Total world Wii sales close in on Xbox 360 tally Nintendo's Wii is nearing the Xbox 360's cumulative sales total, despite the year-long availability advantage enjoyed by the Microsoft games consoles. New figures put the Wii at 10.10m units sold to date worldwide, just behind the 360's 10.32m. The numbers come from new-to-us website VG Chartz, which claims to base its …
"New figures put the Wii at 10.10m units sold to date worldwide, just behind the 360's 10.32m."
The XBox360 was at 9.8 million before Xmas, it means it's stopped selling since the PS3 and Wii have come out.
According to this, they expected to be at 13-15 million by June 2007.
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/11557/Xbox-360-Sales-Figures-Update-and-Forecast/
The 360 broke the 10.4million barrier back in May, they've been consistently shipping just short of 200,000 units in the US every month since then and likely plenty in Europe with only Japan adding little to that figure.
I'd be intrigued to know what retailers VG Chartz uses for it's "extremely accurate" data, because according to it the 360 has actually had negative sales in the last 3 months in that they've quoted just below the 10.4mill figure that was hit at the end of May. More realistically though the 10.4mill was a rounding up from the 10.32mill they quote, however let's face it it's still rather idiotic to suggest the 360 has sold no units in the last 3 months when sales figures show it as shifting an extra .2mill each month since.
This isn't to shun the Wii of course, it really is closing in on the 360 tally - I don't think there's any question of that, but let's take it from other sites than VG Chartz shall we? Seeing as it seems to have a certain bias in that it's included recent sales for Sony and Nintendo, but refused to acknowledge any sales whatsoever of the 360 in the last 3 months I think we can safely ignore it. I'd assume this is why they use the disclaimer that their figures are gathered from most recently released stats OR retailers in that it's most recently released stats for Microsoft and retailers for the PS3 and Wii putting a rather large discrepancy in their figures and a large shadow over their technique.
If these figures are true the what a turn around. I mean Nintendo have had and will be the portable console leader for some time to come.
As for the main console I feel the Sony will struggle to make second place over Nintendo (or possibly Microsoft in the near future). I do not think that the PS3 will do anywhere near as well as the PS2 (Which was the best console for its generation)
Why because it is too expensive (I am not doubting its potentail), the XBOX has had many, many issues with the patches, hardware issues etc. The Wii is new, simple to use, has had no major issues (with exception to the strap issue, but that is not a design flaw of the console)
From my point of view (I am not a console owner) the Wii is revolutionary and Nintendo have done something that Microsoft and Sony have not, and thats marketed a Family Console. Until Sony and Microsoft do that they will loose out.
If it is about market share then I think Sony should have given an initial price cut and then increase the price as the software delivers a sustained demand.
At the moment Sony and to a lesser extent Microsoft have games coming out soon that will be console sellers but how many people are waiting until the inevitable price cut, I know I am! If it was $300 for the first 6 months I would have one by now. Yes Sony would lose money but gain market share with people buying software and B-R disks now.
Once games like GTA, GTHD, MGS et al get released there will be a real reason to pay a high price.
There will be those that wait for better hardware, firmware and software before purchasing. If these are delivered later than the console release date then early adopters should get a discount and the added value should be worth the a price hike.
Thanks
Valan
If it is about market share then I think Sony should have given an initial price cut and then increase the price as the software delivers a sustained demand.
At the moment Sony and to a lesser extent Microsoft have games coming out soon that will be console sellers but how many people are waiting until the inevitable price cut, I know I am! If it was $300 for the first 6 months I would have one by now. Yes Sony would lose money but gain market share with people buying software and B-R disks now.
Once games like GTA, GTHD, MGS et al get released there will be a real reason to pay a high price.
There will be those that wait for better hardware, firmware and software before purchasing. If these are delivered later than the console release date then early adopters should get a discount and the added value should be worth the a price hike.
Thanks
Valan
That the significantly cheaper Wii, with much wider potential sales from the "kids and elderly" demographic that Nintendo make a point of targeting (or to be less inclined to marketing BS, the fact that Nintendo has always had a fantastic spread of games to appeal to younger and older audiences), has sold so well is no surprise. It's also a sweet price point with no "better" console to make you feel you were short-changed by your choice - you can't get a SuperWii with an HD.
That lack of decision making makes a Wii an easy snap purchase.
What is telling is that the PS3, widely held as a poor seller, has managed to gain so much ground. In under a year, a massively premium priced console with a fairly poor selection of games has managed to sell half the number of units the X360 has.
The 360 is heading for a revamp - I'm thinking (and I've been thinking this since the Elite was announced for the US; there is now evidence to suggest that part of it is already happening) that the HDMI-port equipped Elite was merely going to result in all models having an HDMI port, and that as the 360 matures it can be repositioned to take on the Wii and the PS3 comprehensively.
The Wii is currently £179 in the UK; the Core 360 is £199, but you know there is a better model in the premium which has compelling additional hardware. With the new HDMI equipped motherboards not appearing in Core systems, I think that (maybe before Christmas, certainly next year) the Core will be dropped in favour of a £179 or £199 (the lower price point making it head-on competition for the Wii) with a 20GB HD, but wired controllers, model. This offers a quantifiable upgrade over Wii's on paper technology for the Argos catalogue type buyer.
The premium system, currently £279 pretty much, would then carry the 120GB HD and wireless controllers. It oocupies a unique slot in the marketplace and the large HD would be compelling to people considering the PS3 but unwilling to spend so much.
And the Elite should be repositioned to £379msrp (currently £329) with a built-in HD-DVD drive and 120GB HD. This, unlike the present Elite, offers a serious technology advantage, and would also allow MS to drop the HD-DVD upgrade if sales are poor. People will always buy the expensive console version. Of course, as an Elite owner I'd be narked if this happened before Christmas, but it's also a price hike.
At £379, the Elite lacks integrated WiFi to compete with the PS3, but there is a larger HD, better games library, and of course the external WiFi module is available.
I've no vested interest in 360s selling; I've got one of each of the consoles and I think they have very different qualities - the Wii is the ultimate party console, great fun, the PS3 has the most interesting technology and a lot of promise, and the 360 is a really good all rounder (I've played one and ordered a UK Elite, so I haven't spend ages with it). This is pure speculation, but I am amused to see that the logical step of all 360s having HDMI is being taken - so wonder if the other logical steps will follow.
'At the moment Sony and to a lesser extent Microsoft have games coming out soon that will be console sellers'
I think you mean this the other way around i.e. Microsoft have most of the system sellers on the horizon, most of the Sony system sellers are due next year.
As for the Wii. Hardware sales are great but what about the software sales? Do people buy the Wii and then just play Wii Sports? I suspect this is what a lot of people do, whereas the 360 and PS3 I'm sure have a higher attach rate.
Also Nintendo are not known for their love of Europe. Games released in Japan and the USA literally take over 6 months to reach Europe. This will not help them sell consoles in the long term.
And thus will only sell the the niche market. After reading various forums the XBOX 360 is considered for 'serious' gamers.
More and more people are becoming aware of the poor build quality of the XBOX360 and high failure rate. So parents will be unwilling to fork out a considerable amount of money to buy an XBOX 360 for children under 16 when they can buy them a WII and save money in the process. The remaining market is 16-24 yr olds who have the ability to pay for an XBOX360 out of their own pocket, and take the risk that their machine will last them until Christams.
The WII on the other hand appeals to everyone (other than the self named serious gamers), its cheaper and it looks more fun and can be played by all the family. This last comment should not be underestimated.
Simple Economics will mean that the WII will become the number 1 console by Christmas.
I'm sick of all this "who is winning?" arse, who cares as long as the console you buy doesn't go tits-up after 2 years or so.
Well, on that basis MS is not a good bet, its fairly likely that the Xbox Revolution will be out within 24 months and MS expect us all to bet on their third horse.
And stop it with the "Wii is revolutionary" guff, its a gamecube with a new controller.
Mark: I own a lot of consoles, and if I look at the shelf, my set of games is dominated by Wii titles. I'm expecting to have two or three 360 titles, the PS3 I currently have 3 titles for, and the Wii I have 10 games on.
Also, the other two consoles I have only a few planned purchases on.
The Wii's success is simple: I'm not gamer, I'm just a geek who likes games. I bought PS3 for the technology, pure and simple - I like the way it links to my PSP (tellingly, I also find my DS/PSP experience to mirror that of the Wii/PS3). I bought 360 primarily for Halo and PGR (which features one of my mates on the soundtrack, and is a very good, fun driving game anyway), and the Wii, I bought because of the quality of games available and the diversity. If anything, the FP Shooters and driving games that dominate modern video entertainment fall down on the Wii due to the control system, but it offers a lot more variety as a result.
Gamers will laugh at the paltry selection of games I have, but even when my primary system was a PS2, I don't think I had more than 20 titles for it.
Finally, you're probably overlooking the appeal of the simple retro games on the Wii. Many people remember their NES, SNES systems fondly - many of the best titles are appearing for the Wii as low-cost downloads. That's still an attachment rate, and TBH I wouldn't be surprised if it were not a profitable one.
Chris:
Equivalent to a PSOne? Whatever you're smoking, I'll have some. Wii is a 729MHz PPC core and a fairly powerful GPU. I think that if Sony had been offering that, instead of a 33MHz MIPS, in the 1994-tech PSOne/PlayStation, they might be dominating more than just the games industry by now... If anything the Wii is "comparable" to an original Xbox, though only by people not quite smart enough to grasp the numbers are relating to very different hardware.
To Ian: Sorry my friend, but those numbers are very close to reality. There is not only the shipped/sold issue. The numbers have been revised due to the abnormal failure rate of the 360. Microsoft have MANUFACTURED about 12 million units. They have set aside money to replace, at others best guesses, 3 million units. If you want count bricks in with the sales figures, thats fine I guess. I suppose you also accept Sony's claim of 120 million Ps2 installed units, not realizing that some of them had to break down and be replaced. Probably around 20% are broken units. I think you are the one relying on bad sources, namely Microsoft,
To Ian: Sorry my friend, but those numbers are very close to reality. There is not only the shipped/sold issue. The numbers have been revised due to the abnormal failure rate of the 360. Microsoft have MANUFACTURED about 12 million units. They have set aside money to replace, at others best guesses, 3 million units. If you want count bricks in with the sales figures, thats fine I guess. I suppose you also accept Sony's claim of 120 million Ps2 installed units, not realizing that some of them had to break down and be replaced. Probably around 20% are broken units. I think you are the one relying on bad sources, namely Microsoft,
Richard,
Sounds like you're missing out on some great games if you only own 3 Xbox 360 games! The Wii's software lineup has nowhere near the depth of the 360's, and as I've said, any 'must have' titles that do come out (Paper Mario for example) take an age to be released in Europe. Microsoft are probably the company that have the most respect for Europe when it comes to gaming with near instantaneous releases of both hardware and software in the USA and Europe.
As for retro gaming. How about Sensible Soccer on Xbox Live Arcade as an example of a must have retro game soon to be released? There's loads of great retro and new games on XBLA, all with a free downloadable demo so you can try before you buy - something you can't do with the Wii's retro collection which includes some howlers.
Nintendo really need to step up it's release schedule if it hopes to compete with the 360 and the PS3 in the long run. One off hardware sales to new gamers while the Wii concept is fresh is not a long term strategy. Look at the Gamecube for an example of a decent console which failed due to a dearth of decent games - especially when it came to third party publishers.
All the figures are dubious based on extrapolated data from a sampling, not actual sales - even the manufacturers only know how many they've shippped to stores, not the actual sales.
...but even if it hasn't quite happended yet Wii is sure to outsell 360 - we have both here, kids are never off the Wii even though its really quite basic in terms of graphics/sound - the controllers and games are more engaging for kids, especially youngsters and non-gamers who visit seem to be grabbed much more readily. 360 staples like Forza2, GOW etc are awesome next gen games but not something your average six year old or granny are likely to get into.
Don't get me wrong, I am not at all denying the massive range of titles for the 360 - I don't own any 360 titles yet since the Elite won't be out for another fortnight, but I envisage myself owning 3 definite acquisitions when I get it - PGR3 (which is now a budget title anyway), Halo 3 Limited when it's released as I pre-ordered it, and something like Gears of War perhaps - I'm unsure. I got NFS:Carbon for PS3 so don't see any reason to get the 360 version despite the superior controllers on the 360 for that genre.
My kid has a 360 Core, and I've seen the games on his (hence how I know how PGR3 plays, and that I do want a 360 at all despite having the PS3) - he has a big stack of games for it already, and is probably more representative of the genre, but he also prefers the Wii for many games, particularly the multiplayer/social aspect of it since they don't have an online connection, and therefore don't get to use the online capability of the 360.
It's a race to see which console I'll get GTA:IV for, though. PS3 is definitely ahead for me at the moment (I have NFS:Carbon, MotorStorm, and Obvlivion for the PS3, and of course the free Casino Royale which I haven't watched yet - only just got a 1080 HDTV to go with it!). I might go for the 360 version if better PS3 controllers don't surface, though - the sixaxis feels flimsy and the analogue triggers are too small/lack sufficient travel to provide controllable throttle in the way the 360 does.
I'm also aware of the retro games on 360 (and PS3), but I haven't seen the selection of titles for the 360. PS3 doesn't allow demos of all titles, only some, and last time I looked the retro collection was decidedly sparse.
The 360 has consistently outsold the PS3 for months now worldwide (gains in Europe/US easily overtaking losses to the PS3 in Japan) and by outsold I do indeed mean sold. Again, therefore it does not make sense that the PS3 has made such a huge jump whilst the PS3 has not. Particularly as it was most certainly the case that Sony have thus far made heavy use of their shipped and not sold figures also, the current PS3 statistic given by VG Chartz is closer to that of sales figures + Sony's past shipped figure rather than the correct merge of sales of the shipped consoles. We very well know the PS3 simply has not been selling here in Europe at least - they're always consistently on the shelves, as opposed to say the Wii, which is still regularly showing sold out signs and the 360 which believe it or not, is also still often sold out in some stores (try phoning round a few different stores if you don't believe me - prominently GAME, HMV, PC World have had shortages over the past few months).
The Wii is going to be the clear winner of this console round, but with GTA4 pushed back and the plethora of console-selling 360 games due in time for this xmas (Mass Effect, Bioshock, Halo 3, Blue Dragon to name a few) Sony's really going to struggle, it just has really little to offer over the two competing consoles this christmas period - their biggest problem right now is all their heavy hitters come out after xmas, by which time it might already be too late as the 360 and Wii (Super Mario Galaxy etc.) mop up.
I had Xbox 360 console, online it is impressive but it WII or PS3 or even DS. Gameplay on the Xbox 360 is very dire, lots of PC/PS3 Ports. But why isnt Xbox Live Free, Why some many games on 360 just ports. Halo is excellent, but it isnt WII Sports, It isnt Shadow of Colussus or Daxter on the PSP. Microsoft Hardware is poor, I bought mine and got the three reds lights or it locked. Xbox consoles are the only consoles I know that lock when you are playing. I played Halo 1 and thought this is excellent this is reason to get this console, I got a WII , WOW , Unbelieveable, easy but next gen without the next gen fuss. played motorstorm on PS3 and Heavenly Sword (yes its not released), that is what console gaming is about, gameplay and if you are luckly great graphics added to it. Microsoft is a one game show boat, look at Crackdown sales only driven by the halo 3 beta, a Beta for a Console Game, nuts and lazy programming. Microsoft hurry up and leave, you are boring the industry...
I am pleased that the Wii is catching up with the X-box 360, considering that the X-box have been around for longer, I think Nintendo should be pleased.
I have a Wii, I got it because it was different and it was the sort of thing I have been after for years. I am not a gamer, but syaing that I have now got 4 Wii games, as well as Wii sports.
I am not taking anything away from the X-box or the Playstation 3, they are both good machines and more advance than the Wii, but they are the type of consoles which appeal to the gamers.
The one thing that is missing from the Wii is online gaming, I think Nintendo should have put more thought into that, just imagine if the games that came with it was able to be played online, that would be good. Still at least the future looks better.
Well done Nintendo, it is about time they got up there with the big boys, since the game cube did not really do much good.
What is so special about the WII? I think this console will hit the saturation point very soon. Once people realize hey I can get these games online and cheep with Xbox 360 its over. Then they can buy a real game with the Xbox 360 or PS3 and hook it up to a HDTV and have full 5.1 sound.
I think the public just has not moved as fast as technology has and once people get over this WII phase they will realize they were duped by the market and WII is just last generations leftovers. The WII is not even close to next generation and should never even be considered next generation when it’s such a bad technological piece. I mean really wow they made a controller that senses when you move it... Big deal Microsoft put out a controller that did the same thing years ago. The only difference is that they didn't make a ton of cheesy games to go along with the controller. I think the person that stated it would saturate like the game cube is 100% correct. So to everyone else I have a real console and play real games with my son... He knows the difference already at 5 and I won't buy junk like the WII.
To the media which feeds off the negativity of the Microsoft quality I would stand behind the Xbox 100%. I know there have been a lot of console issues with red lights but Microsoft is the only company I know backing up there product with a 3 year warrantee. Let’s see WII or PS3 do the same thing since they are such superior products.
You need to buy more than one 360 as they keep going wrong. While the warranty has been extended, I bet there's a few people who missed that offer and have bught another.
The 360 has been out the longest. It's very easy to look at the US market and deem the 360 a success, look at Japan though, not even sold a million yet.
To Mark,
" 'At the moment Sony and to a lesser extent Microsoft have games coming out soon that will be console sellers'
I think you mean this the other way around i.e. Microsoft have most of the system sellers on the horizon, most of the Sony system sellers are due next year.
As for the Wii. Hardware sales are great but what about the software sales? Do people buy the Wii and then just play Wii Sports? I suspect this is what a lot of people do, whereas the 360 and PS3 I'm sure have a higher attach rate."
I do mean Sony and to a lesser extent Microsoft because some of the system sellers have been released on the 360 whereas the PS3 is still waiting.
I agree that 360 and PS3 are more dependent on software sales since the respective companies loose money on hardware sales and therefore market share is much more crucial to them. The Wii is not really a hardware competitor for Sony or Microsoft but a software competitor. If each Wii owner just played Wii Sport I think S&M would be happy with the numbers. However software publishers are now more likely to spend time on Wii products than PS3 or 360 simply because of the market share.
Maybe S&M should look at Apples strategy and allow free downloads of GT and halo3. Like the Pepsi offer of free songs needing an iTunes/iPod they should give away some free software so that people need hardware to play it on. Increase the market share attract more software and then sell more games.
Cheers
Valan
Simon,
'Gameplay on the Xbox 360 is very dire, lots of PC/PS3 Ports.'
Nothing wrong with porting PC games. Also it's actually the other way around, the PS3 features lots of Xbox 360 ports. Companies invest a lot of money into games so they support the most number of platforms that they can - it's basic business sense.
'But why isnt Xbox Live Free, '
Because it's superior in every way to any similar offering elsewhere. Also remember you only have to pay for it if you want to PLAY online - everything else (downloading demos, messaging/talking to friends, achievements, global leaderboards etc.) is free.
'Halo is excellent, but it isnt WII Sports, It isnt Shadow of Colussus or Daxter on the PSP. '
Apples and oranges...
'Microsoft Hardware is poor, I bought mine and got the three reds lights or it locked. Xbox consoles are the only consoles I know that lock when you are playing.'
MS have had problems with the hardware - but they've now sorted most of this out and will repair you console free of charge if you have the 'three red lights' issue. This is more than any company has done in the past (see Sony and the PS2 disc reading problem)
'I played Halo 1 and thought this is excellent this is reason to get this console, I got a WII , WOW , Unbelieveable, easy but next gen without the next gen fuss. played motorstorm on PS3 and Heavenly Sword (yes its not released), that is what console gaming is about, gameplay and if you are luckly great graphics added to it. '
So you played a last gen game on a current gen console and are now comparing this experience with the Wii and PS3's finest? Not a fair comparison would you say?
'Microsoft is a one game show boat, look at Crackdown sales only driven by the halo 3 beta, a Beta for a Console Game, nuts and lazy programming. Microsoft hurry up and leave, you are boring the industry...'
Crackdown is an excellent game in it's own right - I take it you've played it? Also I assume by 'one game show boat' you are referring to Halo 3. While this is a massive release on the Xbox platform it is a long way from being the only thing on offer. I'm not going to write a list but if you look at the games already available on the 360 and look into the not too distant future you'll see some amazing games which don't all have the name Halo (Bioshock is one example of a game which is currently shaping up to be a classic).
1 WII, £179.00
4 real games 4 x £30.00
4 controlers 4 x £30.00
4 nunchucks 4 x £15.00
1 Relatively easy installed Mod chip £24
38 Downloaded/copied games and counting - Priceless
Loving the Wii games, so many different unique types of games...
may even buy some more real games..
An easily chipped console may not be the main feature for most buyers but for a geek of my generation it sure is nice and I will buy every piece of hardware available.
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