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Wii in Japan - (Image courtesy of Reuters)
Nintendo's control over the next-generation console market continues to grow over Sony

According to data compiled by Enterbrain, the Nintendo Wii outsold the Sony PlayStation 3 more than 6 to 1 in June in Japan, continuing Nintendo's dominance of the console market.

"The Nintendo's game console is catching on not only among children but also adults and singles," said Yuko Magaribuchi, Enterbrain spokesperson.

Nintendo sold 270,974 Wii units in June, while Sony only sold 41,628 PS3 units, with Microsoft coming in third with 17,616 Xbox 360 consoles sold.  Overseas sales numbers for each console were unavailable.  

Sales numbers show the Wii had an advantage of 4 to 1 in April and 5 to 1 in May, and the sales gap continues to increase.  The Nintendo DS portable handheld console also outsold the Sony PlayStation Portable.

Supply of the Wii still has not caught up with demand, with stores in Japan and overseas carrying limited supplies of the console.  

Sony had a stranglehold on the console market for more than 10 years with the help of the PlayStation and PlayStation 2, but a high price and lack of video games has hindered PS3 sales.  The company hopes to boost PlayStation 3 sales after promising at least 380 new titles this fiscal year.  

It was announced last week Nintendo passed Sony in market capitalization along with entering Japan's 10 most valuable companies list. 


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games
By Murst on 7/3/2007 9:28:56 AM , Rating: 5
Its great that Nintendo is selling all these consoles... now we just need some good games.




RE: games
By therealnickdanger on 7/3/2007 10:17:49 AM , Rating: 2
Obviously the games available are good enough. :P


RE: games
By Murst on 7/3/2007 10:41:00 AM , Rating: 3
I bought it for Wii sports... it was really fun to play. I also enjoyed Tiger Woods golf. There's just not that many games on the console right now that keep me playing (I haven't turned it on in probably 2 months).

One good game will sell a console - but one good game is not enough.

Of course, game quality is completely subjective.


RE: games
By jpeyton on 7/3/2007 1:39:16 PM , Rating: 3
I can guarantee the games are on the way.

You have to remember that great games usually take 1-2 years in the pipeline to develop. 1-2 years ago, NOBODY expected Nintendo to be in the position of dominance they are currently in. For the past few months, developers have been scrambling to switch gears and make games for the Wii.

Lots of PS3 titles have lost their exclusivity due to dismal hardware sales for Sony. Some projects have been canceled altogether. Even though the XBOX 360 is doing poorly in Japan, developers still know it has 3 times the installed base of the PS3 worldwide.


RE: games
By dutchMasta on 7/3/2007 2:18:59 PM , Rating: 2
Yeah, games are on the way. I don't think Wii is doing well because of the games, just because of the price. But they have enough games going for them to keep the crowd entertained, and the system is cheap, which is what I think the main reason is. The PS3 and 360 have just as good games, but are more pricey, and also require a very expensive TV to get the best out of it, so I guess people will wait until it's more worth it, which is either when more games get released, or when the prices of the consoles go down. I think this is maybe obvious stuff to some people, but whatever, just wanted to say.

Either way, I don't think any stats this year have much bearing on the outcome of the console war. After all 3 consoles have their big gun titles out (Mario/Smash bros, FF13/MGS4, Halo - there are other big titles of course), we should have a much better idea of how it's going to fair.

BTW, I own a Wii (well..won it in a lucky draw), I mostly want the PS3 but like a lot of others, am waiting for either a price drop or a BIG game to come out (mainly the latter), and I like the X360 very much, but won't touch it until failure rates increase or the new japanese style RPGs come out (unless they get poo ratings, which I doubt they will).

I guess I'm a PS3 fanboy, but I definitely don't want the other systems to fail. IMO, sucks how people would want that. It's basically 3 different companies giving us an option of a) cheap light fun, b) all-round power system for now, c) all-round power system for now and long-term future. It's just whether they can convince people that their console is worth it, and that comes through the games. I don't think price will be much of an issue once the big games come out, but I could be wrong.


RE: games
By spartan014 on 7/4/2007 4:06:26 AM , Rating: 2
You want the failure rates to increase from what they are now? God help MS in that case...

:-)


RE: games
By bfonnes on 7/7/2007 3:02:27 PM , Rating: 2
Hahaha. I didn't catch that, that's hilarious. Didn't DailyTech say the failure rate reported by retailers was like 1/3?


RE: games
By Locutus465 on 7/5/2007 12:11:14 AM , Rating: 2
quote:
Of course, game quality is completely subjective.


Very true... Personally I enjoyed The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (in fact was and am still addicted to it even after beating it). Mario Party 8 is awesome for get togethers, as is (obviously) Wii Sports. Wii-Play is decent for the price (just $10 considering it comes with a $40 Wii-Mote bundled). Rayman Raving Rabids is awesome, true it's available for other platforms but I can't imagine it being as much fun on even x-box as it is wii. Oh, and Harry Potter Order of the Phonix is simply awesome. This doesn't include the Virtual Console games I've downloaded! Or game cube games!


RE: games
By Aprime on 7/3/2007 10:44:36 AM , Rating: 2
They have plenty of them in Japan, lol.


RE: games
By Kadoro on 7/3/2007 11:49:30 AM , Rating: 2
I'm personally excited about the rumor of Civilization on consoles.

Given that this game type is horrible on a standard controller I have to believe that means Civ on a Wii.

And why not the pointer is a natural extension of mousing.

I think that this could lead to more "real" games coming to consoles.

But seriously... why is it so friggin hard to get the Japanese RPG's over to the USA? There needs to be a region coding exemption for RPG's since nobody publishes them here!

"Bought a Wii to play with my Son. Play the Wii with the whole family cause it's fun."


RE: games
By James Holden on 7/3/2007 1:06:09 PM , Rating: 2
RE: games
By glenn8 on 7/3/2007 2:09:07 PM , Rating: 2
No confirmed for Wii I'm afraid :(. In fact this article says the opposite.

http://www.tgdaily.com/content/view/32707/98/


Alternate
By Sparke on 7/3/07, Rating: 0
RE: Alternate
By Lonyo on 7/3/2007 11:38:34 AM , Rating: 2
Probably because MS isn't really competing in Japan, and never has been, so they are effectively a non-issue


RE: Alternate
By RobFDB on 7/3/2007 11:46:07 AM , Rating: 2
Agreed. People would be suprised by Nintendo outselling Sony by a big margin in Japan, but Nintendo outselling MS by a massive margin in Japan? No one's suprised by that, people would be more suprised if the 360 was actually selling well. There's no big conspiracy involved.


RE: Alternate
By deeznuts on 7/3/2007 12:43:21 PM , Rating: 3
But they are trying really really hard, that's the point I believe. MS isn't competing, true, but they're working their ass off trying to be relevant.


RE: Alternate
By Michael Hoffman on 7/5/2007 3:21:36 PM , Rating: 2
Even though I give Microsoft kudos for at least trying in Japan (http://www.dailytech.com/Xbox+360+Elite+to+Launch+... like many other analysts agree, the company is still considered a non-factor on the Japanese market.


You know Wii is a hit when..
By gus6464 on 7/3/2007 1:59:02 PM , Rating: 3
I walked into the UPS store yesterday because my Wii broke :( (wont power on anymore with Mario Party 8 stuck inside) so nintendo sent me the labels and stuff to ship it to them. When I got there there were 5 ppl in line (4 moms and a guy plus the UPS clerk lady) and as soon as they saw me they were "ohh look a Wii" and the conversation about the system began. All four moms plus the UPS clerk bought one for their kids and were talking about how they loved wii sports bowling and whatnot. And the other guy was saying how he was trying to get his hands on one. Everyone loves the wii.




By Locutus465 on 7/5/2007 12:18:12 AM , Rating: 2
Mine's started putting out all kinds of random artifacts on screen :(


By Michael Hoffman on 7/7/2007 12:32:16 AM , Rating: 2
That is exactly what Nintendo hoped would happen with the Wii! Even though some people still think Nintendo outselling Sony is a fluke, I tend to agree that the Wii is just the most enjoyable console (especially if you have young children) to play.

After all, the Wii has become a hit on cruise ships!
http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=6726


Saw this coming
By mdogs444 on 7/3/2007 9:29:18 AM , Rating: 4
Gotta say, we all saw this coming.

PS3 - $600 is too much money. I wonder if step 1 in the setup instruction manual states "Grab your ankles"

360 - $400 for 3 red lights? What is this, a ticket for a moving violation?

Wii - $250 is the perfect price for a console. Cheaper at launch than previous consoles (xbox, ps2), does not force you to have HDTV to get the full experience, fun for all ages, and just sounds cool

I had a 360 and loved it, but sold on ebay from all the RROD rumors. I refuse to give sony any of my money. In fact, I wouldn't piss on their exec's if they caught fire. And the Wii seems cool (im more of a PC gamer anyway), but is it really worth getting "Wii-itis?" (JK). Those crazy japanese guys from "Maximum Extreme Elimination" (MXC) say it is, so it must be!




RE: Saw this coming
By Locutus465 on 7/5/2007 12:21:48 AM , Rating: 2
You sold your 360 based on rumors? :P I'd still love to get one but after my major Home Theater upgrades (brand new 50" Toshiba slim DLP) and Wii purchase I'm out of the new toy market for a while. Wii's have a failure rate too btw,