Wii is fastest-selling pre-order item ever, reveals Amazon UK

Online retailer Amazon.co.uk has revealed its pre-orders of the Nintendo Wii sold out within seven minutes yesterday, November 21st.

Unlike previous console launches, Amazon had decided to wait until it knew the exact amount of units it would receive from Nintendo before taking pre-orders.

"We expected a high number of people to visit the site but the response was phenomenal," said James Schall, videogame manager for Amazon UK.

"It's the fastest-selling pre-order item we have ever encountered — even eclipsing Harry Potter and Coldplay."

"It is very rare that we sell out of any item, let alone in only seven minutes," he added.

The actual amount of units was not indicated by the retailer, but it does expect to receive more consoles when the Wii launches across Europe on December 8th.

"There are a limited number of these consoles available and had we taken pre-orders before knowing our initial stock, we would have run the risk of not being able to fulfill the orders when the release date arrived," commented Schall.