Wii outsells the mighty PS2 for the same period

Infendo 32 Comments 15177 views Infendo

us_console_sales_infendobar.jpg
To steal a term coined by Kotaku, I put together the above charticle juxtaposing the first six month console sales of Wii, 360, PS3, PS2, Xbox, and GameCube. First, the Wii has sold better than the mighty PS2 after the first six months. Amazingly, both the PS3 and 360 sold worse than the GameCube for the same period (!). Cumulative first six month totals in units sold are as follows:

  1. Wii (2,470,000)
  2. PS2 (2,200,000)
  3. Xbox (1,900,000)
  4. GameCube (1,540,000)
  5. Xbox 360 (1,384,000)
  6. PS3 (1,271,000)

So do people want “next-gen” or “different-gen”? Nintendo says they want the latter and so do initial U.S. console sales. Assuming history repeats itself, the 360 and PS3 will end up in a distant second and third place with Wii perhaps outselling the PS2’s unprecedented 115 million worldwide units. What does it all mean? It means fans of motion-controls can expect to see a boatload of good games with fewer titles gracing “real next-gen” platforms. I feel like I’m taking crazy pills!

Remember, however, that the original Xbox didn’t favor near as well as the above graph indicates, so take historical trends with the cliche grain of salt.

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32 Comments

  1. is this worldwide?

  2. This is US only. I would be interested to see a global chart for the same timeframe. Can you put one of those up? I would digg it.I promise.

  3. This is crazy. At first, I thought this was a Japanesse sales chart, but U.S.?!? My gosh, Nintendo seemed like a pushover when it came to sales. I must Digg this…

  4. Awesome news… Worldwide chart should be about the same (in a larger scale, that is).

    And it’s called “NEW-GEN”, not “another-gen”

  7. Don’t forget that the 360 & Wii were (and still are in the Wii’s case) not in stock at most locations during the first 6 months of sales; while the PS3 is very, very easy to find just about everywhere in the US.

    I too would be interested in seeing one of these for World Wide.

  8. How is this really a fair comparison? Look, I know that the Wii is enormously popular, but it also costs half as much as its competition. That’s not irrelvant information.

    No, I’m not trying to “justify” the performance of the other consoles or in any way inflate their standings. I really don’t care about them. But I’ve seen several of these sales comparisons and it’s apples to oranges.

    Yes, the Wii is selling fantastically, but not to the detriment of the 360. Because of the price point the market seems capable of supporting both.

  9. Matt M,

    In one sense, comparing a Porche to a Toyota is apples and oranges. Different price points, features, the whole shebang. Yet in a very similar sense, they’re both cars. The same holds true when comparing the cheap Wii to more expensive 360 and PS3. Different, yet the same.

    I think what this graph really shows is the importance of a relevant price point, at least at the onset, something both 360 and PS3 seem to be struggling with in terms of what most people are willing to bear.

  10. @Matt M
    Of course it’s a fair comparison. Nintendo says that the Wii is not competing against the 360 and PS3, but that’s a crock. All 3 systems are competing for gamers, both hardcore and casual. The price of the systems is irrelevant. What matters is how much each is selling. That is directly related to how much third party support each system gets which encourages more sales and so on. Granted, it’s still very early and these numbers don’t mean too much yet (look at how close the Xbox and PS2 are), but it is obvious that developers are paying attention as they begin to allocate more resources to the Wii and announce new games for that platform.

  11. But if you’re comparing whether “next-gen” or ‘different-gen’ is what console buyers want based on sales, then a drastically different price makes that comparison difficult, and is an apples-oranges situation when comparing the wii to 360/PS3.

    Not to say that the wii isn’t extremely appealing…even my doggone wife wants one. I’d like to know how they stack up if the prices weren’t so different. Then we’d know how much of a difference the wii’s approach makes.

  12. Strong initial sales don’t guarantee continued great sales. Considering the Wii’s technology is the least future proof of the 3 systems, it might not do as well in the years to come.

  14. @Blake
    At the same time the Gameboy and the PlayStation are both videogame machines, but it’s fairly pointless to compare them. Completely different price points, game prices… at a certain point it’s a completely different demographic, just like with the Toyota and the Porsche. They’re marketed at two different types of people.

  15. Here’s a point to look at also: Although I appreciate the work Blake has put into this detailed chart, what it doesn’t do is maybe show the economic position so many Americans are in right now. Unemployment through the roof, especially in Michigan where we are on average 2 points higher than the rest of the nation, 22% of all mortgages made in the last 3 years are being foreclosed on by banks across the country, an expensive war effort, etc. Things are a lot different right now than they were in the late 90’s / early ’00’s when all those other consoles came out. I guarantee the number one reason alone that Wii is outselling is because of price. People simply cannot afford what Sony and Microsoft have turned into a luxury item, rather than a simple, down to earth, affordable and fun console that Nintendo has created. Personally, I don’t any of those new consoles and if I could afford one at all I’d go with the Wii simply because it’s affordable.

  17. @Matt M

    You can’t compare the GameBoy and the Playstation they are two different styles. Handheld vs Console that would be like comparing a Truck to a Car. The Wii is a console, and the Ps3 and Xbox are both home consoles Nintendo took the route of going with less graphics but more controls and making there system not as expensive. Microsoft and Sony both bet on people wouldn’t mind spending over $400 on a gaming console touting everything they had in them. But they guessed wrong. People do care about the price. But now they are also showing that you can innovate and win without just pumping more polygons with the same game style on the screens.

  21. This is incorrect. Ps3 broke the console record of ps2 and wii didnt produce enough consoles to sell that many. Ps3 beat out 360’s first 6 months for a fact. dont believe all stats kids, they can easily be incorrect.

  22. PJ!!! Link your numbers or they don’t exist!

  23. If Apples suddenly cost twice as much as Oranges yet sold at a loss then which would you bet on?

    Many of you are simply in denial. Nintendo is back and here to stay.

  25. I’d bet on the one that people actually bought third party games for. That’s seemingly not turning out to be the Wii so far.

    Having millions of consoles is good and all, but if the main winner is Nintendo and its first/second party offerings, then we basically have another GameCube/N64 on a bigger scale. Personally, I don’t think that’s really any better than a system selling less but having super high tie in ratios (ala 360).

    If nothing else, it’s clear the PS3 is getting screwed this time around.

  28. Sad to say, but console sales alone don’t tell the whole story…though the rabid Nintendo fanboys must cling to something….

    Look at game sales for an accurate barometer of the health of a system. I think you’ll find the PS2 continues to hammer the Wii, and has since launch, on software sales. Sure, some of this must be blamed on the Wii launching with a free “game”, but in truth, the game selection for the Wii still isn’t that hot, with eh-it’s-okay ports and kooky games targeting the Japanese audience primarily. Besides Twilight Princess, there hasn’t been any true games that force everyone who owns a Wii to buy one (like the XBox’s ubiquitous Halo series), though Mario Party 8 seems to come the closest. I admit, we are still waiting for Mario Galaxy, Smash Brothers, and possibly Metroid Prime: Corruption, but the Wii still needs to sell more games to be considered the “next-gen contender” everyone hopes they’ll be, especially once the heavyweight games for the competition start to come out this fall.

  30. did you just say that Kotaku made up the word juxtapose?

  32. I always was interested in this subject and still am, thanks for putting up.

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