Wii Sells 5 Million in Japan, outselling the SNES and GameCube
By James Walker
According to sales figures out of Japan, the Nintendo Wii is the fastest console to reach 5 million units since the Super Nintendo in the early 1990s.
The Nintendo Wii has never ceased to amaze both gamers and analysts alike. Gamers worldwide cannot seem to get enough of the little white box with the innovative (to some) motion sensor controls, while analysts continue to stare in sheer amazement at the sales numbers for Nintendo’s latest offering. Considering Nintendo’s continuing decline, even in Japan, nobody expected the Nintendo Wii to take off like it has, but alas it has, becoming the fastest selling console in Japan since the Super Nintendo.
In fact, in the same time period (60 weeks) the Nintendo Wii has outsold the Super Nintendo by over a million. In its first 60 weeks, the SNES sold an estimated 3.59 million units. This was actually the highpoint for Nintendo in Japan until the Wii, as both the Nintendo 64 and Nintendo GameCube saw significant drop-offs from the generation before.
The Nintendo 64, even with a strong launch title and the release of the first of two Legend of Zelda titles for the console, only managed to sell 2.31 million units, while the GameCube, which even Nintendo of America’s President Reggie Fils-Aime considers to be a lackluster effort, sold 1.68 million units in 60 weeks. That averages out to 28,000 consoles sold per week, which means that the Nintendo GameCube was a bigger success than either the Xbox or Xbox 360.
It’s interesting to note that neither the SNES nor the GameCube breached the six million mark in total sales in Japan. Unless Nintendo headquarters are blown up by rabid Sony fanboys, I think it’s a safe bet that the Nintendo Wii will ultimately outsell not just either of these consoles, but both of these consoles. Rejoice.
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January 23rd, 2008
Great news for Nintendo. The rest of the industry really is in catch-up mode now.
Incidentally, the Managing Director of the company I work for just breezed in and told us all enthusiastically about his recent experience playing Wii Tennis. I’m fairly certain he wouldn’t have had the same amount of gleeful enthusiasm talking about Halo 3 or [insert name of killer-app PS3 game here]
January 23rd, 2008
This is a poorly checked article.
Firstly there seem to be a few confusions from the writer about which is the SNES and which the N64….. The SNES sold a LOT more than 6 million consoles in Japan, I believe it is close to 17 million… In fact there is a clear contradiction where you state the SNES managed 3.59 million in the first 60 weeks,… so unless he SNES had a lifespan of only 2 years it is quite obvious it sold more than 6 million.
There is also the fact that the PS2 managed about 4.3 million in 60 weeks…. and I believe reached 5 million a lot faster than the SNES.
So Wii is the fastest (home) console to reach 5 million yes.
but PS2 is second followed by SNES.
Also this is disregarding handhelds because both DS and GBA were faster sellers (but then the handheld market in Japan is much stronger than the home console market)
January 23rd, 2008
“with the innovative (to some) motion sensor controls”
The controller is innovative, purely by the definition of the word innovative. It has nothing to do with a persons opinion.
Anyone who thinks the controller is not innovative, simply doesn’t understand the meaning of the word.
That being said, some people don’t like the new innovative controls. Thats fine, but not liking them, or thinking they are not a good idea is not the same as them not being innovative.
January 24th, 2008
@harpy tomorrow
No, it “was” innovative — back in the late 80s when it was called the “Power Glove”.
January 24th, 2008
Unlike you apparently, I’ve actually used the power glove. Where’s the IR in the power glove? Oh wait, there isn’t any. Where’s the gyros? Oh wait, there isn’t any. Where’s the speaker? Oh wait there isn’t any. Where’s the wireless freedom? Oh wait…… I think you get the picture.
Sorry buddy, you fail.