Did you know that lots of people have bought Nintendo Wii consoles? Yes, it's true. But how many machines have been sold in the United States, for example? Here comes an official Nintendo announcement with the answer: thirty million.
That's one console sold for every ten American citizens, which adds up to a whole lot of Wii Sports. But what does Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing Cammie Dunaway think about this figure?
This milestone is another reminder that people want fun games they can play with others – all at a value-minded price.
So remember kids – the Wii is about fun games you can play with others and not serious games you play on your own.
Selling those 30m consoles in just 45 months, the Wii reached the magic number over one year quicker than the next best-selling console. With the DS holding firm as the UK's best-selling console and the Wii still conquering America, Nintendo must be wondering how its new 3DS is going to perform sales-wise. Based on our time spent with the machine, the answer is "very well indeed."
Nintendo’s internal sales figures show that the Wii™ video game system has now sold 30 million units in the United States alone. This significant milestone was reached in just 45 months. This further establishes Wii as the fastest-selling console in the history of the industry, reaching this milestone 15 months faster than the next best-selling console.
Wii launched in November 2006 and ushered in a new era of video games. The built-in motion controls of the iconic Wii Remote™ controller drew millions of new players to the world of video games. Kids started playing with their parents and grandparents, people got up off the couch and got active, and seniors and baby boomers formed virtual bowling leagues.
“More than any other video game system in history, Wii has expanded the world of video games to new audiences,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “This milestone is another reminder that people want fun games they can play with others – all at a value-minded price.”
To continue building on this foundation, Wii has a strong slate of games on the way for the fall. These include Metroid™: Other M on Aug. 31, Samurai Warriors™ 3 on Sept. 27, Kirby’s Epic Yarn™ and Wii Party™ this fall, and Donkey Kong Country™ Returns, FlingSmash™ and PokéPark™ Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure for the holidays. That’s in addition to New Carnival Games from 2K Play in September, NBA JAM from EA Sports in October, GoldenEye 007 from Activision and Just Dance 2 from Ubisoft this fall, and Disney Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive Studios and Sonic Colors from SEGA during the holidays.
The Wii video game system is now available in either black or white at a suggested retail price of $199.99. That price offers a great value to consumers, as it includes two engaging games, Wii Sports™ and Wii Sports Resort™, as well as the Wii Remote™ and Nunchuk™ controllers and a Wii MotionPlus™ accessory, which brings additional precision to specially designed games.
Comments 41
Way to go, Nintendo!
"That's one console sold for every ten American citizens"
-WOW!
the 3DS is already guaranteed to sell billions because so many people (especially casual gamers) are into the 3D craze. I loved the stab a Dunaway's statement, little kings story is indeed a great game!
I thought the Wii sold over 70 million.
@Dragoon: worldwide, yes.
But that's SO impossible, the Wii is "supposed to suck SO badly". Pfffft. lol
Once you figure in the Wii's reliability compared to other consoles and the lack of any transfer system, it's even more impressive. These numbers are probably only very mildly inflated by replacement systems compared to, say, Xbox.
The Wii prints money!
"So remember kids – the Wii is about fun games you can play with others and not serious games you play on your own." BS! I hardly ever play casual games on my Wii and the vast majority of my games are serious games I play on my own. It sounds like with that line that this guy thinks the Wii is only for kids and its not!!!
YEAH NINTENDO!!!! THE BEST SINCE THE LATE 70's UP UNTIL NOW.
My Wii games are mostly single player or online multiplayer only. I also own more 3rd party than 1st party games.
Great Job Nintendo Your the oldest company I know of survived hardships even 50 Years before you made Videogames, have great Iconic Characters like Kirby and Samus. You truly are the best even if some say your kiddy, plus you make some really great Japanese only games like ouendan, and cool Club Nintendo stuff, you reward the fans with tangible Items unlike most Microsoft and Sony stuff. (I just wish more so called Hardcore would buy more Nintendo Stuff)
@Marcus09 you mean the best form late 70's up PAST NOW. weve still got the 3DS to look forward too.
Just because something is popular doesn't make it good. There are a lot of popular things that I strongly dislike.
Interesting how they keep saying "next best selling console" but neglect to mention any names.
Congratulations Nintendo! You've just sold over 30 million Wii consoles in the past 45 months! What are you going to do now?
Nintendo: "We're going to......THE BANK!"
Thought I was going to say "Disneyland?" Pfffft.
Nintendo rules!
@PunnyGuy
Disneyland? Nintendo can make their own amusement park...
@JesusSaves
Just cause your model crashed that often doesn't mean everyone's does. Same thing with the Xbox360...just cause it has such a high failure rate doesn't mean everyone's will crash.
let's not insult other users, please -- TBD
Toot, Toot
Nice Tag
Good on ya Nintendo!! WOOT. Wii LOVE YOU
Great job Nintendo.
I would have guessed Prosody wrote this post because of that link to Little King's Story
Wii - 70+ Million Worldwide and still selling!
PS2- 140+ Million Worldwide and still selling!
Still got a ways to go to top the highest selling ever Nintendo!
@lz: funny, i would've guessed it was written by Prosody since it's credited to James Newton. :3
Nintendoes what others don't.
Has anyone else noticed gamers are the only people who care about sales of their respective systems? I'm not saying I don't care (for some reason I do), but it's odd...
Yay. Now now many of those people who bought the Wii actually bothered to buy games for it, eh?
What's this about a Wii HD needing to come?
Impressive.
Even though they arnt selling as much as the PS2
realize this PS2 was a cheaper DVD Drive so maybe half the people bought a PS2 for DVDS and not games, some people do that, its a great way to get something cheap, and Plus Wii cant play DVDS because its a Video Game Console 1st.
"So remember kids – the Wii is about fun games you can play with others and not serious games you play on your own."
Exactly. This, for me, is the fundamental problem with the Wii. Obviously, not from a sales standpoint. But I know plenty of people who have decided against getting a Wii because they feel like very few of the games available for the Wii are catered to their interests. It's a vicious cycle: Great games aimed at the "hardcore" community, like Silent Hill and No More Heroes, ultimately go unplayed by a huge amount of gamers that would've loved them because they didn't buy the console in the first place. And why not? Because there were little to no "serious games that you play by yourself" available for the Wii around launch, and even still the library is slim at best.
@Mickeymac
Couldn't have said it better myself. I've only come across like 5-10 retail titles that have caught my interest, and I bought a Wii on launch day. For my 360, I buy a game like every month.
I love Nintendo, and I'm glad they found a way to dig themselves out of near bankruptcy, but... can't really say I LOVE my Wii.
@Otaku: Interesting use of words there
Otaku.... it was just poking fun man. Can you really blame Sony for adding DVD or BD to there systems. It does you know, make them sell more.
I'm sure this second push Nintendo is doing currently with Wii will produce even more sells for the system. I do think Sony/ Microsoft pushing into motion control will stop a complete refueling of the system.
Oh noes Nintendo is teh DO00Medddddzzzzz...oh wait...
Way to go Nintendo!
Hah was there ever any doubt? Thank you Nintendo for all the great times we have had and to the moments yet to come. May we live long and prosperous lives.
Nintendo has always been about FUN games. Casual or Hardcore. I have about 30 games for the Wii and that's not including the VC titles or the GOOD WiiWare games. People who say "There is not enough good games on Wii" are clearly close-minded in not playing games that are something they have never played before- whether it be a series or genre. But again, that's their problem, and if they want to sit down and complain even though there are loads of good-great games on Wii.. Well, tough. I'm still missing the best of the games on Wii however... If I had the muneyz....
good job Nintendo!!! im one of those 30 million
@komicturtle92
I don't think there's any reason to dismiss people who are frustrated with the Wii's output as "clearly closed minded." All I'm saying is that there are gamers out there who never bought Wii's because they felt like they're favorite gametypes were unrepresented in the Wii's library. Gamers who enjoy Fallout or Mass Effect type gameplay as they're favorites have no real reason to buy a Wii; same with casual gamers who enjoy shooters. While the Wii has seen some more "hardcore" titles in the last year (Silent Hill, Monster Hunter), and even some shooters (The Conduit, Red Steel 2), these releases come a little late in the game. I don't really see a reason for people to rush out and buy a Wii if these are the gametypes they're looking for, and if they already owned a Wii, they've had to wait quite a while for something that suits they're tastes to come out. While Nintendo CERTAINLY DOESN'T need to cater to these people, financially speaking, I, for one, am a little bummed out that they haven't more actively done so.
@lockelocke
Your points are valid regarding Nintendo's initial marketing towards the casual audience, but for myself I don't see a problem with the Wii's lineup (and I say this as a well-rounded gamer) with the exception of few choices for JRPGs. But for GTA and FPS games, that's what my PS3 and Steam is for. I'm in the same boat as you in wishing that Nintendo tried a little harder in creating an environment for third-party developers (better marketing, more tech, better quality control regarding software) but keeping on topic with the article, the main point is that despite ALL of it's shortcomings, Nintendo has sold over 30M units.
Just the fact that the "weakest" console on the market with the least software support managed to not only succeed in the dog-eat-dog gaming industry, but to do so in the most harshest, most critical section of the global market speaks volumes. Think back to the early 1990s when everyone in the industry harshly ridiculed Nintendo's Game Boy in the face of more advanced competition (Atari's Lynx, Sega's Game Gear, NEC's Turbo Express). With Game Boy's yellowish-green screen with weak contrast and tinny speaker everyone thought that there was no way in heck that the thing could compete. And then Tetris came. Then Mario Land 2. RC Pro Am. Mega Man. Final Fantasy Legend. Kirby. Fewer batteries to replace. Longer portability. And on and on.
My point is that despite the Wii's shortcomings it has beat the odds. As gamers, if one console doesn't satisfy our needs, then we pick up another and enjoy the best of both. And despite the fact that I'm more interested in my Mac nowadays than my consoles, Sin & Punishment 2 and Metroid will be joining the other twenty-eight Wii games (all non-casual BTW) in my library.
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