Nintendo has announced that the Wii console has sold out in Europe, with 325,000 units snapped up in the two days following last Friday's launch.
That means the Wii now holds the title of fastest-selling home console in history across Europe - and not just in the UK.
First-party launch title The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess was a big hit with consumers, shifting 240,000 copies over the launch weekend - meaning 74 per cent of those buying a console also bought the game.
Mini-game collection Wii Play, which comes bundled with a remote controller, was bought by more than 50 per cent of Wii purchasers
"Wii has become an overnight success in Europe with people of all ages rushing out to get their hands on the console," said Nintendo Europe marketing director Laurent Fischer.
"Even at this early stage it is clear that Wii is delivering on its promise to expand the gaming market, with a uniquely diverse audience all keen to experience the sensation for themselves."
Due to high demand for the console shop shelves remain empty at present, but Fischer pledged, "For those who were unable to buy Wii during the launch weekend, rest assured more stock is already on its way.
"We are doing everything possible to ensure that a steady supply of Wii units is shipped to stores across Europe throughout December and into 2007."
The arrival of the Wii was heralded with a launch event at HMV's flagship branch last week.
"The demand for Wii has been truly amazing, and the official launch at our Oxford Street store was one of the biggest events we've ever staged there," said Tim Ellis, head of games for HMV.
"HMV has received a huge amount of customer pre-orders - beyond anything we've ever seen before, including from family shoppers as well as dedicated Nintendo gamers.
"This suggests that while Wii is obviously one of the must-have items this Christmas, it also has the potential to appeal to a huge mainstream audience over the longer-term." (For more from Ellis, read our exclusive interview.)
The Wii launched in North America on November 19, where 600,000 consoles were sold in the first eight days following launch. It's also proved to be a hit in Japan, with the territory's allocation of 400,000 units flying off the shelves on day one.
TheGamer Writes "In my experience, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess’ once-warm reception has chilled somewhat over the years. Praised at launch as a beautiful return to form after the “childish” art style of its direct predecessor, the world eagerly embraced a game that more closely followed Ocarina of Time’s famous structure and plot cues. Perhaps most alluringly of all, the grandeur and sheer scope of this reimagined Hyrule Field wowed millions of us."
The best Legend of Zelda games experiment and tackle new grounds for the industry. These are the essential titles in the series you need to play.
I am a huge Zelda fan and love them all, but for me Ocarina Of Time is the greatest and my second all time favourite game after Final Fantasy VII.
You sir, have good taste in games :)
I also love all of the Zelda games but I adore Windwaker (Specifically the HD version on WiiU) most of all. It is a close run thing with Breath of the Wild though.
Special mention to Cadence of Hyrule too, what an awesome spin off title that was!
Cheers Spuds, yep i love Windwaker too, beautiful artstyle, and i loved sailing and finding all the secrets out there.
Agreed. For me top 3 of all time is.
1. ocarina of time
2. Final fantasy Vll
3. MGS1
Oh gee can't imagine what Number 1 is
....
A Link to the Past, Ocarina of Time and Wind Waker etc is better than Breath of the Wild.
I think it really depends on what you're looking for. If you want a traditional Zelda game then OoT or WW would be better to you. But if you want a Zelda game that really leans into adventure and exploration, and if you want intelligent systems/logic, BotW would be the better game.
I enjoy both. I understand why some people aren't fond of it but for me it was a breath of fresh air that I really needed. I'd become so burnt out on unimaginative games and BotW sort of made me appreciate games again, as weird as that may sound.
Right...so let's pretend ocarina of time didnt have exploration, secret dungeons and other secrets. Complex boss mechanics and exploration rewards. At least a traditional Zelda has dungeons.
What point are you attempting to make? At no point did I say that OoT didn't have any of that. However, the level of exploration and sense of adventure are vastly different between OoT and BotW.
Majora's Mask still holds as my favorite to this day, despite being the black sheep of the series.
I love them all, but Wind Walker, Link to the Past and Minish Cap are my favorites
Recent rumors suggest The Legend of Zelda: Oracle of Seasons/Oracle of Ages games are coming to Switch, but that doesn't really add up.
I remember enjoying Twilight Princess overall, though the dark/light world mechanic felt too similar to Metroid Prime 2.
I never played Skyward Sword though. Did that retain the cool as fuck sheathing animation link does in Twilight Princess?
The whole time I played the remake of "Link's Awakening" on my Switch, I kept hoping they would do the oracle games in a similar style.
I wonder when the "why any other Zelda but Twilight Princess and Skyward Sword would make more sense" article will pop up.
Gotta release um all Zeldamon'
Really funny seeing this and "What’s with the lack of game content, Nintendo?" right next to each other.
OK......no and hard pass but ok. Look Zelda TP is a very good entry but imo its had its time and 3 versions on (Gamecube, Wii, Wii U) I say let it rest. Especially since it will inevitably be just a slightly touched up port of the HD Wii U game. Id actually prefer a Wind Wake HD port over TP. That said Oracle of Seasons/Ages done in the new Link's Adventure style is vastly more appealing to me, and I hope that's what they do.
How many did you fufill? I ordered mine way back in October and they're acting so postive about this.
I'd rip off HMVs face if they weren't so faceless... And if they were human
*cries*
Looks like it's a worldwide sucsess ^^
So what do the naysayers of Wii have to say now? It is simple logic, lowest price point plus good fun for all ages equals best-selling next gen console. Not necessarily the best console for gamers, but defintely the one that will most successfully reach out to the masses.
totally agree, price spec whatever crap peep wanna throw at it dont matter what matters is the thing is movin off the shelfs like no other console in history gr8 job nintendo.
is the best