Nintendo Breaks Own Sales Record In U.S.

Officials from Nintendo of America have claimed that the company has sold more Nintendo products in the first week of the 2007 Christmas shopping season (including the infamous “Black Friday” but not “Cyber Monday”) than at any other time in its history. For the seven days from Sunday, November 18th to Saturday November 24th (including Black Friday on November 23rd) the company claims that more than 653,000 Nintendo DS, 350,000 Wii and “millions of games and accessories” were sold throughout the U.S. The Nintendo DS figure has set a new all-time record for console sales during the Thanksgiving week, beating the 600,000 Game Boy Advance sold in 2005 and, according to Nintendo’s own figures, putting the Nintendo DS on course to be the best selling video game system of 2007. The 350,000 figure for the Wii is the highest one-week total in the U.S. since the system’s launch last year. It is unclear how much this figure has been affected by stock limitations, although Nintendo claim that the Wii has reached a total of 5 million units sold faster than any other console in U.S. history. Nintendo also points out that the success of both consoles has come despite no official price cuts. "As shoppers look for ways to maximize their limited holiday spending money, they turn to gifts that can be used by the entire family," said George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "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." Sony Computer Entertainment America also reported significant increases in PlayStation sales during the Thanksgiving week period, with a 245 percent increase in PlayStation 3 sales compared to Black Friday in 2006. However no specific sales figures were released for any of the company’s consoles.