Wii Soars, PS3 Flounders in Japan
Nintendo continues to dominate both hardware and software sales in Japan.
Before the PlayStation 3 even launched Nintendo already had a stranglehold on the island nation of Japan, thanks to the broad appeal of the DS. The arrival of the Wii has only cemented Nintendo's domination.
According to the latest figures from Enterbrain, publisher of top Japanese magazine Famitsu, the Wii is outselling the PS3 by even more now than in previous months. In June Nintendo sold six times as many Wiis as Sony sold PS3s, up from five-times in May and four-times in April.
The Wii sold 270,974 units in the four-week period ending 24 June, according to Reuters, compared with 41,628 for the PS3. Microsoft is still further off the pace, shifting just 17,616 Xbox 360s during the month.
Software is the key issue, something Sony has acknowledged in the past. The latest weekly Top 50 in Japan has seven Wii games, compared to three for PS3 and two for Xbox 360.
The DS still rules the charts with a staggering 30 of the top 50 spots.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo
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