Ben-DutkaWe recently noted an interesting trend in Japanese hardware sales, and that trend has continued according to Media Create's latest weekly numbers.
The trend is simple: the vice-like grip the Nintendo Wii once had on Japan has weakened if not loosened entirely. For yet another week, the PlayStation 3 has topped the Wii, and this time, it was by a significant margin of nearly 5,000 units. Following hot on the footsteps of articles around the 'Net questioning Nintendo's staying power due to a lack of software and slowing sales, the PSP continues to duke it out with the Nintendo DSi. The latter led the list again, but at 53,680 units, it's not blowing the second-place PSP out of the water, which came in at 48,118 units. Here's a look at the stats:
On the flip side, we may finally be seeing the end of the PS2, as the Xbox 360 is starting to outsell Sony's last-gen system on a relatively frequent basis. Throughout most of this new generation, the 360 has never managed to top the PS2 (let alone the Wii or PS3) in Japan, and no matter what Microsoft tries to do, they just can't seem to gain a foothold in the Land of the Rising Sun. But this new war, which has snapped into focus after the Wii craze has died down, will clearly continue to rage between Sony and Nintendo. Looks like fun. 🙂
wait till monster hunter wii comes i got a hunch that alot of people are just waiting for that game 2 come out…*shiver*
Those who want Monster Hunter most likely already have the Wii. It won't move much. So says… me.
Yeah, but hopefully it keeps beating it until then.
Nice numbers for Sony there, PS3 looks to have some staying power in the Japanese market, perhaps the games available there are finally reaching a critical mass required to encourage gamers to take the plunge?
Also good to see how well PSP continues to do. Perhaps this continuing trend of sales will lessen the media's shrieking about PS3 or PSP being a failure?
I am so sick of hearing pundits and JOURNALISTS in the western gaming media dismissing the PSP out of hand. The thing has sold 10s of millions of units and continues to sell strongly and yet we still regularly see articles decrying the death of the PSP, or calling it a failure, questioning it's survival….no doubt the same stories by the same people about the PS3 will continue no matter how well it sells.
Funny how it's always the same suspects, whatever happened to fair and balanced reporting of news? Ben, I'm not taking you to task, but you know that there are many would be journalists in the gaming media who are less than objective in terms of their reporting of the various platforms.
How many headlines do you think the "61% Leap in 360 Sales" will gather (story also pointing to the 10% drop in PS3 sales)? Of course the real story is that the PS3 continues to hold a lead in sales against the Wii, but will that be reported positively? Or will it be a case of "PS3 Clings To Slim Lead Over The Almighty Wii In Japan"?
I feel your dismay at the way "news" is handled about the PS3 here in the West, but I also think that it will continue indefinitely. I think this because the western media made its choice way back in '05 when the 360 hit first, and westerners do not like to be wrong no matter what. This is blindingly apparent by the handling of the reliability issues of the 360 and the "no games" or "price" or "insufficient online experience" of the PS3. Case in point: E74 is now causing tons of issues but there is no public outlash, but a while back there was the unfortunate issue of the 2.40 Firmware bricking some systems and the media went nuts. Also, we have seen some of the best games being announced for the PS3, we have seen some of the best games come out on the PS3 (exclusively), we have seen a 43% price cut from when the PS3 launched, we have seen the PSN store grow from its abysmal foundation to something that in my opinion surpasses Live Marketplace (at least the adverts in PSN are contained in Pulse and Qore). And yet even with all of these strides forward we are still bombarded with stories of woe about the price or the lack of AAA games. We see stories of the 360 rising up and claiming more and more of the market from Sony. We continue to see the Doom and Gloom stories that the PS3 is on the way out and a single console future is just around the corner.
It is painfully obvious that the views are skewed in a way that is amusingly inaccurate, but that is just the nature of the beast I am afraid. The general public of the west made up its mind because the 360 was out first and all good westerners know that first means win and we love a winner.
I feel the same way buddy.
Ben, could it be that the only reason that the ps3 is outselling the wii is because evryone who could possibly own the wii already does, I'm not trying to make the ps3's triumphant return any less remarkable, I'm just saying =D same goes for the ds
That is a good point… many people have purchased the doorstop…
Q!
"i am home"
I hate when people make this assumption. Do you know how many people live in Japan? There are more DS out there in Japan than Wiis and they still keep selling. That is such a dumb commment.
Sales numbers are encouraging, hope to continue seeing this trend the world over… who knows, by Christmas 2009, the world of the PS3 could be a very different place, hopefully a much bigger place 🙂
Q!
"i am home"
The first omen that the end of the Wii days are at hand?
Yes
MS got there Easter miracle.
The 360 outsold the PS2.
Now, the US needs to follow. Americans are still buying the Wii in droves. Japanese finally realized "hey, there are no games for this thing."
Last edited by ArnoldK PSXE on 4/13/2009 2:10:12 PM
I was at GameStop on Saturday and I walked past that giant wall of Wii games (99% of which aren't worth playing), and there was this dude just standing there with a blank look on his face.
About five minutes later, I heard him mumble under his breath: "Damn, STILL nothing." And he walked out. …maybe there's hope.
Problem is, I was at my local Gamestop yesterday, and it seems the Wii and the 360 are being promoted more by at least that store.
Shame really.
hey maxpontiac. Just so you know, the reason for the push on Wii and 360 in "that store," is because they've got too much stock. Stores don't sell you what you need, they sell you what they have too much of.
@ Ben – "STILL nothing" = laugh my frikin' ass off.
It's quite funny that article, ps3 beating the wii by 5,000 units is quite 'significant' and yet with the DSi beating the psp by more than that amount is not considered to be blowing it 'out the water.'
I'm glad the ps3 is doing well now, it's about time!
maybe its a percentage thing cause by percentage its like 25% more sold against the jagernaut
Actually it is not really news because everyone knows that the DS in any iteration is just another form of Ninten-crack and everyone that has done it once is going to do it over and over and over again.
Why has this posted three times???
Anyways, sorry.
Last edited by OPHIDIAN on 4/13/2009 12:56:46 PM
Aaaah I can see it now, ps3 will ride the wave.
The main reason the Westerners are supporting 360 is plain an simple. Microsoft is American. And American's are a proud nation. Unfortunately a lot of these American's love to play their 360's on the high tech HD displays out there, and where is that Technology from? Mainly Japan. Japanese electronics, Automobiles, etc are light years ahead of anything made in the states. There's no denying it. I just think that American gamers want Microsoft to finally beat out the big Japanese Sony outfit.
Unfortunately, Sony in the rest of the world is beating out the 360, and I think as for North America we are starting to see the PS3 picking up a lot of steam.
I Still do beleive what John Koller said in an earlier statement that Sony isn't really concerned about being in last place in overall sales. He simply stated that the PS3 is NOT in direct competition with Microsoft and Nintendo. He said the Playstation 3 is the Premium Entertainment system that comes with a premium price, and that the Playstation is really in its own category when it comes to being compared with the other two competitors.
That is how I see it and I don't care who in the end sells more machines. Everybody is doing business and selling their machines to their specific demographics, and everybody is happy. It's a win win for all competitors and us the consumers.
I own all 3 machines and I know Sony's PS3 is the superior machine. I know it has the best games. I know the online rocks over Live now. I know that I can turn on my machine and not worry about it blowing up. And last of all, I know that Playstation in overall history sales since its birth has pwned Microsoft 10 times over, and in just a short matter of time it will own 360 in sales. It's inevitable.
Microsoft knows it, even tho they continue to lie and bash the PS3. Why do you think they are resorting to that type of behavour? Cause they know that their 3fixme is almost done in everything it can do. They see the games Sony has and only can dream that they had them. They hear in their forums all the complaining people are doing about the RROD, the new e74 error, the problems with Live now with the new Dashboard. They hear how PSN is rock solid and performs amazinly well with little to no down time. THEY KNOW ALL THESE THINGS. Why do you think they are ready to push the next crapbox out to the public soon. They have to.
So in the end, I know the truth. You know the truth. Sony's competitors know the truth. Let that give you lots of joy and comfort knowing that in the end PS3 IS #1.
What HOODGE said, but with worse grammar and more swearing.
My sentiments exactly, now if only someone would smack the lot of us Americans who are too egotistical to admit that we aren't number one in everything I think the entire world would be a bit happier. I know I would and I live here!
I see what you're saying Hoodge, but I wouldn't blame some perceived American attitude. I think a huge demographic is children and children don't give a rat's ass about being "proud Americans." Children want games. So their parents usually buy them what's cheap and will satisfy their son/daughter's desire. Parents who don't know jack about gaming will, sadly, look at price tags first.
The adult fish who got baited into buying a 360 because it was released before the PS3 got what they deserved. An expensive time bomb.
@HOODGE
amen…and glory be to the bomb and the divine fallout…
I live in the US and I know japanese electronics are better in quality, thats why I prefer ps3 over 360. Sony has better experience technical wise then the M$.
The Wii sells huge amounts of units each week in the west as its mostly bought by parents for children or by casual or new gamers.
Japan has always been known for its gaming culture, arcade machines are still popular over there, while they're nearly non-existent here in the UK.
So I would say that in Japan, the Wii has been bought mainly by gamers and there's the problem, the Wii has no games and the Japanese are seeing this. A nation of gamers need games and the place to find them is the PS3. The PS3 is gaining momentum in Japan because there are games on the PS3, so imagine what a price cut could do to the sales?
What makes people in the West go out and by the Wii is Nintendo's marketing, I must see 10 TV comercials a day for the Wii and there is more new DSi ads then anything else, and that from someone who doesn't watch much TV.
You can ask these people why they went out and bought a Wii and they couldn't tell you because they don't know. They don't do their research into what the Wii is and what software is on it or coming out. It seems the ads and price is enough.
Then its all Wii sports and nothing else to many Wii onwers. The Wii still has its hardcore faithful who buy the other stuff but what is there for them to buy? Mad World has just come out and its already half price. I played it and its good fun, but ts only like 3 hours long and you've seen everything the game has to offer on the first level, and its easy. The hardcore still buy the old games from a year ago.
The Wii is all about family fun multiplayer but 99% of the Wii games which are party games are crap. Mario Kart Wii is the only fun multiplayer game, which I get bored of after a hour.
Nintendo can fool everyone only for so long and that when Wii hardware slows down everywhere else and without the software, who is going to buy their games?
With the DSi, I think Nintendo have released the handheld because of the PSP success. The DS can only sell so much and when it stops, Nintendo has no sales in the handheld market and sees the PSP keep selling. Could the PSP reach near the DS sales?
VGChartz count the DSi figures with the DS figures and have the DS at 100million which is wrong. The DS sales and DSi sales should be seperate, which woul mean the DS has nearly stopped dead just before 100 million. DSi will be bought by all DS owners and should have its sale figures seperate. So really the PSP is like 50 millon sales ahead of the DSi and could one day catch up to the DS sales figure?
Good for Sony! 500 more years of this and they will catch up with the Wii! Oh!!!!!…. I'm sad now…
All I know is I LOVE my DSi.
RE5 is the reason why!