Wii & Nintendo DS Break European Records

As the new decade starts, Nintendo has announced that there are now over 40 million Nintendo DS and 20 million Wii consoles being played across Europe. In fact, the Nintendo DS family, including Nintendo DS Lite and the latest addition, Nintendo DSi, has not only sold more than any other video game console in Europe but it has also seen the fastest growth in European video game console history, reaching this sales figure in less than 5 years (the original DS hit Europe on 11th March, 2005).

Wii continues its momentum becoming the fastest selling home console in Europe by reaching the 20 million milestone in just over three years (it hit Europe on 8th December, 2006).

Wii Sports Resort, the action-packed game that is the first from Nintendo to make full use of the Wii MotionPlus accessory, has continued to generate strong sales, selling around five million in the five months since its launch in late July.

Nearly half of all European Wii owners also now own either Wii Fit or the new Wii Fit Plus. These 9.6 million owners of the Wii Fit range are further evidence that people are enjoying getting fit in the comfort of their own home.

Wii Fit Plus hit the shelves on 29th October, 2009 and brings new exercise features to the acclaimed Wii Fit phenomenon. In addition to all the original Wii Fit features, Wii Fit Plus allows users to customise their own fitness routines to make an at-home training regime even easier. It also includes 15 new balance games and six new strength training and yoga activities with a calorie counter to make reaching targets more measureable. To break it down, total European sales of Wii Fit with the Balance Board are now 8 million, whilst the Wii Fit Plus bundle stands at the 1.6 million mark, with the Wii Fit Plus solus pack has converted 1.4 million owners of the original.

Another big hitter for Nintendo last autumn was New Super Mario Bros. Wii, with sales now reaching 2.5 million in just over a month since its launch in November. A classic 2D adventure, the game follows the style of New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS but now offers expanded features and with the addition of co-operative and competitive play.