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February is another Wii-wwy good month for Nintendo

Not so good for everyone else. Let's look at the latest NPD numbers:

Wii: 335,000 units sold
PS2: 295,000 units sold
Xbox 360: 228,000 units sold
PS3: 127,000 units sold

While everyone's sales were down compared to January, let's look at the individual drops:

Wii: down about 23% from Jan.
PS2: down about 2% from Jan.
Xbox 360: down about 22% from Jan.
PS3: down about 52% from Jan.

Sony has the most interesting numbers here. The PS2 was a rock-solid performer, the PS3? Not so much. While my "polling" is not anything close to scientific, it seems to be indicative of the wider issue: No one cares about the PS3. There's nothing there that's really compelling compared to the PS2 or any other console. I know my ex is waiting on Tekken 6 before she even considers buying one. But she's also pissed that for the price of a PS3, she has to lay out an extra C-note just to get an HD cable. That's kind of dumb, but with the PS2's sales and profit, Sony can afford to be dumb.

The Xbox and Wii numbers are about what they were in Jan., even allowing for the drop. Nintendo is still selling just under 1.5 Wiis for every Xbox 360 sold. That's not good for Microsoft, because the big "draw" of the Xbox is the Live online component, but for that to make them money, it can't afford to be losing to Sony and Nintendo like that. The thing to keep in mind here is that a huge chunk of the Wii's numbers are not people who would have bought an Xbox or a PS*. Nintendo is getting significant sales to the non-gamer crowd, who don't care about tech specs as much as fun, and the low intimidation factor of the Wii.

Right now, neither Sony or Microsoft have anything that can directly compete with the Wii, and as Nintendo's online library of classic games grows, that problem is going to get worse.

If nothing else, the PS3 and the Xbox 360 are an object lesson in what happens when you let "beating the competition" substitute for innovation and forward thinking.

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Posted by John C. Welch at 23:32 | Permalink

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Not so good for everyone else. Let's look at the latest NPD numbers:\n\nWii: 335,000 units sold\nPS2: 295,000 units sold\nXbox 360: 228,000 units sold\nPS3: 127,000 units sold\n\nWhile everyone's sales were down compared to January, let's look at the individual drops:\n\nWii: down about 23% from Jan.\nPS2: down about 2% from Jan.\nXbox 360: down about 22% from Jan.\nPS3: down about 52% from Jan.\n\nSony has the most interesting numbers here. The PS2 was a rock-solid performer, the PS3? Not so much. While my \"polling\" is not anything close to scientific, it seems to be indicative of the wider issue: No one cares about the PS3. There's nothing there that's really compelling compared to the PS2 or any other console. I know my ex is waiting on Tekken 6 before she even considers buying one. But she's also pissed that for the price of a PS3, she has to lay out an extra C-note just to get an HD cable. That's kind of dumb, but with the PS2's sales and profit, Sony can afford to be dumb.\n\nThe Xbox and Wii numbers are about what they were in Jan., even allowing for the drop. Nintendo is still selling just under 1.5 Wiis for every Xbox 360 sold. That's not good for Microsoft, because the big \"draw\" of the Xbox is the Live online component, but for that to make them money, it can't afford to be losing to Sony and Nintendo like that. The thing to keep in mind here is that a huge chunk of the Wii's numbers are not people who would have bought an Xbox or a PS*. Nintendo is getting significant sales to the non-gamer crowd, who don't care about tech specs as much as fun, and the low intimidation factor of the Wii.\n\nRight now, neither Sony or Microsoft have anything that can directly compete with the Wii, and as Nintendo's online library of classic games grows, that problem is going to get worse. \n\nIf nothing else, the PS3 and the Xbox 360 are an object lesson in what happens when you let \"beating the competition\" substitute for innovation and forward thinking.\n

Technorati Tags: Nintendo Wii RULES