these auctions have attracted few punters.)
Last year, Microsoft found itself short of Xbox 360 consoles. Rumors of new waves of supply would cause lines to form at certain retailers. Some Web sites reported that using specific code words with in-store sales reps could get them to bring out a console from the stock room.
Supply, though, improved after that and Microsoft says that, by December, a cumulative 10 million Xbox 360s will have shipped. Microsoft, though, is still having trouble gaining traction in Japan.
DS sells 7 million in Europe[/size]
Six of the portable's games have sold 1 million; Nintendogs has sold more than 4 million.
By Emma Boyes, GameSpot UK
With the Wii launching smoothly in the US and with preorders on Amazon UK selling out in minutes, Nintendo already has quite a lot to be happy about this week.
Now, Nintendo has announced that sales for the Nintendo DS have reached the 7 million unit mark in Europe. Several key titles for the dual-screen portable also have enjoyed strong sales, including Nintendogs (4 million copies) and Mario Kart DS (1.5 million copies). Dr. Kawashima's Brain Training, Animal Crossing: Wild World, New Super Mario Brothers, and Super Mario 64 have all topped 1 million in Europe, as well.
"We are delighted by the success of the Nintendo DS and DS Lite and especially pleased to see that we have exceeded the one million mark with games that appeal to both non-gamers and traditional gamers," said Laurent Fischer, Nintendo's European marketing director, in a statement. "Nintendo is proud of its role in expanding the gaming market and we hope to continue this success with the launch of Wii in Europe in December."
I like Nintendo. The DS is great, the Wii looks mint (anyone actually got one yet?), they have an exclusive Sonic game coming out...i think the Wii will probably give the 360 a run for its money at the end of the generation providing the controllers dont turn out to be gimmicks that get abandoned.
Sen
Topic: 2 million Wii's in US by end of year (Read 561 times)