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Nintendo DS Number One in Australia for 2006

by Aaron Kaluszka - January 14, 2007, 11:07 pm EST
Total comments: 2 Source: Nintendo of Australia PR

Wii also breaks the Australian record for biggest system launch.

NINTENDO ENDS THE YEAR ON TOP!

Melbourne, Australia Jan. 11th, 2007 - In the critical December retail period, the Nintendo DS Lite confirmed its #1 position in Australia, trouncing all competitors in both the handheld and home console market. This is a trend that continued throughout the year, making the Nintendo DS the highest selling games console of 2006.

This growth was supported by ground-breaking "Touch Generation" software such as Dr Kawashima's Brain Training: How Old Is Your Brain? and the nintendogs franchise; as well as the strengthening of established franchises with all new Pokemon games and New SUPER MARIO BROS.

This creative and innovative drive came to a climax on December 7th when Nintendo reshaped the home entertainment and video game landscape with the launch of its heralded Wii home video game console.

Once released, Wii officially broke the Australian record for the biggest launch of a video game system in history. In a few short weeks Wii has established itself as the current 'must have' item. Demand quickly outstripped supply and although new stock shipments are constantly arriving, the Wii remains a very 'hot' item with Nintendo managing to sell over 50,000 units in just 3 weeks of December.

"We promised innovation and creative thinking. We promised to bring gaming to the masses and make interactive entertainment relevant to a broader audience. We promised we would disrupt the industry", explains Rose Lappin, Director of Sales and Marketing. "I think we have delivered on these promises."

Players can look forward to a great new software line up from Nintendo, early 2007, with the following releases:

Nintendo DS

  • Nintendo DS Browser for DS Lite - January 18th
  • Mario vs Donkey Kong 2: March of the Minis - January 18th
  • Sudoku Gridmaster - February 22nd
  • Hotel Dusk: Room 215 - February 22nd
  • Kirby: Squeak Squad - March 1st
  • Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney - March 8th
  • Diddy Kong Racing DS - early April

Wii

  • WarioWare: Smooth Moves - January 25th
  • Excite Truck - February 22th
  • Kororinpa - March 1st
  • Wing Island - late March

Talkback

couchmonkeyJanuary 15, 2007

This is great news, as Australia has been a tough nut for Nintendo to crack in the past. Even GBA didn't do particularly well over there.

Infernal MonkeyJanuary 15, 2007

Yeah, GameCube was a gigantic failure here (no shock by now!). To put it in an lol perspective, Wii has ALREADY sold a third of what the GC managed to sell in its lifetime. GBA did a lot better, but still nothing to get too excited over, the only games that kept the system alive here were the Pokemon's. To the point where publishers just gave up trying to compete with them for sales and Australia ended up missing out on a lot of GBA games.

It's still pretty surreal seeing Wii games completely sold out, and the DS getting decent shelf space in stores. Nintendo finally decided to try this time, they're even advertising Wario Ware on TV a week in advance! They barely ever advertise stuff, let alone before it's actually out! I don't understand the often stupid delays we're getting with DS games though. All it takes is to slap an Aussie rating across an American DS game box. I mean what, the FIRST Phoenix Wright comes out here this March. WHY EVEN BOTHER this late?

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