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NINTENDO SYSTEMS TOP SALES
CHARTS AHEAD OF HOLIDAY SHOPPING SEASON
Nintendo's Wii™ and Nintendo DS™
systems claimed the top hardware sales positions
for October, making them well-positioned to
become one of the must-have holiday gifts for
the fourth consecutive year. U.S. shoppers
snapped up nearly 507,000 Wii systems in
October, bringing lifetime sales to more than 22
million, according to the independent NPD Group,
which tracks video game sales in the United
States. Wii sales spiked more than 9.5 percent
over September, a remarkable result, considering
that September was a five-week reporting month
for NPD, while October included just four weeks.
Consumers were attracted by top software like
Wii Sports Resort™ and Wii Fit™ Plus, as well as
the system's new suggested retail price of
$199.99.
Nintendo's hand-helds, Nintendo DSi™ and
Nintendo DS Lite, combined to sell more than
457,000 units, and placed second in overall
video game hardware sales. The Nintendo DS
franchise has sold through nearly 34 million
units in the United States since its 2004 launch
and is poised to surpass the all-time
single-year U.S. hardware sales record, set in
2008 by the Wii console, with more than 10
million units sold.
"Nintendo's year-to-date share of total game
sales and total industry revenues are up over
the same period last year," said Cammie Dunaway,
Nintendo of America's executive vice president
of Sales & Marketing. "We are very appreciative
of the continued, strong consumer response to
both of our systems as we head into the
holidays, and are excited to bring to them our
key games, like New Super Mario Bros. Wii, which
launches this Sunday, and The Legend of Zelda:
Spirit Tracks, which launches Dec. 7."
Four games published for Nintendo systems
finished in the top 10 best-sellers of October
in the United States. These include Wii Fit Plus
at No. 5 with nearly 232,000 sold, Wii Fit Plus
(with the Wii Balance Board™ accessory) at No. 6
with more than 209,000 sold, Wii Sports Resort
with two Wii MotionPlus™ accessories at No. 8
with nearly 179,000 sold and Kingdom Hearts
358/2 Days for Nintendo DS and Nintendo DSi at
No. 10 with more than 169,000 sold.
Along with Wii Sports Resort, which launched in
July, games such as Wii Fit, Mario Kart™ Wii,
Wii Play™, Pokémon™ Platinum Version and Mario
Kart DS currently sit in the top 10 best-sellers
for all of 2009. |
