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Wii sold more consoles in 2008 than any system before it
- January 19, 2009 22:37 PM PST
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Selling at a rate faster than the PlayStation 2, both the Nintendo DS and Wii set new records last year -- the lovable handheld sold an unprecedented 3 million units in Dec., and the Wii sold more than 10 million units in a single year, the first console to do so.
Nintendo practically held the video game industry for ransom in 2008, Dr. Evil style
REDMOND, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Before 2008, no video game system had ever been purchased by ten million Americans in a single year. But according to independent sales data released today by the NPD Group, the Wii(tm) console from Nintendo did just that, even during these economic times, with 2008 unit sales of 10.17 million. The Nintendo DS(tm) portable handheld system came in a close second, with 2008 unit sales of 9.95 million. Each of them broke the previous yearly unit sales record set in 2007 by Nintendo DS with sales of 8.52 million.
Consequently, Wii represented 55% of all next generation home console sales in 2008, while Nintendo DS claimed 72% of all portable system sales in 2008.
"Our type of entertainment has now moved to the point where there is no longer a question that if you offer consumers an expanded definition of what a video game can be, and deliver that idea with quality and affordability in mind, millions of new people will start playing video games," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "Concepts like Wii Fit, Guitar Hero, and Rock Band never would have seemed feasible just a few years ago, and now they're driving growth for our the entire industry."
NPD data released for December and all of 2008 also included the following:
* The industry's top 4 selling games of 2008 were: Wii Play(tm) at No. 1, Mario Kart(tm) Wii at No. 2, Wii Fit(tm) at No.3, and Super Smash Brothers(tm) Brawl, at No. 4.
* Industry annual revenues jumped 19% in 2008 over 2007, and Nintendo products were responsible for 99% of those additional retail dollars.
* Nintendo DS set another industry record for system sales in any month, with 3.04 million units sold in December.
* Wii broke its own monthly record, set in December 2007, by selling 2.14 million units last month. (Xbox 360 sold 1.4 million units in Dec., the PS3 726,000)
* In December, Nintendo titles filled 20 of the top 30 spots on the best-seller list. Six games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10, including Wii Music(tm) for Wii (No. 9), which has now sold 865,000 units following its launch in October 2008, and Mario Kart DS for the Nintendo DS (No. 7), which has sold a total of 4.3 million units 38 months after launch.
* Activision's Guitar Hero(r) III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero(r) World Tour, and MTV Games/EA's* Rock Band Special Edition Bundle all sold more units on Nintendo platforms than any other platforms in 2008.
* More 3rd party units were sold for Wii than any other home consoles in December for the 2nd consecutive month.
* For the year, more than 132 million games were sold in America for play on Nintendo systems.
See also: The 28 Best Wii Games | The Best Upcoming Wii Games
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- Jan 16 2009 at 06:09:35:AM PST
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um.. wow i guess. You what else sells well? Cavaliers/Cobalts. Doesnt make them good cars.
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armyntt wrote:
um.. wow i guess. You what else sells well? Cavaliers/Cobalts. Doesnt make them good cars.
What an intelligent comment
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There goes Sony's claim to fame.......the Wii is breaking any and all the records the PS2 set with ease.
It will go on to outsell the PS2 and the Sony fanboys will officially explode and lose the one claim to fame Sony gaming had going for it.
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I am wondering how long it will take for the sales of the DS and Wii to actually slow down. I figured that by now the Wii's sales would have slowed a bit, not picked up. I think the Wii is going to change what Sony and MS put out the next time around, seeing how insanely successful the Wii is. But hopefully they will continue to put out a good variety of games, even with more party and family-friendly games in the library; something the Wii has way too much of. The balance of Wii games is horribly skewed to the party game side of things. It sucks for traditional gamers, but it might be why the Wii is selling so well.
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who gives a flying fuk how many gimp ass Wii's sold!..thats alot of fat asses hopin to lose weight on the Wii fit..lmao fukin useless!..i can see games like mario kart,brawl,so on sellin alot..but.Wii play? lmao only reason ppl buy it..is cuz the wii mote comes with it..the games on the otherhand suck all ass on Wii play...ppl think they are gettin a deal.. when in fact they are payin 10 more bucs..for some realy shitastic games..if ms and sony's next systems turn out like the wii..i'll quit gaming..or at least..stay 'retro' fuk the Wii! oldschool4fukinlife!
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riff_it is such a tool. You see, it is hard core gamers like that douche that make all gamers look bad. Is the Wii hurting what you play? No, so why bitch about it? WHy would you care? Hell, Im not a wii player but I can at least say I am impressed with the numbers.
The only reason for someone to be mad would be if you work for sony or microsoft since it is affecting them. THe average joe gamer? We have no $$$ stake in the race so who cares.
Finally, GAMEPRO, like with other mags and sites, seeing as the 360 came out well over 3 years ago, isnt it time to stop calling the current consoles NEXT GEN consoles? I mean if MS follows suit from the Xbox to the 360, then we will get a 3rd XBOX this November.
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Of course, with the horrible economy, user and age friendly base and the low price. Its no surprise the wii is still selling strong. Nintendo, nuff' said. But what the wii does need is more "better quality" games.
My wii has been collecting dust since the last game I purchased which was mario kart. I already have Zelda, smash bros, mario galaxy, metroid and paper mario. Which I think those are the best games out for the console so far.
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I think the SDF will cry and slit their wrists that the Wii is selling faster then the PS2 and most likely will outsell it in 3 years or less. LOL
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