By Craig Zammit
MELBOURNE: Nintendo Australia has announced that its Wii gaming console has officially become the fastest selling home console to reach a 100,000 unit install-base in Australia, gaining recognition for innovative controls and a family-friendly design.
“We are pleased that Wii has achieved this benchmark, but we are ecstatic that it attained this whilst also reaching new audiences and expanding the scope of our entire industry,” said Nintendo Australia director of sales and marketing, Rose Lappin.
“We promised we would bring gaming to the masses, I think this is proof that we are heading in the right direction.”
An EB Games Sydney store manager, who preferred to remain anonymous, told Current.com.au that Wii sales had been eclipsing both its competing consoles, the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, with consumer’s appreciating the lower price tag and unique gaming style.
“Wii is outselling all other consoles out there at the moment,” he said.
“With the Wii it’s just about fun, so people don’t seem to care about the graphics. I own a Wii, an Xbox 360 and a PS3 and I play the Wii more than any of them – and I’m not the only gamer like that.
“The Wii’s appeal comes from it’s controls – it’s a different way of looking at gaming and I think consumers are starting to appreciate that.”
The premium high definition nature of the PS3 and Xbox 360 has contributed to their niche status, he claimed, but Wii appeals to a wider audience.
“In reality, how many gamers own a top-of-the-range HD television to take full advantage of the obvious graphical prowess the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 possess?
“[HDTVs] can be quite expensive and it’s a bit rough to expect everyone to purchase an expensive console on top of a HDTV just to get better graphics.”
The Wii (RRP $399.95) includes one wireless Wii Remote controller, one Nunchuk-style controller and a collection of five different Wii Sports games on one disc, which is designed to allow anyone to play.
“Wii Sports is still performing very well as a primary vehicle to encourage non-gamers towards trying out the Wii experience,” said Lappin.