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Wii sets new hardware sales record in December

Sales top 3.8 million; DS sold more in 2009 than in any other year

The Nintendo Wii broke hardware sales records in the US in the month of December, shifting in excess of 3.8 million units to create a new single-month US sales high.

And the DS shared similar success with sales of 3.3 million (DS and DSi combined) throughout the month, giving the console the second highest selling month in US history. Adding its December sales to the rest of 2009 made the year the best for the DS to date with sales topping 11.2 million units - another sales record.

For the whole year, Wii sold 9.6 million units - down slightly on 2008's year end total of 10.17 million - with November-December sales accounting for nearly one-fifth (18.7 per cent) of that total.

"Wii, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi combined to sell more than 7 million units in the month of December alone," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "Clearly there is overwhelming consumer demand for fun games, motion controls and value. This remarkable hardware sales surge presents a tremendous software opportunity for Nintendo and its third-party partners as we head into 2010."

Lifetime US sales for the Wii now stand at 27.2 million, and lifetime sales for the DS have reached 38.8 million, surpassing sales of the Game Boy Advance.

Nintendo first-party titles accounted for six of the top ten best selling games in the month of December - those included New Super Mario Bros Wii with sales of 2.8 million and Wii Sports Resort, which topped 1.7 million.

The platform holder also held seven of the top ten best selling games for the whole of 2009.

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