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The Wall Street Journal is the latest to publish a positive story on the Nintendo Wii, noting not only that Nintendo was the top seller overall in Nov. gaming hardware (including handhelds) based on NPD Group research, but also that Nintendo is winning in terms of attracting consumer interest. The company's Wii console fetches a premium worth nearly as much as its retail price on eBay, and there have been one-for-one trades posted on Craigslist for Sony's much pricier PlayStation 3. Nintendo-NTDOY-Sony-SNE-Microsoft-MSFT-1m-chart-12-11-06 A Nintendo U.S. executive commented, "Demand, as you can see from the reaction of consumers, has been greater than even we had hoped for." In terms of a stock investment, the big question is how much higher Nintendo's shares can go. Today, it traded +1.4% intra-day to ¥29,000 ($31.05 ADR equiv. at ¥116.75/$1) before closing -0.66% at ¥28,400 ($30.41). Nintendo's president has recently said he sees the possibility of exceeding Wii shipment expectations for the year and an upward revision of fiscal year earnings.
• Sources: The Wall Street Journal, Wii and PlayStation 3 auctions on eBay, Yahoo! Finance Japan
• Related commentary: Game Console and Software Stock Update, Seventh Generation Gaming Consoles: Thinking Outside the Box, Sony PS3 Misses Sales Target, Xbox 360 and Wii May Beat, Nintendo's Wii Setting the Pace for Next-Gen Game Consoles this Christmas
• Potentially impacted stocks and ETFs: Nintendo (NTDOY.PK). Competitors: Sony (SNE), Microsoft (MSFT). Gaming software publishers: Electronic Arts (ERTS), Activision (ATVI), Konami (KNM), Take Two (TTWO), THQ (THQI)

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