Wii launch

The Wii launch was the release of Nintendo's seventh generation video game console. This successor to the Nintendo GameCube was released in most territories in November and December 2006. It was the third (after the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3) seventh generation console to be released in Japan and North America, but was second in Europe, being released before the PlayStation 3.

At a June 7, 2006 policy briefing, Nintendo revealed plans to release 6 million console units and 17 million software units during the fiscal year ending March 31, 2007. This included the 4 million or more console units they expected to ship by the end of the 2006 calendar year. On September 14, 2006, it was announced that the majority of the 2006 shipments would be allotted to the Americas.

The Spanish launch of the Wii console was moved to December 9, 2006, because December 8, 2006 is the celebration of the Immaculate Conception and thus all shops were closed. For the same reason, the Italian and Swiss releases were also moved to the day before, December 7, 2006.

Nintendo of Canada vice president and general manager Ron Bertram stated that the company expected to have one million consoles available in North America at launch, as reported by IGN on September 25, 2006. The next day, Nintendo branded the information as a "misstatement about the number of Wii consoles that will be available in the Americas during the launch rollout," and reiterated earlier statements of expected shipments of 4 million consoles worldwide by the end of 2006 with the largest allotment available in the Americas. The company affirmed that they "are working to ensure a plentiful supply and a consistent flow."

On December 26, 2006, Nintendo announced that they would release its console in South Korea by the end of 2007. However, on October 28, 2007, plans for South Korea were changed as Satoru Iwata announced that the Wii would instead be launched in South Korea on April 26, 2008, along with first details to release the Wii in China also in 2008, due to high demand for the Wii console.

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