Nintendo: 5.84 million Wiis sold

Sales of latest console, DS boost Nintendo's revenue to $8.09 billion; company promises to "further intensify" Wii channels.

Nintendo today released its year-end sales figures, meeting its revised numbers and setting goals for its next 12 months. In addition to backing up the perception that the Wii and DS have already done gangbuster business for the publisher, the company's report also included its future expectations for the systems.

Perhaps most notable among the company's projections is the expectation that it will sell 14 million Wii systems and 22 million DS units in the next year. According to Nintendo's year-end results, since the Wii's launch in November 2006, the publisher has sold 5.84 million of the systems.

In the meantime, the DS, which launched in November 2004, has racked up sales of 40 million systems, more than half of which have been of the revamped DS Lite, which went on sale in Japan in March 2006, with US and European launches following that June. That puts the DS hardware sales (original and DS Lite combined) past the halfway point of the Game Boy Advance family's hardware sales (GBA, GBA SP, and GBA Micro) of 79 million. Comparing the DS to Nintendo's other previous generation creation, the GameCube, Nintendo has already sold more DS Lites (more than 21 million) than GameCubes (not quite 21 million).

Nintendo also said it expects DS game sales of 130 million over the year, along with 55 million Wii games. DS game sales are approaching 184 million over the system's lifetime, just over half of the Game Boy Advance systems' 366 million games sold to date.

For the fiscal year ended March 31, 2007, Nintendo raked in nearly 967 billion yen ($8.09 billion) in sales, up almost 90 percent from the year before. It also pulled in a net income of 174 billion yen ($1.45 billion), up 77 percent from the prior year's take.

While the company expects its growth to slow in the current fiscal year, it's still predicting a significant boost in sales of almost 18 percent to 1.14 trillion yen ($9.53 billion). However, Nintendo's profits will be similar to last year's, as it is projecting less than 1 percent growth in net income to 175 billion yen ($1.46 billion).

The company also addressed its strategies for pushing the DS and the Wii in the coming year. "By positioning [the DS] as 'a machine that enriches the owner's daily lives [sic],' Nintendo aims to accelerate the current sales momentum of Nintendo DS from 'must-have for every family' to 'must-have for everyone,'" according to the company's financial report.

As for the Wii, the company said it "will further intensify Wii's 'Channel' concept which already includes the abilities for the Wii owners to create their caricatures, view weather forecasts, news, and surf the web. Wii will encourage communication among family members as each of them can feel something relevant to themselves and be motivated to turn on the power everyday in order to enjoy 'the new life with Wii.'"

421 Comments

  • xXrebel666Xx

    Posted May 7, 2007 5:43 pm PT

    wasnt ps3 at 6 million at christmas when it wasn't even launched globally and now its absolutely on fire, that its global?

    I heard wii was winning the console war?

    and 360 is really doing it hard in aus, theres more advertisements then there are consoles for it here.

  • theKSMM

    Posted May 7, 2007 4:02 pm PT

    I have a Wii that I haven't even broken the seal on yet. If anybody in the U.S. is desperate to get one, contact me.

    The Wii and DS are selling like hotcakes, no doubt, but I think Nintendo needs to work on the Wii's attach rate. At this point, I know several Wii owners who own one game or none. Same deal with the PS3. They gotta sell the games in order to keep the gravy train running.

    I am glad to see that they recognize the their sales won't keep increasing to infinity and beyond. That's what makes the game sales so important.

    PS -- I also want more Wii channels. The ones that are available now are great, but I have lots of empty squares on my "desktop" waiting for new functionality. How about a feature like Sony's Home that uses Miis? They could even beat Sony to the punch with it. Now that would be a hoot!

  • stefan90

    Posted May 6, 2007 1:45 pm PT

    I dont know they start flying allready they need to putt legs on ground!
    And PS3 will have lowest sell EVER!!
    And whay Americans dont buying XBOX360 any more what is 10.000.000 sold?

  • trick6952

    Posted May 6, 2007 5:17 am PT

    you know what I dont care how much they made the fact of the matter is that I have yet to see one on store shelves let alone me owning one. I'm sure all nintendo fanboys like me are a little angry at this

  • xElite_GameRx

    Posted May 5, 2007 7:05 am PT

    sure wii has new gamers, but with lack of online games or dvd support they will never get the 110 million hardcore gamers that bought the PS2 who are now getting Xbox360 or PS3

  • UNdeadXeno

    Posted May 4, 2007 11:54 pm PT

    N64 a crappy console? You sir, are a moron.

    As for the story, i don't know where are all these systems are coming from. I have still yet to even see a Wii at say a friends house let alone on a store shelf. I'm hoping that I'll be able to find one towards the end of the month.Fingers crossed.

  • rbranma

    Posted May 4, 2007 10:05 am PT

    do you remember N64?
    It sold very well at the begining, and then? It came out its a crapy console.

  • darkzerogamer

    Posted May 3, 2007 11:20 pm PT

    And still no wii's in stores for months on end... sigh.

  • CaptainDingo

    Posted May 3, 2007 9:58 pm PT

    "and the gimmick goes on...."

    Lookie, I found a moron.

    Whoops...

    "I have a hard time believing that most of the "Wii consumers" trying to get their hands on the console will still be supporting it in a year, as (in my own personal opinion) it is an underpowered, gimmicky, fad of a console."

    Make that two.

  • CaptainDingo

    Posted May 3, 2007 9:58 pm PT

    "and the gimmick goes on...."

    Lookie, I found a moron.

  • tmac8388

    Posted May 3, 2007 5:21 pm PT

    The Wii is so cheap. Thats why it has sold so much. Con: No online play...yet.

  • Cerrav

    Posted May 3, 2007 3:05 pm PT

    yodamendez lives in a country where small children sell chicklets on street corners.

  • AFWorm

    Posted May 2, 2007 8:21 pm PT

    I believe it. The Wii made a surprising debut with a console that attracted new gamers and came up with a novel idea that has a lasting affect.

  • eatchicken

    Posted May 2, 2007 4:08 pm PT

    where do you live then?

  • yodamendez

    Posted May 2, 2007 1:27 pm PT

    when wii launched on my country, it costed no less than 750 dollars, and now they sell them with a chip so they can run illegal copies for 550 (an original wii should cost then 490 bucks) my opinion? nintendo is lying to america and other first-world countries: they are desperate

  • kslay88

    Posted May 2, 2007 1:24 pm PT

    and the gimmick goes on....

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted May 2, 2007 12:51 pm PT

    still can't wait to get one and everything's only getting better. Soon enough I will have one

  • ntnimara

    Posted May 2, 2007 9:49 am PT

    Just you wait for Brawl....

  • Oblivion_Lord67

    Posted May 2, 2007 7:04 am PT

    its amazing how the wii is a runaway freight train in sales...but the 360 has the games i most want to play.... no wii for me...at least not yet...

  • bamf03

    Posted May 2, 2007 4:38 am PT

    malmeid2 makes a good point. Even Oil barons are considering not tradind in American dollers no more and want to use European dollers instead. You now get $2 for every 1GBP, it wasn't that long ago when it was around $1.50 for every 1GBP

  • Mush_Mouth

    Posted May 1, 2007 9:34 pm PT

    5.84 million and I still have yet to see a single console in my local retail stores. On one hand I'm happy for Nintendo but on the other hand I want to see a friggin' Wii with my own eyes!!!

  • malmeid2

    Posted May 1, 2007 9:16 pm PT

    It's easy to outsell the competition when your console costs 60% less. The American consumer is becoming more increasingly frugal every year, as the middle class diminishes, and the lower class grows (mostly due to inflation and turning from a manufacturing to service oriented economy). Am I supposed to be impressed that cheapwads want a "new console" and are flocking towards the $250 price tag? The people that will keep a console alive are those willing to continue to buy and support games on said console. I have a hard time believing that most of the "Wii consumers" trying to get their hands on the console will still be supporting it in a year, as (in my own personal opinion) it is an underpowered, gimmicky, fad of a console. You need game sales as much as console sales. Show me Wii leading in game sales one year from now, two years from now, and three years from now and then I will be impressed.

  • malmeid2

    Posted May 1, 2007 9:16 pm PT

    It's easy to outsell the competition when your console costs 60% less. The American consumer is becoming more increasingly frugal every year, as the middle class diminishes, and the lower class grows (mostly due to inflation and turning from a manufacturing to service oriented economy). Am I supposed to be impressed that cheapwads want a "new console" and are flocking towards the $250 price tag? The people that will keep a console alive are those willing to continue to buy and support games on said console. I have a hard time believing that most of the "Wii consumers" trying to get their hands on the console will still be supporting it in a year, as (in my own personal opinion) it is an underpowered, gimmicky, fad of a console. You need game sales as much as console sales. Show me Wii leading in game sales one year from now, two years from now, and three years from now and then I will be impressed.

  • alcheng

    Posted May 1, 2007 6:26 pm PT

    I'm amazed that the total Wii's sold per month is always more than the two other next-gen consoles. I guess that most casual gamers don't give a **** about better graphics or processing power, because these attributes take huge chunks of money. Microsoft is having severe drought of bring casual audience in, and I think even the PS3 will have the same problem as well. No matter how much Wii Nintendo pump to retail stores, it's gone in a matter of seconds. That's good because PS3 ain't selling anything. Any time I went to a retail store I can see PS3's stacked Week after Week after Week.

  • Kcube

    Posted May 1, 2007 5:01 pm PT

    Nintendo is BACK baby! YEAH!

  • Hawk456

    Posted May 1, 2007 10:40 am PT

    The Wii-ness grows

  • ball_of_air

    Posted May 1, 2007 4:49 am PT

    Wikipedia are overestimating Nintendo by saying they've sold 6.60 million Wii's.

  • edhc44

    Posted May 1, 2007 4:19 am PT

    SSBB will be THE system seller. As soon as the game is out, I'm buying a Wii. Damn SSBM still is the game I play the most on the Cube!

  • neinnunb

    Posted Apr 30, 2007 11:04 pm PT

    I think software developers are starting to realize, if they have not already, that the Wii is a surprise success and will in turn create more games for it. I think thats why the Wii initially has a poor lineup of games to look forward to, (except of coarse games like Metroid, Mario, etc). Nobody thought this little console would beat the big white elephants: 360 and PS3. I predict 2008 will have a ton of more Wii games released.

  • Bballplaya8217

    Posted Apr 30, 2007 10:45 am PT

    That is on average 8 wiis per second sold. Thats insane.

    Lets try some math:

    60 seconds in a minute
    60 minutes in a hour
    24 hours in a day

    86,400 seconds in a day. Sounds okay.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    Wii was released November 26th (right?) So from November 26th to March 31st we have:

    November- 4 days
    December- 31 days
    January-31 days
    February-28 days
    March-31 days

    That brings us to 125 days.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    125 days multiplied by 86,400 seconds per day equals:
    10,800,000 seconds (exact!)

    Over the period of 125 days, 5.84 million Nintendo Wii's were sold.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    We have 5,840,000 Wii's sold, and then we have 10,800,000 seconds that passed during the 125 days.

    Thus, we divide the amount of Wii's sold, divided by the time it took place.

    5,840,000 Wiis Sold divided by 10,800,000 seconds equals 0.5407407 (repeating) Wii's sold per second.
    -
    -
    -
    -
    We conclude:
    0.5407407 Wii's are sold per second.
    32.4 Wii's sold per minute.
    1946.6 Wii's sold per hour.
    46720 Wii's sold per day.
    5,840,000 Wii's sold per 125 days.

    That, is insane.

  • 2ClickFlare

    Posted Apr 30, 2007 2:03 am PT

    I have been a Wii owner since maybe January. I played through Zelda, bought and sold Wario Ware, Monkey Ball, Trauma Center. To this day a rare beer feuled bowling session is all I get out of it. I got VC classic controller mario 64, mario world, zelda a link to the past etc etc whatever. I got a DS with a few of the top rated games. YET... All I can play is Final Fantasy XII, Shadow of The Colossus, Metal Gear Solid 3: Subsistence, Resident Evil 4, ICO, Dragonquest VIII, Okami, Bully, GTA SanAndreas, and Gran Turismo 4. Thank god I never bought a PS2 back in the day because when I look around, I'm having the most fun.

  • Nawras

    Posted Apr 30, 2007 1:28 am PT

    It's a Nintendo year. The DS is a great system, these guys know how to rule the handheld market

  • Hellraiser3899

    Posted Apr 29, 2007 9:30 pm PT

    Good for them, but how about some games for us.

  • Warfust

    Posted Apr 29, 2007 8:43 pm PT

    Glad to see Nintendo doing so well.

  • billybob7897

    Posted Apr 29, 2007 2:23 pm PT

    It's not that Nintendo isn't shipping much consoles, it's just that the second they get in stores they're sold out. That's the only explanation for these high numbers. I'm happy I got one because 4 people I know are looking for one.

    My suggestion to anyone looking for a Wii: find out when a store is suppose to get a shipment and go that day the minute the store opens. good luck!

    (on a side note, I know one person with a PS3... and I don't know anyone who's looking for one. Which explains why they're piling up in stores)

    EDIT: reading over the comments, I see a lot of people saying that they're nothing to play for the Wii right now. And I agree.

    But there's also nothing to play on PS3 and this time last year, when the 360 was a few months old, there was nothing to play for that either!

  • noblekeltic

    Posted Apr 29, 2007 2:03 pm PT

    Ok cool

  • Ace-Of-Decks

    Posted Apr 29, 2007 7:16 am PT

    Wow gmay I just saw around 20 Wiis sell out on monday at target the day that got them. While the ps3 shipment they got six weeks ago of around 15 still hasn't sold out. My friend who works in the electronic department said he has maybe sold 2 or 3 ps3's at best while he has sold like a hundred wii's.

  • Kattoon

    Posted Apr 29, 2007 7:14 am PT

    Have some more Haterade. At $250, who cares if it only lasts 2-3 years? Wii owners will gladly purchase a beefed-up Wii by then, which their current-gen controllers will no doubt be compatible with. Heck, Microsoft has just announced a new Xbox...and Sony is considering launching a dumbed down version of the PS3 in Europe. I guess Microsoft and Sony are entitled to "do-overs" and Nintendo isnt.

    Keep hating, and I'll keep enjoying my Wii.

  • Chef_Bretz

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 12:58 pm PT

    If only people could 'actually' buy a Wii in the UK - hey that would be nice!

  • razu_gamer

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 12:09 pm PT

    @ gmayronne: You do just that, Nintendo have said time and time again the Wii was never going to be a nex gen console and they have said in your face that if you want power go somewhere else. Now stop whining and get lost. sheesh.

  • Dark_Knight6

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 11:20 am PT

    Nice to see Nintendo doing good with the Wii. I can't wait to see what they do next.

  • zinrah

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 9:46 am PT

    It's really cool to see Nintendo back on top. Last time I checked the 360 had sold like 10 mil units world wide. Wii is already half way pass that. Thats great!. Oh and its kinda funny to see the Sony and MS fan boys joining forces to attack Nintendo. But your combined forces are not enough. Mwhahahah!!

  • xboxps2cube

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 8:00 am PT

    this thing has been out since last year its going on May, but people still cant find any. This is a serious problem that needs to be resolved by nintendo

  • gmayronne

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 7:30 am PT

    uh, the best buy in my area has 14 wiis that have been there since last sunday. its slowing down no doubt, and will continue to slow down throughout the rest of its short life. 360 and ps3, probably have a good 5-7 years left in them, do ya really think the wii will fit-in in 2 or 3 years when "next-gen" REALLY takes off. the ps3 has come out and i know there is massive potential in it, just will take a little time before developers can capitalize on it and the 360, it has some of the best games now and for the future. both the ps3 and 360 will deliver true next-gen games, with next-gen graphics, AI, physics, sound etc.. i know motion sensitive controllers ARE the future, but thats the only thing the wii has going for it and i know nintendo has metroid, zelda, and mario but you wont really play a next-gen version of any of these games for some time which bugs me (twilight princess on the gamecube is the exact same game as the wii version except not motion controls, WHAT THE HE** is that all about). in the end ill own a wii (like when it goes down to 150 or so) for a few SELECT games, other than that, ill be busy playing fable 2, resident evil 5, bio-shock, final fantasy 13, gran turismo 5, army of two, halo 3, killzone 2, unreal tournament, and gears of war 2 (which you KNOW is coming).

  • friscom99

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 5:52 am PT

    You guys are hella funny. Why do you think they can forcast how many they sell? because thats how they control their revenue! They don't saturate the market because then they can sell a loooot of wii's right now, but whats gonna happen to sales when everyone has one? the future revenue flows will be lower. Thats what they are doing. keeping a steady stream. the console is still in its introductory phase.

  • sun_spirit

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 3:24 am PT

    This is very good for Nintendo.
    Lets hope it will only get better!

  • Captainintendo

    Posted Apr 28, 2007 12:53 am PT

    "great sales,it might gonna catch up with 360 few years later"

    ha! I think it will be faster than that

  • Timstuff

    Posted Apr 27, 2007 11:40 pm PT

    The world must be ending... My local store actually had a Wii in stock for 24 hours. Maybe Wii hype is finally dying down after all?

  • PillsberyDoeMan

    Posted Apr 27, 2007 11:08 pm PT

    i want a new wii channel.

  • StolenVex

    Posted Apr 27, 2007 11:03 pm PT

    thewesman - it glows blue when you've recieved a message, downloaded something, etc.

    also, super paper mario is awesome, have you tried it yet?

    -SV

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