Wii, DS Hit Holiday Sales Highs

By Greg Tarr -- TWICE, 11/29/2007

Redmond, Wash. — Nintendo said it sold more than 350,000 Wii home video game consoles and 653,000 Nintendo DS handheld game players in the first week of the 2007 holiday shopping season (Nov. 18-24).

The company said the Nintendo DS set a new all-time sales record for Thanksgiving week, eclipsing the previous mark of 600,000 Game Boy Advance system sales in the United States during the same period in 2005. Nintendo DS remains on track to be the top-selling video game system of 2007, the company said.

The Wii results were said to be the highest one-week U.S. sales total outside of its launch week last year. Nintendo said it has “repeatedly increased its shipments and its fiscal-year sales forecast for Wii to meet soaring demand.”

Wii sales reached 5 million in the United States faster than any video game system in history, after only 12 months of availability there, the company said.

Both players have maintained there suggested retail prices $249 for the Wii, and $129 for the DS, the company said.

"As shoppers look for ways to maximize their limited holiday spending money, they turn to gifts that can be used by the entire family," stated George Harrison, Nintendo of America's marketing and communications senior VP. "Wii and Nintendo DS offer something for every member of the family. They're the most fun video game experiences at the most affordable price."