Nintendo responds to NPD data – Wii/DS set records, 23 million Wii consoles sold in the U.S.

Nintendo Kicks Off the Holidays with Nearly 3 Million Hardware Units Sold in November; Nintendo DS Sets All-Time November Record and Wii Installed Base Crosses 23 Million in the United States

November proved to be a record-setting month for Nintendo video game sales. Nintendo’s Wii™ console sold more than 1.25 million units in November, making Wii the fastest-selling home console to surpass an installed base of 23 million. Meanwhile the Nintendo DS™ franchise set a record with the most hand-held video game systems sold in the month of November – ever. According to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales data in the United States, Nintendo sold nearly 1.7 million Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi™ systems in November, eclipsing the previous record of 1.57 million held by Nintendo DS in 2008.

As the No. 1- and No. 2-selling systems for the month, the Nintendo DS and Wii systems sold nearly 3 million units combined in November, demonstrating that holiday shoppers who want value continue to choose Nintendo products. Nintendo hardware represents more than half of all video game systems sold in the United States through November in 2009.

“Nintendo products top Amazon.com’s Most Wished For and Most Gifted lists for video games, and Wii remains at or near the top of the most-searched for video game terms on Yahoo!,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “As families and friends gather for the holidays, Nintendo games offer the best shared experiences.”

Four games published for Nintendo systems finished in the top 10 best-sellers of November in the United States. New Super Mario Bros.™ Wii, which launched on Nov. 15, came in at No. 3 with nearly 1.4 million units sold through November, and continues to show great momentum: Nintendo’s internal sales figures show that the first four-player Super Mario Bros. game has already surpassed the 2 million sales mark when December sales are included. Other top 10 titles for November, according to the NPD Group, include Wii Sports Resort™ at No. 6 with more than 580,000 sold, Wii Fit™ Plus (with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory) at No. 7 with more than 490,000 sold and Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 10 with more than 310,000 sold.

Six of the top 10 best-selling games of all of 2009 through November play on Nintendo systems. These include Wii Fit at No. 2 with more than 3.5 million sold, Wii Sports Resort at No. 3 with nearly 2.4 million sold, Mario Kart Wii at No. 4 with more than 2.2 million sold, Wii Play™ at No. 5 with more than 2.1 million sold, Pokémon™ Platinum Version at No. 6 with more than 1.9 million sold and New Super Mario Bros. Wii at No. 10 with nearly 1.4 million sold. Consumers have also been enjoying Wii Fit Plus, which has sold more than 1.1 million as of the end of November.

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