Nintendo tops both handheld and home gaming market with DS, Wii
The Wii is officially more than just a gaming sensation. Nintendo’s latest console has captured the hearts, minds and dollars of not only gaming fans, but also the elderly, vacationers, the health-conscious and other casual markets.
Despite being released a year later than Microsoft’s current generation console offering, the Nintendo Wii has surpassed the Xbox 360 in total worldwide hardware sales, according to the latest data from VGchartz.com.
By the week ending August 23, VGchartz gathered that Nintendo had sold 10.57 million Wii consoles over lifetime, while Microsoft sold 10.51 million Xbox 360 consoles. In order to eclipse the Xbox 360 in less than a year since release, the Wii had outsold Microsoft’s game system by a margin of 2.3-to-1 worldwide.
A key factor in Wii’s quick pace in catching the Xbox 360 the acceptance of Nintendo’s console in Japan. The Wii sold 3.46 million units in Japan, while the Xbox 360 sold only 0.43 million in the same region.
While typical sales numbers from the game companies relate to shipments to retailers rather than sold-to-consumers, VGchartz claims that it tracks its data based on actual consumer sell-through figures.
The popularity of the Wii, along with the DS handheld, have helped Nintendo rocket past its competitors. The Wii was outselling the PS3 by a margin of 6-to-1 in June, helping Nintendo overtake Sony in market value. In fact, Nintendo’s recent success has put it ahead of both NTT and Honda, making it the fifth largest company in Japan.
