Almost 2 million Wiis in US by year's end - 任天堂

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6162151.html

【Reggie預期在一月中之前，Wii在北美銷售量能衝破兩百萬台】

Reggie tells Reuters that 1 million Wiis will in the US by early December,
and expects an additional million in the country by the second week of
January.

By Michael Kanellos, News.com
Posted Nov 21, 2006 10:50 am PT

Nintendo will bring approximately 2 million Wii game consoles to the U.S. by
the end of the year, a wave of machines that could help the company gain
ground in the console wars.

Speaking with Reuters, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime said
that he expects 1 million Wiis in the region by early December and 2 million
by the second week of January. The previous official company line simply
stated that 4 million Wiis would be available worldwide by the end of the
year.

Nintendo plans to restock U.S. distributors and retailers on a weekly basis,
according to the company. The console will next launch in Japan on December 2
and in Europe on December 8. Earlier this month, Nintendo said it would ship
around 400,000 consoles into Japan this year.

Of the three console makers, Nintendo so far seems to have done the most
thorough job in getting retailers and distributors stocked. The $250 Wii
console, which went on sale over the weekend, was available in several retail
outlets. Some early buyers are selling consoles on eBay, but generally
current bidding is in the $300 to $400 range with games and extras.

By contrast, Sony will only bring a few hundred thousand PlayStation 3
consoles to the states by the end of the year, according to various
estimates. eBay bidders are putting $700 and $900 bids on the $499 and $599
consoles. (Some buyers are listing minimum bids of $1,000 or more, but these
auctions have attracted few punters.)

Last year, Microsoft found itself short of Xbox 360 consoles. Rumors of new
waves of supply would cause lines to form at certain retailers. Some Web
sites reported that using specific code words with in-store sales reps could
get them to bring out a console from the stock room.

Supply, though, improved after that and Microsoft says that, by December, a
cumulative 10 million Xbox 360s will have shipped. Microsoft, though, is
still having trouble gaining traction in Japan.


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