AfterDawn: News

Nintendo's Wii console launches in Europe

The official European launch of Nintendo's Wii console took place at the HMV store in Oxford Street, London. In the UK, within 12 hours of the launch, 50,000 units (or more than one unit per second) were sold. "The demand has just been unprecedented," Nintendo UK boss David Yarnton said. "We are delighted with the amazing response to Wii and that people of all ages and gaming experience are embracing the way that we are turning the industry on its head."

The console retails for an estimated €250 (approx. $332) and £179 (approx. $351) in the UK. In the United States, Nintendo sold 600,000 units in its first week and in Japan, 400,000 consoles changed owners the first day. "We're well on track to ship four million consoles by the end of the year, and by the end of our financial year in March we'll be on track for six million." Yarnton commented.



HMV's head of games, Tim Ellis, said demand for the console far exceeds the supply. He said the store had 1200 phone calls the previous day about the Wii with 75% of callers inquiring about purchasing a Wii console despite having failed to pre-order earlier. "So we could have taken another thousand orders today. It's just bedlam, really," he said.

"We've got stock coming through till Christmas and more stock in the new year. Everything we said we'd ship to retail we've shipped, they've got all the hardware we said we'd ship, and we've got more coming through." Yarnton commented.

Here are some pictures (click to enlarge).

































Source:
GamesIndustry.biz

Written by: James Delahunty @ 8 Dec 2006 16:44

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• 15 comments

• gozilla

  this may sound silly, but its nice that the wii comes with the stand and doesnt ask you for another $30 for a stand (as was the case with the original PS2)
  

  8.12.2006 17:06 #1

• TheJoxter

  It's cool to see all the consoles together like that. Nice pics.

  8.12.2006 17:30 #2

• Gradical

  i´d just liked a little bit more of a dark red somewhere cause it would give me the feeling of a nes flashback, since it looks a lot like it to me

  8.12.2006 17:39 #3

• mattylad

  I love the look of the Wii, also it's the only console that I can afford!

  8.12.2006 21:26 #4

• tabletpc

  this is unfair we in the u.s.a get a copy of wii sports in a carboard cover and they get a nice plastic case unfair thats bull
  
  but good to here the console is doing great

  8.12.2006 22:13 #5

• domie

  can we have some screen shots of all the serious damage to TVs, PCs, video, windows and limbs that their lethal remote control has caused, like here.... ? http://www.drunkendonkey.net/eng/index.php?showtopic=77740&view=findpost&p=476803

  9.12.2006 00:51 #6

• Ketola

  Quote:can we have some screen shots of all the serious damage to TVs, PCs, video, windows and limbs that their lethal remote control has causedYou can find coverage regarding the Wii wrist strap problems at:
  
  http://www.wiihaveaproblem.com/
  
  

  9.12.2006 00:59 #7

• themind

  Nintendo should be happy that they got into video games and not something like skate bords or bmx bikes, Man, think of all the videos and pictures of people getting hurt if Nintendo made them. Stupid people.

  9.12.2006 03:32 #8

• domie

  it's a fair point, you would think that with all the years and dollars of research and investment that must have gone into making this baby that one of their geniuses would have considered inventing a slightly thicker ,sturdier piece of plastic to stop the wrist strap from breaking and causing thousands of dollars of damage to home equipment.
  how long will it be before the first serious personal injury is reported ?

  9.12.2006 14:33 #9

• azef

  omg ban nintendo wii, people are getting hurt by this evil killer machine!! lol at all the noobs crashing their televisions. and even more lol at all the noobs whining about people getting hurt. oO wii owns. end of story;)

  9.12.2006 19:23 #10

• Madrox105

  its smaller than the bloody gamecube, the next nintendo will need a paperweight on it to keep it from blowing away.

  10.12.2006 02:38 #11

• Andrew691

  Does look incredibly small, but did anyone notice the thing that looks suspiciously like a massive grey power brick(pic 5)?

  10.12.2006 10:24 #12

• themind

  You are right Andrew691 that is the power converter.

  10.12.2006 10:29 #13

• Ketola

  Yes, the gray brick next to the Wii box is the transformer. It's still alot smaller (and lighter) than the Xbox 360 power supply, which weighs almost as much as the Wii console, and is half the size of the console. Kind of reminds me of an Amiga 500 PSU. =)
  

  10.12.2006 12:43 #14

• Alcareru

  Quote:I love the look of the Wii, also it's the only console that I can afford!-- mattylad
  That might just be my fate too...
  
  I think it's a great strategy from Nintendo to put a low-price console on the market when xBox and PS3 both are competing with muscles. And the remote is also a great idea.
  
  I haven't played much consoles for a few years... oh I would like to see how new Zeldas and Metroids compare to the good old snes and nes versions. Laugh at me if you will but I think the best game ever is Super Metroid. It was just awsome. And Zelda on snes.. another great one (well ok it might be the feeling of nostalgy that talks here..). Naturally the grafics are what they are but still... thought comparing those games to modern games is kind of stupid. It's like comparing a piece paper and a pencil to a computer.

  10.12.2006 14:32 #15