Nintendo Wii still selling like hotcakes, sets US sales record

By on Dec 12, 2008 at 2:51 PM
Gaming December 12, 2008

News flash: Nintendo sells tons of Wii consoles. We know, we know – the Wii’s success is hardly news these days. In fact, Nintendo’s console is flying off the shelves almost as fast as the comment count is jumping up over on our BlackBerry Curve 8900 giveaway post. Nintendo did manage yet another impressive feat however, as NPD Group just issued Nintendo’s numbers for November. Drum roll please… over 2 million! That is the number of Wii consoles Nintendo sold – in the US alone – in the month of November. Aside from being a ridiculous number of sales, 2 million+ is a record for single console sales in a non-December month in the US. Wow. On top of that, NPD Group reports that Nintendo also managed to snag the second-place all time for a non-December month in the US with over 1.56 million Nintendo DS sales. In other words, Nintendo broke the non-December single-month sales record with two different consoles in the same month. Sheesh! The Wii recently passed the N64 (32.93 million units sold) to become the fifth best-selling console of all time and we don’t expect it to be much longer until it overtakes SNES (49.1 million units sold) for sole possession of the four-spot.

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17 Comments

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  • Roger A

    I NEED a Wii and Wii Fit, cause Im a sweaty fat fuck!

    If I dont get it this year, Im likely to start going back to my old ways of starving myself.

    YOU HEAR THAT PEOPLE!! ROGER A NEEDS WII AND WII FIT

  • Richard Simmons

    Tell me all about your troubles, Roger…

  • B

    You couldn’t pay me to buy a Wii

  • http://kanseiranch.org kansei

    gosh I feel bad for people who _still_ aren’t able to find a Wii. I guess I just lucked out.. woke up on release day (wow over two years ago now) about an hour before any stores would be open.. took my time waking up, then wandered over to a store. The third store (toys r us) didn’t have a very long line, and that was that. About 40 people were behind me in the line by the time the store opened, and we all got wiis. Not many people got turned away from the line before the store opened. It was quite low key and friendly. I’ll remember that day for a long time.

    Granted, up until a week ago when I bought animal crossing: city folk, my wii had just been sitting in a box.. for many months. I just couldn’t find any games I liked for it (after beating zelda right after buying the console).

  • duydee

    I cant even find one to buy anywhere in Canada. Always sold out the same day it comes in.

    Seems like people still care about the gameplay as opposed to graphics.

  • Jon

    I want a PS3

  • B

    duydee, are you another one of these people implying that great graphics and great gameplay cannot be found in the same game? Do you believe that most of the people buying Wiis are even hardcore, long time gamers?

  • Jesterhead

    Like it’s been said a hundred times the wii is marketing to not only hardcore gamers but everyone including people who have never even owned a console before. They are making a product that appeals to a broader audience which equals more sales. I guess we’ll see how it does with games…I don’t see anything surpassing gear of war 2 anytime soon.

  • http://www.k5live.com Likeabite

    They wii has never been marketed to hardcore gamers…if it was it wouldn’t be doing these numbers. Yea they release occasional titles in that realm but that’s about it. It is marketed for group/casual gaming, as is evidenced by the commercials…that is why it is doing so well.

  • James

    The Wii sucks ballz. I took mine back after a few days. Gimme the 360′s HD graphics any day over the Wii’s PS2 looking crap.

  • RoseGold

    i second that motion you give me a wii and ill put it in the oven ….will it baked?

  • jazzyl

    Gimme Xbox 360 anytime…….

  • hi

    From the begining Reggie, a Nintendo corporate exec, said they were going to kick ass and take names. The executives must be poppin all kinds of bubbly and winning awards showcasing their business acumen. They even have MS & Sony heads buried in the sand pretending that the wii is not a worthy competitor. F you guys! Xbox & PS are getting blown out.

    Blame MS for hiring former 3DO talent for its hardware troubles and a failed former exec from Sega who couldn’t execute (but goes to EA as if he is still relevant).

    Blame Sony for overreaching with Blu-ray. Timing is everything and blu’s time is not now… not ever… thanks to video streaming and downloads. Embarassing! You had Nintendo dead 2 rights and you let them back in the game.

    Prediction: Nintendo by TKO!

  • Paul

    Anyone who discusses the Wii in negative terms is an idiot. Sony & MS are getting their asses handed to them, and all the fan boys can say is “Wii sucks,” “Give me a 360 any day,” and “it’s not for hardcore gamers.” I’m a hardcore gamer, depending on your definition (5 days per week) & I love the Wii for everything it offers. I can play old school games that I played when I was 8, or play Guitar Hero. Also, the interactiveness got me back into gaming given I had gotten bored with the “same crap, better graphics” consoles/ ideas (i.e. PS3, 360, PC). Yes, there’s something to be said about great graphics, but playing Halo was the same crap I was doing on N64 when I was a kid playing Bond or Doom- just different twists & better graphics in Halo… after time that equals BORING. By the way, I’ve been playing video games for 20+ years.

  • Fernando

    I like how you make it sound nonchalant that you woke up early, drove to THREE different stores an hour before they were open just to buy a Wii. Some people don’t have the luxury of having multiple electronics stores in their area that they can drive to that quickly in order to get one.

  • http://www.myspace.com/elcompatones Tony Bravo

    I love the nintendo wii i havent played video games since i owned a nintendo 64 9 years ago when i was 11! and this past thanksgiving I had the chance to experience it. Im definitely looking forward to getting one as a gift or buying one if it comes to that.

  • JL

    I see these numbers, but there’s got to be some context to them as well. What about game attach rates? What about third party support?

    Are the majority of Wii games first party (made by Nintendo)? I have to admit a lot of the games I see available for the Wii don’t appeal to me – but I can see where the would to people not wanting every game to be blood and gore, shooting everything in sight.

    Funny thing is for me (i own a 360) I’ve gotten more games from Live Arcade than bought major releases. I just get the impression that Nintendo is expanding their core audience, and that audience is not likely to be purchasing a 360 or PS3. As some say with their responses that Nintendo is “kicking Microsoft and Sony’s ass” but in the end it is all about the games and I don’t see Microsoft or Sony going away anytime soon – I mean hell, I’m surprised that the 360 sold over 800k in November. (remembering that the cheapest configuration of the 360 out of the box is less expensive than the Wii)

    Just like people have said in the pc realm, numbers aren’t everything, and it would be nice to see a deeper explanation with regards to the Wii – I find myself in agreement with other posters that it seems Nintendo has found a niche with casual gamers – They have good ideas, not taking anything away from them (Nintendo)

    I just don’t see myself rushing out to add a Wii to my system setup – Wanting a PS3 to go with the 360, very interested in its media hub capabilities – I guess I’ve reached the point where I like the concept of a console that does more than play games.

    I’ve been a gamer for almost 30 years now also..
    If I had children, yeah I’d probably get them a Wii as an introduction to gaming…

    Just my opinion….

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