What a Wiik: Nintendo claims 800k consoles sold Thanksgiving week

by Randy Nelson { Dec 8th 2008 at 2:56PM }

Nintendo boss Satoru Iwata is rolling in six-dollar bills right about now. (Okay, since they don't exist, a bunch of fives and ones.) Speaking to Reuters, Iwata revealed that 800,000 Wiis were sold in the US during the week of November 24-30. That's up nearly half a million units over last year's 350,000 consoles sold during the same period, according to Nintendo's sales data.

Iwata sees the downturn in the US economy as an upturn for sales of Wii. "When the economy is strong, people tend to buy three things from the top of their wish list. But when things are bad, people often buy only the first thing on their list," he remarked, concluding, "Fortunately for us a lot of shoppers put our products at the top of their list."

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime stated in October that Wii production was ramping up for the holidays, but still probably wouldn't meet demand. There must have been at least an additional 450,000 consoles for shoppers to snap up Thanksgiving week, though – but will that be the extent of the holiday production bump? With Wal-Mart.com today touting tens of thousands of the system for sale, we'll have to wait for full holiday sales numbers to see how much ramping Nintendo really upped.

Tags: hardware-sales, sales, thanksgiving, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

SecretAgentHam @ Dec 8th 2008 3:11PM

it truly does print money...

shannon @ Dec 8th 2008 3:24PM

Prediction: by 2012 the Wii WILL be money.

Wiinterfang @ Dec 8th 2008 3:12PM

Wiit the fuck!!

(The Award-Winning) dark_inchworm @ Dec 8th 2008 3:18PM

The ESL is weak with this one...

Wiinterfang @ Dec 8th 2008 3:19PM

I know I was rolling my eyes while typing it.

DigTheDoug @ Dec 8th 2008 5:08PM

That should be a sign not to hit that "Add Comment" button.

J @ Dec 8th 2008 10:13PM

I was gonna order the wii tonight when i saw it available on amazon.com earlier today. But I missed my chance :(. By the time i got home from work, it's sold out. At least the ones that aren't overpriced. Sigh.

J @ Dec 8th 2008 10:15PM

what the.

sorry. I was gonna reply to your comment, but when I changed my mind, i forgot to click undo.

Kye says: Know thyself @ Dec 8th 2008 3:27PM

Incoming fanboy attack at 2 o'clock.
Going to defcon 1 mode.

Evan @ Dec 8th 2008 3:28PM

I think Nintendo's sales show that parents buying for their kids is still the most important demographic (as it was in every other video game generation from the NES to the PSX), not "mature hardcore gamers" that so many people here want to believe drive the gaming industry.

Massmass @ Dec 8th 2008 3:37PM

For true.

I'd say hardcore gamers definitely affect the industry. They just don't keep it afloat by themselves. Thus, the pandering to the common denominator.

The Fatass of Kickassness @ Dec 8th 2008 3:48PM

I'd say it's around 40:60, gamers (fuck 'hardcore', I just call 'em gamers) making up the 60%. The whole 'parents buying for kids' demographic contributed a whole lot more last generation than they do now (don't even try to say that the Wii/DS match the PS2/GBA when it comes to games that sold millions to gullible parents).

samfish @ Dec 8th 2008 4:06PM

I don't think "hardcore" gamers alone can get a game's sales above 500,000. If they could, games like Okami, Zack & Wiki and No More Heroes would at least be million sellers.
They make up a preposterously small, albeit vocal, segment of the market.

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 8th 2008 4:22PM

Hey Fatass, you forgot the 2600/NES days. Back when the ratio of shit:good was AT LEAST 15:1, especially for Atari

Mr Khan @ Dec 8th 2008 4:38PM

Wii IS on track to beat the PS2's best-selling year. Ultimately, if it fails to outsell the PS2 (or outsell the PS2 as far as that console had gone by the time the PS3 came out), it'll be more the fault of Nintendo failing to supply 100 million of them

Evan @ Dec 8th 2008 4:41PM

@The Fatass of Kickassness

The DS absolutely matches the GBA for "selling millions to gullible parents":
- Nintendogs for the DS is one of the biggest "selling millions to gullible parents" games ever! It sold 20 million copies, more than any GBA game.
- Pokemon Diamond/Pearl for the DS outsold Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire for the GBA.

And why would parents buying for kids be less important this generation? There are just as many parents and kids today as there were 10 years ago.

Sora @ Dec 8th 2008 5:50PM

Well, the Pokemon thing was because R/S were the worst pokemon games evar, not counting spinoffs.

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 8th 2008 6:11PM

Thats it Sora. You. Me. Parking lot. 5 minutes. Be there

The Fatass of Kickassness @ Dec 8th 2008 9:05PM

"- Nintendogs for the DS is one of the biggest "selling millions to gullible parents" games ever! It sold 20 million copies, more than any GBA game.
- Pokemon Diamond/Pearl for the DS outsold Pokemon Ruby/Sapphire for the GBA."

Yeah, but here's the thing - parents are buying the quality DS games instead of the bullshit. Well, they're buying less bullshit than they were in the GBA days, anyway.

Your Pokemon Diamond/Pearl point only strengthens my argument.

offday @ Dec 8th 2008 3:33PM

Didn't someone suggest this post be called What a Wiik in an earlier post titled Wii Post? Someone deserves credit here. Unless they stole it?

AsherR @ Dec 8th 2008 3:35PM

*Inserts obligatory comment about the Wii lacking hardcore games*
Hur Hur

But in all seriousness, I was working at Best Buy for that day and we didn't have any at all. Also out of Wii Fit, Mario Kart Wii, and sold out of almost everything with Guitar or Rock in the title before 10 am.

I think the Wii is a world government conspiracy to either spy on us or they'll turn into killer robots or something.

BigD145 @ Dec 8th 2008 3:44PM

No, people buy the cheapest things on their wish list.

shannon @ Dec 8th 2008 3:46PM

amen

Dante G @ Dec 8th 2008 4:12PM

The cheapest console is the 360 arcade as far as I know.

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 8th 2008 4:32PM

"hmmmm, I can either purchase a $250 console, some games at $50 each, and a controller combo for $50-$60. Or, I can buy necessities, likes coats, shoes, and clothes which might not even reach $200. You know what? Fuck it, I want that Wii!"

Foetoid @ Dec 8th 2008 7:14PM

LOL BIGD. Explain then why the 60gb 360 PRO retails here in Australia for AUS$399, which happens to also be the RRP of the Wii? The Arcade is another AUS$100 cheaper. Your 'buying it cause its cheaper' argument is BS.

Cody @ Dec 8th 2008 9:32PM

LMAO the cheapest thing on their list.

Is that an attempt at elitistism? Is that even a word? I don't know.

If anything, Nintendo had the price range right from the beginning.

Courtney @ Dec 8th 2008 3:51PM

If another Mother game is made, all currency should be in the form of Wiis and Wii accessories.

Mr Khan @ Dec 8th 2008 4:39PM

Shigesato Itoi will put a stop to that, sadly enough. He is also part of the pressure to keep the game from being localized

Courtney @ Dec 8th 2008 5:00PM

Which is all a tragic shame. If a Wii exclusive Mother game was made, that would be a system seller for me.

DEEZNUTZ @ Dec 8th 2008 3:53PM

I wouldn't wish, much less gift the Wii to my worst enemy. Killed my Dog, drowned my fish, and will forever be my nemesis.

Cesaria (GT: Cesaria360; PSN: Cesaria) @ Dec 8th 2008 4:09PM

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 8th 2008 4:10PM

what if your friend was a baby/retarded/ a "Casual gamer"?

HURRR HURRR HURRR

TwEE @ Dec 8th 2008 4:12PM

Now if only Nintendo listened to all the professionals and went third party, they wouldn't be in this mess.

Cody @ Dec 8th 2008 9:34PM

Best comment yet fa sho.

Mr Khan @ Dec 8th 2008 4:41PM

It really proves the console's staying power when it can sell through like that with next to no new software worth considering

Though preliminary numbers on Animal Crossing might tell a different tale, estimates only had it at the 500k range for the Earth.

tmacairjordan87 @ Dec 9th 2008 1:02AM

No it really says more about all the people buying wiis with no software worth playing this year.

WRE @ Dec 9th 2008 4:07AM

tmac,
That reminds me of both the PS3's first year and a quote by a certain Sony executive. What did that crazy bastard say? Something about people buying a PS3 even if it didn't have any games? Good times...

Iridium @ Dec 8th 2008 5:00PM

All the people that don't have a Wii still have to get a Wii because the moms all talk about how cool it was to see thier kid play Wii Sports, and they could actually play it.

Maybe Wiimania would have gone down a bit but they made WiiFit that just brought more mom has got to buy it fever to the market.

The Wii is so overhyped it makes the iPhone, iPod, ginger, New Coke, and Crystal Pepsi all rolled into one and still makes that hype ball look like a plague rat.

The Wii may sell like crazy but it has a three month shelf life before it collects dust just like the Baby Alive every 5 year old girl has to have.

Nintendo made such a great con to get every publisher on the planet to make games for a console that nobody buys. Even first party games have a hard time selling. The Wii is going to be the console that kills the video game industry.

Every real gamer knows that is the truth. It will be a glorious death with a Wii in every home that is never played. They will all sit there with a soft glow silently sucking millions of watts. They will cause the ailing electical grid to fail putting us all into a sea of empty blackness.

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 8th 2008 5:09PM

"Even first party games have a hard time selling."

name 1 Nintendo published game thats been out for over 3 months and hasnt sold at least 1 million copies

Mr Khan @ Dec 8th 2008 5:10PM

That's either sarcasm or discourse has reached a sad new low

Ethan @ Dec 8th 2008 5:18PM

You're Mommy's not going to leave Daddy for a console. It's not your fault.

Evan @ Dec 8th 2008 5:53PM

The Wii's success is not just hype. The Wii is selling because IT HAS THE MOST GOOD QUALITY KIDS GAMES! How many parents are going to buy a 360 for their kids when the only games are Viva Pinata and a couple of non-exclusive movie license shovelware games?

And, first party Wii games are selling very well:
- Mario Kart: 9.5 million
- Brawl: 7.5 million
- Mario Galaxy: 6 million
Compare to:
- Halo 3: 8 million
- Gears of War: 4.7 million
- Metal Gear Solid 4: 3 million

Moptimus Slime @ Dec 8th 2008 5:06PM

I think its time Nintendo replaced the current Wii SKU. Maybe keep it as a base option, but have a "premium" choice, which would include:

-Console/Wii Sports (Duh!)
-Wii Play (giving extra remote and nunchuck)
-Wii Sports Resort (with 2 Motion Pluses)
-Animal Crossing/Upcoming game that uses Wii Speak
-maybe a point card

Maybe price it around $350. Nintendo could take the loss, seeing as how the Wii already has printed enough money for them to survive a nuclear holocaust. Also seeing how the bundle would sell like Wiis around Christmas time (this is now the official simile and should be used whenever describing something that is selling in large quantities)