PS3 outstrips Wii in Japanese sales

Both the 360 and PS3 reduce their manufacturing costs by introducing new technology. But what about the Wii? Well, of course, the Wii does the same thing.

[jay2]

And the UK get kicked in the pants by a £35 higher prince for the DSI and a £20 price rise on the Wii............

[Viper7]

Uk:s Wii:s are still 60£ less that the prices in Nordic countries(Finland, Sweden, Normway).

Wii still costs / 256€ / 243.5£ / 363.04$ / Here. Talk about a steal.

[qface64]

damn that's more money for nintendo to be rolling in at this rate even when the wii gets a price cut nintendo will still be printing money

[badz149]

Ninty has never lost a single cent on both because they are selling them at profits! this 45% drop means that 45% profit up for a single Wii sold and that's A LOT!

I don't know but I'm one of the gamer that has never put any money on Ninty since their beginning! GB never caught my attention but I was quite interested in the GC but it flopped hard! DS is too childish compared to my PSPs and Wii is just gimmicky BS! that's just my opinion. but to think that I saved money to build a gaming PC for a slightly better looking games and I have my PS3 with all the awesome looking games and gaming on a decent 37" HDTV enough to make me despise the Wii for what it is! I don't care its sales are through the roof because it's not the best thing ever happenning to gaming and I've never been happier with gaming since I have a PS3 and a gaming PC!

[SpartanGR]

Everyone should leave Sony and MS alone. Nintendo are even worse than both of them combined.
They charge crazy prices for old technologies. The wii still hasn't convinced me yet for its capabilities and the ds well..it's a N64 portable.

Yet again maybe humanity deserves nintendo /sarcasm

[SaiyanFury]

Nintendo has a history of rehashing systems to make money. GBA=SNES. DS=N64. Wii=GameCube with a fancy controller. It's hard to argue with history.

Lord knows they've released the DS console twice in it's lifespan to keep it alive. And with only meagre updates. The DS Lite is a simple DS that is smaller in size. Now they release a new DS with a few more functions for 170 dollars. Not worth it in this gamer's opinion. On top of that, they do away with GBA compatibility. Not something I'm willing to pay another 170 dollars for.

The Wii is 250 dollars, yet it's hardware is directly based on the GameCube. Sure the Wii has a fancy controller, but that doesn't absolve it from the stigma of releasing old hardware for a new console price. Is the Wii bad? Of course not. But charging a new console price for old hardware is questionable. Whether the games are new or not is moot. Nintendo is using old hardware to market it's current iteration. The Wiimote is cool for some people, but charging new console price for old hardware is a wrong in my eyes. No doubt people will not see eye to eye with me, but I'm entitled to my opinion.

[anh_duong]

no one is screwing anyone since no one is oblidged to buy their products.

for me, personally, nintendo is a big let down this generation however i still like them because they are fighting against two companies that could have squashed them too bits.

nintendo deserves credit for achieving what they have done this generation in spite of insurmountable odds.

[Seferoth75]

SayainFury, Most of your post is complete bias BS. Not your opinion of Nintendo just your complete lack of knowledge of Nintendo while you act like you know it all...

There are 3 different DS versions. There are also 3 different PSP versions. How is it ok for Sony to release the same system 3 times but Nintendo cant? No valid reason for that.

Also you claim that the Wii is nothing but a Gamecube. You couldnt be more wrong. Fact is the Gamecube never had BlueTooth,Wifi,SD card support, free online, and a download service for 30 years of gaming. Not even getting into the fact that the Wii is 733mhz and GC was 450mhz.

I cant argue your opinion because its your opinion and your entitled to it but the things you say that are not opinion are just completely wrong.I already know from previous experience that you will of course dismiss anything that proves you wrong. Sadly you are the perfect example of fanboys running this site. All those bubbles and you do nothing but troll anything that isnt Sony.Prime example of mods not doing their job.

[SpartanGR]

Seferoth you are a troll by supporting the biggest thieves of all times. Thieftendo.

Like it or not SaiyanFyru is right.You like paying for a 10 year old hardware while you can purchase a brand new 360 at 170?

Technology should be moving forward.Period.

[dcbronco]

The Wii also uses a graphics chip that is based on completely new architecture. Just because it's not as powerful as the other two doesn't mean it's old technology. I guess a Corrola is just a rehashed Model-T huh.

Besides, everyone should know this article is fake. Only Sony can reduce cost annually right. I mean while the PS3 went from costing $840 per console to $50, the Xbox must be losing money on every console sold. Sony dropped nearly $400 of cost, no way Microsoft could drop a whole $285 from the original $485 the 360 cost. Only Sony is that good.

Get over it fanboys, Sony screwed up on cost, everyone else was smarter this generation.

[Anon1974]

Last I heard the 360 Arcade cost was estimated somewhere between $180 and $200 to make not counting accessories, shipping, packaging, etc. I know MS lost their biggest 360 maker last year due to the company complaining about MS tightening their margins but since the 360 price cut MS entertainment's revenue was up year over year but profits were down 60% (About $225 million dollars just gone in one quarter alone) If the 360's were averaging a loss of $30-50/console between the Arcade/Pro/Elite that would certainly explain the missing $225 million in profits despite the increased revenue since the price drop.

[hatchimatchi]

the wii does pretty much suck, theres like 3 games worth buying (galaxy,corruption,trilight princess) but the ds is awesome. Tons of great core games (dragon quest V) and fun casual games (professor layton)

[Anon1974]

While I don't agree with SaiyanFury's statements and lean towards Seferoth75's opinion I DO NOT agree with Seferoth75's attempt to paint this as a "Look at the Sony fanboy! That's what's wrong with this site!"

SaiyanFury's got his 360 ID right on his profile. In his postings you see him sticking up for the 360, PS3 and Nintendo. I don't see a single fanboy rant among them.

How about you stick to the issues being discussed rather than name calling, huh champ? He had a point. You offered a counter point. Can you do that without assuming everyone is a Sony fanboy? Is that too hard for you? The guy never even mentioned Sony once in his post. You're the one who brought that up. Maybe he thinks Sony's just as bad with the PSP. You don't know.

[mint royale]

I would be surprised if they were selling at a loss even after the price cuts as they have had 4 years to bring the price down. The only place where I'd think they'd be losing money would be in the RROD warranties with software and live bringing in a tidy sum.

[Anon1974]

Warranty issues were dealt with when they took that 2 billion hit. That effectively took it off the balance sheets for a few years until that 2 billion write down has been spent. No doubt that XBL revenue is a huge factor - 17 million gold accounts spending $50 a year, that's easily over $800 million in revenue. It's fair to say that with MS games only making $400 million for the whole year, even when you factor in the costs of running XBL, MS Entertainment would solidly be in the red were it not for Gold accounts.

At the beginning with parts alone the 360 was pegged at $525 a console to make. It's only 3 years later. I think it looks like 360's are selling at a loss since the price cut. That would certainly explain the drop in profits we saw despite MS reporting more revenue coming into MS entertainment.

[SaiyanFury]

@3.3 Seferoth

You think me unknown about Nintendo? I'm an uninformed fanboy?

Yes, I know that Sony has released 3 versions of the PSP, I thought it not relevant as this post was about Nintendo, but since you pointed it out, fair enough. Yes, I disagree with Sony releasing new models. Frankly, I thought the first model was good enough. And FYI, I own 2 PSPs, one for ROMs and emulators and one to keep up to date so I can play the latest games. Both are 1001 models.

And whether you like it or not, the Wii's hardware IS directly based off of the GameCube. The CPU is directly based off of the "Broadway" processor, only with a die shrink so it takes less power and overclocked and the Wii uses the a very similar GPU to the GameCube's, again overclocked. That information is readily available anywhere on the net. OK, so it has SD card support? Fine, but that doesn't leave a lot of room for expansion now, does it? How many extra game saves can you squeeze onto there? I've also heard numerable people complain about the Wii's online service, speaking about a ton of lag, and not even getting into the whole friendcode fiasco. BlueTooth support is all fine and dandy, it removes a lot of the wireless interference you get from things like cordless phones and wireless routers. The built in Wi-Fi should be a standard in things like the 360, and yes I acknowledge that the Wii has it. The virtual console? Not so relevant to me. I bought those games over 20 years ago so if I want to play them I just use ROMs and emulators on my PC, but if people like those downloadable games, then so much the better. Unfortunately, you're kind of limited by the Wii's internal storage capacity, unless Nintendo's finally solved that problem which I've never heard confirmation of. And I've already spoken about the controller. It's impressive with all of the motion controls.

As I said, your opinion is as valid as anyone's. I don't really appreciate you calling me a fanboy as it were, because every detail I've cited is true. You accuse me of "trolling" anything that isn't Sony? I've posted in a great many pro-360 threads as well as a lot for games for the DS. Not only those, but for ones about the Sega Saturn and consoles passed. I've owned over 20 consoles in my lifetime, so I have a lot of experience in these things. Heh, no doubt I'll get more disagrees over what I've said, but I stand by it.

@ 3.8 Darkride

Thank you for that. All I try to do is inform, it's not my fault that people imbue my posts with bias. I do like Sony the best of the 3, that I admit openly, but I'm not so blinded by loyalty that I can't see the positives across all platforms. I've had great experiences everywhere I've gone. I have many Nintendo consoles, simply not the Wii because I think it not worth the money. That's only a personal view and no doubt many people will disagree with it. As you pointed out, I didn't go off on some mindless rant. That information and the numbers contained therein are available through many sources.

[hetz15]

Saiyanfury mean by "wii is nothing but gamecube" is that the hardware,not the additional features like wifi,bluetooth,free online,etc...The inside is "almost" the same( I know wii uses a new architecture hardware) or you can only see small differences,not many. And also lack of 3rd party supports. Consider that.What you can only see are mario and his party...mario in almost half of wii's games.

[SaiyanFury]

Thanks Hetz, that basically hits on it. I didn't mean to imply that the Wii is nothing BUT a GameCube, clearly it's not. I was attempting to illustrate how it's internal hardware is similar, even if it's employed in a different architecture. I merely stated that it's too similar to the GC for me to want to dish out another 250 dollars. Besides, my wife has one so if I ever want to play a game on it, I can.

[TheMART]

I'd say ban Nintendo as much as you can.

You all know I am not a big fan of Sony's way lately, but still... Sony and Microsoft deserve props at least for giving us new hardware not rehashed last gen shiat, having loss on each console and take the risk to earn back on software.

Nintendo/Wii does it the other way around. Earn (a lot) on the hardware from the start and don't care about the software. The casual (dumb) targetgroup will buy the Wii just because they can't handle a real controller, but they can swing a Wiimote like a moron and have the feeling they're really 'good' at gaming. They buy the machine just for Wiisports. They buy it without any great software. Its sad.

I hope it bites you in the ass Nintendo. All those Wii's catching dust and their owners scratch themselves on the head when they see the 360 and PS3 in others peoples houses and next gen they leave the Wii 2.0 HD alone like a rotten fish. Die Nintendo, die.

[Etseix]

dont worry Mart, we all know u dont like SONY, ;)

still, im. kinda in agree with u, SONY n M$ needs the place, even if i was a big fan of Nintendo, i must say, they just worry about the hardware, not the software. thats my only reason to dont buy a Wii .. o and make more own IP, from first party, im tired of Mario .. i might buy Zelda, or Metroid but thats it only 3 IP that sell consoles on *hardcore* gamers? .... meh

[hetz15]

Wii lame

[SpoonyRedMage]

Yes, that's right, lets get rid of the only true Video Games company and let the bigger, richer companies monopolise then. Well everyone always compares the industry to film so it wouldn't be that far off.

[ceedubya9]

And you won't see a price drop out of Nintendo anytime soon. They will just be raking in the money.

[timmyrulz]

I take it you dont like nintedo much then lol

[commodore64]

my estimate so far:

Nintendo Wii = $4billion profits
Sony PS3 = $4billion losses.

hmmm... yeah seems about right?
Although, having said what every sony fan dreads to hear, i must also say that i would have a ps3 in my house before i would have a Wii.

[Anon1974]

On an average quarter Nintendo will make about 5 million in profits from Wii hardware and somewhere around 40-50 million in Wii software sales. Pretty tiny when you consider that Nintendo has been raking in 1 billion in profit per quarter. The Wii has actually only helped Nintendo keep up with losses from currency fluctuations, but once things settle down economically that will have even things out.

The Nintendo DS and DS software is the driving force behind far more of Nintendo's revenue.

Wow. 5 million in Wii profit off hardware per quarter. Not quite the misleading 4 billion number you're throwing around.

http://www.nintendo.com/cor...

Edit: Not sure why you think Sony fans dread to hear that number. First off, it's wrong. Losses to Sony Entertainment during the R&D stage of the PS3's lifespan plus the aggressive price point initially of the PS3 added up to about 3 billion in losses. Thankfully the Sony lineup also includes the PSP and PS2 and were back in black before currency issues reared their ugly head. Sony fans aren't afraid of that number, it's pretty much common knowledge. Why would you think they would be?

So, how much was spent on Wii development and how long making roughly $300 million a year in profits now on Wii hardware and software will it take the Wii to pay for itself? Or are those questions you aren't going to bother with because the whole point of your post was just to take fanboyish shots at Sony?

[commodore64]

LOL!

PS3 owners hate to hear that because it's true!

(Yes, I just made up the nintendo numbers to try to get a reaction.
Oh i am glad you reacted so predictably.)

However, the ps3 numbers are right on the money.
Oh yes, sir, they are.

FACT: By July last year, the ps3 had accumulated 3.3 billion in losses.
How will you try to spin that fact i wonder?
http://g4tv.com/thefeed/blo...

FACT: *since then* the ps3 has lost $50 for every unit of hardware sold.
How will you spin it, spin-boy?
http://verdisreviews.com/ne...

If the ps3 sold 7-8 million ps3s at a $50 loss since July last year, then thats a loss of $50x8000000=$400,000,000

Add that to the original $3.3 billion loss and you get $3.7 billion in ps3 losses!

Yeah, is not quite 4 billion, I have to admit...
It is, in fact $3.7 billion!
Still, a worrying Fact, that ps3 owners don't like to hear.

Hurry, darkie, spin it baby...
The more you spin, the better you will feel!

:)

[Anon1974]

You lied. You got caught. Simple.
I don't find it necessary to drag Sony into every single conversation either. I love how your defense is always to point at Sony and scream "But look over there!"

The PS3 is priced to sell and Sony takes a loss. They, however, make up those losses with revenue from the PS2, PSP, software sales, accessory sales, etc. This isn't hidden, and it's not spin. SCE took a 3 billion hit while researching and initially selling the PS3 before making it back into the black. There's no spin there. No one is hiding that, and now with the fluctuations in the yen they're having a tough go again. Sony has even said they might never make that money back this gen.

That doesn't change the fact that you lied about Nintendo's numbers to try to make Sony look bad. You were caught in a lie. Take it like a man and back down. You can't spin your way out of that.

[air1]

@sayainfury

wtf is up with ppl this gen? look at sayain, he sais that the wii hardware is old tech its a gc even if it has new games it is MOOT. sure lets just moot all games just cause..

isnt it all about games? cry all you want but you can not do wii sports on a gamecube :)...

i swear this gen is so f'd up its not about the games any more its all about the technicality that went into a game and the omg look at those graphics

[ChickeyCantor]

Here have a bubble, i feel exactly the same way.
This gen has been by far, the worst gen i can ever remember.

It fails on a richter scale of 1000

[leeger]

good! now Nintendo kindly do a price cut. I think that the Wii is overprice, $50 more dollars you can get a 360 already with a 60gb hdd. I want to own a wii but I am just not motivated enough by the Wii's game lineup but if KH3 is a wii exclusive then I will surely buy one.

[ChickeyCantor]

They are basically waiting for the japanese all favorite : DQ and MH~, no reason to drop anything.

[PirateThom]

I'm officially done with Nintendo.

Honestly, you have no idea how big a Nintendo fan I used to be. Along with the current gen consoles PS3 and 360, I also have a NES, SNES and GameCube connected to my TV. The Wii is there, but no longer connected.

I won't buy another Nintendo console at launch and I certainly won't buy one if it has the limited number of good games the Wii has.

[hatchimatchi]

all i had the last 2 generations were a gamecube and then a wii for about 2 years. I was so pro nintendo. I finally bought a ps3 and it dawned on me that i had been missing out for so long. I was waiting 6 months for good games to come out, sometimes longer when all i had was the wii. With the ps3 i've had it for less than a year and i already own 22 games, 10 of them exclusives. I have 6 games for the wii, lol. Nintendo has completely abandoned their core fanbase this generation to cater to the new casual's that the wii has picked up. Long gone are the glory days of the SNES.

[Nihilism]

after the poor reception of the gamecube, they deserve this, they made smart buisness and gaming decisions, and if they're making money that's good buisness and good for the game industry, why lower something when it's already good value?

[ForROME]

The wii is lame, it convinced people try something cheap, but doesnt pan out more than a yrs worth of fun, nice Wii you are

Gay Lame Weak

PS3 is the future Xbox needs something new....

BRING IT

[bigjclassic]

as an avid gamer, I couldn't live without a Nintendo console. Gaming would be just bland really. I camped for the Wii back on launch and haven't been disappointed since. DBZBT3 still has players online after 2 years and Mario Kart is always packed. SSBB and TvC take up my time as well. Its all about personal preference with Nintendo games.

I also play alot of PS3 as well as Dreamcast and I still feel that PS3 games are lacking. Besides MGS4, Uncharted, RE5 and KZ2 it lacks epic type games. 3rd parties on the HD consoles have put out subpar games (imho) that all share similar aspects. (covering, slow motion etc.)

since 3rd parties HAVE to cater to both HD consoles the quality of these games suffer majorily. I liked No More Heroes, Madworld, Red Steel and feel that 3rd parties should embrace the Wii more seriously than what they have.