Report: Wii overtakes 360 in international sales Financial Times reports that, despite a year head start, Microsoft's console has fallen behind Nintendo's plucky box; PS3 running a distant third.
By
Tor Thorsen,
GameSpot Posted Sep 12, 2007 5:42 pm PT
Today, the
Financial Times reported that the three-way race between the next-generation consoles has a new frontrunner. Citing cumulative sales data through the end of July, the British newspaper's Japanese correspondent is claiming that the Nintendo Wii has now sold more units worldwide than the Xbox 360, despite the latter's year-long head start.
According to the
Times, approximately 9 million Wiis were purchased across the globe as of July 31, just barely overtaking the 360's sales of 8.9 million units during the same period. Both platforms were far ahead of the PlayStation 3, which sold only around an estimated 3.7 million units internationally.
If those numbers seem low, it's because they are for consoles that have been
sold, not shipped. Typically, hardware makers tout the number of consoles they have
shipped into the retail channels, not the number of actual consoles sold. In July, Microsoft announced it
had shipped 11.5 million 360s, short of its self-imposed 12-million-unit goal. In May, Sony said it produced 5.5 million PS3s worldwide, though it has since changed its tracking method to account for consoles sold instead of made. Reps for Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony had not responded to requests for comment on the
Times piece as of press time.
If accurate, the Wii sales milestone is a watershed for Nintendo. Though it has consistently dominated the handheld market, the 9-million-unit figure would mark the first time since the Super Nintendo Entertainment System era that Nintendo can lay claim to the best-selling console of its generation.
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Re: Wii overtakes 360 in worldwide sales 
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