Xbox 360 wrests US sales lead from Wii
Halo effect
Microsoft's Xbox 360 outsold the hugely popular Nintendo Wii in the US last month as consumers caught Halo 3 fever, sales figures from local market watcher NPD reveal.
In September, Microsoft shipped 527,800 360s, up 90.8 per cent on the previous month's total, 276,700. That growth pushed 360 shipments past the Wii, which racked up 501,000 shipments in September, up from 403,600 in August - a jump of 24.1 per cent.
MS' sales through August and September - the first of the two months saw the company cut the price of its console - reversing the gentle downward month-on-month shipments trend seen through much of 2007, NPD's numbers, relayed by X-bit Labs, show.
By contrast, Wii shipments, after an dip through to March 2007, have been trending upwards ever since. Until September, 2007 monthly Wii shipments have always been higher than the Xbox 360's.
US PS3 shipments have also trended downwards through 2007. Sony appeared to have turned the corner in June and July, when shipments rose to 95,500 and 159,000, respectively, before falling back to 130,600 in August and then to 119,400 in September.
The next-gen console has yet to be bought by more US consumers in a given month than its predecessor, the PS2, which has outsold all other consoles but the Wii and, from August, the Xbox 360 too.
October's numbers will be interesting to see. Sony's decicision to cut $100 off the price of the 80GB PS3 probably won't have much of an impact on sales until November, when the lower-priced 40GB PS3 will ship. Will Halo 3 continue to exert an strong influence on Xbox 360 sales, or will the Wii re-take the lead?
COMMENTS
Selling at a loss?
I was under the impression that each premium 360 made somewhere around US$200 for Microsoft.
Title
Dunno where i am on this debate...
I have a PS3 and i love it. I've never had a console before - always preferring the PC for FPS (my preferred game type).
So people buy them for diff reasons (obs), but here's a glimpse into the 'fuzzy' logic that went into my choice.......
Friend got a Wii - I tried it, liked it...was going to buy a Wii, then read that MOH Airborne Assault only had 5 (albeit good) levels & COD stuttered a bit...so
thought the 360 was a good choice due to the amount of games available and poss HD player upgrade..then spoke to the guy in the shop who was on his 4th (in a year!)...didn't like the prospect of multiple meltdowns...so
Decided on the PS3 and i like it (didn't like the cost though!). Like the games and like the Blu Ray... think it has a lot of potential....
And at the end of the day, each console has it's strength, but what i have learned through all this is that...a (or should it be 'an' - i can never decide) FPS needs a mouse and keyboard to be truly fulfilling ;-)
Until . . .
Star Wars on the Wii
Halo might be good but how many will resist the temptation to waggle a light saber - if the Ars Warts nuts hadn't got a Wii by now then they'll flock to the shops when the game's released (and the expensive controller add-on).
hmmmm
Whats with all the 'bored after 3 months' talk?
So you're bored and now its time to sell?
I have the best console released (imo), the PS2, its great, I love it, I don't play it for 3 months or more at a time.
It takes one game to bring it back to life and be played again (even dwarfing my pc usage).
So yep, I've completed every game I wanted to so far for the Wii, its not collecting dust mind due to my GF's 17 year old sister playing MySims like crazy...
Once Mario & Mario Kart hit, my pc & PS2 will collect dust except for checking email, and ill be burning through wiimote batteries. Should I sell my pc and ps2??
Anywhoos, its good for MS to finally beat Ninty at something...
there's still a lot of folks that want 'em
they're very hard to find here in the Bay Area. Used ones selling for over $300. I got mine while my girl was back east visiting relatives-had her pick it up at a Wal Mart and stuff it in a suitcase for the return flight:)
When Mario Galaxy, and the Wii versions of Mario Kart, Smash Bros., and Lego Star Wars (with lightsaber-that'll bring the kids running!) Wii's gonna pop back up for awhile.
PS3 fanbois need to give it a rest. Except fro trust fund college weenies, crack funded gangstas, and overpaid dot-com executives, the PS3 is not desirable. The rest of us who want a "hard core" gaming experience built a no-compromises PC. Real "hard core" are willing to pay more for the ultimate experience without compromise. Those who want to be "hard core" but can't afford it, go with the Xbox. The casual gamer, the less expensive Wii (which doesn't need adapters to talk to the normal televisions that *most* of America still owns, hype to the contrary!).
Selling a completely striped down, non backwards compatible version of the PS3 ain't gonna help either. I'm still buying games for the PS2:)
