Japan to get 400,000 Wii units at launch

With less than three weeks left before the Wii goes on sale in Japan, Nintendo has announced that 400,000 units have been allocated for launch in the territory.

The Wii, which will hit the shelves on December 2, could be an appealing alternative for Japanese gamers who missed out on a PlayStation 3 - less than 90,000 units went on sale when the console launched last week, and all were snapped up on day one.

Yesterday, Nintendo's share price hit 26,770 Yen (177 Euro) - an all-time record for the company.

The Wii will launch in North America this Sunday, with the European launch to follow on December 8. Nintendo has pledged to ship 4 million units around the globe by the end of the year.