Nintendo Co.'s entry into the game console wars, the Wii, went on sale in North America Sunday, and quickly sold out in many stores despite stocks that far surpassed those of the rival PlayStation 3, which went on sale two days earlier.

"There were enough people in line to snap up almost all the units of the Nintendo Wii that we had in stock, so it was an instant sellout," said Circuit City spokesman Jim Babb. There were a few overnight campers, but most had lined up in the early morning.

Spot checks in New York turned up only one store, the Toys R Us in Times Square, with Wiis in stock. The store hosted a midnight launch event that drew a crowd of more than a thousand people for the sale of the very first Wii.

The first buyer, Isaiah Triforce Johnson, had been waiting outside the store for more than a week. He wore a Nintendo Power Glove, a wearable controller that came out in 1989, while shaking hands with Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime. Johnson said he had legally changed his name to include a reference to Nintendo's "Zelda" series of games.

Smooth launch

The launch apparently went smoothly, in contrast to the PlayStation 3 release, during which police were forced to disperse rowdy crowds at some stores around the country.

Sony had about 400,000 PlayStation 3s in North American stores on Friday. Nintendo has said it would have "five to 10" times as many Wiis available at launch, and will have shipped four million units by the end of the year.

The Wii costs $279 US, including one game, a bargain compared to the base model PlayStation 3, which retails for $549.99, with no games included.

On the eBay auction site, Wiis were selling Sunday for twice the store price, indicating that supplies are still tight. The PlayStation 3, meanwhile, was selling for about $1,500, though it had touched $2,500 Friday.

"The people we saw today were much more likely to take these games home and play them and love them rather than flip them on eBay," Babb said. Circuit City expects more Wiis in stock soon, but Babb could not say exactly when.

Launching right after the much-vaunted and technically sophisticated PlayStation 3 is a brave move for Nintendo, which lost the top spot in the market to Sony Corp. in the mid-90s. More recently, Microsoft Corp. has waded into the market as well.

The Wii takes a different tack from its competition, forgoing the high-definition graphics that Sony has spent billions to develop for the PlayStation 3.

Instead, Nintendo aims to draw gamers and non-gamers alike with intuitive game play. The Wii comes with a motion-sensitive controller that the gamer waves around in the air, using it as a tennis racket, golf club, steering wheel, gun or sword depending on the game.