Nintendo sells a million Wiis in the UK

The Nintendo Wii has sold over a million units in the UK, according to data from official sales trackers Chart Track.

It has been 38 weeks since the Wii launch in the UK on 8 December, which makes it the fastest-selling console in the country's history. The PlayStation 2, by comparison, took 50 weeks to reach one million in sales, and the Xbox 360 took 60 weeks.

In home country Japan, the console recently celebrated reaching the three-million-unit mark, seven months from its 2 December launch in the region.

Nintendo put the console's runaway success down to the fact that it has been selling regardless of seasonality, and due to the new, nontraditional gaming audiences that the Wii attracts.

The Mario factory also revealed last week's chart figures (ending 25 August), which show that the market share for the Wii stands at 68 per cent and the DS at 86 per cent, for home and handheld markets respectively.