Nintendo has revealed that its new Wii U console has sold 400,000 units during its first week on sale in the US.
Nintendo of America’s president Reggie Fils-Aime said : “Wii U is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock. Retailers are also doing their best to get the product to store shelves. But as soon as product hits retail, they’re selling out immediately.”
As a point of reference Nintendo’s previous home console, the wildly successful Wii, sold through 475,000 units during its first week on sale in November 2006 and sold out almost instantly. It remained difficult to purchase until spring 2009 and went on to sell over 90 million units.
Interestingly, during the Wii U launch week Nintendo also sold 300,000 units of its six-year-old Wii console while rival Microsoft sold 750,000 units of its seven-year-old Xbox 360 console. Though this might not paint the strongest picture of the Wii U’s US launch, it is not uncommon for older, cheaper harder to outsell new consoles and Nintendo’s claim that they have “essentially sold out” suggests they could not have sold many more units anyway.
The Wii U, which is Nintendo’s 6th home video game console, displays high definition graphics and
features a unique tablet-like controller called the Gamepad. It went on sale in the US on November 18 and will be released in Europe and Australia on November 30 and in Japan on December 8. When it launches in the UK, the Wii U will be available in two main models, a basic white model that will cost around £250 and a premium model that will include additional internal memory and the party game Nintendo Land and will cost around £300.
