Wii Came, Wii Saw And Wii Conquered!

EMBARGOED UNTIL 1PM CET WED 13TH DECEMBER

13th December 2006 - Wii made its highly anticipated debut across Europe on Friday 8th December, with thousands of people desperate to get their hands on Nintendo's new console. As the must-have product for the festive season Wii was an instant hit. Attracting vast crowds and selling out in stores all over Europe in just a matter of hours, a breathtaking 325,000 units were sold in the first two days making it the fastest selling home console in history.

Demand for Wii has been so great that shops all over Europe had large queues forming outside for up to three days before the launch and hundreds of shops opened their doors at midnight on launch day to allow gamers to get their hands on Wii. After just one weekend on sale, shops across Europe sold out of Wii consoles and daily shipments are now arriving across Europe to replenish stock.

The Legend of Zelda®: Twilight Princess, proved to be a favourite for avid gamers, with 240,000 copies snapped up over launch weekend in Europe, representing 74% of all hardware purchasers. Wii Play was also a big hit with over 50% of people buying the game (which includes a Wii Remote) along with their Wii console.

Laurent Fischer, Marketing Director for Nintendo Europe commented:

"Wii has become an overnight success in Europe with people of all ages rushing out to get their hands on the console. Even at this early stage it is clear that Wii is delivering on its promise to expand the gaming market, with a uniquely diverse audience all keen to experience the sensation for themselves.

For those who were unable to buy Wii during the launch weekend, rest assured more stock is already on its way and we are doing everything possible to ensure that a steady supply of Wii units is shipped to stores across Europe throughout December and into 2007."

Commenting on the launch Tim Ellis, Head of Games, HMV UK said: ""The demand for Wii has been truly amazing, and the official launch at our Oxford Street store was one of the biggest events we've ever staged there. HMV has received a huge amount of customer pre-orders - beyond anything we've ever seen before, including from family shoppers as well as dedicated Nintendo gamers. This suggests that while Wii is obviously one of the must-have items this Christmas, it also has the potential to appeal to a huge mainstream audience over the longer-term."

Wii mania in Europe follows the phenomenal success of Nintendo's console in the Americas and Japan, where over a million units have been sold in just three weeks. In the Americas, where the console launched on the 19th of November, 600,000 consoles were sold in the first 8 days from launch. The Japanese launch saw similar success with around 400,000 units being shipped to stores for launch day and selling out during the first morning on sale. After just a few days of sales in Europe the Wii seems to be achieving similar success.

While Wii enjoyed a hugely successful launch Nintendo DS also had a record-breaking week, with 515,000 units sold across Europe last week, which is not only the highest weeks sales since the console's launch but also the most any console across all formats has ever sold in a week! Nintendo's handheld phenomenon has taken Europe by storm since its release in March 2005, with over 8.5 million consoles now sold across Europe.

Click onto www.Wii.com for all of the most up to date official information on Wii.

For further information

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Note to editors:

Photography and footage regarding the launch of Wii is available at www.thenewsmarket.com/nintendo-europe. Media can preview and request broadcast-standard video digitally or by tape at no cost from this site.

About Wii

Nintendo's new system, Wii, will feature a controller designed to be used with either one hand or two -- a first in the video game industry. When picked up and pointed at the screen, the controller gives a lightning-quick element of interaction, sensing motion, depth, positioning and targeting dictated by movement of the controller itself.

The Wii console is available at the estimated retail price of around 249 (£179 in the UK). Included with every Wii console is one wireless Wii Remote, a Nunchuk, Wii Sports game, Stereo AV Cable and the sensor bar for Wii's unique control system. Software is available at the estimated retail price of between 49 Euros and 59 Euros (£34 to £39 in the UK).

Additional controllers will retail at the estimated prices of: Wii Remote 39 Euros (£29 in UK), Nunchuk 19 Euros (£14 in UK) and the Classic Controller 19 Euros (£14 in UK)

Virtual Console games range in price from 500 Wii Points for NES games to 800 Wii Points for Super Nintendo games and 1000 Wii Points for Nintendo 64 games.

Wii Points can either be purchased online via the Wii Shop Channel using a credit card or users can purchase Wii Points by buying a Wii Points card in retail stores. These points can then be redeemed against Virtual Console games via the Wii Shop Channel. Wii Points Cards are available to buy in retail stores and are estimated to retail at around 20 (£14) for 2000 Wii Points.

About Nintendo

Nintendo Co., Ltd. of Kyoto, Japan, is the acknowledged worldwide leader in the creation of interactive entertainment. To date, Nintendo has sold more than 2.2 billion video games worldwide and more than 387 million hardware units globally, creating such industry icons as Mario® and Donkey Kong and launched franchises like The Legend of Zelda® and Pokémon. Nintendo manufactures and markets hardware and software for its popular video game systems, including home console units such as the Nintendo 64, NINTENDO GAMECUBE, and the forthcoming revolutionary new console Wii, as well as portable handheld gaming systems such as, Nintendo DS. Game Boy Advance, and Game Boy - the world's best-selling video game system which has sold over 193 million units. As a wholly owned subsidiary, Nintendo of Europe, based in Grossostheim, Germany, was established in 1990 and serves as headquarters for Nintendo's operations in Europe.