Dave Horvath
15 Nov 2006 6:03
Nintendo is preparing for the holiday seasons with announcing that it will have close to 400,000 Wiis on sale in Japan when it launches there on December 2nd. This comes in contrast to console rival Sony who was only able to provide some 100,000 units of it's PS3 due to shortages.
As many already know, the unorthodox move of launching in the United States first on November 19th has not officially given way to details as to how many units will be available to US gamers. The same can be said for it's launch in Europe on December 8th. Although earlier reports showed 1 million US units, Nintendo has been pretty tight lipped as to what their official numbers will be. However Nintendo will have tough competition with Microsoft and Sony both expecting to have huge sales this holiday season. To possibly pad their chances of a profitable season, Nintendo says they will have around 1.5 million units ready for shelves in Japan for its handheld device, the DS.
In related news, Nintendo has hinted that another version of the Wii will make it to market that will be capable of DVD playback. While they once stated at gaming conventions that they did not want to stray from their pure gaming intentions, it appears they are going to try to get the Wii to appeal to a larger audience. Unfortunately, these DVD capable units are only slated for launch in Japan sometime in 2007.
Source:
BBC