May 17, 2007
Sony gets a Pokémon in the eye
The Nintendo Wii has extended its domination over Sony’s PlayStation 3 to an embarrassing level, according to the latest US sales estimates from the NPD Group.
It says 82,000 PS3s were sold in April compared to 360,000 Wiis - meaning Nintendo’s next-generation machine is outselling Sony’s by more than four to one.
In March, the ratio was only two to one - 260,000 Wiis to 130,000 PS3s, but Sony’s sales are slumping while Nintendo’s continue to soar.
Microsoft sold a respectable 174,000 of its Xbox 360 consoles, down from 199,000 in March, but, with its year’s headstart, it leads the next-generation console race with a US installed base of 5.4m, compared to 2.5m for the Wii and 1.3m for the PS3.
Nintendo is also dominant in the handheld market - its dual-screen DS sold 471,000 units in April compared to 183,000 for the Sony PSP and has sold 10.9m in its lifetime to date, with the PSP at 7.4m units.
Nintendo was helped by some big game releases. Pokémon Diamond version and Pokémon Pearl version for the DS were the top-selling games of the month, with a total of 1.757m units sold in just 14 days. Their sales were more than the rest of the Top Ten’s combined figures, consisting of two Wii, two Xbox 360 and four PlayStation 2 titles.
Analysts criticised Sony this week for a dearth of compelling games for the PS3 when it reported a loss for its gaming division.
It responded on Thursday by showing off its software titles for the second half to the press at a San Diego event. More than 30 games for the PS3 were demonstrated, including Warhawk and Heavenly Sword, with more than 15 games and services exclusive to Sony’s console.
This sounds promising, except that they will be up against Microsoft’s own exclusive property, Halo 3, in the second half, and Grand Theft Auto 4, for both consoles, could also weaken sales of Sony’s first-party titles.
