Did Xbox 360 really outsell Wii?

November 28th, 2006, 17:14 Posted By: wraggster

Nintendo shifts over 600,000 Wiis in North America, casting doubt over Microsoft's claims that 360 came out on top last weekend

Nintendo has divulged its launch week North American Wii sales numbers, revealing that its next-gen console has shifted over 600,000 units over the past week.

With just the sales of first party games and accessories taken into account, Wii became a $190m USD (£97.7m GBP) business in just one week.

Nintendo's first week Wii numbers almost doubled the amount of Xbox 360s Microsoft managed to shift during its entire launch month, although that obviously suffered from some severe shortages.

Microsoft website MSN previously claimed that retailers and analysts had confirmed that the Xbox 360 was "the hottest selling gaming console this past weekend" in North America, which - unless Nintendo managed to shift a significantly smaller chunk of its 600,000 sold units on its Sunday launch day - in hindsight might look like a pretty dubious claim to some.

Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said of the sales figures: "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. 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. Given the inclusive nature of Wii game play, we're seeing this new form of video gaming is already a huge hit with gamers and newcomers alike. It continues to be a phenomenal launch."

Additionally, Nintendo's flagship Wii title Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess flew off North American shelves in the order of 454,000 units, meaning that over 75% of Wii owners picked up Link's latest adventure.

Sony is yet to announce its official US launch numbers for the PS3, though it is expected to experience a similar console shortage hit as the Xbox 360 last year.

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