Nintendo shifts a million consoles in one weekend
Thanksgiving sees Massive GameCube and GBA sales across the US.
Nintendo of America has announced that it has outsold both Microsoft and - more impressively - Sony during the Thanksgiving weekend, shifting over a million units of hardware in what will come as a welcome boost to the resurgent outfit.
Specifically, 500,000 GameCube hardware units were sold, complimented by 600,000 Game Boy Advance consoles, truly breathtaking sales given the time period.
The GameCube sales alone see Nintendo scoop the number one home console crown, for a week at least, during this essential pre-Christmas strength test.
"All along, our business plan for this year was to maximise consumer interest and sales during the fourth quarter," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "But frankly, we're overwhelmed by how successful we've been. Our price cut of Nintendo GameCube has ignited sales to the degree that it may turn out to be the best-selling console for the entire month of November. We're tracking to sell more systems in the last eight weeks of the year than we did in the previous 10 months combined."
This now sees Nintendo sit astride the console sales league at number one, comfortably outselling both Xbox and PlayStation 2, though in fairness, SCEA will rightfully argue that everyone who wanted a PS2 have already got theirs.
This news also underwrites Nintendo’s brand strength in the US, which had been questioned by some analysts in recent times. Before the advent of PlayStation, Nintendo owned the US games industry, inseparable from the very core of videogaming itself.
Perhaps this is the long awaited renaissance for Nintendo, and a chance to put recent demons to rest.
Specifically, 500,000 GameCube hardware units were sold, complimented by 600,000 Game Boy Advance consoles, truly breathtaking sales given the time period.
The GameCube sales alone see Nintendo scoop the number one home console crown, for a week at least, during this essential pre-Christmas strength test.
"All along, our business plan for this year was to maximise consumer interest and sales during the fourth quarter," says George Harrison, Nintendo of America's senior vice president of marketing and corporate communications. "But frankly, we're overwhelmed by how successful we've been. Our price cut of Nintendo GameCube has ignited sales to the degree that it may turn out to be the best-selling console for the entire month of November. We're tracking to sell more systems in the last eight weeks of the year than we did in the previous 10 months combined."
This now sees Nintendo sit astride the console sales league at number one, comfortably outselling both Xbox and PlayStation 2, though in fairness, SCEA will rightfully argue that everyone who wanted a PS2 have already got theirs.
This news also underwrites Nintendo’s brand strength in the US, which had been questioned by some analysts in recent times. Before the advent of PlayStation, Nintendo owned the US games industry, inseparable from the very core of videogaming itself.
Perhaps this is the long awaited renaissance for Nintendo, and a chance to put recent demons to rest.
Read More Like This