The NPD Group is reporting that the Nintendo DS and the Wii finished 2007 as the two best-selling video game systems in the United States. In 2007, the video game industry grew by 43% over 2006 and Nintendo is responsible for 60% of that growth. Nintendo DS sold nearly 8.5 million units, including more than 4 million in November and December alone. Nearly 6.3 million Wiis were sold through the year, more than 2.3 million of which sold in the final two months. Nintendo accounted for 52% of all video game hardware systems sold in 2007 – more than all other manufacturers combined – and half of the top 30 best-selling games of 2007 were made for Nintendo systems. Since their respective launches, Nintendo has sold more than 17.6 million Nintendo DS systems and nearly 7.4 million Wii systems in the United States alone. Wii Play finished 2007 with 4.1 million units sold while Super Mario Galaxy, launched on November 12, sold through more than 2.5 million copies.
“By the end of 2007 we were sold out of virtually all hardware, and much of our stock of software and accessories was sold out as well, thanks to the broad appeal of Wii and Nintendo DS to core gamers, women, families, grandparents – and seemingly everyone in between. And that momentum continues here in the early weeks of 2008,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of sales & marketing.