Nintendo Has More Than 65.3 Million Wii Remote Controllers in U.S. Players’ Hands

Average of 46,000 Sold Every Day in the United States; An Additional 52.9 Million Nunchuk Controllers Sold in the U.S.

REDMOND, Wash., Oct. 25, 2010 – Every day since the Wii™ system launched in November 2006, Nintendo has sold an average of 46,000 Wii Remote™ controllers in the United States. That’s a lot of people playing – and a lot of people playing together. Nintendo’s motion-controlled video games continue to create new players every day. People play Wii to try new experiences not available on other systems, including games like Wii Sports Resort™, Super Mario Galaxy™ 2 and Metroid™: Other M. Wii makes games more active, but it also makes them more social. Moms and dads play with their kids, and even grandma and grandpa join in.

Perhaps the best evidence of how Wii continues to expand the world of video games to new audiences is the total number of Wii Remote controllers that have sold. In the United States alone, more than 65.3 million Wii Remote controllers have sold through to consumers. This demonstrates that Wii owners like to play and they like to play together. They’re not the stereotypical gamers playing alone in their parents’ basement.

How much is 65.3 million Wii Remote controllers? That’s enough for every man, woman and child living in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Detroit and San Francisco, and enough still remains for every resident of Florida, Ohio, Virginia and North Dakota.

Here’s the breakdown of the number of Wii Remote controllers sold in the United States through the end of September and where they came from, according to the independent NPD Group:

30.41 million included with the Wii hardware
12.92 million sold with Wii Play™
18.56 million white versions sold separately
2.44 million black versions sold separately
467,500 pink versions sold separately
465,200 blue versions sold separately
The NPD Group also reports that Nintendo has sold an additional 52.9 million Nunchuk™ controllers in the United States through the end of September.

Wii continues to represent the best value for players as well. The current Wii hardware is available at a suggested retail price of $199.99. That includes:

Wii hardware
Wii Sports™
Wii Sports Resort™
A Wii Remote controller
A Wii MotionPlus™ accessory
A Nunchuk™ controller
Access* to hundreds of downloadable games, including new games like World of Goo and classic games from the NES™, Super NES™ and Nintendo 64™ eras
Access* to a variety of entertainment and informational channels, including the Nintendo® Channel, which provides information about current and upcoming Wii and Nintendo DS™ games
Access* to streaming Netflix** movies
Starting Nov. 7, the new Wii Remote™ Plus controller replaces the iconic Wii Remote controller. The Wii Remote Plus controller has built-in Wii MotionPlus™ functionality and offers players precision motion controls all in one unit. It becomes the new standard Wii controller, and will be available starting Nov. 7 in all Wii hardware packages and bundles, as well as sold separately at a suggested retail price of $39.99.

As the holiday shopping season approaches, shoppers will have dozens of excuses to pick up a Nintendo controller of their own and start playing. Some exclusive games for the Wii console include the already-available Samurai Warriors™ 3, Wii Party™ and Kirby’s Epic Yarn™. Upcoming games include PokéPark™ Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure, which launches Nov. 1; FlingSmash™, which launches Nov. 7; and Donkey Kong Country™ Returns, which launches Nov. 21. Third-party Wii games include now-available games like New Carnival Games® from 2K Play, NBA JAM from EA Sports and Just Dance® 2 from Ubisoft, plus upcoming games like Sonic Colors™ from SEGA on Nov. 16 and Disney Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive Studios on Nov. 30.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://wii.com.

* Broadband Internet connection required. **Netflix streaming requires Netflix unlimited membership and broadband Internet connection.

About Nintendo: The worldwide pioneer in the creation of interactive entertainment, Nintendo Co., Ltd., of Kyoto, Japan, manufactures and markets hardware and software for its Wii™ home console and Nintendo DS™ family of portable systems. Since 1983, when it launched the Nintendo Entertainment System™, Nintendo has sold more than 3.4 billion video games and more than 565 million hardware units globally, including the current-generation Wii, Nintendo DS, Nintendo DSi™ and Nintendo DSi XL™, as well as the Game Boy™, Game Boy Advance, Super NES™, Nintendo 64™ and Nintendo GameCube™ systems. It has also created industry icons that have become well-known, household names such as Mario™, Donkey Kong™, Metroid™, Zelda™ and Pokémon™. A wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of America Inc., based in Redmond, Wash., serves as headquarters for Nintendo’s operations in the Western Hemisphere. For more information about Nintendo, please visit the company’s website at http://www.nintendo.com.

Source: Nintendo PR