Nintendo confirms sales of 600,000 Wii consoles in first week

Redmond (WA) - In plain shipment numbers, Nintendo’s Wii can claim to have had the most successful launch week. The manufacturer today said that more than 600,000 consoles were sold in the first eight days after launch, generating sales of more than $190 million. Meanwhile, Ebay is experiencing brisk PS3 and Wii activity with sale prices having settled around $1200 and $400, respectively.

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Shipments of the $250 Nintendo Wii outpaced sales of the Xbox 360, which sold about 400,000 units during its launch week in November of last year, by more than 50% and Sony’s Playstation 3, according to early estimates, by about 100%. Just like the Xbox 360 and the PS3, the Wii created a buying frenzy and sold out in a matter of minutes when it was launched on November 19. Including first-party software and accessory sales, the console has brought in revenues of about $190 million in the U.S. alone, Nintendo said.

The Legend of Zelda : Twilight Princess has become the most successful Wii game so far, selling about 454,000 units.

Website NexGenWars, which tracks sales of game consoles, corrected early estimates of more than 600,000 Wii’s sold on launch day. The site currently estimates Wii sales at about 561,000, PS3 sales at 316,000 and Xbox 360 sales (since November 2005) at about 7.6 million.

Ebay released its traditional Black Friday sales numbers, which included sales of next-generation game consoles and highlighted the frenzy around the Playstation 3 and Wii. The online auction house said that 14,765 PS3s were sold between November 17 and November 24 for an average price of $1186.39. Including pre-sales, which started on October 17, 28,233 PS3s changed hands through Ebay with an average price of $1369.90. At the time of this writing, 60 GB PS3s are selling at a pace of about $1000.

Nintendo Wii sales were more frequent in the consoles first week between November 19 and November 24. According to Ebay, 26,708 Wiis were sold for an average price of $412.53. Including pre-sales, which began on October 19, 29,451 Wiis were sold for an average of $427.82. Activity for Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which is available in most electronics stores at any time, was dramatically less : Between November 12 and November 24, 331 Xbox 360 units were sold on Ebay. The average price was $420.62, according to the auction site.

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