Officials from Nintendo of Europe have announced that the Nintendo Wii and DS consoles together accounted for more than half of all European video game hardware sales in December.
According to data compiled by Chart Track, the recently released Wii console sold nearly 200,000 units in the UK between its December 8 launch and the close of 2006, while the ever-popular Nintendo DS sold more than 500,000 units in December in the UK.
In addition, Nintendo further noted that 1.7 million Nintendo DS units were sold across Europe during December, making the platform the top selling console in Europe, both in December and 2006. Of course, the handheld's popularity has not been restricted to the European region, with NPD's recent December sales report for the U.S. having found that the Nintendo DS topped all platforms in sales with 1.6 million units sold.
The Wii also enjoyed brisk sales following its debut in December, as officials from the UK branch of Nintendo earlier commented that Wii sales reached 50,000 in the first 12 hours of availability, and that its initial weekend sales made the Wii the fastest selling video game console in European history. In total, Nintendo has revealed that over 700,000 Wii consoles were purchased across Europe in December.
Games for the Wii have also proved popular at retail in Europe, with more than 500,000 copies of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess sold in December, indicating an attach rate of more than 70 percent. Wii Play, which comes bundled with a Wii remote, has seen similar success with 320,000 copies sold to date.
“We have enjoyed one of the most successful Christmas holidays ever, with both Nintendo DS and Wii selling at staggering rates,” commented Laurent Fischer, marketing director for Nintendo Europe. “The success of our products this Christmas clearly shows that Nintendo’s drive to make gaming accessible to everyone has attracted people of all ages and abilities to the industry.”
Fischer added: “We are facing such high demand for both platforms that unfortunately we are facing stock shortages, however we are doing everything possible to combat this by attempting to deliver both consoles and games to retailers on a daily basis.”
