Nintendo’s Wii leads the console war

Sales of Nintendo’s incredibly successful Wii have now surpassed sales of Microsoft’s Xbox 360, according to a report published by the Financial Times.

Consumers across the world have bought nine million Nintendo Wiis, 8.9 million Xbox 360s and 3.7 million PlayStation 3 consoles.

Thus, despite Microsoft’s year-long head start, Nintendo’s innovative take on the next-generation console has led to it re-taking a position in the market that it last held 17 years ago with the Nintendo and Super Nintendo consoles.

Following the end of the 16-bit era, Sony has dominated the market with the PlayStation brand, which originally launched in Japan in 1994, before moving over to Europe and North America in 1995.

One analyst in Tokyo said that “The fact of the matter is that, despite the Xbox’s earlier launch in November 2005, it only sells in two markets – Europe and the US.

“Japan is home turf to Sony and Nintendo, so the Xbox is not a player at all. In contrast, Nintendo has been selling well in all three major markets.”

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