Some would argue that Nintendo is being ambitious with this statement, given that the GameCube didn’t even reach a third of that in the United States, and totaled just over 20 million worldwide. Others, however, would argue that the last 6 months of Wii dominance makes this 35 million Wiis sold is Nintendo being conservative again.
Nintendo Co. expects to sell as many as 35 million Wii video-game consoles in the U.S., close to the record 38.2 million PlayStation 2 players sold by Sony Corp. The company will reach its goal by 2011 or 2012, George Harrison, marketing chief at Nintendo of America Inc., a unit of Kyoto-based Nintendo Co., said in an interview today.
The Nintendo 64 and GameCube both lasted 5 years. A 5-year lifespan for the Wii would theoretically place a successor in the fall of 2011, but hopefully Nintendo won’t need to rush into following the typical cycle.
