Nintendo: One Million Wii For North American Launch

Speaking in a recently unearthed interview with The Canadian Press organization, Ron Bertram, vice president and general manager of Nintendo of Canada, has stated that one million units of the Wii console will be available for the North American launch of the format on November 19. Nintendo officials have previously stated that four million units of the console will be shipped before the end of the 2006 calendar year. However, a breakdown of where and when these units would be available has never been made. "We're looking at a million for North America at launch," claimed Bertram. "If we get what we're supposed to get, this will be our most plentiful launch in the fifteen years I've been at Nintendo. All signs are actually extremely positive," said Bertram. He also suggested that thirty game titles would be available for the format by the end of the year. "Obviously the earlier you go, the less product you have available," suggested Bertram. "Sony is trying to do what they're trying to do - they're trying to rule the entertainment universe with this very expensive machine. And we're just trying to get more people playing video games and the people who are playing video games playing our system. We knew they were on the 17th but that really wasn't a big concern for us." No more than 400,000 units of the PlayStation 3 are expected for the launch of the console in North America on November 19. Sony expects two million units to be available by the end of the calendar year, and a total of six million by the end of the company’s fiscal year on March 31st, 2007.