Wii U sells 400,000 units in launch week, says Fils-Aime

Nintendo sold 1.2 million hardware units in the US over the past week, its new Wii U console leading with 400,000 units sold, Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime confirmed today in an interview with CNET.

"Wii U is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock," he said. "Retailers are also doing their best to get the product to store shelves. But as soon as product hits retail, they're selling out immediately."

When the Wii launched in 2006, consumers would be required to stand in line to purchase a console due to Nintendo sending retailers small shipments on a weekly basis. The Wii sold 600,000 units during its launch week in North America, and sales including first-party games and accessories brought in $190 million.

"Wii was a unique phenomenon," he explained. "You couldn't walk into a retailer and buy a Wii until spring of 2009. We've certainly learned many lessons from that and we are replenishing retailers more quickly this time around. We are looking to have as much product into retail as possible. It's driven by consumer response."

Internal data from Nintendo shows that of the 1.2 million units sold this past week, 300,000 were Wii units. Of the more than 500,000 handheld units sold, the Nintendo DS, first released in 2004, sold 275,000 units while the 3DS sold 250,000. The DS' popularity this Black Friday weekend was due to retailers offering "significant" deals on the hardware, according to Fils-Aime.