Wii reaches one million mark, becomes UK’s fastest selling console

  

The last day of the month ushers in another milestone for Nintendo as the latest figures from independent software performance and sales tracking company Chart Track pegs their video games console Wii as fastest selling console in UK history. According to Chart Tracks, over one million Wiis have already been moved to UK households in just nine months thus beating records set by the last-gen powerhouse PlayStation 2.

To put this achievement in a better perspective, the said sales-tracking company compared Nintendo’s success with its Wii to Sony‘s PS2 and Microsoft‘s Xbox 360. As stated, one million Wiis were sold in just 38 weeks – a mark the PS2 took 50 weeks to meet. Xbox 360 on the other hand topped the said number after 60 weeks, 22 weeks later than the Wii.

Chart Tracks attributes this to the Nintendo DS’ domination in the handheld market, claiming that it paved the way for consumers to relate more to Nintendo compared to other companies. It should be noted that Sony PSPs sales, while currently gaining momentum, is still a far cry from the NDS’. Add to the mix Microsoft’s absence in the said market and it shouldn’t be hard to deduce why UK casual gamers (the biggest slice in the video games market pie) are more supportive of Wii rather than the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Here’s Nintendo UK General Manager David Yarnton’s take on the matter:

The non-stop demand for Wii even in the traditionally slow sales periods for video games in the UK is clearly behind this record breaking achievement. The performance of both systems appears to indicate that unprecedented interactive entertainment experiences, provided by a combination of the revolutionary nature of DS and Wii with the increasing number of unique software titles for the system from Nintendo and third parties, are being enjoyed by both avid and new gamers of all ages.

With more great games such as Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 and Endless Ocean launching in 2007, Wii, together with Nintendo DS, will continue to be the main driving forces behind the expansion of the video game market this year.

Sale numbers gathered by Chart Track covered the date Nintendo released the Wii up to August 25, 2007.

  

The last day of the month ushers in another milestone for Nintendo as the latest figures from independent software performance and sales tracking company Chart Track pegs their video games console Wii as fastest selling console in UK history. According to Chart Tracks, over one million Wiis have already been moved to UK households in just nine months thus beating records set by the last-gen powerhouse PlayStation 2.

To put this achievement in a better perspective, the said sales-tracking company compared Nintendo’s success with its Wii to Sony‘s PS2 and Microsoft‘s Xbox 360. As stated, one million Wiis were sold in just 38 weeks – a mark the PS2 took 50 weeks to meet. Xbox 360 on the other hand topped the said number after 60 weeks, 22 weeks later than the Wii.

Chart Tracks attributes this to the Nintendo DS’ domination in the handheld market, claiming that it paved the way for consumers to relate more to Nintendo compared to other companies. It should be noted that Sony PSPs sales, while currently gaining momentum, is still a far cry from the NDS’. Add to the mix Microsoft’s absence in the said market and it shouldn’t be hard to deduce why UK casual gamers (the biggest slice in the video games market pie) are more supportive of Wii rather than the Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3. Here’s Nintendo UK General Manager David Yarnton’s take on the matter:

The non-stop demand for Wii even in the traditionally slow sales periods for video games in the UK is clearly behind this record breaking achievement. The performance of both systems appears to indicate that unprecedented interactive entertainment experiences, provided by a combination of the revolutionary nature of DS and Wii with the increasing number of unique software titles for the system from Nintendo and third parties, are being enjoyed by both avid and new gamers of all ages.

With more great games such as Super Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3 and Endless Ocean launching in 2007, Wii, together with Nintendo DS, will continue to be the main driving forces behind the expansion of the video game market this year.

Sale numbers gathered by Chart Track covered the date Nintendo released the Wii up to August 25, 2007.