Nintendo of America announced today that, in the first week since its launch on November 19, their new home console Wii has sold 600,000 units. Nintendo also announced that 454,000 copies of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess for Wii were sold, meaning 75% of Wii owners bought the game with their console.
Wii represents a shift in philosophy from past Nintendo console offerings, eschewing high-powered components in favor of low power and cost, as well as highlighting the Wii Remote controller, which has both pointing and motion-sensing capabilities, over traditional control methods. Nintendo repeatedly states it is intent on capturing new markets with this philosophy.
Regardless of who is buying the consoles, it seems that 600,000 also represents a fairly accurate estimate of how many Wii consoles were shipped—sellouts for the console are reported all over the country. Nintendo of Canada VP and general manager Ron Bertram said he expected a million units for Wii's launch, and it seems that number was simply not met.
Wii represents a shift in philosophy from past Nintendo console offerings, eschewing high-powered components in favor of low power and cost, as well as highlighting the Wii Remote controller, which has both pointing and motion-sensing capabilities, over traditional control methods. Nintendo repeatedly states it is intent on capturing new markets with this philosophy.
Regardless of who is buying the consoles, it seems that 600,000 also represents a fairly accurate estimate of how many Wii consoles were shipped—sellouts for the console are reported all over the country. Nintendo of Canada VP and general manager Ron Bertram said he expected a million units for Wii's launch, and it seems that number was simply not met.