James Lee
12:01 (BST)
02/06/2008
Wii experiences lacklustre Korean sales
Nintendo's Wii has foundered in its first month in Korea, only selling between 35,000 and 40,000, according to reports by the Korean Times.
The slow uptake has been blamed on the strict regional code system implemented on Korean units, where customers are forced to buy localised game titles only.
"Hard-core gamers don't like to buy the Wii because the Korean version can only play Korean version software titles, which so far are few,'' Jang Jae-heung, a 30-year-old gamer told the paper.
"Many want to play popular Japanese titles. This is important because it is hard-core gamers who lead the gaming market trend.''
Despite this, the Wii is still outperforming its rivals in the region with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation3 selling 150,000 units and 50,000 units in their first year respectively.
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