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Wii Businesses PlayStation (Games)

Wii Outselling PS3 in Japan 385

Posted by Zonk from the white-plastic-over-black-plastic dept.
saintory writes "Apparently the Japanese console consumers are sinking their teeth into the modest Wii and are not as interested in the power-packed PS3. In fact, the Wii is outselling Sony's new console by a factor of almost 2:1. The number of PS3s sold into the Japanese market (466,716) falls well short of the million Sony had planned for the end of 2006. 989,118 Wii consoles have been sold in Japan in the same time span. From the article: 'Both Sony and Nintendo are projecting selling 6 million consoles by the end of March. Sony expects to start shipping the PS3 to Europe sometime that month as well. Straggling far behind Sony and Nintendo in the Enterbrain survey was Microsoft's Xbox 360, which had sold 290,467 since its Japan debut in December 2005. Selling machines in large numbers is crucial in the gaming business because it encourages software companies to make more games to play on the machines, which in turn boosts console sales.'"
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Wii Outselling PS3 in Japan More

Wii Outselling PS3 in Japan

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  • This is news because... (Score:4, Interesting)

    by __aaclcg7560 ( 824291 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:34PM (#17545480)
    Fun games + lower price point = happy consumers

  • PS3 in Europe (Score:4, Funny)

    by sottitron ( 923868 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:36PM (#17545504)
    Seems to me that they should just start shipping the consoles that aren't selling in the US and Japan to Europe.

    • Re:PS3 in Europe (Score:4, Insightful)

      by MemoryDragon ( 544441 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:59PM (#17545914)
      This wont help either, the average european household has way less money to spend than the average US one.
      Now add to that that the month of march is a total dead one saleswise, no big holidays, christmas money is spent, and vacation money far off.
      This console will sink in europe heavier than a stone, although Europe-EU is the biggest
      market worldwide games salewise.

      Not being able to ship during christmas in europe although the console is the most expensive one overy here might be the final death knell into the PS3 introduction.
      Typical Sony arrogance, ignoring the biggest market saleswise currently (you have to count the EU as a whole and add the non EU countries), at the biggest and pretty much only chance to get it into the households before Christmas 2007, just in hope people will buy it anyway. Face it Sony
      you already have a lousy reputation over here, and also
      have in mind we have to pay around 900 Dollars for the console, at less average income and less free money to spend.

      • Re:PS3 in Europe (Score:5, Funny)

        by nomadic ( 141991 ) <nomadicworld@ g m a i l . com> on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @04:36PM (#17546666) Homepage
        This wont help either, the average european household has way less money to spend than the average US one.

        Plus the simple European folk tend to use turnips as their currency, and I think the yen-turnip exchange rate is particularly unfavorable this year.

      • Re: (Score:2, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        "..., although Europe-EU is the biggest market worldwide games salewise."

        Link or support of this? Define games...you mean any game, handheld games, mobile games, console games, casino games, all or part?

        I didn't find EU sales figures for consoles over the years, but I highly doubt a restricted market (Europe notoriously don't get many games), low birth rate (fewer younger folks which demographically tend to buy or drive the buy of via parents the bulk of games), and slower economic growth in this segment t

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Lehk228 ( 705449 )
      so they can not sell in Europe?
      • The only window to sell this for 900 dollars which is the targeted price over here will be November, December, the other time it will rot in the shelves like a stone. There will be initial sales but after the first month and the hardcore boys (ebay scalpers will be shunned away by the US And asian experience) it will rot like a brick in the stores. Sales might pick up in november 2007 and december 2007, but as long as the thing wont be around the current Wii prices it wont be a success. The Xbox over here i

  • From the Sony PR Department: (Score:5, Funny)

    by Zeek40 ( 1017978 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:37PM (#17545522)
    The Wii is only outselling the PS3 in Japan because the small stature of the average Japanese gamer makes it extremely dangerous for them to attempt to wield the phenomenal gaming power contained within the PS3.

  • are we surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Thansal ( 999464 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:37PM (#17545526)
    No, of course not. why?

    Because Sony has not made as many PS3s as Nintendo has made Wiis. Rather simple isn't it?
    Are we surprised that the 360 is tanking? nope, because it doesn't apeal to the japanese market (and it does not have the fanbase that Nintendo and Sony have).

    The real question is how will the number end up once sony gets production going at a decent speed?

    Other peopel have pointed out (and after research I now have to agree) that the PS3 isn't selling in the USA (if any one wants ot buy a PS3, Circuit City [circuitcity.com] has 60gig versions in stock). Yet is is still a chalange (though not impossible) to buy a Wii despite much higher production levels.

    • Re:are we surprised? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Chris Burke ( 6130 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:49PM (#17545724) Homepage
      Because Sony has not made as many PS3s as Nintendo has made Wiis. Rather simple isn't it?

      Well, that is the simplest answer and it is certainly a major factor.

      Other peopel have pointed out (and after research I now have to agree) that the PS3 isn't selling in the USA (if any one wants ot buy a PS3, Circuit City has 60gig versions in stock).

      Anecdotally, I was at Best Buy yesterday and they were still out of Wii (got a shipment that day but sold out very quickly) but had 12 PS3.

      I can't claim anything definitive from that anecdotal evidence, but I'm do think it's quite plausible that the high price of the PS3 and it being functionally similar to the Xbox360 which has been out for a year has limited demand for the console such that they already have sufficient production. Or maybe the ones that weren't willing to wait in lines or track deliveries to every store in the region have given up on getting a PS3 for now and simply haven't noticed that the stores have them stocked. That hasn't happened with the Wii, obviously, as people are still scarfing up the consoles as fast as they arrive.

      • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

        by LordNimon ( 85072 )
        Anecdotally, I was at Best Buy yesterday and they were still out of Wii (got a shipment that day but sold out very quickly) but had 12 PS3. I can't claim anything definitive from that anecdotal evidence,

        Well, in general, you can never claim anything definitive from any anecdotal evidence. However, I can point out that it took over 5 months for the Xbox 360 to be generally available in retail stores. The PS3 has been out for less than 2 months, and it's reached that status. Does anyone know how many P

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by hal2814 ( 725639 )
        "Anecdotally, I was at Best Buy yesterday and they were still out of Wii (got a shipment that day but sold out very quickly) but had 12 PS3."

        There are a lot of us with similar anectdotes. I just bought a TV yesterday at my local Sam's Club and asked about the Wii while I was there. I got, "We don't have any Wiis in stock but we have a few PS3s. It's high definition just like your TV." I've been hearing more than a few similar stories about availability. I'll be honest. Even though I'm pretty firmly in

      • Re:are we surprised? (Score:5, Funny)

        by AeroIllini ( 726211 ) <aeroilliniNO@SPAMgmail.com> on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @05:07PM (#17547254)
        Anecdotally, I was at Best Buy yesterday and they were still out of Wii (got a shipment that day but sold out very quickly) but had 12 PS3.
        Proper plurals:

        One Wii, many Wii. A group of Wii is a club.
        One XBox, many XBoxen. A group of XBoxen is a pack.
        One PS3, many PS3s. A group of PS3s is a rarity.

        *rimshot*

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Kjella ( 173770 )
      Other peopel have pointed out (and after research I now have to agree) that the PS3 isn't selling in the USA (if any one wants ot buy a PS3, Circuit City has 60gig versions in stock). Yet is is still a chalange (though not impossible) to buy a Wii despite much higher production levels.

      Yes. And that is a disaster for Sony who has cut, slashed and slaughtered their shipment targets because of shortage of blue lasers, claiming that the preciously few PS3 that actually shipped would sell like hotcokes. That eve

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Thansal ( 999464 )
        You have online stores that are taking waiting lists for Wiis?

        as I am a lazy sod (but patient) I would love to get on a wait list for a company that will sell me one when I get to the head of a list with no effort on my side. So, any chance of a link?

    • Re:are we surprised? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Achoi77 ( 669484 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @04:18PM (#17546320)

      People are very quick to predict the doom and gloom of sony. What they all fail to recognize is that sony (and anybody else that had a clue on how the trends are moving) knew that this is going to happen. For months. The only thing they would not be able to anticipate is the negative public backlash from the hype machine that tried to imitate from the success of the 360 last year. This is a planned risk, as they are essentially taking on two fronts. One front is the video area, with Nintendo coming out guns blazing, and on top of that, the Microsoft juggernaut attempting to brute force their way through the market.

      The bigger front that I see, is the movie industry. How long have DVDs been out? something like less than 10 years? How long did it take for them to make VHS obsolete? While it's completely understandable that Blu-ray Discs are probably not going to dominate DVDs at the rate that DVD did VHS, higher definition picture quality WILL win it over. The big question is: will Blu-ray Disc be the new DVDs of the future? Or will HDDVD? Or some other format?

      This is the wild frontier that sony has been eyeing. They want their format to win, and is using the PS3 as their foothold. The PS3 is nothing more than collateral damage. Ever wonder why sony isn't making as big a push to produce games out for the ps3 as much as MS or NIN (aside from the fact that nobody really knows how to maximize the ps3 as of yet)? Their goal is to have as many bluray disk players in as many homes as possible(and for $599 for early adapters, that's pretty damn cheap). Once they get a decent foothold, and especially when prices begin to drop to decent levels, say $299? is when we're going to see frightningly high levels of market dominance by sony.

      • Re:are we surprised? (Score:5, Insightful)

        by buffer-overflowed ( 588867 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @06:49PM (#17548748) Journal
        Consumers don't care about HD. They don't. If they did, the film industry wouldn't be using 35mm film and the equivalent of 1080p24(which is even *lower* resolution and speed than modern 35mm stocks) for digital when making movies in order to save on costs. There are, and have been film stocks with much higher resolution available for quite a long time, in fact 35mm all but completely replaced higher resolution stocks due to the savings in the early 90s. 70mm used to be a lot more common than it is now. 2001, Lawrence of Arabia, the special effects sequences for close encounters, to name three things, were all shot on 70mm. And of course, there's also IMAX. How many movies get shot on IMAX in a given year? 8, I think.

        So yea, people may claim they want HD. But they don't. No one watches a DVD now and goes "damn, this sucks." Few went to the theatre for the new Star Wars films and bitched about the fact that the resolution was a fraction of traditional 35mm stocks. Even on my setup (720p native projector onto a 102" glass-beaded screen) which makes most people's "huge" HDTVs look positively tiny. I have *yet* to hear someone complain about DVDs on my setup, they're blown away by how theatre-like the setup is. Would a Blu-ray or an HD-DVD player improve that? Yea, probably, but it's not worth the frickin' money when no one complains about it now. Same logic the film industry uses in not using higher-resolution stocks and switching to digital. I think they know their stuff personally. Even if they are trying to market the opposite to the unwashed masses.

        The fact is, neither HD format, or existing HD televisions can display the majority of the information contained on a theoretical pristine 35mm film print even from pre-WW2(and stock/grain quality has advanced a lot since then). So, if you really want quality, pick up a projector and some reels. The resolution blows everything else out of the water atm, and that's the only advantage it really has, and I mean money is no object when it comes to picture quality, right? DVDs offered a ton of convienance features over VHS tapes, no rewinding, start/stop, extra content in the form of multiple audio tracks, etc. The HD formats offer... resolution. At 10-20 times the price for a player, 2-4x the price per movie, and with a fraction of the selection. Man, what a frickin' deal! And this isn't even going into things like ideal view distance.

        The future is downloaded / on the demand content because it offers substantive advantages over DVD.

        • Meh. Try it. (Score:3, Interesting)

          by JMZero ( 449047 )
          2 years ago, my brother's $12,000 Videkron 720p projector and similarily overspeced DVD player looked frickin' amazing. We just couldn't conceive how something could look better. Perfect clarity, great colors, bright, etc... I've also never been terribly impressed by the shop demo units for HD players. Perhaps 46" just isn't enough.

          Anyways, he's now using a $2,600 Panasonic projector and a PS3. It looks enough better than his old setup that, yes, it is actually kind of painful to watch DVDs now (simila

        • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

          by Mark Maughan ( 763986 )
          No one watches a DVD now and goes "damn, this sucks."

          That's actually the first thing I said after I bought my 50" HDTV and popped in a DVD.

        • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

          by Kjella ( 173770 )
          The fact is, neither HD format, or existing HD televisions can display the majority of the information contained on a theoretical pristine 35mm film print even from pre-WW2(and stock/grain quality has advanced a lot since then). So, if you really want quality, pick up a projector and some reels. The resolution blows everything else out of the water atm, and that's the only advantage it really has, and I mean money is no object when it comes to picture quality, right?

          Try getting the facts:
          http://filmschoolon [filmschoolonline.com]
    • I see your point, but Japan has plenty of PS3s in stock so it's not going to make the slightest difference if Sony ups their production any more. Every time I've checked Amazon.co.jp this week they have had the PS3 and news reports state that the high-street stores have stock too.

      Sony either need games or a price drop.

    • Re:are we surprised? (Score:4, Interesting)

      by SuchiRu ( 675808 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @05:00PM (#17547142)
      See this is where you are wrong. I'm living in Tokyo right now, and I go about every other day to Akihabara to try to get a Wii. For the last week the PS3's have been stacked up behind the counter, and when I say stacked I mean 4 wide square 10 high with at least 4 piles everyday. Looking at Yodobashi-Akiba (the largest electronics store in Japan) they have had the sign saying that PS3's are in stock for the last 1 and a half weeks as well as every other electronics store in Japan, but when you look above that sign it says the Wii is sold out. I have never seen that sign change. I wish it would because I want a Wii.

  • From Gamasutra: (Score:4, Informative)

    by Kazzahdrane ( 882423 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:39PM (#17545554)
    "According to the report, Sony has yet to officially comment on the figures released by Enterbrain, noting only that there may be a discrepancy between the number of units sold and the number of PlayStation 3 consoles that were shipped within Japan."


    Yes Sony, you can't compare "sold" with "shipped" - even though that's what you do every time you try to show the DS isn't beating the PSP globally.

  • Is this a surprise? (Score:4, Informative)

    by paeanblack ( 191171 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:39PM (#17545566)
    The electronics consumer base in Japan has historically tended towards choosing revolutionary products in lieu of evolutionary alternatives. It's a very welcoming market for novel products.

  • Causes: Price, Games (Score:5, Informative)

    by I'll Provide The War ( 1045190 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:42PM (#17545604)
    It is certainly no longer a supply issue as PS3s are sitting on shelves all over Japan.

    http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/ps3-sales-look-sluggi sh-in-japan-part-ii-226243.php [kotaku.com]

    http://kotaku.com/gaming/top/those-ps3s-sales-look -sluggish-in-japan-225907.php [kotaku.com]
  • How many Xbox 360's have sold in Japan since the PS3 Launch? It was my impression that the 360 just started to grab a market when the Blue Dragon bundle was released. With no real console-selling game out for the PS3 and the price point, I'm curious if Japan will opt for the 360 now.
  • I'm wondering why the Microsoft Xbox or Xbox 360 fares so poorly in Japan. Is it because they have loyalty to the other Japanese console manufacturers? Is it because they think certain game types will never be done properly (by their standards) by foreigners? In this globalized age, why is there such a discrepancy here? Can Microsoft just not attract the best Japanese game designers? Do they not care? Do the designers have some nationalistic tendancies? Does all come down to Final Fantasy vs Halo? I

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by k_187 ( 61692 )
      I'd say its more than MS bases their game selection on what will sell in the US and not in Japan. Believe it or not, they're different. When that one game by the old final fantasy guy came out, they sold more 360s in japan than had ever been sold or something stupid like that.

      • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

        by ral8158 ( 947954 )
        I think you're thinking of Blue Dragon, made by Akira Toriyama, creator of Dragon Quest and Dragon Ball. He's had very little to do with Final Fantasy.
        • Art direction was done by Akira Toriyama, but Hironobu Sakaguchi (the guy who created Final Fantasy) created the game, and was development supervisor. Oh, and Nobuo Uematsu composed the music (as he did for FF1-9)

    • Re:Cultural differences...? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Rycross ( 836649 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @04:04PM (#17546032)
      Because the XBox simply doesn't have the kinds of games that Japanese gamers traditionally enjoy. That is, Japanese style RPGs such as Final Fantasy and Dragon Quest, and dating sim style games.

      The XBox software is very American, which isn't a bad thing at all, but it does mean that it doesn't sell well in Japan.
      • The problem with this theory is, neither does the PS3 or the Wii. The XBox 360 has more jRPGs (1) than either the PS3 (0) or the Wii(0).

        • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

          by jchenx ( 267053 )

          The problem with this theory is, neither does the PS3 or the Wii. The XBox 360 has more jRPGs (1) than either the PS3 (0) or the Wii(0).

          Gamers are not stupid. They're not going to make system decisions purely on what the game library is right now. Hardcore J-RPG fans (and I count myself as one), know that Sony consoles tend to get the best J-RPGs. Heck, I work at MS, but I will tell you I played far more PS2 games, thanks to all the RPGs from the likes of Square-Enix, Nippon-Ichi, Namco, etc. Square-Enix ha

        • The XBox 360 has more jRPGs (1) than either the PS3 (0) or the Wii(0).

          Twilight Princess?

    • Chicken and egg problem (Score:4, Informative)

      by jchenx ( 267053 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @04:12PM (#17546202) Journal
      The main problem initially, was that the Xbox gained a reputation for being a haven for mostly shooters and sports games (which honestly, isn't far from the truth). What few RPGs that were on the system came from Western developers (Knights of the Old Republic, Fable, Jade Empire, Morrowind, etc.). Unfortunately for MS, Japanese gamers love their "Japanese-style" RPGs (a la Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, etc.) and there were virtually none on the system. So it's pretty obvious why the Xbox brand gets little love in Japan.

      That's changed a bit with the 360, thanks to MS attracting some big names. Mistwalker Studios [wikipedia.org], headed by the former Square honcho (and creator of Final Fantasy), has been developing some big exclusive RPGs for the 360. Blue Dragon just came out last month, and Lost Oddysey is on the way. (As a J-RPG fan myself, I keep track of these things)

      While Blue Dragon sold a decent number of 360s, it's definately not enough. One game will not suddenly turn the console around, especially one that's brand new IP and from a new studio. Unfortunately for MS, it becomes somewhat of a chicken and egg problem. They'll need more developers to make "Japan-friendly" games, in order to attract more Japanese gamers. However, those developers aren't going to make games on a platform with a low user-base.

      To an optimist, things are looking better. There are several more high-profile games coming in 2007 for the 360, including titles from Square-Enix, and another RPG from Mistwalker. Virtual Fighter 5, which is apparently a huge success in Japan, was recently announced to be coming to the 360 as well.

      Personally, I see 2007 as a "do or die" year for the 360 in Japan. If even after all the developer-love, Japanese gamers still don't take to the console ... then you might consider if other reasons are at play (nationalist tendencies, etc.).
    • It could be that in Japan they just don't like buying American products, this could be due to nationalism or racism, take a pick.

  • All three will survive (Score:4, Interesting)

    by SydShamino ( 547793 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @03:47PM (#17545686)
    There's no chance that one of these three companies will fail in the hardware market this round, in the way that Sega did a few rounds ago.

    But, I think there'll be a shift in the leadership, for those people who want to "rank" the leaders in the console market. The ingredients for this ranking draw on units sold, profit, and critical success, but isn't directly tied to any one of them.

    My prediction for current generation:
    1. Nintendo
    2. Microsoft
    3. Sony

    For argument's sake, I'm going to claim that last generation was:
    1. Sony
    2. Microsoft
    3. Nintendo
    I know, I know, Microsoft lost money on every sale, while Nintendo made a healthy profit. Nintendo, though, had trouble finding and capitalizing on breakout games, and their console had difficulty penetrating the adult market.

    Now, next round, what do you think the odds are that one of these three companies will fail, or that a newcomer will push one of them out of the top three? Is the next Nokia going to "N Gage" gamers and knock off Sony? Will Nintendo's "It's the gameplay, stupid" philosophy wear out? Will Microsoft decide to stop hemorraging cash, or *gasp* manage to make a profit? Turn in 2009 to find out!
    • >and their console had difficulty penetrating the adult market.

      Really? I thought "Thank god you two plumbers just arrived!" was a big hit in America.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Reapman ( 740286 )
      Well I got Karam to burn...

      As someone that would love a PS3 but can't even justify a Wii right now, I completely agree, right now it would appear Sony will be #3. However to those saying Sony is going to die, I just want to know... why did Nintendo not die last round when they were "arguably" #3, when Sony will "arguably" be #3 this round? Each generation is a battle, not the complete war. To say Sony is dead now is pretty damn early. Everyone was proclaiming the death of Nintendo last couple of years, a

      • Re:All three will survive (Score:4, Interesting)

        by KillerBob ( 217953 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @06:38PM (#17548612)
        However to those saying Sony is going to die, I just want to know... why did Nintendo not die last round when they were "arguably" #3, when Sony will "arguably" be #3 this round?


        Two reasons why Nintendo didn't die last round... the first is that they were selling GameCubes at a profit. They were making money with every console being sold, and despite their poor sales and relatively small penetration in the last generation of consoles, they were still operating in the black.

        The second reason is that the GameBoy series remains the dominant handheld, and will probably remain so for a long time. They've got the penetration, the feature set, and most importantly the price range to maintain their dominance in that market.

        By contrast... the PSP is a great platform. It's got great graphics, the sound is pretty good, it's got tons of extra features. It's also really expensive. Like three times the cost of a GBA, and easily twice the cost of a DS. Because of this, it's really not doing as well in sales as the GameBoy line is, and Sony probably isn't making enough money off it to keep their consoles afloat. Which brings to bear the other thing... Sony is selling the PS3 at a loss. They're selling 'em for $650, and they cost about $1100 to make. Sony was banking on selling enough of them that they could make the money back selling dev kits to allow other vendors to make games for the console. But if they don't reach critical mass, developpers aren't going to spend their time/energy making games that won't sell enough to make a profit. You might actually see a world where games are developped for the Wii, and then ported to the PS3, instead of the past, where titles were being developped for the PS2 and being ported to the XBoX and GameCube.

        Now, I doubt Sony will just sink. Sony Online Entertainment is the only wholly independant subsidiary that bears the "Sony" name, and they're still making lots of money off their laptops, stereos, tv's, and music. But it's quite possible that the console/handheld division of the company will be pissing money away this time around.

    • Breakout (Score:3, Funny)

      by tepples ( 727027 )

      Nintendo, though, had trouble finding and capitalizing on breakout games

      I thought capitalizing on Breakout [wikipedia.org] games was Atari's job.

  • Sure they've got PS3's... (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Buddy_DoQ ( 922706 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @04:52PM (#17546964) Homepage
    ...but the 7-11's in Japan don't sell Slurpees. I mean, one could hardly call a 7-11 "7-11," if they ain't got no Slurpees!

    Actually, a little wikipedia reading reveals that they tried to sell Slurpee when they first opened, but the populous was not interested in the frozen delight. Opting instead for the irresistible ice cream in a bag.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/7-Eleven#Japan [wikipedia.org]



    Sorry, I know I'm way off topic, but I did get a big kick out of the picture of 7-11 selling the PS3.

  • The price points could easily explain this (Score:4, Insightful)

    by Paradox ( 13555 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @05:05PM (#17547216) Homepage Journal
    People need to keep in mind the Wii costs less than half of the PS3's hefty price tag. Of course more people are going to buy Wiis right now, it's cheaper. Not to say that the Wii's awesomeness isn't playing a big role, but keep in mind that Nintendo's biggest problem is finding 3rd party developers who make worthwhile games. The gamecube was a great system, but they had very few must-have games that were not from Nintendo. No matter how good the Wii is, good third party dev support is what wins console wars.

    Before we all doom the PS3, let's wait until some of the big-name PS3 games come out later this year. Sony already knew they were going to take a loss at the outset of the PS3 market, so I think they're taking the long view. In Japan, when Final Fantasy XIII comes out, there is going to be a rabid fanbase that will purchase the console for that game alone. Others may hold off, but given the other big properties that will shortly follow, how can anyone avoid the PS3's gravity?

    Also factor in the other part of the market... Blu-rays absolutely rock on a HDTV. LG is coming out with a dual-mode player, which means that given the choice, the consumer can be easily swayed towards Blu-ray simply by flooding (true) advertisements about the media's technical superiority. If Blu-ray pulls ahead, then the PS3 becomes much more attractive.

  • Game Fanboy Logic (Score:4, Funny)

    by Doc Ruby ( 173196 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @05:43PM (#17547868) Homepage Journal
    No, it's because the PS3 is twice as good as the Wii, so every PS3 sold is like 2 Wiis sold.

  • Wow! (Score:5, Insightful)

    by koreth ( 409849 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @06:22PM (#17548416)
    It's almost as if demand is elastic with respect to price! How strange! I wonder if they have a field of study devoted to predicting that kind of bizarre outcome.

  • No Wiis, Lots of PS3s (Score:3, Interesting)

    by jdubois79 ( 227349 ) on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @06:52PM (#17548792)
    Just for all those people saying that there are no PS3s, and lots of Wiis, and that's why they're selling so well, let me put in my anecdotal evidence.

    I live in a town of about 500,000 people, and work in Nagoya, which I belive is the 4th largest city in Japan (maybe 5th).

    I can go into any store on any day and pick up a PS3. That includes both 20 and 60 GB models. I can go to my local game store, the mall, electronics Depot, even my Video Rental service is selling PS3s and have a bunch in stock.

    Wiis? Good luck. Wiis sell out in about 5 minutes whenever there's a shipment. I haven't seen one on the store shelf EVER. DS Lites (and even DSs) are pretty much the same story. If you're not incredibly lucky, or incredibly determined, there's no way to pick up any Nintendo consoles. And that's with shipments coming once every week.

    Even people I know who were gung-ho about the PS3 have wavered, and are buying Wiis instead. When I tell them that there are PS3s available, they just kind of shrug and say "Yeah... Maybe next year."

  • Wii PS3. Why? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by mattpointblank ( 936343 ) <mattpointblank AT gmail DOT com> on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @07:07PM (#17548990) Homepage
    My friend has a Wii and I've played several times, and this is what I told him regarding the PS3 vs Wii debate (full disclosure: I've never played a PS3):

    When I first played a games console, oh, back in the halcyon days of 1992 or so, it was a Sega Mega Drive (aka "Genesis" in the US). It was a whole new experience for me, being able to interact with an onscreen character using a handheld controller. It was a new world and I loved it and was introduced to a whole wealth of other systems.

    Fastforward 13 years and nothing has really changed. Games look better, are more imaginative and offer me more satisfying results than grabbing rings and power-ups. But the gaming concept itself is still pretty much the same. We all laze around on couches, plugged into the console, and gradually fall asleep in marathon gaming sessions.

    2006: enter the Wii (no pun). I was a little skeptical after seeing the ads and the less-than-impressive graphics, but being there when my friend first plugged his Wii in was like being transported back to when I was 6 again. I was genuinely excited and amused playing WiiSports, with the new concept the controller had brought to my gaming.

    The PS3 might look prettier and have more power. It even plays DVDs and other things I have no interest in. But what it doesn't have is a revolutionary new design that's been the most innovative thing (at least, in my personal gaming history) since I first started playing consoles. The Wii has got me up off the couch and really interacting with my games, while the PS3, however real it may look compared to the Wii's bobble-headed "Miis", is just another couch-sitting epic.

  • Wait! (Score:3, Insightful)

    by crhylove ( 205956 ) <rhy@leperkhanz.com> on Wednesday January 10, 2007 @09:06PM (#17550550) Homepage Journal
    Are you telling me that Fun>Graphics?

    I'm sure nobody's had that epiphany before!

    rhY

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