Wii Play exceeds 10 million US sales

By Robert Purchese Published 23 March, 2009

Puts region's Wiimote tally at 22.7m.

Nintendo has revealed that Wii Play has sold over 10 million copies across the US alone.

"Even if you believe people are buying Wii Play solely for the controller, that indicates that there are now more than 10 million people who have an extra Wii Remote controller in their homes," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America almost-boss, in a statement picked up by GameSpot.

"When added to the 12.7 million Wii Remote controllers that have sold separately, this reinforces the growing social gaming trend we have been seeing where friends and family use their Wii games as a social hub - both in person and online."

Added together, that puts Wiimote lifetime sales at 22.7 million, which is 3.7 million more than the latest confirmed Wii installed-base count (19 million).

And Nintendo sales across the region show no signs of slowing down: the Wii dominated February figures by selling 753,000 units; the DS finished close behind, selling 588,000 units.

Nintendo recently controversially decided to raise the price of the Wii here in the UK due to the deprecation of the pound. The trade cost is expected to increase by 18 - 20 quid.

Meanwhile, the rest of Europe enjoys the Euro.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (8) Latest comment 3 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • DFawkes #1 3 years ago

    I think it was a great idea packaging a game with a Wiimote for only a little more cost, makes the purchase seem more worthwhile. Wii Play is harmless fun which I still stick on now & again.

    I've even seen similar packages for 360 controllers, though pricier, and think it's a nice option.

  • Wastelander #2 3 years ago

    I'm hearing you Neko. I had a J-Cart in 1994!

  • afray #3 3 years ago

    tanks needs to be a full game - or at least have a high-score table. Spent hours on that with friends.

  • roz123 #4 3 years ago

    neko, wii didnt invent this trend, but they improved on it. I have had more laughs playing the wii with family and friends then on any other console because of how silly the whole thing is.

  • jonsaan #5 3 years ago

    That's just not true. I had more fun huddled round playing Mario Kart and Goldeneye on the N64 than any Wii evening has provided. It should also be pointed out that stuff like Ready 2 Rumble and Sega Bass fishing on Dreamcast drew attention from all age groups in my household. Every console has it's broad appealing games. Nintendo have just done the best job of upselling it to joe public.

  • rudedudejude #6 3 years ago

    Whats the record for the highest level on tanks? I think mine is level 8.

  • makeamazing #7 3 years ago

    Thats alot of sales.. its pretty amazing stuff, especially for the type of game it is.

  • secombe #8 3 years ago

    Whats the record for the highest level on tanks? I think mine is level 8

    Have I read this wrong? I'm sure I'm up in the 60s somewhere. Cracking game, anyhow.