Following the launch of the Wii console on Sunday in North America, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime has stated that he expects the company will have sold 1 million units in the Americas by early December and 2 million by the second week in January.
Nintendo’s previously stated plans called for the company to ship approximately 4 million consoles globally before the end of 2006. It is not clear whether the new figures stated by Fils-Aime are still in line with these numbers, since no estimate for Japanese or European sales were given. Sony’s plans call for 1 million consoles sales in the U.S. by the end of March, 2007.
When interviewed by Reuters, Fils-Aime also commented on the potential lifespan of the Wii, suggesting that a four, five or even six year lifespan was “just about right”. While confirming that the console would be profitable from launch, Fils-Aime also stated, “our focus truly is on growing the industry - getting more women to play, getting older consumers to play. To do that we needed to have the remote be easy.. and second we needed to have the games.
Referring to the low price of the console compared to the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, Fils-Aime added, “We think that's in part why the industry has become so insular - very expensive machines, machines that arguably do more than you need them to do.”
