It's been just over a week since Nintendo ushered in the next-generation of home console hardware with the launch of the Wii U. In that time, the new device has sold 400,000 units.
CNET reports that the Wii U just edged out the Wii, which sold 300,000 units in the same time frame. When the Wii launched in November 2005 2006, the motion-control console sold through 600,000 units in its first eight days. By way of comparison, Microsoft's Xbox 360 console debuted on Nov. 21, 2005 and sold 326,000 units by the end of that month.
It's worth comparing those numbers to the sales notched by the iPhone 5 and iPad Mini, which belong to the class of devices seen as most threatening to the AAA console business where Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft thrive. In the first weekend of the new iPad lineup, Apple sold a combined 3 million units of the fourth-generation iPad and iPad Mini. Meanwhile, the company moved 5 million iPhone 5 handsets in that device's first weekend.