Nintendo Announces More Than 34 Million Wii Consoles Sold in the United States

Even if some people may be bored with the first-party titles that Nintendo has released for the Wii videogame console, there's no doubt that the Nintendo-branded consoles have a way of flying off the shelves and into the homes of millions of people. In the United States, Nintendo is happy to announce that they've managed to continue their sales strengths with not only the Wii console, but also the DS handheld videogame console.

According to Nintendo, the company has sold 47 million total DS handheld consoles in the United States since the console's launch in November of 2004. As Nintendo puts it, this makes the DS the best-selling videogame console in the nation — of all time. However, Nintendo's not finished with the announcements — the Wii is selling just as well, and in the last three years has managed to move 21 million consoles.

In total, the Wii has sold 34 million consoles, total, in the United States alone. This marks the third consecutive calendar year that Nintendo has managed to sell more than 7 million consoles per year. With these sales numbers, it could go to say that the newer portable gaming console, the 3DS, will see the same kind of sales. At least, Nintendo can hope.

Press Release

Nintendo DS and Wii Set New U.S. Sales Records in 2010

Nintendo DS Becomes All-Time Best-Selling Video Game System; Wii Sells More Than 7 Million for Third Consecutive Year

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The close of 2010 produced two sales milestones for Nintendo in the United States.

"When we look ahead to 2011, we see new portable technology and more great Wii games that need to be seen to be believed."

According to Nintendo's internal sales figures, the Nintendo DS™ family of portable video game systems has sold more than 47 million in the United States since the original model launched in November 2004. That tally makes Nintendo DS the nation's best-selling video game system of all time.

For the second major milestone of 2010, Nintendo's internal figures show that the Wii™ home console marked its third consecutive calendar year with U.S. sales of more than 7 million – a feat never before accomplished in the history of video games by a home console. To date, the Wii system has sold more than 34 million in the United States alone.

"When we look back at 2010, we see consumers time and again turning to the value and enjoyment of our products," said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. "When we look ahead to 2011, we see new portable technology and more great Wii games that need to be seen to be believed."

Nintendo is set to release its new Nintendo 3DS™ hand-held system in the United States in March. The portable system lets players see 3D content – without the need for special glasses. More details about the system will be announced in the future.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://wii.com. For more information about Nintendo, visit http://www.nintendo.com.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.5 billion video games and more than 577 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company's website at http://www.nintendo.com.

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