Sony, Nintendo tout Aussie success in 2006

The Interactive Entertainment Association of Australia is still to release final 2006 figures for gaming spend down under, but that hasn't stopped Sony and Nintendo from jumping the gun and claiming big wins for their companies. Nintendo says the Nintendo DS was Australia's highest-selling console for 2006, while Sony says the PlayStation 2 trounced the competition in the final quarter of the year.

In a release to the press, Nintendo claimed the DS was the highest-selling games console for 2006 (based on data from industry trackers GfK Australia). No specific figures were outlined, however. Nintendo also said in the statement that the Wii sold 50,000 units in its first three weeks of sale in Australia.

Sony followed soon after with its own release about 2006 sales. The company said the PlayStation 2 accounted for 56 percent of home console sales in the last quarter, with the PS2 and the PSP combining to account for 42 percent of total console hardware in the same period. More than 1.9 million pieces of PS2 software were sold in the last quarter of 2006, which Sony claims accounts for 71 percent of all home console software sales. Seventy-two percent of PS2 software sold was rated G or PG. Sony says more than 2.2 million PS2s have now been sold in Australia.

The IEAA is expected to release full industry figures for 2006 game sales sometime this week.