Sony PS3 narrows gap with Nintendo Wii The PlayStation 3 continued to narrow the sales advantage enjoyed by Nintendo's Wii in Japan last month, a local games magazine publisher has claimed. However, both companies experienced much lower sales than they have in recent months. During October, Nintendo sold 110,415 Wiis, while Sony shipped 47,183 PS3s, publisher …
Saturation
However the fact that the Wii sold shed loads more that the others put together means the others are basically doing shite in Japan.
Also with the new Mario Party game coming out I feel the gap may widen for a month or too.
Just one thing thou.........How is it a Console which is not a competitor for the XBox or PS3 (Nintendos own words) is selling better than the graphically superiors Colsoles......
Cheaper Maybe.......Could it be because it gets you off your seat and more active.......Maybe.......or is it that the product was aimed for the whole market and for all ages.
As I have said in previous posts, if the XBox and PS3 was cheaper with cheaper games they they will do better. Oh look they have both dropped their prices and well they are still not selling that well.
Just my 2c = 2p worth
we don't wait with interest - we don't care - nobody cares.
People will sell consoles, when new games come out numbers of console sold will increase, when prices drop number of consoles sold will increase.
As time goes by number of units shifted per month will drop.
At some point (depending on cost of hardware) the hardware will break even (takes years - nobody cares it's a pretty insignificant figure.)
In the end sony will make the most money becouse they will sell the most games for the longest period of time (look at both playstations (1 and 2)) that is all.
"Microsoft sold 11,288 Xbox 360s in Japan in August, rising to 18,717 in October. It's the only third-generation consoles to have seen a month-on-month sales increase of late, though the gain is small."
Third gen? I didn't realise Playstations and Saturns were the first consoles released!
Not that I care much - but looking at the graph, the story is a bit different.....Wii sales have dropped a LOT, PS3 sales have dropped a little, and XBOX sales have picked up little. Seems odd to say that Sony narrowed any gap. I mean, that implies that they had something to do with the gap narrowing....and since it really only narrowed thanks to their own drop in sales, it's not really true. Really, Micro$oft has narrowed the gap between it and Sony (big thanks to the large drop in sales by Sony)... And everyone it getting closer together thanks to the big drop in Wii sales.
All that said, I've got my Wii (and love it)....If the PS3 didn't cost so much, I'd consider it (even though they've lost the new console war, I think).
as to why a rebadged gamecube can even be considered in the same league as a ps3.
the ps3 is a media station - playing high def content & movies and amazing looking games. the wii looks crap and to be honest wouldnt have sold at all if it wasnt for the new control system - it cannot even output in HD!
i have both machines and one is a games console (ps3) where as the other is just a party style machine.
its like comparing a ferrari to a fiat punto
It'll be interesting when they analyse the UK information as you can buy a PS3 just about anywhere, and you can't get a wii for love nor money.
Nintendo have to be careful as people will get a PS3 instead of a wii if the artifical shortage, used to raise christmas figures (and bonuses) is continued much longer. I was told last weekend in Currys that head office were throttling back stock to increase demand over the christmas period - B@st@rds!!!
If Nintendo sales are dropping, why is it currently impossible to get hold of Wiis here in the UK? Even the profiteers seem to be running out of European stock that they were selling at around £100 over list. Is this an engineered stock shortage designed to drive us into a buying frenzy for xmas when the stock is released to the market? Perhaps El Reg could research and give us the story on this. Looks like a hoop and a stick for xmas otherwise.
If the Wii sales have dropped sharply due to all the stories re lack of stock (due to inability to ramp up production) then maybe it is a temporary thing.
Or perhaps the lack of stock is an indication that Nintendo are doing what they do normally on a consistant basis - shooting themselves in the foot.
Nintendo have a long history of coming up with good ideas then shooting themselves in the foot, the latest examples include talking up the Wii as being able to do what the DS does (allowing people to play with other people from around the world for free) and then failing to add this function to Wii Sports (the most poplular Wii title across all ages of Wii owners IMO) and restricting it severely by proposing only allowing this functionality for the Wii via Wii friend codes.
It also made the Wiimote and Wii nunchuck expensive to buy (and you have to buy them seperately) and did not supply two sets with the Wii (it makes no sense to only supply one set of controllers if you want the whole family to join in).
On top of that they allow crap third party ports to really make sure their noses are rubbed in the lack of HD graphics and then the 'tacked on' Wii-waggle (they add on one per Wii port) makes the Wii functionality look like a gimmick for any that try it and do not try the Nintendo or Capcom core Wii titles.
It's almost like they had a run away success with the DS and nobody in Nintendo could mess with it (too late, success already) - and then somebody let out the Wii, but then whoever it is at Nintendo who keeps messing things up and obstructing things then stuck their filthy oar in and made damn sure they were going to obstruct the Wii.
Which they have had partial success in - if they keep things up the Wii will definately go the way of the Gamecube within two years.
Went into my local games shop and they said that I had next to no chance of getting a Wii before christmas. Pathetic in my opinion. This has to have been planned as I fail to believe that Nintendo could not meet demand with all the resources that they have.
Lets face it, the Wii is graphically pants. The chap in the game store even tried to convince me that the graphics were on a par with the 360 and PS3. Once I had picked myself off the floor I thought it better to steer him away from that line of questioning as he clearly had no idea what he was talking about. I felt embarrassed for him.
Anyway, I am drifting off from my point. The current crop of console makers are pants, lets have Sega back. the Wii is fun, but graphicaly flawed and IMO over-priced considering the extras can run to a higher cost than the machine. I totted up that my daughter would need at least one extra controller and a covers for the nunchucks etc, very expensive. The Xbox is great in principle, but M$ seem to always have reliability issues RROD, overheating, sounds like a jet engine etc. Sony want to push Blue-ray on us and are taking a big hit for doing it. I am sure though that they are running the marathon rather than the sprint.
There is no scarcity, it is a big trick to milk us at christmas. They (console makers) should all be lined up against a wall and asked to justify the current state of affairs.
Actually, Mark, Nintendo has been able to deliver more consoles in a shorter period of time than anyone in history. So much for the second part of your theory.
As for the low price, yes that definitely helps. So what? You make it sound like that's a bad thing.
But your claim that people are being "conned" is riduculous considering the actual facts here.
If the Wii fad has worn off, then how come PS3 sales are dropping as well? Is that a fad too?
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