Ben-DutkaBack in 2007, the idea of the PlayStation 3 outselling the Wii was not only unlikely, it was downright laughable.
In the end, the PS3 may never surpass the Wii in terms of worldwide sales, regardless of the recent shift in popularity. But the crazed fad that was Nintendo's smash hit creation has waned in Japan…to the point where the PS3 should actually beat it in sales. According to Media Create's latest figures , a mere 3,000 units separate the two consoles in the year-to-date race. Currently, the Wii sits at just over 1 million sold in Japan in 2010, while the PS3 is nipping at its heels at 997,187. So far, the stats look like this (a far cry from 2007):
1. DS – 1,597,712
2. PSP – 1,421,678
3. Wii – 1,000,482
4. PS3 – 997,187
5. Xbox 360 – 150,649
6. PS2 – 58,649
Well, at least we're finally past the time when the PS2 was outselling the 360 in Japan and in another surprising development, the PSP is closing in on the DS. Yeah, the all-powerful, always-dominating DS, that has trounced the PSP ever since the portable rivalry of this generation began. The trend continues: Sony has always been a slow starter but it seems that once the ball starts to roll, it's tough to stop it.
I almost feel sorry for those 360 numbers….almost.
I guess those Japanese 360 salesmen must have a second job.
What do you mean? They're kicking the last gen's system's ass!
I thought it WAS the last gen system?
Why does Microsoft even bother ruining so many RPGs?
i still find it funny that the ps2 from last-gen was kicking the 360's ass in the japan market
i still find it funny that the ps2 from last-gen was kicking the 360's ass in the japan market
Good news for the ps3.oh. and the psp. and lol at x360.
That's how it is
Remember Playstation Forever!
Tbh, i think ps3 could overtake wii in worldwide sales aswell.
Since i see a wii upgrade being annouced next year and dont think nintendo would sell a wii and 'wii 2' along side each other.
And believe the ps3 could easily sell for 10 years like ps2 and slowly overtake.
But anyway, great sales for sony in Japan, The Japanese really do seem to love sony.
Japan gets it. Why can't the USA??
well its not too bad, I mean I know only 3 friends who have 360's yet I know 7 who have ps3's. Though I might have had a part in convincing them to go playstation
Even though I live in US, i feel like I cater to the japanese gaming more.
Can I point out something else? These numbers also tell another story. That even Japanese favorites, Monster Hunter and Dragon Quest, cannot save Nintendo from its backwards slide.
How long then, before our Japanese gamer friends are demanding that those franchises appear on the PS3? Not long me thinks.
We can only hope… We can only hope…
Excellent news. Can the PSP finally get some respect please?
I wish I could give this comment more thumbs up! PSP doesn't get half the respect or attention it deserves.
I thumbed him up!!
I definitely agree with you about the PSP, Highlander. The PSP is a great system and has a lot of quality games. It might be disappointing to some when MGS: Peace Walker, Valkyria Chronicles II, and Kingdom Hearts: Birth By Sleep were made exclusive on the PSP, but those games suit the platform well and the PSP did the games justice. And that's just some of the games. The PSP deserves respect just for being able to handle those games very well.
Too bad the PSP is plagued by piracy issues, but since there's no persistent hack on the PSP-3000 then Sony must have done something right about it, and hopefully it can implement that on the next iteration of the PSP.
Anyway, I love my PSP and I will always be happy with my PSP.
Highlander, you may remember our vigorous discussion regarding the handheld gaming threats coming from all sides and attacking the PSP market share…
Did you read that Apple has launched a Gaming Centre specifically for the iDevice range… and, have you seen how quickly the big gaming companies are now developing for or porting too Apples' iDevices.
When I mentioned this some two years ago… the looming threat that is Apple, people just buried their heads in the sand… well, from where I am sitting, Jobs and Apple can see they will win this fight 5 years from now…
There are going to be many many more iDevices around than PSP's in the future, and I only see it going one way.
Sure, Sony will continue to support the PSP, and it does have some very good games on the system. God Of War, Ghosts of Sparta does look excellent and should help shift some systems… but I fear the PSP is a flickering candle that is slowly dying…
Japan, is like on another planet… I have been many times and they really do things in their own way and style as we know. We also know that the Japanese will vigorously support Japanese hardware makers – Sony's success in Japan is a good example…
For the rest of the world though, when you look at the latest processors coming out from ARM now, and companies such as Samsung and LG trying to steal some light from Apple and others… the competition is going to get tougher and tougher… I think Sony will find the playing fields more and more difficult in the handheld space…
I am very interested in the PSP2, however Apple will continue going from strength to strength… and other hardware markers will also continue to push hard….
Will be interesting to see when every shakes out, the state of the market by the end of 2012/2013… Sony has some work to do 🙂
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
Last edited by Qubex on 9/10/2010 10:20:25 PM
@Qubex,
Good points and interesting stuff. However, I have a smartphone – a Droid. OK, it's not an iFawn, but it's the same size and has the same input options. To be perfectly honest I toyed around with it for a while, but after a while I got bored and extremely fed up. The games were limited thanks to the touch interface. Turns out that the analog stick really is a huge strength, despite there only being one, at least there is one. The more than a dozen buttons on the PSP also make interacting with games far easier than the smartphone.
But it wasn't just that,. the games on the smartphone are just kind of 'meh'. It's great that the bigger game publishers are taking an interest, but I'd rather surf the web to waste time on my smartphone than try to game on it.
I respect your opinion, and I do see that for some of the market the iPhone is a threat simply because they are people who lust after an iPhone and will not listen to sense when it comes to games. These are the people who kid themselves into thinking the iPhone is incredibly revolutionary when in fact it's a logical extension of the PDA, but blended with a Cellphone. If anything, it's a copy of the Star Trek PADD and tricorder devices.
But, a hand held game console it is not.
I think that this is once again an issue of market segmentation. A lot of the market that the smartphones will acquire were not interested in hand held consoles anyway. However looking at the bare numbers very smart analysts will proclaim the ascendancy of the smartphone and the death of the hand held game unit. The thing is, that both DS and PSP could be insanely popular and sell great because their core consumers were never going to buy into smartphone games instead of a hand held console. We've seen this happen over the last few years since the iPhone and now the Droid have arrived. Sales of hand held consoles continue. Ever since the smartphones started to march on the market, analysts have been wailing and gnashing their teeth over the DS and PSP. I'm not hearing anything different now.
I know that market segmentation is something i bring up often, but I do honestly believe that it's a major factor in the now monstrous video game market. The Market for video games is Huge compared to what it was even 5 years ago. However, it's not one market, in reality it's a combination of many complementary market segments that have overlap with each other, but yet are distinct from each other. Factors such as demographics, culture, economics and game genre define these segments, but we still hear analysts talking about the entire gaming market as if it were one massive herd.
All that said, the biggest threat from Apple isn't so much the reality as it is the unreality as people believe that the PSP and DS are under threat. That belief will create a reality.
You raise some good points Highlander… I have noted everything. Market segmentation will surely drive different parts of the market… we just have to see how things move forward… what innovations come forth.
My hunch is, Apple will continue to push hard… and the Apple loyalists will swallow anything that is dished out to them… hell, even I am tempted…
Q!
"play.experience.enjoy"
I can't take Apple seriously when it comes to gaming until they start making internally designed games. Apple can design some nice hardware and nice software interfaces but I'm leery as to whether or not they will or can compete with the bigger gaming names of today.
Well,the PSP certainly gets all the respect it deserves from this USA'er, since I own 5 of them(so far).
But no "GO" though.
I would respect the PSP if they released the original design where you could use PS2 games…
Hold up guys, these figures are just for 2010. so while it is true that the Ps3 will almost certainly overtake the Wii in sales for 2010, it has got a long way to go to catch up Wii lifetime sales in Japan. Last time I checked ( March 2010), Ps3 lifetime sales in Japan were about 4 million while Wii lifetime sales were about 10 million.
Wow, look at the disparity between the PS3 and the 360. Anyway, the mighty DS is about to be caught by the PSP. Just like when Deion Sanders caught Jerry Rice from 35 yards across the field at the 10 yard line before he could score. I want a PSP so bad but I refuse to get it until they put a phone on it. I'll pay $400 that. Maybe I could buy a used one? I wonder if thats possible.
Last edited by Amazingskillz on 9/10/2010 1:57:05 PM
Check your local buy and sell. There's always a few PSP's for sale around here. Usually for between 90 – 120, and often come with some games and/or memory sticks. Well worth it.
Damn super-intelligent Japanese.
We're on pace for Playstation Domination. They just have to find a way to make the PSP commercials more attractive rather than forgettable.