According to a report out of Tokyo from business publication Financial Times, global sales of the Wii have now overtaken Microsoft's Xbox 360, despite the Xbox 360's one-year head start.
The report which is based on sales figures from Enterbrain in Japan, The NPD Group in the U.S. and GfK of Germany in Europe, claims that consumers around the world have purchased a total of nine million Wiis, 8.9 million Xbox 360 units and 3.7 million PS3s. While Nintendo has dominated the handheld gaming landscape ever since the first Game Boy was introduced (and the company is more than dominating with its DS), it's been a very long time since Nintendo has actually been #1 in the console business.
In fact, the last time Nintendo was squarely on top was 17 years ago when Super Nintendo was all the rage. To this day, many gamers believe that the SNES was one of the greatest platforms ever.
Many analysts point to the Wii's cheaper price, unique motion-sensing controls and overall accessibility, but the Financial Times also noted that the Wii was helped over the summer "while sales of the Xbox and the PlayStation 3 lagged behind due to a dearth of new software titles."
"The fact of the matter is that, despite the Xbox's earlier launch in November 2005, it only sells in two markets – Europe and the US," one unnamed analyst told the Times. "Japan is home turf to Sony and Nintendo, so the Xbox is not a player at all. In contrast, Nintendo has been selling well in all three major markets."
Between the DS and Wii, Nintendo's momentum in Japan has been so strong that the company's market value actually surpassed Sony's to become one of Japan's 10 most valuable companies, including Honda, Toyota and Canon. Furthermore, today BrandIntel released a new report suggesting that the Wii has benefited from the highest purchase intent among consumers, so Nintendo's success is likely to continue.
GameDaily BIZ has contacted Nintendo for comment and will update with any statements. A Microsoft spokesperson told us that we should simply "stay tuned" for their NPD statement following the NPD report.
by James Brightman
source:gamedaily.com
