Nintendo announced on Tuesday that it has shipped more than 4 million 3DS units worldwide in nine months. That’s more than the number of Wii units Nintendo sold during that console’s first nine months on the market, though Nintendo did announce that it sold more than 4.5 million Wiis in the U.S. alone last year. “One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising.” The 3DS initially had a slow start, but Nintendo’s decision to slash the price of the console helped boost sales almost immediately. The addition of new hit titles, such as Mario Kart 7, Super Mario 3D Land and the Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D also helped attract new buyers. Nintendo’s full press release follows after the break.

Nintendo 3DS Crosses 4 Million Mark

Driven by Fast-Selling Software Nintendo 3DS Sells More in Its First Nine Months Than Wii Did

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Whether they were on the go or at home, whether they played in 2D on the TV or in glasses-free 3D in their hands, gamers of all ages celebrated the holidays with Mario and Zelda. Super Mario 3D Land and Mario Kart 7 for the Nintendo 3DS system not only became the fastest-selling titles in the history of their respective franchises when they launched, but they are now also the first Nintendo 3DS titles to sell 1 million units each in the United States. On the console side, The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which also broke launch records, became the 45th Wii title to sell more than 1 million units in the United States.

“One of the strongest software lineups in our history helped Nintendo have a great holiday season and to close 2011 with a full head of steam,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Not only have the new Mario and Zelda titles already broken records, but with strong reviews and satisfied customers sharing their positive experiences, all three are also shaping up to be the latest long-tail titles from Nintendo. Couple that with a massive first- and third party lineup in the first part of the year and the prospects for 2012 are extremely promising.”

Nintendo sold more than 12 million total hardware units in the United States in 2011, marking the fifth year in a row that the company has accomplished that feat. This includes more than 4.5 million units of Wii, more than 4 million Nintendo 3DS systems, and more than 3.4 million units of the Nintendo DS family of systems. This brings the installed base for Wii and Nintendo DS to 39 million and more than 51 million, respectively.

With a strong lineup of software on the horizon, including new installments in the Mario Party, Pokémon and Kid Icarus franchises, as well as third-party games such as Resident Evil Revelations from Capcom and METAL GEAR SOLID 3D Snake Eaterfrom Konami for Nintendo 3DS, that momentum should continue into the first quarter of 2012 and beyond.

In addition to the milestones reached by new software, two evergreen Nintendo titles celebrated milestones as 2011 drew to a close. Mario Kart Wii passed 11 million units sold and New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo DS family crossed 10 million total units sold.

Remember that Wii and Nintendo 3DS feature parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://www.nintendo.com/wii or http://www.nintendo.com/3ds.

Let’s just be honest… Microsoft and Sony’s keynotes this year weren’t earth-shakers, but that’s expected as both companies are sticking to their current console paths. Nintendo, however, is going to introduce the company’s next-generation console, known as “Project Cafe,” or the Wii 2, Wii HD, Nintendo Feel — whatever it’s called. It’s rumored to be a major update, complete with touchscreen controllers, and it might even be more powerful than Microsoft and Sony’s gaming consoles.

Bookmark this link and make sure to head there for our live coverage of Nintendo’s keynote! Coverage starts at or around 11:30 a.m. EDT / 8:30 a.m. PDT.

Nintendo has just announced that the Nintendo Wii retail price will drop to $149.99 beginning May 15th, and it will include a free copy of Mario Kart and the Wii Wheel accessory as well. This bundle replaces the bundled Wii Sports game that used to come with the system, and we have to admit, this is an amazing deal and a great way to help revitalize sales of the Wii system and games. Nintendo also lets us know that it is into color coordination, because the steering wheel and the Wii Remote and Nunchuk controllers match the color console you purchase — white or black. Not bad, Nintendo, not bad. Hit the break for the full press release.

Nintendo Unveils New Wii Package at $149.99, Launches ‘Nintendo Selects’ $19.99 Wii Games

Having Fun with Family and Friends Just Became More Affordable than Ever With New Suggested Retail Pricing

REDMOND, Wash.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–Nintendo is dropping the suggested retail price of its Wii™ system to $149.99 and including a Mario™ game with the Wii hardware. Starting May 15, the newly priced Wii system will come in either black or white with the Mario Kart™ Wii game and a matching colored Wii Wheel™ accessory, replacing the previously included Wii Sports™ and Wii Sports Resort™ games.

Also on May 15, Nintendo launches the new Nintendo® Selects collection of Wii games, a set of popular games that millions of people have already experienced, at a suggested retail price of $19.99. The four must-own games in this collection are The Legend of Zelda™: Twilight Princess, Animal Crossing™: City Folk, Mario™ Super Sluggers and Wii Sports, which is available for the first time as a separate software purchase. Parents and video game fans can now easily expand their library of fun, family-friendly Wii games.

“From the day it launched, Wii has let players of all ages and experience levels have fun with one another,” said Nintendo of America President Reggie Fils-Aime. “The new suggested retail pricing for both the hardware and select games will help create more of these magical moments for even greater numbers of people.”

With Mario Kart Wii now included with the Wii hardware, players will be able to enjoy fun go-kart racing with Mario and all his Mushroom Kingdom pals right out of the box. The Wii Remote™ Plus controller, Nunchuk™ controller and Wii Wheel included in the package will all match the hardware, meaning they will be either black or white. The new black Wii Wheel will also be available separately at a suggested retail price of $9.99.

Remember that Wii features parental controls that let adults manage the content their children can access. For more information about this and other features, visit http://wii.com.

On Monday, Nintendo released a statement confirming that it will reveal the successor to the original Wii during the E3 Expo tradeshow in Los Angeles — which takes place June 7-9, 2011. The new console, currently codenamed “Project Cafe,” may feature a new “Screen Stream” controller option that will provide each individual gamer with their own touchscreen display, although Nintendo did not disclose any of the console’s new features in its statement. The Japanese gaming firm also announced its earnings for the fiscal year ending March, 2011. Net sales of ¥1,014 billion ($12.35 billion) were down 29.3% year-over-year and Nintendo’s net income fell 66.1% to ¥77.62 million ($946,110). Hardware and software sales for the United States, Nintendo’s largest market, also fell year-over-year. Nintendo sold 15.08 million Nintendo Wii units, 3.61 million of its new Nintendo 3DS devices, and 17.52 million of its Nintendo DS portable gaming consoles in the States. By contrast, the firm sold 20.5 million Wii units in the U.S. last year. Globally, the firm sold 171.26 million Wii units, 120.98 million DS devices, and 9.43 million Nintendo 3DS units. Hit the jump for Nintendo’s earnings release, as well as its official statement on E3.

April 25, 2011

To whom it may concern:

Re: Wii’s Successor System

Nintendo Co., Ltd. has decided to launch in 2012 a system to succeed Wii, which the company has sold 86.01 million units on a consolidated shipment basis between its launch in 2006 and the end of March 2011.

We will show a playable model of the new system and announce more specifications at the E3 Expo, which will be held June 7-9, 2011, in Los Angeles.

Sales of this new system have not been included in the financial forecasts announced today for the fiscal term ending March 2012.

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According to Kotaku, neither Microsoft nor Sony will launch new gaming consoles before 2014. “Both [Microsoft] and Sony are telegraphing to each other that they’re delaying, to milk the current [generation] and fill in previous craters better,” one source told Kotaku. By contrast, Nintendo’s next generation gaming console is expected to land sometime next year. Microsoft and Sony may decide to build onto the current systems, however; for example, Microsoft may release a “Kinect-upgraded” Xbox 360 in 2013. “Sony definitely isn’t launching a successor before 2014 and could stand to benefit by having Microsoft launch first as PS3 builds in North America and builds a strong position in Europe,” said Billy Pidgeon, an analyst with M2 Research. Microsoft has gone on the record saying that it will offer support for the Xbox 360 through 2015, but we’re curious how it will hold consumer interest in a system that made its debut in 2005.

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Nintendo may drop the price of its Nintendo Wii game console from $200 to $150 on May 15th, Engadget is reporting.  The new price will likely help Nintendo compete better against Microsoft and its Xbox 360 4GB console —which currently retails for $199.99. According to recent figures from NPD Group, Nintendo sold 454,000 Wii consoles during the month of February, far behind Microsoft’s 535,000 Xbox 360 sales figure. Similarly, Nintendo reported weaker hardware sales in its Q3 earnings report, so the move could help it reignite consumer interest.

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Electronics Arts has announced that Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters has beat all previous first-week sales records in its Tiger Woods game franchise history. According to Gamasutra, the title sold 225,000 copies during its first week, and early estimates suggest it earned twice the revenue of last year’s game. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters is the first game in the family to allow players to hit the links at the famous Augusta National golf club —  roughly 2 million rounds through that course have already been played. Similarly, players have already hit 182 million shots in the game, and 7 million games have been logged since the title’s launch on March 29th. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters, is available on all of the major gaming consoles, including the Microsoft Xbox 360, Sony PlayStation 3, and the Nintendo Wii.

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It looks like Xboxers might not be the only gaming console owners who will be able enjoy Netflix streaming in the future, provided customers show interest that is. A new survey currently being conducted by Netflix asks users a variety of questions surrounding the idea of streaming Netflix content directly to their Wii consoles. The survey also questions what the requirement to purchase a $10 “Netflix Instant Streaming Disc” would do to Wii streaming desirability, leading us to believe Nintendo has absolutely no interest in making the service available any time soonvia a firmware update. $10 to stream to the Wii and avoid purchasing and setting up yet another hardware device? Count us in. Reports also suggest a similar survey covering PlayStation 3 is currently being circulated. What do you guys think — would you pay $10 to add Netflix streaming to your Wii or PS3?

Thanks, Jon Jon!

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In addition to being rather elusive, the Nintendo Wii has also proven to be relatively hack proof. The little console that could has resisted most attempts at homebrew alteration, and has stymied those that have tried to rig it up to access remote discs. The long road of sorrow and failure, however, may soon be over. An enterprising hacker has figured out how to dump the Wii into a special recovery mode, allowing it to access backup discs and run homebrew code. The process is a bit unclear at the moment, but appears to involve the use of a special modified GameCube memory card. Impressed? We sure are, though we’ll have to wait until we can get our hands on the hack to pass further judgement.

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For the first time since it hit the American market, the Nintendo Wii can claim to be the most popular console in the United States. Overtaking the venerable Xbox 360, the Wii now has the greatest lifetime penetration of any next-gen console currently available. 10.6 million Wii’s have been sold, compared to 10.5 million Xbox units. Given the Xbox’s considerable head-start on sales numbers, this is a particularly impressive feat. Sure, the upcoming Xbox 360 60GB might help Microsoft gain some ground, but given Nintendo’s steady progress, we’re pretty sure the company will continue to prove a formidable opponent to both Microsoft and Sony. Wait, who’s Sony again?

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