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More than a Wii success
03.09.2007
Trouncing competition from Microsoft’s Xbox and Xbox 360 as well Sony’s Playstation 2 and 3, the relatively humble Nintendo Wii has sold over 1 million units in Britain in 38 weeks, making it the fastest-selling console in UK history.
The Wii boasts a unique and innovative control system that relies on screen sensors as opposed to the trational button-control joypad that has existed since the Eighties. The relatively limited machine also was marketed more to casual gamers and for family interraction than its competitors who pitched their more powerful consoles to established gamers.
Another probable factor in its remarkable popularity is the cost. A Wii costs less than €300 (£200 sterling), compared to the €600 (£400 sterling) pricetag of a Playstation 3, for example.
Nintendo's handheld DS has also sold healthily.
David Yarnton, general manager of Nintendo UK said: "The non-stop demand for Wii even in the traditionally slow sales periods for video games in the UK is clearly behind this record-breaking achievement. The performance of [Wii and DS] appears to indicate that unprecedented interactive entertainment experiences, provided by a combination of the revolutionary nature of DS and Wii with the increasing number of unique software titles for the system from Nintendo and third parties, are being enjoyed by both avid and new gamers of all ages."?
Joe Griffin
Another probable factor in its remarkable popularity is the cost. A Wii costs less than €300 (£200 sterling), compared to the €600 (£400 sterling) pricetag of a Playstation 3, for example.
Nintendo's handheld DS has also sold healthily.
David Yarnton, general manager of Nintendo UK said: "The non-stop demand for Wii even in the traditionally slow sales periods for video games in the UK is clearly behind this record-breaking achievement. The performance of [Wii and DS] appears to indicate that unprecedented interactive entertainment experiences, provided by a combination of the revolutionary nature of DS and Wii with the increasing number of unique software titles for the system from Nintendo and third parties, are being enjoyed by both avid and new gamers of all ages."?
Joe Griffin
