Nintendo said today that it has sold more than 600,000 unit of its next-generation Wii console to consumers in the Americas in just its first eight days of availability.

At a rate of nearly one per second sold continuously since the November 19 launch, Wii has instantly become a $190 million business in the Americas.

The gaming company believes that the Thanksgiving holiday shopping weekend had a lot to do with the console’s success. "Even with sales already in excess of 600,000 units, demand continues to exceed supply, as it's clear this is one of the 'gotta-have' products for the holiday season," said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime.

"We've shipped retailers several times the amount of hardware the other company was able to deliver for its launch around the same time – and we still sold out."

Although the Wii system includes the five-game Wii Sports software, The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess has already achieved sales of more than 454,000 units in the Americas.

Earlier this week retailer Game announced that it will be opening its flagship Oxford Street store at midnight on Thursday 7 December to kick off sales.