Wii U sells 400,000 in first week

The Wii U sold 400,000 units in its launch week, as part of 1.2 million overall Nintendo system sales. Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime told CNET that Wii U is "is essentially sold out of retail and we are doing our best to continually replenish stock."

For some context, the original Wii also sold out at retail, and actually sold through 475,000 units in its first week, according to the NPD Group. It also sold 300,000 units last week, giving its successor a pretty good run for its money.

"Wii was a unique phenomenon," Fils-Aime said. "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."

Latest Videos From

Meanwhile, 250,000 3DS and 275,000 DS devices sold over the weekend, with Fils-Aime attributing the older device's stronger performance to significant Black Friday retailer discounts.

CORRECTION: This article originally listed first-week sales for Wii as 600,000 units. We regret the error.