Nintendo of America has announced that its new home video game system, the Wii, has sold more than 600,000 units since launch.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess screenshot

The Wii went on sale across North America on November 19, and in the eight days that followed the system has sold more than 600,000 units - Nintendo points out that this is at a rate of nearly one per second.

"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."

There are no prizes for those of you that predicted that the top selling launch title would be The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess; the game shifted 454,000 units and achieved an attach rate of more than 75%.

The Wii launches later this week in Japan and will go on sale in the UK on December 8.