Wii Strikes Up 50,000 Sales In 12 Hours
One console sold every second since launch
8th December 2006 - Within just 12 hours of going on sale, the much anticipated launch of the Nintendo Wii console has reached new heights of success with 50,000 units sold. The staggering figure translates to one unit sold throughout the UK every second, since the very first sale at the star-studded midnight store opening at HMV on London's Oxford Street.
David Yarnton, General Manager, Nintendo UK says; "We are delighted with the amazing response to Wii and that people of all ages and gaming experience are embracing the way that we are turning the industry on its head. With so many units sold it is great to see that people will be enjoying Wii with their families this Christmas. We are doing everything we can do to meet demand throughout Christmas and the New Year period."
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For further information please contact:
Nintendo Press Office - 020 7307 3103
sian@cakegroup.com
Note to Editors:
Photography and footage regarding the launch of Wii is available at www.thenewsmarket.com/nintendo-europe. Media can preview and request broadcast-standard video digitally or by tape at no cost from this site.
If you are not already familiar with Wii, here's what you need to know:
What's Wii ?
Wii is Nintendo's new console which, with its sleek design and size of three DVD cases, fits perfectly into anyone's living room. The Wii Remote is a one handed controller, similar in look to a TV remote control, which players use to control their games with life-like movements, providing a more interactive and realistic experience than ever before A secondary Nunchuk controller can be attached to the Wii Remote for games that require the use of both hands, infinitely expanding Wii's possibilities Wii Sports comes with every Wii and includes boxing, tennis, baseball, bowling and golf. This groundbreaking collection of games is designed so that anyone can play by simply recreating the physical movements of the actual sport. Games GaloreWii will launch with around 24 games in December including: The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Nintendo), Wii Play (Nintendo), Red SteelTM (Ubisoft), Call of Duty® 3 (Activision), Super Monkey BallTM: Banana Blitz (Sega) and Need For SpeedTM Carbon (EA).
Channel Surf With Wii
As well as its unique gameplay, the Wii console includes a series of on-screen "channels" that add additional functionality to the Wii. The channels offer a gateway to a rich variety of entertainment options. When connected to a TV, the Wii Channel Menu offers a simple interface letting users pick games to play, receive news and weather updates, view, edit and send photos and send messages to other Wii consoles, computers and mobile phones using the console's message board function. Users can surf the net from the comfort of their couch with the Internet Channel or create caricatures of themselves to use in the actual games through the fun Mii Channel. Channels available from launch are Disk Channel, Wii Shop Channel, Mii Channel and Photo Channel. The Internet Channel, powered by Opera Browser, will be available in December. The Forecast Channel, provided by Weathernews, will become available on 20th December from when you can check out weather information for anywhere in the world. On 27th January 2007 the News Channel will provide instant access to breaking news from around the world provided by Associated Press. Retro gaming at your fingertips The Virtual Console service allows Wii owners to download and play classic Nintendo games on their Wii. There are 36 Virtual Console titles available in 2006, with more added to the range on a regular basis** Games for the Virtual Console will be downloaded using Wii Points which can be purchased online or in retail stores for around 20 for 2000 Wii Points. In addition, Wii is backwards compatible with Nintendo GameCube games The Wii console is available at the estimated retail price of around 249 (£179 in the UK). Included with every Wii console is one wireless Wii Remote, a Nunchuk, Wii Sports game, Stereo AV Cable and the sensor bar for Wii's unique control system. Software is available at the estimated retail price of between 49 Euros and 59 Euros (£34 to £39 in the UK). Additional controllers will retail at the estimated prices of: Wii Remote 39 Euros (£29 in UK), Nunchuk 19 Euros (£14 in UK) and the Classic Controller 19 Euros (£14 in UK).*Wii games available from 8th December 2006
Wii Sports - includes Tennis, Golf, Boxing, Baseball and Bowling (Included with each Wii console) (Nintendo).
The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess (Nintendo)
Wii Play (including Wii Remote) (Nintendo)
Call of Duty® 3 (Activision)
Tony Hawk's Downhill JamTM(Activision)
Madden NFL 07 (EA)
Need For SpeedTM Carbon (EA)
Happy FeetTM (Midway Games)
Super Monkey BallTM: Banana Blitz (Sega)
Disney/ Pixar's Cars (THQ)
Spongebob Squarepants: Creature from the Krusty Krab (THQ)
GT Pro Series (Ubisoft)
Monster 4x4 World Circuit (Ubisoft)
Rayman Raving RabbidsTM (Ubisoft)
Red SteelTM (Ubisoft)
Wii titles available by end December 2006
MarvelTM: Ultimate AllianceTM (Activision)
Gottlieb Pinball Classics (System 3)
Super Fruit Fall (System 3)
Avatar: The Legend of Aang (THQ)
Barnyard (THQ)
Far Cry Vengeance (Ubisoft)
Open SeasonTM (Ubisoft)
Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell Double Agent (Ubisoft)
Ice Age 2 (Vivendi)
**Virtual Console games available from 8th December 2006:
Super Mario TM 64 (Nintendo 64)
F-Zero TM, Donkey Kong Country TM (Super Nintendo)
Mario Bros. TM, The Legend of ZeldaTM, Donkey KongTM and Wario's WoodsTM (NES)
Sonic the HedgehogTM, Altered BeastTM, Golden AxeTM and Ecco the DolphinTM (SEGA MEGA DRIVE)
Bonk's AdventureTM, Super Star Soldier®, Victory RunTM, Bomberman®'93 and Dungeon ExplorerTM (Turbografx (PC Engine))
Virtual Console games available from 15th December 2006:
Urban Champion TM, Solomon's Key TM and Pinball (NES)
Columns TM, Gunstar Heroes TM, Ristar TM, Dr. Robotonik's Mean Bean Machine TM (SEGA MEGA DRIVE)
Alien Crush TM (Turbografx (PC Engine))
Virtual Console games available from 22nd December 2006:
Donkey Kong Jr. TM, Soccer and Tennis (NES)
Space Harrier II TM and Toe Jam & Earl TM (SEGA MEGA DRIVE)
Military Madness TM (Turbografx (PC Engine))
Virtual Console games available from 29th December 2006:
SimCity TM, Super Probotector TM and Super Castlevania IV TM (Super Nintendo)
Baseball and Ice Hockey (NES)
R-TYPE® (Turbografx (PC Engine)
About Wii
Nintendo's new system, Wii, will feature a controller designed to be used with either one hand or two -- a first in the video game industry. When picked up and pointed at the screen, the controller gives a lightning-quick element of interaction, sensing motion, depth, positioning and targeting dictated by movement of the controller itself.
About Nintendo
Nintendo Co., Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 2.2 billion video games worldwide and more than 387 million hardware units globally, creating such industry icons as Mario® and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda® and Pokémon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular video game systems, including home console units such as the Nintendo 64, NINTENDO GAMECUBE, and the forthcoming revolutionary new console Wii, as well as portable handheld gaming systems such as, Nintendo DS. Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy - the world's best-selling video game system which has sold over 193 million units. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.