Breaking: Nintendo has sold a lot of controllers alongside all those Wiis

PRESS RELEASE ’ Every day since the Wii^â„¢ system launched in November 2006, Nintendo has sold an average of 46,000 Wii Remote^â„¢ controllers in the United States. That’s a lot of people playing ”“ and a lot of people playing together. Nintendo’s motion-controlled video games continue to create new players every day. People play Wii to try new experiences not available on other systems, including games like Wii Sports Resort^â„¢, Super Mario Galaxy^â„¢ 2 and Metroid^â„¢: Other M. Wii makes games more active, but it also makes them more social. Moms and dads play with their kids, and even grandma and grandpa join in.

Perhaps the best evidence of how Wii continues to expand the world of video games to new audiences is the total number of Wii Remote controllers that have sold. In the United States alone, more than 65.3 million Wii Remote controllers have sold through to consumers. This demonstrates that Wii owners like to play and they like to play together. They’re not the stereotypical gamers playing alone in their parents’ basement.

How much is 65.3 million Wii Remote controllers? That’s enough for every man, woman and child living in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, San Jose, Detroit and San Francisco, and enough still remains for every resident of Florida, Ohio, Virginia and North Dakota.

Here’s the breakdown of the number of Wii Remote controllers sold in the United States through the end of September and where they came from, according to the independent NPD Group:

• 30.41 million included with the Wii hardware
• 12.92 million sold with Wii Play^â„¢
• 18.56 million white versions sold separately
• 2.44 million black versions sold separately
• 467,500 pink versions sold separately
• 465,200 blue versions sold separately

The NPD Group also reports that Nintendo has sold an additional 52.9 million Nunchuk^â„¢ controllers in the United States through the end of September.

Wii continues to represent the best value for players as well. The current Wii hardware is available at a suggested retail price of $199.99. That includes:

• Wii hardware
• Wii Sports^â„¢
• Wii Sports Resort^â„¢
• A Wii Remote controller
• A Wii MotionPlus^â„¢ accessory
• A Nunchuk^â„¢ controller
• Access* to hundreds of downloadable games, including new games like World of Goo and classic games from the NES^â„¢, Super NES^â„¢ and Nintendo 64^â„¢ eras
• Access* to a variety of entertainment and informational channels, including the Nintendo^® Channel, which provides information about current and upcoming Wii and Nintendo DS^â„¢ games
• Access* to streaming Netflix** movies

Starting Nov. 7, the new Wii Remote^â„¢ Plus controller replaces the iconic Wii Remote controller. The Wii Remote Plus controller has built-in Wii MotionPlus^â„¢ functionality and offers players precision motion controls all in one unit. It becomes the new standard Wii controller, and will be available starting Nov. 7 in all Wii hardware packages and bundles, as well as sold separately at a suggested retail price of $39.99.

As the holiday shopping season approaches, shoppers will have dozens of excuses to pick up a Nintendo controller of their own and start playing. Some exclusive games for the Wii console include the already-available Samurai Warriors^â„¢ 3, Wii Party^â„¢ and Kirby’s Epic Yarn^â„¢. Upcoming games include PokéPark^â„¢ Wii: Pikachu’s Adventure, which launches Nov. 1; FlingSmash^â„¢, which launches Nov. 7; and Donkey Kong Country^â„¢ Returns, which launches Nov. 21. Third-party Wii games include now-available games like New Carnival Games^® from 2K Play, NBA JAM from EA Sports and Just Dance^® 2 from Ubisoft, plus upcoming games like Sonic Colors^â„¢ from SEGA on Nov. 16 and Disney Epic Mickey from Disney Interactive Studios on Nov. 30.