Nintendo's Wii a Big Success

Things are off to a good start for the waggling console.

The gaping hole left by the delay of the PlayStation 3 in Europe means that all eyes are now on Nintendo, which is readying the Wii for release here on 8 December. If the early days of the North American launch are anything to go by, Nintendo fans and the company itself have a lot to be happy about.

In just the first 8 days Nintendo sold more than 600,000 Wiis, the company said this week.

"Even with sales already in excess of 600,000 units, demand continues to exceed supply, as it's clear this is one of the 'gotta-have' products for the holiday season," Nintendo's Reggie Fils-Aime said in a report at the BBC.

"We've shipped retailers several times the amount of hardware the other company was able to deliver for its launch around the same time - and we still sold out."

The "other company" Fils-Aime is referring to is Sony, which reports suggest fell embarrassingly short of its initial shipping estimates for the PlayStation 3.

Desperate to get at the consoles, wanna-be Wii and PS3 owners are turning to eBay, which this week said nearly 15,000 PS3s were auctioned on the site in the first week, reports GameSpot. More than 26,000 Wiis changed hands on eBay in that console's debut week.

It's not just Wii hardware that's doing well. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, which debuted alongside the console, was snapped up by around half a million people in its first week on shelves.

Link's new adventure and the Wii both go on sale across Europe on 8 December. In the UK the console will cost £180.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo