Nintendo has said that the Wii saw better software sales worldwide over its first 18 months of sale than any other console has. Ever.

Apparently, 50 million 'units of software' were sold in its first year of sale (not including Virtual Console titles or hardware-bundled copies of Wii Sports). By comparison, about 42 million PS2 games were sold in its first 18 months of sale. In the same periods of their lifespans, the Xbox 360 saw around 30 million software sales, the Xbox chalked up 28 million and the PS3 shifted 20 million.

The figures came courtesy of Nintendo of America's executive VP of sales and marketing, Cammie Dunaway speaking at the Electronic Gaming Summit in California.

Sony is unlikely to be thrilled at the PS3 having been beaten by the original Xbox over a similar period in its time at retail. Similarly, the fact that the PS3 trails so far behind the PS2 is not encouraging for Sony.

Dunaway also rolled out hardware figures for the same periods in console's lifespans. Around 9.5 million Wiis were sold over its first 18 months at retail. In the same relative periods 8.5 million PS2s, 5.4 million Xbox 360s, 5.2 million Xboxes and 4.2 million PS3s were sold. We're sure you'll agree that beating the best-selling console ever over that period is no mean feat.

"While we appreciate the impact the Playstation 2 had on sales and the industry, perhaps we are even more impactful", said Dunaway. She also pointed out that there wasn't a single month in the Wii's first year when Nintendo could meet demand. While that might not be something to brag about, it does help hammer home the strength of demand for the Wii.

^{Source: Kotaku}