by CIO Staff

Nintendo to Ship 400K Wii Consoles for Japan Launch

News
Nov 15, 20062 mins
Consumer Electronics

Nintendo, the Japanese electronics firm, on Wednesday said it would ship roughly 400,000 Wii consoles for the next-generation game system’s upcoming Japanese launch, set for Dec. 2, Reuters reports.

Nintendo Wii Logo

Nintendo also expects to ship some 1.5 million DS handheld game systems in December in Japan for the end-of-year shopping season, according to Reuters.

Nintendo’s U.S. Wii release is currently slated for Nov. 19, but the company did not provide Reuters with a number of consoles expected to ship for that launch.

When Wii hits retailers, Nintendo will compete with Sony and its PlayStation 3 game console—set for release in the United States two days before Wii—and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 system—launched a year ago—for supremacy in the next-gen game console space.

Sony launched PlayStation 3 in Japan on Saturday, and according to magazine publisher Enterbrain, the firm sold some 88,000 consoles.

Nintendo Wii Remote controller
Wii Remote

Prior to the PlayStation 3 launch, Sony said it would ship some 100,000 units for its Japan launch, only a fourth of the supply that Nintendo plans to ship.

In related news, Sonic Technologies this week said Nintendo had selected it to provide DVD playback technology for an upcoming version of Wii.

Related Links:

  • Experts: Nintendo Could Beat Sony in Console War

  • Console War: Sony PS3, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

  • Nintendo Wii to Play DVDs via Sonic Tech

  • 88K Sony PlayStation 3 Consoles Sold in Japan

  • Nintendo Wii Available in U.S. on Nov. 19 for $250

  • Nintendo Wii to Hit Japan in December

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