Skip to main content

Wii U sales surpass 400,000 in launch week, Nintendo says console 'sold out' at retail

Wii U sales surpass 400,000 in launch week, Nintendo says console 'sold out' at retail

Share this story

Gallery Photo: Nintendo Wii U hands-on pictures
Gallery Photo: Nintendo Wii U hands-on pictures

The Wii U has sold over 400,000 units in its first week of sales, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. In an interview with Cnet, Fils-Aime revealed that shoppers took home 700,000 Nintendo consoles in the last week, with the original Wii enjoying strong sales of 300,000. "Wii U is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock," said Fils-Aime. Demand for the Wii U has been somewhat hard to gauge; though it has remained largely unavailable from online retailers since launch, calls to local retailers reveal that stock is available in some markets — particularly when it comes to the $299 basic model. Comparatively (and despite similar stock constraints), sales for the original Wii exceeded 600,000 back in November 2006. It's still too early to label the Wii U's retail performance an outright success or disappointment. We should have a better sense of that after the holiday shopping season winds down

Update: Nintendo has reached out to The Verge and emphasized that the 600,000 figure from 2006 covered sales across all of the Americas, whereas today's announcement relates only to the US. According to NPD data, the original Wii sold approximately 475,000 units in the US during its first eight days on the market. That's still better than the Wii U's initial performance, though the divide isn't nearly as wide.