Nintendo has reached the 50 million unit sold plateau, making it the fastest selling video game console ever, the company proudly announced during the opening day of the Game Developer Conference (GDC).
Despite being outclassed by hardware in the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Sony PlayStation 3, the Wii has been able to attract casual gamers to the console market. According to Nintendo, 20 percent of U.S. Wii console owners weren't using another game console prior to purchasing the Wii.
"Frankly speaking, before the launches of the Nintendo DS and Wii systems, almost no one expected them to reach the current level of mainstream acceptance," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata said during a keynote at GDC. "It's even beyond what we possibly hoped for."
Sales of the console will likely increase further now that Nintendo is able to meet demand for one of the first times since its release three years ago. The console first launched in the U.S. in November 2006, and hit the European and Japanese markets the next month. Numerous retailers immediately sold out of the Wii, and interested consumers waited in long lines or paid a premium price on Ebay.
The PS2, which still has respectable sales numbers, previously was the fastest console to reach 50 million units.
