14 DAY TRIAL // One of the leading executives of Nintendo working in the French division of the hardware manufacturer and video game developer has said that gamers in the country love the red Wii consoles that have been recently launched on Mario's anniversary and have bought no less than 150,000 of them since they were introduced.
Philippe Lavoué, who is the deputy managing director for Nintendo of France, has talked to the magazine Gamekyo and said that as many as 30 percent of those gamers who had registered with Club Nintendo in France opted to pick up the special edition hardware.
About one million Nintendo Wii consoles have been sold to gamers in France, which makes the 150,000 number seem even more impressive.
The Mario Kart bundle which came with a black Nintendo Wii console has also managed to sell about 150,000 units.
It seems that about 70% of those who own a Wii or DS device have played a Mario-powered game.
This figure comes just as a survey from Japan indicated that gamers there still saw Mario as the most loved video game character.
Philippe Lavoué has also said that Nintendo is not working on a High Definition replacement for the Wii home console, which has long been rumored to be in development.
The company is preparing for the launch of the Nintendo 3DS device, a handheld that will allow all players to get access to full three dimensional gaming experiences without having to use the glasses that have limited the adoption rate for the technology when it comes to home consoles and television sets.
A February 26 launch date has already been set for the Japanese market, where the new device will sell for about 300 dollars, and Europe and North America will get the new gaming platform before the end of March of this year.
It's not clear whether a red color version is being prepared.