714,000 Wiis sold across the US in April takes the console to the brink of overtaking the Xbox 360.

Mario Kart Wii screenshot

Nintendo has announced that the Wii has now sold over 9.5 million units in the US, following sales of more than 714,000 units during April. This puts the console approximately only 600,000 units behind the 10.1 million Xbox 360s sold in the US.

"Wii sales were buoyed in part by the strong launch of Mario Kart Wii, which sold more than 1.1 million units," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "Our belief in appealing to a broad, diverse audience of players continues to resonate with consumers, and we look forward to continuing our outreach to an expanded audience with the launch of Wii Fit next week."

Nintendo of America also highlighted the presence of six Nintendo system games in the April Top 10. Another highlight is Super Smash Bros. Brawl, having now sold more than 3 million units in the US.