Report: Wii outsells PS3 in Japan

Japanese magazine says Wii sold more than twice the number of PS3s in console's home country; Sony likely missed 2006 shipping target in Japan, worldwide.

The final tally of the holiday sales of the Wii and PlayStation 3 in North America may still be up in the air (NPD is expected to release its official figures this Thursday), but across the Pacific Ocean, the first wave of numbers are in.

Nintendo's Wii won the head-to-head battle for Japan against its rival, the Sony PlayStation 3, according to Reuters via Japanese magazine publisher Enterbrain. The article in the magazine claims that 989,118 Wiis were sold in Japan between the console's December 2 launch through the end of the year. Sony, on the other hand, reportedly sold 466,716 PS3s in Japan between that system's launch on November 11 and the end of December.

The Enterbrain information also suggests that Sony may have missed its PS3 shipment targets at the cost of its home country. Earlier this week, Sony announced that it had shipped 1 million PS3s to North America--half of what the company had planned to ship worldwide by the end of the year--only by diverting stock from Japan.

With less than 500,000 units sold in Japan in 2006, Reuters infers Sony did not meet its target of 2 million units shipped through the end of the year, a target that was "within reach," according to Sony, as recently as mid-December.

Sony plans to ship 6 million PS3s worldwide by the end of March.

504 Comments

  • rockstar_88

    Posted Oct 1, 2007 3:47 pm PT

    Both the Wii and the PS3 are lacking in quality games as of right now. I have yet to play a mind-blowing experience on the PS3 that I can't already experience on the 360, and the Wii is now basically reserved as a party tool and nothing more. I would have good things to say about the 360, but I'll leave it out considering that the 360 had a year-head start and the comparisons would be unfair.

  • LikwidX3

    Posted Jan 18, 2007 11:37 am PT

    ps3 has no reason to sell right now unless someone wants it, well...duh... but, wait until the good games start rollin in.. FFXIII, MGS4, ....FFXIII, .......MGS4, ohh lair!!.. ummm... yea, wait until those games come in.. the sells will pwn the wiis. ok, back to zelda.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Jan 15, 2007 6:05 pm PT

    Larger supply equals greater sales. Wait, until FFXIII comes out. Then you'll see who really start selling.

  • elliot_

    Posted Jan 14, 2007 6:43 am PT

    i said the same thing that the cjcr_alexandru said..but a time ago...and i agree with him...

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 7:47 am PT

    This bashing is becoming really boring. Who is going to win the console wars? I know who. YOU. You, the gamer. More consoles=more games. Simple as that...

  • YourDaddy88

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 7:01 am PT

    mouse_potato said:
    "YourDaddy88: I agree, but you're forgeting one fact in that equation - it's the hardware that dictates what games can be developed. So the hardware is not irrelevant as you claim. Otherwise I'd be playing GoW on my SNES...

    that's true, but it doesn't dictate what games WILL be developed."

    Are you high? Yes, it WILL. Any game developed for the Wii is limited by the Wii's hardware, just like games made for any system anytime, including the 360 and PS3. Like I said "Otherwise I'd be playing GoW on my SNES..."

    "the xbox had better hardware than the PS2, but we saw a bigger library of better games on the PS2."

    That's because MS got a late start and it was their first attempt (console). They were basically still establishing the relationships for a strong game support to their system. This time around, with the 360, they don't have to repeat all that, the support is already there and increasing, which is good.

    "just because the PS3 has superior technology with all its blu-ray and whatnot, doesn't mean that developers will bother making multiplatform games like Madden and Assassin's Creed and GTA4 any better - it'll be interesting to see if a developer can make a PS3 exclusive that takes advantage of the hardware."

    Yes, this is true. In fact, everyone is expecting to see more 3rd party games go multi-platform and more exclusives to be 1st party games. This is probably the best news for us, the gamers/consumers, because it gives us more freedom to choose whichever system we like with only a few exclusive games to worry about (vs. before)

  • YourDaddy88

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 6:42 am PT

    akuma7703 said:
    @ Odium_Humanis:
    "...'There are plenty of things going for the 360, this is one of the few things that are not. All this hoopla is over the PS3's price...The PS3 is more expensive for a reason...'

    "Yeah, just one... the Blu-Ray drive."

    There's more. You get the Blu-Ray HD drive, HDMI (v1.3), built-in WiFi, 60GB HDD (updgradeable), up to 7 controllers via Bluetooth (30' range) with motion control, full web browser, 4 USB 2.0 ports, 3 memory device ports, 100% free internet service, more processing power and you can install and run another OS, like Linux. Plus if you don't want all the bells and whistles, the 20GB PS3 is $500, or just $100 more than a 360, and for that $100 you still get the same HDD at 20GB, except it's upgradeable to whatever's out there for SATA drives, Blu-Ray HD player, HDMI, etc. Basically everything except the WiFi and memory ports (still has the USB ports too). That's not a bad deal for $500, especially when an iPod goes for $300.

    "If the 360 had a built in Blu-Ray or even HD-DVD drive it would cost about the same. At least M$ was nice enough to give consumers a choice till the format wars are settled and not shove one down our throats."

    Here's my past response to the same thought:

    This makes me laugh because while I'll never know MS's true reason, I'm pretty sure if it was MS releasing the 360 now it would've come with HDMI, bigger HDD, built-in WiFi AND HD-DVD based drive. Ever consider the possibility that MS simply wasn't ready and didn't think they needed to do it? MS is competing for top spot in the gaming industry - trust me - they will invest in any area they think they have to to be #1 over customer optional any day of the week. Why do you think they made sure they were the first to go next gen with HD? They realized being the first captures good market share and automatically puts you ahead in software development (games) experience and improvement - basically you're always one step ahead of the competition (lesson learned with the original xbox). Did you see the pics of the rumored 360 with the HDMI port? Better believe they are experimenting and contemplating on what to do between an improved 360 (to compete with the PS3's added features) and the next xbox (to compete with the PS4, which Sony announced for 2010)...and I don't see MS doing any customer surveys asking what we want...

  • YourDaddy88

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 6:29 am PT

    akuma7703 Said:
    mouse_potato:
    "I agree, but you're forgeting one fact in that equation - it's the hardware that dictates what games can be developed. So the hardware is not irrelevant as you claim. Otherwise I'd be playing GoW on my SNES..."
    ---
    Excellent point. "

    Hey, those are my words, not mouse_potato's, lol.

  • akuma7703

    Posted Jan 12, 2007 5:34 am PT

    mouse_potato:
    "I agree, but you're forgeting one fact in that equation - it's the hardware that dictates what games can be developed. So the hardware is not irrelevant as you claim. Otherwise I'd be playing GoW on my SNES..."

    ---

    Excellent point.

  • mouse_potato

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 7:43 pm PT

    megablueblastaa said exactly what i was thinking. That is clearly what's going to be happening this gen.

    wii>xbox360>ps3. enough said. Nintendo reigns, and always will reign, supreme. It has the classic games. Mario. Zelda. Metroid. Those three, combined, will crush the other two, no matter how many Gears of War games come out.

    Go Nintendo!

    -------------------------

    i like nintendo and what they've done for the game industry and all, but don't jump to conclusions too quickly. Mario, Zelda and Metroid are all great games, but those weren't nearly enough to stop the GameCube from losing horribly at the hands of Sony and Microsoft. And, do you think Mario, Zelda, and Metroid are enough to crush Halo 3, Assassin's Creed, GTA4, Oblivion, Devil May Cry 4, Metal Gear Solid 4, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Fable, Final Fantasy, Ratchet and Clank, Guitar Hero, and all those other titles that you can't get on the Wii? As great as Nintendo's first party games are, I really do hope Nintendo gets the third-party support it needs, because no matter how great and innovative the Wii's controller is, and no matter how great Super Mario Galaxy and Metroid 3 are, if third-parties don't rally behind it, the Wii is destined to go the way of the 'Cube.

  • mouse_potato

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 7:37 pm PT

    Galiard said:
    "Alot of rhetoric is being said over and over. it all boils down to this simple fact. Games make the system. who ever releases the best games will sell more systems and be declared the winner of the "console wars". To those that say 360 blows away ps3 and Wii Techonlogy wise, dont see the big picture. The hardware irrelevant, it is all about the games."

    I agree, but you're forgeting one fact in that equation - it's the hardware that dictates what games can be developed. So the hardware is not irrelevant as you claim. Otherwise I'd be playing GoW on my SNES...

    that's true, but it doesn't dictate what games WILL be developed. the xbox had better hardware than the PS2, but we saw a bigger library of better games on the PS2. just because the PS3 has superior technology with all its blu-ray and whatnot, doesn't mean that developers will bother making multiplatform games like Madden and Assassin's Creed and GTA4 any better - it'll be interesting to see if a developer can make a PS3 exclusive that takes advantage of the hardware.

  • DannyRice

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 7:31 pm PT

    megablueblastaa said exactly what i was thinking. That is clearly what's going to be happening this gen.

    wii>xbox360>ps3. enough said. Nintendo reigns, and always will reign, supreme. It has the classic games. Mario. Zelda. Metroid. Those three, combined, will crush the other two, no matter how many Gears of War games come out.

    Go Nintendo!

  • khaloudakabooba

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 7:20 pm PT

    The Wii is a PS3 ass kicker and the Ps3 sucks

  • aquabot

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 6:50 pm PT

    Sony is actually taking a loss on the PS3. Too much silly and expensive crap in that huge black box. Nintendo, on the other hand, makes profit on every Wii sold. word.

  • okaytome

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 6:24 pm PT

    Sony hav probly still made more of a profit coz ps3 cost more than double the price of the wii any way

  • vago92

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 5:43 pm PT

    Take that Sony!

  • akuma7703

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 5:42 pm PT

    YourDaddy88:
    "...Can you imagine Nintendo's fun factor with MS/Sony hardware? Now that would be cool..."

    ---

    Now that's what I'm talking about.

  • akuma7703

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 5:38 pm PT

    @ Odium_Humanis:
    "...There are plenty of things going for the 360, this is one of the few things that are not. All this hoopla is over the PS3's price...The PS3 is more expensive for a reason..."

    Yeah, just one... the Blu-Ray drive. If the 360 had a built in Blu-Ray or even HD-DVD drive it would cost about the same. At least M$ was nice enough to give consumers a choice till the format wars are settled and not shove one down our throats.

  • Litchie

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 1:20 pm PT

    Should I be surprised?

  • RKFS

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 1:13 pm PT

    The Wii is a more idea mass marker product...

  • remmbermytitans

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 11:56 am PT

  • YourDaddy88

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 9:07 am PT

    Galiard said:
    "Alot of rhetoric is being said over and over. it all boils down to this simple fact. Games make the system. who ever releases the best games will sell more systems and be declared the winner of the "console wars". To those that say 360 blows away ps3 and Wii Techonlogy wise, dont see the big picture. The hardware irrelevant, it is all about the games."

    I agree, but you're forgeting one fact in that equation - it's the hardware that dictates what games can be developed. So the hardware is not irrelevant as you claim. Otherwise I'd be playing GoW on my SNES...

  • Galiard

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 8:52 am PT

    Alot of rhetoric is being said over and over. it all boils down to this simple fact.
    Games make the system. who ever releases the best games will sell more systems and be declared the winner of the "console wars".

    To those that say 360 blows away ps3 and Wii Techonlogy wise, dont see the big picture. The hardware irrelevant, it is all about the games.

  • K_A_R

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 8:26 am PT

    i think its because the wii is cheaper thin the ps3 thats why it outsells the ps3

  • The_Weekend

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 8:09 am PT

    Wii banzai!

  • Vegeta360

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 6:15 am PT

    The Wii is a great console, no doubt about it. So is the DS. And Nintendo had better make a profit on those consoles. They can't make up their losses with sales of their operating systems or high-definition televisions.

    Still, I hate that it costs $80 for a complete set of Wii controllers (remote, nunchuck, and classic) and $60 for a composite cable that will only get you to 480p.

  • batosaisilver

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 4:23 am PT

    to quote a quote from the late-great '90s....well duuuuuuuh! The Wii has always had pimp potental, even with that goofy little name of its. But worry not fellow PS3 loyalists.... our time will come once again.

    "Holy piss son, you gotta be sh*tin' me!" -TSgt Ghram, USAF T.I.

  • TPSISO9000

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 4:13 am PT

    Returned my PS3 to get a Wii, and I've been happy with the decision. I couldn't find anything for my family with the PS3, and for $600 it had better be a family (not kiddie, just everyone better get use out of it) console. My wife and 14 year old daughter play Zelda, and we play Wii sports together. No wonder Wii is the best seller, and will continue to be as long as theres new, good content. It doesn't have to have every new AAA title, just a steady stream of stuff for everyone and the expected Mario/Metroid/Nintendo staples.
    theKSMM, I picked up some $20 component cables at Wal-Mart that do just fine (@480p the difference between Monster and cheap is minimal), plus I haven't checked every virtual game, but everything I've seen has used either the Wiimote or the Gamecube controller. My wavebird's been great.

  • Tezuka16

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 2:07 am PT

    Wow, you're all talking about which console is better because you've all played it. `i Can't even join the conversation because in Europe (Netherlands) the Wii is still outselled. LOL

  • Megablueblastaa

    Posted Jan 11, 2007 12:33 am PT

    WII>360>ps3

  • jackle2071

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 10:12 pm PT

    i really think nintendo is gona be the winner of the console war

  • YourDaddy88

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 10:02 pm PT

    Autolycus said:
    "Now you gone done it. Before you can even to start this conversation you better do some very heavy reading about the CeLL Processor. It does not do Out of Order code. its only does inline code. For reference, every other processor in every other game machine on the planet was written in OOP(out of order processing)."

    Are you sure about that? All systems out there today use in order processors. The only ones that use out of order processors are pc's. And 256MB of the PS3's 512MB RAM is faster than the 360's RAM.

  • cruzerramos

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 8:55 pm PT

    I new the wii would sell more just because a lot people a fans of nintendo and the wii is made for more than just hard core gamers and personaly i also think the wii will win the console war. GO WII!!

  • grenadier53

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 7:22 pm PT

    Wii60 all the way (more of a fanboy for Nintendo) but nonetheless go Nintendo and MS. {anything to cut the competition away from Sony}

  • batosaisilver

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 6:54 pm PT

    the 360 fanboys are gonna eat this up! oh wait... they've been doing that for like, the past 2 years lol until 2009, go Wii60!

    "...like donuts, and the possibility of MORE donuts to come." -Homer

  • racing5112

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 5:04 pm PT

    Autolycus Resistance has amazing online and that isnt EA is a Sony game, and PS2 was hard to develop for so this challange was expected! It really doesnt matter at this point which console wins to me at least because unless its got HDMI and uncompressed audio count me out. I am also refraining from buying a new TV and reciever untill HDMI 1.3 becomes availible because of the support for the new colour format, despite the fact that there are no sources for it yet Really its about the audio quality, but hey most 360 owners dont have surround sound so whats the big deal? none really because both MS and sony are atttempting to deliver HD systems and MS just went and COMPLETELY blocked off all of HD DVD's higher quality audio. Lets just hope the BRA smartens up and makes cheaper BR films and cheaper hardware instead of setting it up to die because twice the price difference isnt good for buisness.

  • nestea_king

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 4:47 pm PT

    Looks like some predictions are coming true.

  • theKSMM

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 4:17 pm PT

    The Wii is a great console, no doubt about it. So is the DS. And Nintendo had better make a profit on those consoles. They can't make up their losses with sales of their operating systems or high-definition televisions.

    Still, I hate that it costs $80 for a complete set of Wii controllers (remote, nunchuck, and classic) and $60 for a composite cable that will only get you to 480p.

  • TheJoker003

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 4:00 pm PT

    Sony will come back later

  • tatotiburon

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 3:25 pm PT

    poor Sony

  • Autolycus

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:52 pm PT

    MayIbURpimp.

    UMM i dont think so. hardware the ps3 takes the xbox by a landslide. Games the ps3 is still new system but within 4 months their librabry of games will be amazing i.e MGS 4, Final Fantasy franchise, GT. Online I hand it to the xbox tho hands down. other than that nothing amazing from the xbox is a shame i got one for xmas.

    -----

    Now you gone done it. Before you can even to start this conversation you better do some very heavy reading about the CeLL Processor. It does not do Out of Order code. its only does inline code. For reference, every other processor in every other game machine on the planet was written in OOP(out of order processing). Why is this a big deal? Because it makes the PS3 unique. Why is that a negative? Because unique means more costs, LESS games, LESS innovation, and the consumers getting B(*&NED in the end. Then there is the RSX chip. While I like NVIDIA WAYYYY more then ATi, the superior graphics card here is the Chip inside the XBOX360. It has 48 pipelines(which actually xfer the data), which allows it to use unified memory. It also has a much FASTER(not necessarily higher) polygon fill rate(which = FPS).

    On top of all those things you have one huge difference. Microsoft doesnt have XNA or Visual Studio or DIRECT X 10 for PS3. PS3 uses OPEN GL. It doenst use the full OPEN GL it uses the crappy free one, which means less things for the end user. All these things, to developers, mean one thing. Better games for XBOX360(comparing it to PS3). Better games, means more sales, happier people and a better overall evreything. Lets not forget, it has a near perfect online service. the ONLY company tha tMIGHT put out a good online service for PS3 is EA. And EA sucks...

    again know what you are fighting over before you lead the rest of the trollers blindly.

  • joe_elwick

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:36 pm PT

    the only reason sony have led the market for so long anyway is purely because they have leathered the advertising!! and tried to make it sound like a cool piece of kit!!! if you look at all the past machines from all decades, the other machines have always been better equiped and made much better games!!! how ironic is it that they make the most powerful machine in this line of consoles and find themselfs falling flat on there arses!!!hahahahahaha
    i have never rated sony consoles!!!

  • joe_elwick

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:31 pm PT

    As far as the rivalry between the xbox 360 and the ps3 goes, no matter which one has the better hardware, they both play near enough the same games anyway and most of them are straight ports from one to the other, so whats the difference apart from the price!!!
    just get the cheapest machine!!its as simple as that really!!!!!

  • MayIbURpimp

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:30 pm PT

    L1qu1dSword
    umm xbox360 has a 512 mb video card and ps3 has a 256....ive gotta say if you really are into "graphical bells and whistles" 360 is the best. if you want the best games, once again 360 is the best. if you want the best online 360 is the best. if you want a lower price 360 is still better. sony is failing and only the extreme fanboys dont want to admit it.

    UMM i dont think so. hardware the ps3 takes the xbox by a landslide. Games the ps3 is still new system but within 4 months their librabry of games will be amazing i.e MGS 4, Final Fantasy franchise, GT. Online I hand it to the xbox tho hands down. other than that nothing amazing from the xbox is a shame i got one for xmas.

    and for those who are gonna be bashing this post with the new Xbox360 V2 that updates hardware. how is that a goodthing are all those xbox owners gonna go get a new system after their investment on the 360 man they didnt even wait a while to release the new system at least sony gives people a 10YEAR gap.

  • joe_elwick

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:27 pm PT

    At the end of the day , the deserved winner will be and should be the nintendo wii, the other 2 just keep bringing out the same games over and over again with slightly better graphics!!! but who cares about graphics when the games are just the same!! my personal view is that for the majority of games you cannot beat a pc(especially for 1st person 3d games), that was until nintendo came up with an alternative to the mouse and keyboard .....it is original, refreshing and brings the fun back into gaming and like they did with the n64, they have sure done it again, well done nintendo!!!!!!

  • Staticneuron

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:22 pm PT

    They said 4 mill, then 2 mill then 1 mill.

    http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20060822-7558.html

    http://www.engadget.com/2006/08/30/sony-to-halve-ps3-year-end-target-shipment-to-two-million/

    http://news.digitaltrends.com/article11918.html

    http://ps3.ign.com/articles/750/750191p1.html

    They hit thier target

  • mwa

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:22 pm PT

    Sony pwned again

  • anamnawshad

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:21 pm PT

    Hahaha
    Suck that $ony!!

  • ninja929

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:02 pm PT

    "Sony plans to ship 6 million PS3s worldwide by the end of March." It's hard to believe that statement or ANY statement Sony claims.

  • nicholas_drex

    Posted Jan 10, 2007 2:00 pm PT

    I work at a Best Buy in MO and have a friend that manages the EB Games down the road. Both of our stores, and the Wal-Mart across the street are in full supply of the PS3. We have had over twenty in stock for a week. They just arent selling well. However the Wii continues to be the most requested product at our store...we cant keep them in stock!

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