Wii becomes fastest selling console in Oz

But hardware shortages could stretch to Christmas worldwide

23 July 2008 16:58 GMT / By Verity Burns

Nintendo Wii has become the fastest selling home console in Australia after it broke through the 500,000 units sold milestone in just 84 weeks.

Research conducted by GfK Australia shows that the Nintendo console beat the previous record holder by 23 weeks - nearly six months.

The Wii has been in high demand across the globe since its launch, and has suffered from hardware shortages. Nintendo's CEO Satoru Iwata admitted in a recent interview that the company could not guarantee Wii supplies in time for Christmas.

This is the third year running the company has been unable to guarantee full supplies. In an attempt to meet demand, the company has upped its production of the Wii from 1.8 million units per month to a target of 2.4 million by the end of the summer.

The moral here? Buy your Wiis early if you're planning spending Christmas day playing Wii Sports.

Full tags