Nintendo Wii Sales Record

Nintendo today revealed that it has come close to setting a record for sales of its Wii console over the Thanksgiving week, selling about 350,000 units in the seven-day span for the US alone. The number is a jump of roughly 50,000 over the previous week, the company says; the result is less than the 600,000 units sold on launch a year ago but shows the console selling at least as well as it did in the immediate aftermath of the release. About 40 percent of total sales were from Americans and Canadians while about 35 percent came from Asia, particularly Japan.

While positive, the surge of demand is also creating shortage problems for the console. Production has been stepped up to 1.8 million units per month but is still said to be inadequate, with virtually every unit selling out and many games also selling very quickly.

"I couldn't find a single Wii system on the shelves — literally as I was walking into a Wal-Mart at 11 a.m., someone was walking out with the last one," says Nintendo's American chief, Reggie Fils-Aime.

The spike comes as Sony reported tripled PS3 sales due to its lower-cost 40GB PS3 model, increasing pressure on both Nintendo and also challenging Microsoft's Xbox 360.

By Electronista Staff