Wii becomes best-selling next-gen console
Early forecast confirmed
Welcome back to the top of the world games console totem pole, Nintendo - for next-gen machines at the very least. Sales data suggests that to date 9m Wiis have been bought, to 8.9m Xbox 360s and 3.7m PS3s.
The figures comes from the Financial Times and echo the claim made last month by little known market watcher VG Chartz that Wii sales had eclipsed those of the Xbox 360, its nearest next-gen console rival.
Next-gen console sales: the FT numbers
The numbers quoted by both sources don't match, but then they rarely do in the market statistics game. The FT cites Japanese figures from local publisher Enterbrain, European numbers from GfK and US totals from NPD.
VG Chartz put the Wii, Xbox 360 and PS3 on cumulative sales of 10.57m, 10.51m and 4.32m, respectively.
The values may differ but the relative positions are identical. The FT's figures are likely to be more accurate simply because they're based on locally culled data, rather than the broader statistical estimates VG Chartz produces.
COMMENTS
...And that's just in the US.
In Japan, Nintendo long since disposed of both Sony and Microsoft, selling 3 times more than the PS3 and NINE times more than the XBOX 360.
http://www.joystiq.com/2007/09/03/wii-outsells-ps3-three-to-one-in-japan-xbox-360-continues-nappi/
The US is just slow to come round to the truth.
My head is fine
"If you honestly think standing up and swinging you arm like a baseball bat is more 'immersive' than Bioshock in HD with surround sound on a 46 inch display then you need to get your head tested."
Yeah, I am suggesting exactly that. And more.
Not just swinging a bat. Swinging a sword, shooting a gun, punching your opponent. All MUCH more immersive than sitting on your arse twiddling your thumbs.
Its the way you interact with the game that provides the realism. HD and surround sound merely improve the what you see and hear. As long as you are sat on your butt with a first generation controller in your hand you are still only playing with the game, you aren't in it.
Financials...
I have a slightly different view of the console market.
Wii is cheap and instant gratification, so (as it should) is selling well.
Xbox30 is the cost effective HD options
PS3 is the technology lead, but currently at a price that stops it selling in volume.
Going forward the ain revenue for the console manufacturers is license revenue.
I expect a lot of people will be perfectly happy with a very limited number of fun games on the Wii and so through the life of the overall revenue per console will be less than the other two.
Xbox360 – solid performer – some top notch games, solid business in America and Europe, but Japan is a non-started. So, will do well and will sell a lot of games per console.
PS3 – I believe it currently suits Sony to not sell a large volume of consoles at the moment. They are expensive to manufacture, so Sony is losing a lot of money on each console sold. Also, there are very few top notch games at present. Later this year early next year the PS3 star games are expected. At the same time expect a dramatic increase in the sales of PS3s and also the games. Giving the PS3 a strong position going forward.
My expectation is that Nintendo will do more than enough to be back in the fight after the Gamecube fiasco. Microsoft will gain more traction but will continue to perform badly in Japan. Sony will struggle for about 6 months and then assuming great games and a proper price drop will make a serious showing and challenge on revenue through 2008 and on units in 2009.
For disclosure – I do not own any of these consoles. I am waiting for the price drops, not only on the consoles but also on 40” LCD HD TVs.
Different markets
I don't think it's that surprising that the Wii sold so well, for the same reason that the N64 did well... yet again they've focused on the cheeky fun and multiplayer aspect, except the Wiimote's added that extra zing.
As for the Xbox 360 versus the PS3, as a lot of people realised at E3 the potential of the PS3 has yet to be tapped, whereas I doubt the Xbox 360 has much left to give. The Wii's on it's own battleground, but on the other I expect Sony to come out triumphant eventually.
Mega yawn
@Anonymous vulture: I have a Wii *and* an XBox 360, and both *aren't* gathering dust. Both are cool in their own ways. And, anyway, Metroid Prime 3 comes out next month, so I'll be playing that *and* Halo 3!
The Wii *is* next-gen. It does things in a way other consoles don't. If people want to think of next-gen as better graphics and sound, fair enough. But next-gen shouldn't be measured by raw processing power, but by popularity instead!
