PlayStation 3 Tops Wii In Japan For Second Straight Month

There was a time when the PlayStation 3 couldn't hope to compete with the Wii, and the PSP never got close to the DS. It was just out of the realm of possibility; the gap every week and every month was just downright gigantic.

But those days are long gone. As GameSpot reports, the PS3 has now topped the Wii for the second straight month and the PSP continues to beat the DSi. In the handheld war, Sony's portable sold 41,200 units while Nintendo sold about 37,500 DSis. If you include the DS Lite, though, the total rises to 43,900 units, but that's still a very close race. As for the home consoles, it seems as if the trend has almost completely reversed: the PS3 easily outsold the Wii in March and it did it again in April, as according to Reuters and Enterbrain, Sony's machine sold 108,530 units in Japan while the Will only sold 67,116. Both numbers are down from March - 146,948 PS3s and 99,335 Wiis - but as you can see, the PS3 continues to rain on Nintendo's long-running parade. Nintendo president Satoru Iwata has already admitted that Wii sales are "unhealthy" in Japan, and the Wall Street Journal actually quoted analysts who said Nintendo was "vulnerable." You know, if they want any advice from the gamers who have been examining this situation for the past two years, we have the only suggestion they need: make some software!!!

See, consumers are fickle. No matter how amazed they're going to be with a gadget at one particular time, that fascination will soon fade if you don't continually make it fresh. The Wii simply doesn't have software that competes for industry awards every year, and with so many unbelievable titles out for the PS3 and 360, how can anyone be surprised at these results?

5/4/2009 Ben Dutka

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Comments (63 posts)

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englishgolfer
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 11:28:54 AM
Reply

i think the wii has reached saturation point in japan. it's now part of every home, just like the fridge.

5 up, 1 down

Godslim
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 11:33:25 AM

well it its like ps2 i dont know many people with out one

3 up, 0 down

HeXeN
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 11:49:11 AM

That's what people said about the PS2 a couple of years ago yet it's sales today are close to the 360's.So no excuses people over there are just getting bored of that toy maybe US will follow.

6 up, 0 down

cheng
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 11:32:54 AM
Reply

not surprise at all...

1 up, 0 down

Arvis
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 11:48:33 AM
Reply

I see the Japanese people are starting to remember an old hobby they used to have before they all bought Wiis: GAMING!

-Arvis

9 up, 3 down

HeXeN
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 11:54:08 AM
Reply

It's incredible that PS3 is almost double the price of the Wii and is outselling it, that's the power of (good)software not outdated waggle crap.It's incredible that the PSP is selling that much yet people keep saying that it died already.

6 up, 4 down

kevinater321
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 2:43:03 PM

i havn't heard that

0 up, 0 down

b3mike
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 12:02:41 PM
Reply

And here comes the 360 apologists spewing " the 360 is doing really good in Japan considering it's circumstance's." I'm sorry but when the closest competitor to your system is the ps2 then your console is a joke. Even so if I had to pick between a 360 or a ps2, I would take the ol' ps2.

11 up, 2 down

mexgeo86
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 12:10:24 PM
Reply

Doesn't look like Nintendo or MS thought/planned things out for the long run :-P

8 up, 4 down

Powershifter
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 12:12:33 PM
Reply

Not surprising. I was at my brother in law's house this past weekend and we played Wii Sports. It was my first time really testing out the Wii. Baseball - you swing, and you pitch, that's it. boring. Golf - too easy to over swing, and wayyyy too hard to make a short put. I found that if I wasn't right in front of the Wii, it would have a hard time sensing my putt. Bowling was cool. He had Mario Cart but that doesn't appeal to me. After about 20 minutes I was like, ok, let's play some World at War on your 360.

4 up, 2 down

crawdaddy
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 2:29:21 PM

It sounds to me like you just were not very good at playing the games, and not that the games were not any good. Like all games, they are made to be a bit difficult. I have played these wii games and they are fun games and they play well.

1 up, 12 down

Powershifter
Thursday, May 07, 2009 @ 12:26:43 PM

sorry crawdaddy, but I've been playing games for over 22 years and I'm quite good at them. I agree that games have a certain level of difficulty (obviously!) but the motion controls of the Wii were clearly not as accurate as I'd like them to be. Don't be so quick to judge someone next time.

Last edited by Powershifter on 5/7/2009 12:27:57 PM

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 12:19:30 PM
Reply

This would have happened long ago had RPGs been on PS3, they would have forgotten the child's toy.

8 up, 3 down

Dingodial
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 1:21:17 PM

RPGs like Crash Bandicoot

4 up, 7 down

wquach
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 4:07:54 PM

That is an awesome pic of Squall, WorldEndsWithMe. May I ask where you got it?

0 up, 0 down

Reccaman18
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 5:03:48 PM

@ Dingodial, Crash is a platformer.

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 10:14:33 PM

Sorry but I don't even remember, I got it a long ass time ago :(

0 up, 0 down

DGo8
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 12:37:00 PM
Reply

We all knew it was coming was just a matter of time wasnt it?!?! i mean tha Wii isnt really next gen isit..tha graphics are well look at them..so many people brought it coz of tha whole motion control thing & Wii Fit...and it lil kidds love it lol...PS3 will take japan by storm then it will b US...then Euro.

5 up, 0 down

Midris7
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 7:17:07 PM

Actually, Europe has always been loyal to Playstation. I go there often and I have not met one person with a 360. The only exception is Britain maybe. But even a lot of them have PS3s..

PSN: MorskiJX

2 up, 0 down

Gregory Freeman
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 9:45:02 PM

agreed with Midris7...

if anything it will be europe, japan, americas

or japan, europe americas...

the americas will be the 360's final battleground..

0 up, 0 down

Xra897
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 9:46:21 PM

thats true europe is truly loyal to the playstation. remember the article a while back how street fighter 4 sold more on ps3

0 up, 0 down

Cpt_Geez
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 12:56:19 PM
Reply

The wii had no business leading the gaming industry in the first place. Im starting to think that its going to end up coming in last place when this generation is up.

5 up, 2 down

crawdaddy
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 1:06:48 PM
Reply

Once again you are celebrating the Ps3 outselling systems that everyone already owns. There is hardly anyone left to sell them to, and yet they are still selling them. Soon there will not be anyone left to sell them to, so then the numbers for Sony will look really good even though they are numbers against systems that there is not anyone who does not already owns it. Look at the numbers worldwide that show how many housholds own how many of each system. The Wii more than doubles Ps3. So celebrate!!!!!

4 up, 11 down

HeXeN
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 1:36:21 PM

You Fail dude! PS2 150 million world wide to date and in Japan sales are close to 8,000 which is a competitor for the 360, also still selling relative well in the states and in 2008 it sold approximate 480,664 units so yeah you fail.

Last edited by HeXeN on 5/4/2009 1:42:09 PM

6 up, 3 down

b3mike
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 2:16:44 PM

Hehe, what a tool

4 up, 1 down

Jalex
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 2:18:57 PM

It's a gross exaggeration to say that everyone already owns a Wii, even just to make a point, when it hasn't even sold half the amount that the PS2 sold.

7 up, 4 down

crawdaddy
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 3:21:26 PM

Can't you first graders read! I was comparing it to ps3 and not ps2 so it looks like you fail DUDE!!!!!!

5 up, 7 down

crawdaddy
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 3:40:28 PM

Rounded to the nearest million, there are 49m Wiis, 30m Xbox 360s, and 22m PS3s in homes worldwide.

4 up, 9 down

Highlander
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 4:48:17 PM

@crawdaddy

Your PS3 number is out of date, Sony were talking about 21-22 million units sold at the turn of the calendar year during CES. Unless you have a link to backup the PS3 numbers you should stop quoting such an old figure. I've seen this done in several articles recently where up to date sales numbers for 360 and Wii are quoted but the same old 21/22 million number from January is quoted for the PS3. Even in the US it's sold something like a million units since the turn of the year. I could take a guess at the current figure, even though it would be an educated guess, it would carry no more validity than your guestimated numbers.

Either way, you are under estimating the PS3 numbers which means that your post amounts to a steaming pile of phail.

7 up, 2 down

crawdaddy
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 5:26:02 PM

@ThHighlander: My figures are from March 28th 2009 sales figures, which shows that you don't know what you are talking about which makes what you say a steaming pile of phail. You should start doing some real research before you spout off. Here is your link! http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=3305?gr_i_nir BS.

Last edited by crawdaddy on 5/4/2009 5:35:35 PM

1 up, 7 down

HeXeN
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 6:12:09 PM

Wii Fanboy;)

3 up, 3 down

Jalex
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 6:17:54 PM

About 180 million consoles (as far as PS2, Xbox, and GameCube are concerned) were sold last generation, whereas about 100 million consoles have been sold thus far of those console's successors.
So you're basically saying that either:
The 360 and PS3 will pass 60 million in sales each (or one of them will pass 100 million on their own), or that less consoles will be sold this generation than last (which certainly wouldn't make sense).

Last edited by Jalex on 5/4/2009 6:18:53 PM

4 up, 0 down

Highlander
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 11:00:08 PM

@Crawdaddy

VGChartz!? Their figures are notoriously erroneous. I'm going by Sony's own pronouncements at CES. and their press releases during February which were quoting figures from December. Here's a link for that December news.

http://www.shacknews.com/onearticle.x/56993

Here's another reference to the February press statements that points out tht the 21.3 million figure is lifetime todate as at the end of December 2008.

http://dlb-network.com/2009/02/sony-sales-21-million-ps3s-worldwide/

21.3 as at the end of December 2008. Thank you, and good night.

4 up, 1 down

Powershifter
Thursday, May 07, 2009 @ 12:31:20 PM

@ Highlander

Game set, match, win! lol

0 up, 0 down

Highlander
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 1:09:52 PM
Reply

Before everyone leaps off the ledge on the Wii, consider that the PS3 has a long way to go before eclipsing the Wii - even in Japan. While this is good news for Sony - all good news is appreciated - it's hardly the end for Nintendo.

Oh, and by the way, hidden amongst all this good news is the fact that Xbox 360 has managed to reach a million owners in Japan. That may not strike anyone as terribly significant, but it's a bigger impact than the original Xbox had there, and represents a large enough audience that Microsoft is at least a player in Japan.

All that said, I'm delighted that PS3 seems finally to be getting the attention it deserves in Japan. Perhaps now the NA market might wake up. I don't think it's a matter of defeating Nintendo or Microsoft, they are irrelevant really, what Sony wants is for PS3 to be a success in it's own right, regardless of how Wii or 360 do. Rather than always looking to see who's in first or last, perhaps we should be looking at each platform and considering the criteria that each console maker is using to determine the success of their business.

It might also be educational to look at the gaming market in Japan by tech segment. Hand held, standard definition and high definition. Sony is the only console maker that sells in all three market spaces. It's leading the HD gaming market in Japan healthily, and owns the SD market thanks to the ubiquitous PS2. In the hand held market, it's selling strongly. Nintendo has had great success in the hand held market, leading that market for years, and is a strong challenger for Sony's PS2 in the Standard def game market. Microsoft on the other hand only participates in the High Def game market, and is lagging behind.

Context matters when interpreting numbers, without proper context numbers can be made to mean anything. When robbed of their context, numbers can be very stark and any amount of spin applied. For example, the way in which NPD numbers are frequently discussed as if they were global when in fact they represent the US market only. I know it's not easy to gather the numbers from all the markets, but perhaps Ben or someone at PSX Extreme, could look at the sales for the first four months of 2009 on a global basis and give an analysis that's free from the parochial bias that comes with NPD?

10 up, 3 down

Powershifter
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 1:33:04 PM

"Rather than always looking to see who's in first or last, perhaps we should be looking at each platform and considering the criteria that each console maker is using to determine the success of their business."

*Yoda's voice* "Wisdom this one seeks. A mark of a true Jedi that is."

In other words, good point!

6 up, 0 down

Victor321
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 5:06:03 PM

I think you should be part of this site. Your long posts are always an amazing read.

3 up, 1 down

migabyte
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 7:28:49 PM

The first Xbox was a pile. I hope it's more successful.

0 up, 0 down

Dingodial
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 1:19:55 PM
Reply

Great news. I just hope that this will become a reality in America some day. If Sony could just advertise all of PS3's best games & all of PS3's exclusive features, PS3 would be in better shape (in terms of sales).

I guess slow and steady wins the race, in Japan at least!

Last edited by Dingodial on 5/4/2009 1:23:28 PM

2 up, 0 down

Robochic
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 1:27:07 PM
Reply

I think the Wii is slowing down but it may pick up but not enough to catch up with the PS3 it would have to be a mighty exclusive game for the Wii to get it's momentum back.

1 up, 2 down

crump602
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 1:48:57 PM
Reply

Nintendo is a really hard-headed company, wondering why ppl still put up with it. Really crappy support for games, doesn't listen to its fans, system wise as well as games wise. They have it in them to compete like they did when it was just them and Sega but their just stuck in the past in guess.

3 up, 2 down

dlte
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 2:15:02 PM
Reply

my favorite nintendo console is still the NES

2 up, 0 down

ace_boon_coon
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 3:46:18 PM
Reply

wii sucks. i regret buyin one. waste os 250 dollars

6 up, 0 down

HeXeN
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 8:06:49 PM

+1:) reward yourself with a Dreamcast.

Last edited by HeXeN on 5/4/2009 8:08:29 PM

0 up, 0 down

gamerboy
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 3:53:43 PM
Reply

It looks like 49 million + households probably disagree with you.

0 up, 7 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 3:59:24 PM

Poor argument. This immediately assumes that 49+ million households don't regret buying one. ...I personally know about three that already do.

5 up, 3 down

godsman
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 9:38:51 PM

I regret buying a Wii..... Im a bit slow, took me 12 games to admit that there's not much worth playing... Wii Zelda will be my last game

2 up, 0 down

Esco_san
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 4:51:25 PM
Reply

ooh ooh me i'm one. I dont play my wii i've beaten all the good or fair games the system has and mine was used. wii is a 250 dollar waste and japan is seeing that clearly. ps3 should now stomp all opposition in the mud by using their own parlor tricks against them (black ps3 mote)

5 up, 1 down

twenty8nine
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 4:57:02 PM

I suppose that they could use it as an advertisement for a family gaming machine. It has the fun stuff for younger users, yet also has the power to please the more hardcore gamers.

0 up, 0 down

Powershifter
Thursday, May 07, 2009 @ 12:36:30 PM

@ Twenty8nine

Yeah, I'd buy a Wii for my kids if I had any. My wife wants a Wii, I'm trying to talk her out of it. She's not even a gamer...

0 up, 0 down

twenty8nine
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 4:54:17 PM
Reply

I hope this trend continues into North America. Not that PS3 outsells the other consoles in any given week/month, but that they have a larger share of the software market. If developers think that they can make a lot of money on just programming for PS3, they will give PS3 the best exclusives.

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 5:02:46 PM

Even if the PS3 continued to sell only as many as it sold during 2008 for the next three years, tailing off after that, it would still sell well over 50 million units world wide. Not sure about you, but 50-odd million units (which is probably a worst case scenario now) isn't bad going for any consumer electronics device.

Those numbers are large enough to justify game developers large and small giving the PS3 attention. Should things improve drastically (major price cut) on the unit sales front, Sony could easily be looking at 100 million units (or more) over the product's life.

6 up, 0 down

Robochic
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 5:50:34 PM
Reply

@ ben

I defently dont' regret getting a Wii,but i see where you are coming from with other people regreting their purchase. I see the Wii as a console not for everyone it really depends what you are looking for. Me i love the Wii not as much as my PS3 but i have plenty of Wii games to play its refreshing to get off my big butt sometimes when playing a game of tossing the cows LOL

2 up, 3 down

ironman505
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 6:30:11 PM
Reply

why is someone even writeing an artical on this subject? its oveus ps3 gets more sales then wii, even in japan. if you know a little something about gaming, you would buy the ps3. although i know many people who have both.

1 up, 4 down

Gone
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 7:18:50 PM
Reply

I hope Sony sees that the Wii isn't selling that well anymore and avoids making the PSWii.

Last edited by Gone on 5/4/2009 7:22:54 PM

4 up, 1 down

slayerkillemall
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 9:17:53 PM
Reply

******DISCLAIMER******this is just my opinion......
Ben,i agree with you but,ive played with a wii and the motion sensing thing has to go, nintendo really need a STANDARD controller(i know they got a Snes look alike but as far as i know,it doesnt work with all the games)

how far can the wiimote really go?,even with new software it still is a novelty item...just my 2cents

1 up, 1 down

whooka
Monday, May 04, 2009 @ 9:20:39 PM
Reply

meh. what do the japanese know about electronics anyways.?

0 up, 4 down

Banky A
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 @ 12:27:52 AM

(was your comment sarcasm?)

Ummm... EVERYTHING?! *Questlamation mark* lol

=D

1 up, 0 down

Banky A
Wednesday, May 06, 2009 @ 1:14:40 AM

Oh and you forget where the almighty PS3 comes from ;)

1 up, 0 down

dveisalive
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 @ 2:49:33 AM
Reply

I'm only waiting for The Conduit, Tiger Woods 10, and E3 09 for both PS3 and Wii. I hope Sony reveals the motion controlIve been waiting for!

0 up, 0 down

Arvis
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 @ 1:29:05 PM

"I hope Sony reveals the motion controlIve been waiting for!"

WHY????

-Arvis

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 @ 1:51:23 PM

How will it be any better than sixaxis?

2 up, 0 down

Minishmaru
Tuesday, May 05, 2009 @ 1:45:40 PM
Reply

Seriously they have NO NEW GAMES! Unless you count the rehash,recycle, games that they do EVERY generation. For example what games can we look forward to?....::crickets chirping:: Exactly! At least the PS3 and 360 aren't rehashing,recycling every fricken game they had previous generations...

1 up, 0 down

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