Wii Outsold PS3 In Japan By More Than 2:1

[Diogo Ribeiro]

Citing data released by Japanese game chart compiler Enterbrain, a new report by the Mainichi Daily News in Japan writes that Sony has sold just 466,716 PlayStation 3 consoles in the region since its debut on November 11, while Nintendo has enjoyed brisk success with its Wii in Japan, having realized more than double as many consoles sold with 989,118 units.

 

The reported number of PlayStation 3 consoles sold in Japan likely falls well below Sony's earlier projected goal of 1 million units shipped within the region by the close of 2006, even taking into account unsold consoles.

 

Earlier this week at the annual CES trade show in Las Vegas, officials from Sony confirmed that that the company had shipped 1 million units of the PlayStation 3 in the United States up to the end of 2006.

 

The PlayStation 3 has been plagued by numerous issues since production of the high end gaming console began, most notably due to the system's Blu-ray player and accompanying blue laser diode, which factored heavily into the difficulties that surrounded and helped to delay the launch of the console.

 

Sony president Kaz Hirai recently spoke out regarding these difficulties, noting that "We were asking our teams to develop millions of components for the PlayStation 3, like the Blu-ray Disc player and cell broadband engine, that had previously only been produced in the thousands."

 

According to the report, Sony has yet to officially comment on the figures released by Enterbrain, noting only that there may be a discrepancy between the number of units sold and the number of PlayStation 3 consoles that were shipped within Japan. Both Sony and Nintendo continue to project global sales of 6 million consoles by the end of March.

 

Source: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=12355

 

They seem to love their Wiis in Japan.

[Llyranor]

[Tigranes]

Awesome. Good to see Wii get a lot of love, because I really want the 1.1.1 market share thing going. Hopefully then there will be more progress.

 

How are the European / US / Worldwide sales? Figures shouldn't be this hard to get.

[Setzer]

Nintendo shipped more units than Sony did so these numbers aren't surprising.

 

The 360 is a failure in Japan. I believe the GameBoy Advance is still outselling it.

[Darque]

Can't really say I'm surprised.

[Diamond]

But PS3 costs twice as much as Wii, so I don't think Wii is far ahead PS3 sales-wise. However, population coverage is advantageous as more people have Wii and more people will buy Wii games.

[alanschu]

What do you mean? When talking sales, you're talking how many units are sold. The low price is an advantage of the Wii, and according to the numbers, it seems like it has quite an advantage over the PS3 sales wise.

 

It might be closer revenue wise, but even revenue is a moot point. We'd really have to look at things from a profit perspective. Though the PS3 is likely designed to be a loss leader anyways.

[Llyranor]

Not to mention that PS3 software in Japan has been horrendous.

 

The Wii hasn't been doing too great in that aspect, either, though. It's mainly Wii Sports and Wii Play being consistently in the top10 over there. Zelda dropped off into the 20's now.

 

The DS still owns Japan.

[astr0creep]

I have a question!

 

In the music industry, some artists will get a double platinum album even before it is released because the "sales" are based on what the music stores are ordering, what the stores are expecting to be able to sell, not on what the consumers actually buy.

 

Is this the same in the console/video game industry?

[Surreptishus]

I have a question!

 

In the music industry, some artists will get a double platinum album even before it is released because the "sales" are based on what the music stores are ordering, what the stores are expecting to be able to sell, not on what the consumers actually buy.

 

Is this the same in the console/video game industry?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

If it was the case then MS could just ship a buttload of 360s to shops (in Japan for example) and say they are doing well.

 

EDIT: Which is what sony did when they said they shipped 1m PS3s to the US.

Edited January 11, 2007 by Surreptishus

[Shadowstrider]

The 360 is a failure in Japan. I believe the GameBoy Advance is still outselling it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

The Japanese are very fiercely brand loyal (a friend of mine says "patriotic") when it comes to consumption. I don't think anyone really expected the 360 to sell well in Asian markets, especially in the face of Sony or Nintendo.

[kumquatq3]

The 360 is a failure in Japan. I believe the GameBoy Advance is still outselling it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Actually, the Gameboy Micro outsold it!

[kumquatq3]

But PS3 costs twice as much as Wii, so I don't think Wii is far ahead PS3 sales-wise.

 

Except Sony takes a loss on those sales, where as Nintendo actually makes a profit.

[Deraldin]

The 360 is a failure in Japan. I believe the GameBoy Advance is still outselling it.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Actually, the Gameboy Micro outsold it!

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

 

Hey, I have one of those! <_< Only thing I don't like about it is that the shoulder buttons are a little difficult to use. Makes it hard to play Metroid properly.

[Alvin Nelson]

Plus, Nintendo is not losing any money by producing the Wii. Sony, on the other hand, is losing tons. In the end, Nintendo will still be making more money, just because all of the units being sold are for profit.

[Meshugger]

Ah, i see that i wasn't the only one liking the Wii

[metadigital]

Plus, Nintendo is not losing any money by producing the Wii. Sony, on the other hand, is losing tons. In the end, Nintendo will still be making more money, just because all of the units being sold are for profit.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That would matter if Sony was just fighting in the Console War; I just saw a report on the recent Casino Royale Bond film, where Sony were flexing their vertical marketing strategy. Daniel Craig had a Sony Viao, a Sony-Erikson mobile, in fact every gadget in the film was a Sony!

 

They are battling in a much larger war, against Microsoft for the living room computer (and the dominance of Windows for every gadget, everywhere; Blu-Ray versus HD-DVD notwithstanding) and even Apple for the dominant personal music standard.

 

We live in interesting times.

[Darque]

Seems they didn't learn from Microsoft.

 

You don't make new stuff and force it down everyone's throat, you assimilate other tech and add it to your product.

[Pop]

Seems they didn't learn from Microsoft.

 

You don't make new stuff and force it down everyone's throat, you assimilate other tech and add it to your product. 

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Seems they didn't learn from Apple either.

 

Whne you make bad design decisions, you pretend that they don't exist, and then build a scrappy counterculture around your "perfect" product.

[Volourn]

"Nintendo Co. Ltd. sold 604,200 of its new Wii video game consoles in the United States in December, beating Sony Corp., which sold 490,700 units of its new PlayStation 3, according to retail market research firm NPD.

 

 

Microsoft Corp. sold 1.1 million Xbox 360 video game consoles to consumers in December."

 

MS for the win.

[alanschu]

I'm guessing that this post should be somewhere else.

[Cantousent]

I don't think there's anything inappropriate in Vol's post. I think there's a lot involved, such as availability and price, but the 360 is bound to come up in a conversation comparing sales of next gen consoles.

[alanschu]

That's because there was another post after Volourn's by Blank, that is now elsewhere.

[Surreptishus]

Its still too early in the life cycle of the Wii to compare its monthly sales to those of the 360. We'll get a better picture once some more games are released for the Wii... after all it took a year for a killer app to be released for the 360. MS's successful holiday period is being attributed to GoW.

 

Its interesting to note that total Wii sales in N.America are higher than those of X360 this time last year.

[metadigital]

It's apples and oranges, though, even by Nintendo's own marketing: they aren't interested in the "Next Gen" market; they are aiming to get new converts into the gaming world: opening a new market (which, presumably, gives them a bunch of loyal advocates).