When the Nintendo Wii was introduced, gamers were skeptical – the graphics were not that much better than the GameCube, which already lagged last-generation consoles. Also, Nintendo had gotten worse and worse at getting a solid third-party line-up of games on their systems (although they had gotten better and better at making their own games). And the new motion-control system was so different than anything else that many say it as a gimmick bound to fail – and at that time few games even took advantage of the touch screen on the DS< so skepticism was warranted!
Of course, since then Nintendo has come on strong and has dominated this console generation – Microsoft and Sony spent a years falling over themselves decrying the uselessness of motion control gaming, until last year each of them came out with their own similar technology and then they each were touting how it was not only useful, but how THEIR solution was best!
All the while Nintendo has been improving their own technology with the Wii-Motion Plus (I can personally attest to how much better it works, and we have them on all of our controllers!). They have added the Wii Balance Board for Wii Fit, brought on loads of third-party developers to deliver an amazing array of casual and hardcore games that bring a unique experience only the Wii can deliver.
Now they have hit an amazing milestone – 30 million Wii consoles sold in the US. This has happened in less than four years and is more than 15 months shorter than the next best selling console to hit 30 million (I assume the PS2).
Here is the announcement:
Today Nintendo announced a huge milestone for Wii – it reached 30 million units sold in the United States alone. This is based on internal figures and no video game system has ever sold so many so quickly in the history of the industry – in fact Wii reached this milestone 15 months faster than the next best-selling console.
Since launching in 2006, the Wii console has expanded the global audience for video games, getting people of all ages and backgrounds off the couch and into the action with a wide variety of inclusive, easy-to-learn motion-control activities. For under $200, consumers not only get the Wii console and a second-generation motion controller – Wii MotionPlus – which brings additional precision to certain games, but “ right-out-of-the-box fun” with the active play titles Wii Sports and Wii Sports Resort. That’s a great value to consumers!
Additionally, Wii has a strong slate of games on the way for the fall and holiday season. These include Metroid™: Other M on Aug. 31, Samurai Warriors™ 3 on Sept. 27, Kirby’s Epic Yarn™ and Wii Party™ this fall, and Donkey Kong Country™ Returns, FlingSmash™ and PokéPark™ Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure for the holidays. That’s in addition to New Carnival Games from 2K Play in September, NBA JAM from EA Sports in October, GoldenEye 007 from Activision and Just Dance 2 from Ubisoft this fall, and Disney’s Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive Studios and Sonic Colors from SEGA during the holidays.
In recent months sales of the Wii have been lagging a bit, but when you look at the list of upcoming games it is easy to predict that the Wii will have a great fall season! My family is enjoying Just Dance, and my kids are excited for GoldenEye 007 and Metroid™: Other M.
What is your favorite Wii game? Which one are you looking forward to this fall? Let us know!
Source: Nintendo Wii
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