14 DAY TRIAL // Nintendo is saying that it has sold more than 1 million of the various versions of the Nintendo DS and the DSi handhelds in the run up to Thanksgiving, marking one of the best sales period of 2009 so far.
The company is also saying that about half a million units of the Wii home gaming console were sold during the same period, more than the numbers managed by the PlayStation 3 from Sony or the Xbox 360 from Microsoft.
The numbers come from internal Nintendo estimates and have not been audited by external sources like the NPD Group, which will release month-long statistics for November later in December.
Cammie Dunaway, who is the marketing and sales vice president at Nintendo of America, has stated that “Holiday shoppers are finding value in our products' prices, and through a gameplay experience that is unique to Nintendo.”
The Nintendo spokesperson has also said that one Nintendo DS handheld was sold every 2.5 seconds, which is quite an impressive number. The company is pointing out that the performance of the DS, which has recently received the DSi model, complete with cameras, and is set to also get a larger screen XL version in the near future, is better than any product the company launched since the Game Boy Advance that had a similar performance back in 2002. The recent announcement positions Nintendo pretty well when it comes to the financial results for the fourth quarter.
The good performance of the Nintendo Wii is probably a direct result of the price drop to 199 dollars. Those looking for a suitable gift for this Christmas might also be interested in picking up the Nintendo device because of the release of the New Super Mario Bros. title, which, for the first time, features multiplayer for up to four players.