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Wii U near-sellout shows there's still demand for new consoles

Nintendo president Reggie Fils-Aime says that Nintendo nearly sold out of an initial 400,000 shipments of its new Wii U console during its first week, similar to the original Wii's 475,000 from six years ago.

Frank Cifaldi, Contributor

November 26, 2012

1 Min Read
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It looks like demand for Nintendo's new Wii U is as strong as it was for the original Wii six years ago...at least, for now. Nintendo told CNET that the roughly 400,000 units sold in the Unitd States during its debut week was "essentially" a sell-out, with supplies running dry at most retailers during that time. By comparison, the original Wii sold 475,000 units during its debut six years ago (according to NPD data), which was also a near-sellout of its initial shipment. Interestingly, due to Black Friday discounts, Nintendo's old DS portable managed to outsell its new 3DS, 275,000 to 250,000. More from Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime at CNET. Update: This story initially reported that Nintendo's 2006 shipment of the original Wii was 300,000: it was actually 475,000. The article has been updated to reflect this.

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