PS3 outsells Wii in Feb and March in Japan

[mikejet]

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090...nysonynintendo

TOKYO (AFP) - Sony has been given a vital boost in the battle for the multibillion-dollar video game industry, with a survey showing its PlayStation 3 outsold Nintendo's Wii in Japan for the first time in 16 months.

Japanese sales of the PS3 surged 80 percent in the five weeks to March 29 from a year earlier to 146,948 consoles, while demand for the Wii plunged almost 63 percent to 99,335, publishing firm Enterbrain Inc said.

The PS3 got a boost from the release of popular new games such as Resident Evil 5, putting the console ahead of the Wii for the first time since November 2007, when Sony was lifted by the launch of a new slimmed down version.

Experts said Nintendo has already sold so many Wii consoles that it appears to be struggling to find new buyers, but it should continue to enjoy strong demand for games and accessories.

"PS3 hardware sales picked up due to brisk-selling software. But I don't see any drastic change in the industry landscape," Okasan Securities analyst Masashi Morita said.

The Wii, launched in 2006, is known for its innovative motion-sensitive controller which has appealed to people buying a video-game machine for the first time.

While Sony put the emphasis on chip power and ultra-realistic graphics for the latest addition to the PlayStation series, Nintendo opted to develop a cheaper, easy-to-use console that would appeal to a wider audience.

The strategy has paid off handsomely, rewarding Nintendo with surging profits in recent years. More than 10 million Wii machines were sold in the United States alone in 2008, setting a new video game record.

"The market for the Wii is saturated. People who already have a Wii console may as well go for another game console, such as the PS3," said Osamu Hirose, an analyst at the Tokai Tokyo Research Center.

"But it also means Nintendo has more potential to grow because it can start selling software once people have its hardware consoles," he said.

Even so, the drop in hardware sales is the latest sign that the once-invincible video game titan is feeling the pinch.

Nintendo has forecast a 10.6 percent fall in net profit to 230 billion yen (2.3 billion dollars) in the year to March 2009, though that would be a much more respectable performance than Sony, which is bracing for a big loss.

[mikejet]

Couldn't find anything on this and if it's repost I'm sorry my search skills are bad.

[Simplayer]

Originally Posted by Osamu Hirose

The market for the Wii is saturated. People who already have a Wii console may as well go for another game console, such as the PS3

I really doubt the Wii has reached a saturation point. It's only sold 8ish million and the DS and PS2 both managed to sell 20ish million. It's more a matter that nothing particularly relevant has been released on it for awhile. Wii Music didn't draw in people like Wii Fit did, and Animal Crossings seems to be drawing on their existing base.

[Chordata]

Originally Posted by mikejet

Couldn't find anything on this and if it's repost I'm sorry my search skills are bad.

I'm not sure it's you; I think it's the site. Anytime I search "thread titles only," I inevitably get a bunch of irrelevant hits.

[Gamma_Winstead]

A couple lines in that article sound VERY bitter.

[DonRSD]

i wonder what the american numbers are

[saprano]

And its going to get outsold again this month.

[SoCalTiger]

Huh? What is this line referring to? What slimmed down version?

The PS3 got a boost from the release of popular new games such as Resident Evil 5, putting the console ahead of the Wii for the first time since November 2007, when Sony was lifted by the launch of a new slimmed down version.

[LOTR07]

Originally Posted by funsocaltiger

Huh? What is this line referring to? What slimmed down version?

A shadow of things to come hopefully...

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by LOTR07

A shadow of things to come hopefully...

I match your hopes. Looking foward to improved US sales.

[Simplayer]

Originally Posted by funsocaltiger

Huh? What is this line referring to? What slimmed down version?

I think they just mean going from the old BC PS3 to the non-BC one (60gig to 40 gig).

[LOTR07]

Originally Posted by Simplayer

I think they just mean going from the old BC PS3 to the non-BC one (60gig to 40 gig).

Maybe the smaller chip smaller cases all the things members have clamoring for over the past year...

[Simplayer]

Originally Posted by LOTR07

Maybe the smaller chip smaller cases all the things members have clamoring for over the past year...

It's not a prediction on what's going to happen. They were referring to the past specifically.

[LOTR07]

Originally Posted by Simplayer

It's not a prediction on what's going to happen. They were referring to the past specifically.

Odd wording choice...anyway good to hear PS3 is selling well...

[Toxa]

February 2009
PlayStation 3 : 87.000
Wii : 76.000

March 2009
PlayStation 3 : 116.000
Wii : 70.000

[jtconnolly]

Originally Posted by funsocaltiger

Huh? What is this line referring to? What slimmed down version?

Along with the size of the hard drive, the backwards compatibility was also taken away.

[Jack Torrance]

Originally Posted by mikejet

http://tech.yahoo.com/news/afp/20090...nysonynintendo

Great stuff

But even with this news, and these hard numbers, the ******s at IGN had to twist it around with this story last week:

Xbox 360 Sells Millionth Unit in Japan
PS3 pushes past three million, but all eyes are on Microsoft.
by John Tanaka

March 31, 2009 - Microsoft just achieved a major milestone in Japan. Three years and four months following the Xbox 360's release over there, the system has at long last crossed the million sold mark.

As reported today by Famitsu publisher Enterbrain, the mark was crossed in the week ending March 29. The 360 has now sold a total of 1,001,191 units since launch.

While a million units doesn't mean much of anything for Microsoft's worldwide Xbox business, in Japan it's a big feat for the brand. The original Xbox, after all, capped off at just around 500,000.

The 360 is still a distant third in the Japanese console race. Enterbrain also reported today that the PS3 has topped the three million mark, with total sales now at 3,009,395 units.

And above both systems, likely close to being able to swallow both twice over, is the Wii, which topped the seven million mark in November of last year.

Yes, this story was in the PS3 news section on IGN. Boy, no bias there. 3 1/2 years to sell a milliion consoles? Isn't that like one of those runners that finishes the New York Marathon several days after it started? And IGN are the poor suckers that have to keep the finish line open for them and applaud them, insisting "Yay! You're a winner too!!"

Gawd, I hate IGN. Just become a 360 exclusive site already.

My grumblings aside, PS3 FTW. A price cut will come. And a relative steady momentum will build. Hopefully this momentum will catch on Stateside.