Nintendo shipped 4 million Wiis, boosts profits by 43%

Wii FTW !ST BOAST!@!!@

I wait in anticipation at what Fred T's response will be. I bet it will be something about Wii not being a good console!

Hahaha, that is a sweet, sweet picture of Reggie! As for "Shipped" meaning "manufactured", that's not how I read it. It seems like they shipped them all before December 31st, just not all of them made it to retail by the 31st. But, really, whatever. Either way they're doing all right.

Tahts shippt, not sold!!!11oneoneone

why would sony ship wiis? =S

I own a 360, so don't bash me for asking this:
Does anyone know how many consoles the 360 actually has in homes? I know they shipped 10 million, but I am pretty damn sure they are no where near that number in homes.
We all know every single Wii shipped has been sold. This is great for Nintendo AND developers! I can't wait to see what games will come out now that the install base is growing at an insane rate.

So, that means that 810,000 Wiis should come on the market soon, 405,000 of those hopefully for North America (25% for PAL, 25% for Japan)

I really don't understand the whole infatuation with the Wii, and I doubt I ever will. Yeah, Zelda's great, but really....I don't see anything else the Wii has going for it. What's the difference between the Wii launch games (1 standout game) and PS3 launch games (1 standout game)? And the PS3 gets criticized for its launch?? I just don't get it. I don't own a PS3 by the way, so don't get crazy on me, people. Just saying....

With all that said....congrats to Nintendo. A fine accomplishment, and I'm glad to see gaming become a little more accessible in the process.

@Earl

There are 4.5 million 360's in homes in the US as of Jan 1st, compare to 1.1 million Wiis and about 667,000 PS3s (again, those are only for the US). No idea of how many there are worldwide.

@Earl
I read somewhere that an estimated 9.5 million 360s were sold. The biggest discrepancy between "shipped" and "sold" is the PSP. I've even heard rumors that Sony over-manufactured PSPs in Q3, and reduced manufacturing in Q4, so that they could sell more PSPs in Q4 than they manufactured, generating a false quarterly profit to offset the losses incurred by the PS3, or at least, to spread the losses across two quarters.

Microsoft has SOLD 10.4 million 360s.. yes, that many are in homes and that does coencide with NPDs numbers.

Again, that's 10.4 millions SOLD, NOT shipped

I wish I could find a Wii.

Well, before you bash on Nintendo too much for having so many units "in transit" have you ever looked into the logistics of getting a product shipped across the pacific by boat?

I was in Vietnam a couple years ago, and considered buying a pair of marble statues. Then I found out that getting them shipped to the US would take 20-40 days, and I would still have to arrange ground transport from the nearest port (which interestingly enough, was in Oklahoma)

So, considering that Nintendo is not airlifting new units in and they still have to distribute the systems once they get to the states, their "units shipped" numbers are actually pretty reasonable.

And, at least they are being honest here and telling us that shipped = shipped, not sold. But that's a dead hose to beat some other day.

Wow. For a "gimmick" that seems to have sold fairly well so far.

Why not just suck all up on that fanboys? Suck it long and hard.

Total burnage

Nintendo FTW

I think Nintendo states that they do not ship by air, but by ship. So they may have manufactured those units and then shipped them by boat, but they did not make it to their destination before the end of the year. Heh, what can we say, they're cheap.

Nintendo has the same definition of Shipped that Sony has. This is different from Microsoft's definition, which involves an actual sale to retailers and that the package has left their warehouse.

@Earl

They have sold 10.4 million worldwide.

if only selling alot of consoles made good games magically appear on the wii. oh well

I finally found a Wii today!

Tip: If you're having trouble finding a Wii, check at FYE (found in most malls). I totally forgot they sold video games and I went in one today just browsing... they had 4 Wii's while the Target, Best Buy, Circuit City, GameStop and Wal-Marts had none.

Still can't find any extra remotes though. :(

Nobody seems to get the simple equation

big sales = big 3rd party support = bigger sales

And so on, a Catch 22 in the right direction

The Wii sucks! Nintenlame! Gamecube 1.5! Ports, ports, ports! I have a miniscule johnson so I hate everything! I'm Fred T, Nintensuckers!

Actually Microsoft has only shipped 10.4 million and no NPD does not coincide with that as NPD only tracks sales data in the United States. Between NPD (United States) ChartTrack (Europe) and Media Create/Famitsu (Japan) 360 sales only amount to approximately 8.5 million and that's not a conservative estimate. Other smaller territories that are not tracked aren't going to tack on 1.9 million more units onto that number.

Interesting.

FWIW, In not uncommon in many distribution warehouses for there to be a line of demarcation, so that as long as there is an order for an item, all items placed on one side of the line are considered shipped (for accounting purposes), even if they are not loaded onto the truck for a few days. So, the warehouse might report a number of items shipped even though it may have been Jan 2 before they went out the door.

Did a Google search, it is 4.5 million sold, 10 million shipped according to the NPD report. I was just wondering since it is a good reference to how well the Wii is selling.
I just really hope this motivates developers to get off their butts and stop bringing ports to the Wii. I want to see some more original games and the install base is obviously there to make a profit with Wii exclusives.
I believe the Wii will force certain developers (EA, Ubisoft, etc.) to stop their normal routine of just updating a game. They will have to actually get creative with the Wii, which is always a good thing.

"if only selling alot of consoles made good games magically appear on the wii."

It does when higher sales attract more developers to write games for your system. All the 4D triple-core cel processing in the world means bupkis if nobody is writing any games for your overpriced unwanted system...

--R.J.

@ NetLethal

Congrats on your find today. I'm with you on the scarcity of extra remotes. I'm surprised they are not easier to find at this point. Luckily, I've been able to get two extras, and I guess I'll just wait to get my last when Wii Play arrives.

I still only have one damn nunchuk though.

"NPD only tracks sales data in the United States"

As I recall, NPD also DOESN'T track Wal-Mart (the world's biggest retailer) and other big retailers... So their numbers do not equal every unit sold in the USA.

and 4.5 million were NPDs numbers prior to December where almost 1.5 million were sold.

For whoever mentioned they wish they had a Wii - its in stock at Sears. Check it out!

http://www.sears.com/sr/javasr/product.do?cat=Video+Games&pid=05892000000&vertical=TOYS&subcat=Video+Game+Hardware&BV_UseBVCookie=Yes

Things brought by this generation of consoles.....

Armchair Financial analysts...

C'mon, Wii is selling well, 360 selling well and both will have plenty of software. Espically since the experince is quite different on either console.

Though Currently Wii is gonna succumb to the early year drought, like any Console's first year. Sales will even out in a month or two.. and this holiday is going to be huge for software.

Nate: The X-Factor of what puts the Wii over the PS3.. is despite that 1 stand-out launch game... In the box was Wii Sports..... Wii Sports sells the Wii almost better then Zelda.

The irony, the people who state how good the wii is for casual gamers and family it's actually based on Wii sports.. a pack in game, and it in essence is no different the buying a $250 Xavix

WTB: Game besides Zelda. PST!!

@ 29.

"I really don't understand the whole infatuation with the Wii, and I doubt I ever will. Yeah, Zelda's great, but really....I don't see anything else the Wii has going for it. What's the difference between the Wii launch games (1 standout game) and PS3 launch games (1 standout game)? And the PS3 gets criticized for its launch?? I just don't get it. I don't own a PS3 by the way, so don't get crazy on me, people. Just saying...."

I would assume that a lot of it has to do with Wii Sports moreso than Zelda. Wii Sports sells the system to someone other than the people who care about Zelda or Resistance or Gears of War. Sure, the Wii doesn't have a stellar lineup at the moment (to us hardcore types), but there's a lot of casual gamers who aren't actually looking for that stellar lineup. They see and play Wii Sports, they like it, they want to have it in their house.

If I remember correctly, this is how Nintendo got so many systems in homes in the past. Super Mario Bros. (the greatest game at the time for the NES) was packed in to get people to buy the systems. There wasn't too much content for the NES at that time either, but SMB was good enough to make the NES last for many, many years.

As for the PS3, the one game you're talking about has actually gotten a fair amount of mediocre reviews and reception. Couple that with the price tag necessary to play that one particular game (nearly three times as much), and you can see why a lot of people are waiting for more games to release on the PS3. They want something that will immediately quantify their expensive purchase. Otherwise, they can just wait until the price drops and more games are released.

Unfortunately, this causes developers and publishers to flee. Which causes customers to not buy the system. Which causes developers and publishers to flee, etc, etc.

is anyone else just completely bored by the constant over-analyzing of these numbers?

You can buy nunchucks online at Nintendo.com. I ordered my 4th nunchuck from them in December when they were out of stock and got it in a week and a half. I also ordered component cables from Nintendo.com when I couldn't find them at any store and got those in just 2 days.

And isn't Wii Sports outselling Zelda in Japan? That game is amazing.

@ Max Boyer, actually, being a video game investor, I live for these numbers.

This is great news for shareholders. If you like analyzing video games and predicting how well consoles and games will do, you'll love the simExchange. It's a virtual stock market for video games (involves no real money and is free to play, it was covered on Joystiq a while back). Currently the Wii stock forecasts 62.3 million units sold worldwide over lifetime. This news of 4 million shipped is bullish for confirming the Wii stock price.
Wii game stock page:
http://www.thesimexchange.com/stock.php?id=12

Yeah Suckas!!! Got me a Wii today.

Actually Shalex, it is indeed 4.5 million including December.

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12375

As for NPD not tracking some other outlets out there, the numbers aren't going to have a great fluctuation as a result of that. You're not going to see 4.5 million suddenly materialize 300,000 extra unit sales just based on Wal Mart's account and other smaller retailers. NPD themselves actually do sales projections to account for that missing number which is why their data is an approximation more than anything else.

Either way, between the three major regions you're looking at around 8.5 million, or to speak conservatively, likely between 8.5 - 9 million.

My girlfriend works at a Target and about 5-10 minutes after she saw the new Wii shipment come in I got a call. So, if you're having troubles just become good friends with an employee at one of the stores.

I actually like alot of the games for the Wii launch. I like playing Raving Rabids with friends and it was decent enough (not great)single player. After reading so many mediocre reviews for excite truck I thought I would be dissapointed and honestly this game is great, I love it but that's just me. I own and beat trauma center on the DS but it's kind of cool having a new way to play and is fun on either system. I have Marvel Ultimate alliance and while I haven't played it much i can see the appeal if you like comic books my little brother spent alot of time on it over the holidays so i guess that's his thing. For me (someone who generally doesn't play first person shooters) the PS3 lineup has nothing for me that I couldn't get on Xbox 360. At least there is a good deal of originality in the Wii lineup (i.e. either gems that are different or play different from other systems).

First of all, NPD numbers do include Wal-Mart. They do not specifically TRACK Wal-Mart numbers, because Wal-Mart refuses to report to them. Instead they use statistical sampling to account for all orders they do not track specifically. I guarantee you, NPD's numbers are as accurate as you can possibly get, and any discrepancy will be about the same for all consoles.

360 has sold about 8.5 million worldwide, that includes untracked markets, and is based on known numbers and assumptions. 4.5 milliion for US, .5 million for Japan, 3 million for Europe (that's a generous estimation, but we don't get numbers for every European territory) and .5 million for all other territories (which is also an estimation that may or may not be generous).

So, 360 8.5 million, Wii 3.19 million, PS3 1.3 million. Those are sold, not shipped. Shipped should be 360 10.4 million, Wii 4 million, PS3 2 million.

NPD doesn't track 40% of video game sales.

The estimates are based on prior data. If a publisher does something like ship more units to the sellers NPD doesn't track it can drastically throw off the sales numbers.

Estimates are only good if you actually take the time to come up with it.

Seriously those who said the PS3 will sell 100 million units have egg on their face right now since they only threw that number out based on how the PS1 and PS2 did without seeing the reasons why those consoles did the number.

The PS3 is not a comfortable price for consumers. It's developement costs are skyhigh. Game prices are also high.

It costs so much to make Sony has actually designed the system to not be so breakable. People aren't going to buy as many replacement PS3s as they did PS2s or PS1s.

Blu-ray isn't DVD. People bought PS2s for both a game console and DVD player when dvd players were more expensive then the PS2. Not a lot of people are buying PS3s for blu-ray.

PS3 is looking more and more likely to be a distant 3rd place.

It can take weeks for a cargo shipment to hit port. Also Nintendo had to replace the wiimote straps in units already made. This delayed shipments.

Heck the report says replacing the strap cost 8 million dollars.

/r/ a new version of the "IT PRINTS MONEY!!" macro with a Wii

But seriously, that picture is so damn good.

This system is so last gen, it will disappear in three years. There's no room for improvement on it. Hardware is on par with last gen. System software is a step up, but game graphics are not even up to the original Xbox standards. The controller is their Ace of Spades, but that's it. It's overpriced at $250. Game titles will be scarce. PS3 and Xbox 360 are way far a better sytems with so much more potential. Nintendo will continue to nickle dime people with their false claims. And these projected shipping or manufacturing numbers brings us back to the saying "Don't count your chickens before they hatch'.

Wii games offers you an experience, while PS3 games offers you nothing at the moment.

Well I'm glad more are on the way, but one quick thing. If Nintendo can ship four million units in two months, why can they now only ship 2 million units in three? Did they forget how to make them? Does it take a lot longer to make the new, stronger remote strap? Are they purposely keeping supply low(my vote)?

I still haven't found one and I'm getting a little annoyed. I'm not going to stand in line out in sub zero Iowa weather Target, you f$#@ing suck! Also, Wal-Mart, you can tell us how many you have so I don't have to drive down there and waste my time. Both of these things have happened to me in the past two weeks (yep, Target is still making you stand outside and giving you numbers two months after launch and a month after Christmas).

Hopefully the prices on eBay will start to come down. I'm thinking if I want one before spring (or even summer) I might have to get it online. Luckily, it looks like the prices are down to under $350 now. I saw one idiot selling just a console for $549. I hope he can't sell any of them and, when he does sell them, he loses money!

I lucked out on Amazon, on Tuesday, I got 2 sets of extra controllers, nunchuks and classic controllers

Looks like the supply problem is easing, I think that there will be easy to get in April. I had originally thought that it would be hard until May.

As for why they are only shipping 2M in next 3 months. I think it's because they produced and stocked months in advance of releasing. Now, they are on make and ship mode with no backstock, so they can't ship as many...

I love Wii bashers. ALL THE SYSTEMS ARE GREAT! Granted, a PS3 isnt currently worth 600 bucks... but I think that will change. The Wii will only continue to climb in sales. Think about it, there is a high demand, and it is fun, which will make it sell. The thing about video games is that they have forgotten that playing games should be FUN. They dont have to be absolutely realistically pretty (one of my favorites is STILL FF7.) Nintendo has the market cornered with the Wii. A lot of adults play video games, but you have to realize a WHOLE LOT of kids play them, and they have parents willing to buy them stuff, and Wii is the cheapest, and the easiest to play... there are so many reasons.

I cant wait until we reach halfway through the year, and we can see the numbers.

Oh, and I kinda feel bad for PS3, I want it to succeed...