Wii console sales boosted by casual, hardcore titles in Japan
Thursday, February 28th, 2008 at 11:56am by Jack
Thanks to the one-two punch of titles like Super Smash Bros. Brawl and the quirky Wii Fit balance board, Nintendo has widened its lead in Japan over Sony’s PlayStation 3.
According to an article from Reuters today, Nintendo’s Wii game console outsold the PlayStation 3 nearly 4-to-1 in Japan in February despite Sony’s console beginning to narrow the gap last autumn. In addition to strong hardware sales, Wii software titles also dominated the best seller list. Super Smash Bros. Brawl led the software sales with 1.33 million units, followed by Wii Fit which sold 309,311 units in the four weeks.
According to Reuters, Enterbrain and the Japanese gaming mag Famistsu, the Wii’s lead on the PS3 appears to be widening. In February it was 4:1; in January, the Wii outsold the PS3 by almost 3-to-1. Nintendo sold 331,627 units of the Wii in the four weeks to Feb. 24, compared with 89,131 units of the PS3, market research firm Enterbrain said.
Microsoft, content to sell to that lucrative “niche collector’s market” in Japan, sold 14,079 Xbox 360 units in the February reporting period.
February 28th, 2008 at 12:28 pm
It feels like the NES/SNES days all over again….mmmm Nintendo dominating again, I love it. I think I am going to grab Wii fit when it pops over to Canada.
P.S. Has anyone seen that Neo Geo controller comming out for Wii? I want it!
February 28th, 2008 at 2:03 pm
Why are the Japanese not jumping to buy 360s?
March 2nd, 2008 at 2:12 am
Noremakk: Because (A) the controller is still too big for their liking, and (B), there are NO. GOOD. GAMES. What many Americans consider “good”, the Japanese consider “shit” (i.e., Gears of War).