Wii makes a splash, but DS rules

By Clement James on Jan 16, 2007 9:20 AM
Filed under Hardware

Nintendo predicting best year in company's history.

The Nintendo DS has taken the title as the best-selling video game device of any type in 2006.

Independent US sales figures released by the NPD Group confirmed a strong launch for Nintendo's Wii gaming system, while the portable Nintendo DS became the best-selling video game device of any type for the holiday period and all of 2006.

Consumers purchased more than one million Wii consoles in the 44 days between US launch and year end.

However, with sales of 1.6 million systems in December alone, the Nintendo DS achieved full year sales of 5.3 million.

Around 86 percent of Wii buyers bought The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, representing more than 900,000 games for that system alone.

As a result, Nintendo has increased its projected worldwide financial performance for the 12 months ending 31 March to be the best in company history.

Demand for the Wii remains incredibly high, according to Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

"We are dedicating ourselves to maximising both manufacturing and distribution full bore throughout 2007," he said.