Wii outsells PS3 three-to-one in Japan, Xbox 360 continues napping

by Alexander Sliwinski { Sep 3rd 2007 at 10:00AM }

The Wii has outsold the PlayStation 3 approximately three-to-one since its launch in Japan. A report in Bloomberg lays out the numbers from Enterbrain, which should be new information for anyone who doesn't read our weekly Japanese hardware sales post.

Wii has sold 3.4 million units, PS3 sits at 1.1 million and the Xbox 360 eating sushi off a working girl's stomach and just chillin' with 442,290. Microsoft knows they're tanking in Japan, an interview with Peter Moore a couple months ago showed they were just more amused by PS3's failure. Things aren't that much different over in the States between the Wii and PS3 -- except the Xbox 360 actually bothered to get out of bed, shower and go to work.

Tags: ps3, sales, wii, xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

sheppy @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:16AM

Aka, the one system that's going start getting the MOST unique japanese games is also the one system region locked and they'll bust down my door if I take steps to rectify that...

Then again, majority of the fall lineup is tripe. Who am I to assume that, somehow, Japanese Developers are poised to make the best games on Wii.... oh yeah, the highest rated DS games typically come from Japan. Silly me....

Argh! I crave Mobile Suit Gundam: Ace Pilot 2 soooo badly.

idioteraser @ Sep 3rd 2007 1:18PM

Wait till the freeloader disc comes out. Also a lot of the prior Japan only wii titles are getting localized. Titles that wouldn't in times past have been localized are since the cost to do so is pretty low.

Flamehearted @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:29AM

Nooooooo 360 - please don't die :(

Mr. P @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:35AM

Why do people still care about this? If you love Japanese games so much that you want more of them on the 360, you probably bought the wrong console. End of story.

Sircolby45 @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:40AM

Exactly...Who gives a shit what is going on in Japan. I don't like the games the Japanese like anyway! In fact the only game that I am going to play that I ""THINK"" is foreign is Ace Combat 6.

fawazr @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:26AM

It's not like the PS3 is doing much better on this side of the world. In fact, it's about 3:1 over here too.

Purple Haze @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:42PM

Well I love Japanese games and having Mistwalker alone is enough for me. Lost Odyssey looks great and although the reviews for Blue Dragon havn't been that great I like it, but I agree that the characters are not the best and the music is amazing except the boss music is some of the worst I've ever heard.

Benny @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:38AM

3 to 1? So, from the 6 to 1, to 4 to 1, the Wii is now outselling it 3 to 1. I guess the Wii is slowing down a bit or the PS3 is speeding up.

Flamehearted @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:41AM

What I don't understand is why when someone buys a PS3 they also buy 3 wiis ?

morganfell @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:16PM

It doesn't matter because dumb new stories that have the 360 eating sushi - which is a good thing, sushi that is - while the PS3 is getting beat 3 to 1. If anything is amazing it is the fact the 360 is getting their ass beat.

Considering developer buyouts for games they have spent more money trying to garner gamers in Japan that Sony and Nintendo combined. But of course you won't see that news here...

MUNCHOUND @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:20PM

Wow dude, you won the best comment award. That actually made me stop and laugh, good job dude.

Mal F4cti0n @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:54PM

Why is it amazing the 360 is getting its ass beat in Japan. I think everyone knew that was going to happen.

The real amazing thing is that the Wii is beating PS3's ass over there AND over here. The 360 will do fine, in fact, better than fine. REAL gamers, who buy and play lots of games, go for the 360. Casual gamers go for the Wii. Technology junkies go for the PS3. (all in the West that is) You listen to the Joystiq Podcast, G4 and other outlets for gamers you all here the same thing, "I haven't touched my Wii in ages" (pun intended).

So, you buy a system and then don't buy any games for it. What ends up happening to a system like that? Well, when games don't sell well, developers will give up a little. Designing a game for a 10 mil install base where you only appeal to 10% of that base does not make money. Designing a game for TWO CONSOLES whose install base is 13 million and it appeals to maybe 50% of the install base does make money.

FrankTheCrank @ Sep 3rd 2007 3:10PM

The funny this is...

The 360 is getting outsold by the Wii at almost 8 to 1, far far worse than the PS3. But nobody makes a big dilly-o about it. The PS3 is still outselling 360's at 2 to 1.

So basically, the 360 is a dismal failure in Japan.

accidental @ Sep 3rd 2007 6:29PM

@ Frank.
As has already been stated, Microsoft EXPECTED to fail in Japan although possibly not quite this bad. BUT Sony DID NOT expect to fail this bad. Especially knowing how much they kicked ass the last two gens in Japan.

FrankTheCrank @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:06PM

Accidental,

Sony messed up huge....Bluray wasn't ready or inexpensive enough to place into a game system. PS3 seems as though it was rushed. I would have liked seeing it launched holiday 2008. The PS2 is still selling gangbusters, they could have easily milked it at $99 before launching a much cheaper PS3 in late 08 with an extensive library of games.

The whole "we expected to fail" in Japan is ridiculous spin. That's like saying, "I knew I was going to trip down the stairs" after you trip down the stairs embarrasingly in front of your favorite female. Did they also expect the incredible failure rate as well?

What happens when the warranty runs out? It's clear that everybody should expect, at the most, a 3 year life cycle for their system before they have to buy a new one. Brilliant. How long should we expect the second batch to last? Kotaku already posted an RROD Elite. Already!

phattie @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:42AM

Meh, nothing but minigames and brain testing.. nothing for gamers.

t_m @ Sep 3rd 2007 10:55AM

except the minigames and brain testing game...

James @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:04AM

Except the games.

I like it when the better system sells more.

flameofdoom666 @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:10AM

Zelda, Warioware, Super Paper Mario, Resident Evil 4, Metorid Prime 3: Corruption, Battalion Wars 2, Fire Emblem: Radient Dawn, Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros Brawl, Mario Kart Wii...

Your right! No games AT ALL. By the way, each one of those is a AAA title. They all came out, or coem out this year except for Mario Kart Wii. You do not know what you are talking about.

phattie @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:15AM

Lol... i would like to see an fanboy list of Wiigames that doesnt have "mario" in it .. extra points if you dont list a nintendo franchise at all..

Wii = platform for Nintendo franchises = fanboys looking to relive their youth

flameofdoom666 @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:23AM

List a Microsoft franchise without shooters or Halo in it. Oh you cant?

Name a Sony franchise without the name Ratchet, or Jak in it. Not many you can think of?

Fernando Rocker @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:23AM

Everyone that if you are a Nintendo fanboy, you are gonna enjoy all their first party games. And theres nothing wrong with that... at least Nintendo doesnt dissapoint us.

You PS3 fanboys were very proud of the new "AAA" games coming this month (Lair and Heavely) and look what happen: both are games are megaflops.

Whats the point of having new IPs if they are gonna suck?

Fernando Rocker @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:24AM

"Everyone *knows* that..."

Dopple Boppler @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:28AM

Don't forget Zack and Wiki. It may not be AAA in terms of popularity, but I'll be darned if it's not going to be really fun.

sheppy @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:33AM

flame of doom, normally I'd grant you some credit, but you list is a tad.. well, bad. Examples specifically?

Zelda: Currently playing through it right now. The entire time I'm getting frustrated because the accelameters only detect movement to a set velocity and not movement in general, so while many want to flail their arms like a spastic (Oh shit, did I just say that? This post will be recalled in Europe), I prefer subtle movements and sadly, the sword doesn't work that way. So I find myself using the sword on my third or fourth attempt instead of the first. Not to mention the camera is horrible and I truly wish there was something like, oh I don't know, a second analog to bring it under control? I wanted to play this game in widescreen and Nintendo chopped that out of the Gamecube version so I'm essentially forced playing it on a system where the only time this control feels natural and good is when I'm aiming something.

Warioware? Dude, what a fucking joke. Takes you two and a half hours just to unlock possibly the most poorly conceived multiplayer aspect a game has ever had. The multiplayer, just like the single player, has a short amount of time to tranfer controller possession to others. Sadly, this involves removing the strap, passing the controller, replacing the strap, and taking up controller position, in the same amount of time the single player gives you to change controller position. And as if this isn't bad enough, the single player is barely above the Gamecube version of this game. Face it, Warioware Smooth Moves, like Warioware Touched, was thrown together without thought or reason, which is why the original Wariowar and Warioware Twisted will remain their masters forever.

Resident Evil 4: Could be awesome, don't know. Played it a couple years ago, the Wii version is sitting on my shelf waiting for me to finish Bioshock and Zelda, before it gets love. But out of curiosity, why is part of your list last gen runoff with shoehorned controls?

Battalion Wars 2: Yeah, because the first one was the bestest game ever and since the title has all but disappeared (can you say, Project HAMMER?), I'm wondering if it's still even in developent.

Fire Emlblem: Radiant Dawn. Play a Nippon Ichi SRPG and see the fatal cracks in the Fire Emblem formula that hasn't changed since the Super Famicom. It's n enjoyable romp, yes, but hardly AAA. Considering it seems, graphically, barely a leap over the Gamecube iteration, looks like Nintendo is just phoning another one in.

Super Mario Galaxy: I'm as excited as the next guy over Super Mario 64 2... but let's put it this way... you played Super Mario Sunshine, right? Boy did that one stink. And the sad part? During that entire generation where Nintendo only dropped Sunshine as their platformer, Sony dropped a ton of new franchises and plenty of them damn fine platformers. I want Super Mario Sunshine to be excellent in the worst possible way, but Nintendo hasn't exactly been batting 1000 recently.

Super Smash Brother Brawl: Oh, you played this? You have a tendacy to give AAA rating before you even touch the controller, don't you?

Mario Kart Wii: I HATE MARIOKART. And if the E3 speech is true, you'll hate it too, because it will be so damn dumbed down that even your grandma could be competitive in the online arena.

Fernando Rocker @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:37AM

sheppy

It gave the impression that you don't like Nintendo...

Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:53AM

> I HATE MARIOKART.

I can't be sure about Wii' Mario kart. But I have a DS one.

Free advice. Give it to play to your girlfriend. And you would see the game in different light. Worked for me. ^_^

sheppy @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:59AM

Fernando, if I didn't like Nintendo, I wouldn't be willing to put up with some of this bullshit. Despite the fact that I rarely play my Wii, I know for a fact, the moment I sell it, that's when some great games will drop. Besides, I can't say no to a platformer with Mario in it. I just hope it's the 64 they promised and not another sunshine. But I've also been avoiding news on it so that I'm taken completely by suprise by the experience.

Also, don't know about Heavenly Sword... but Lair? Yeah, many of those bad reviews bash a lack of radar IN A DRAGON FLYING SIM! This is like me bitching I can't have Energy Swords in Call Of Duty 4.

Flameofdoom666,

Just so you know, you asked for this.

Microsoft games that aren't shooters or Halo, huh? Well, once upon a time, Microsoft was VERY experimental on the Xbox...

Quantum Redhsift
Brute Force
Fusion Frenzy
Midtown Madness
Sneakers
Fable
Forza
Grabbed By Ghoulies
Kakuto Chojin
Mechassault
Jade Empire
Links
Kameo
Kung Fu Chaos
Nightcaster
Tao Feng: Fist Of The Lotus
Whacked
Voodoo Vince
Top Spin
Rallisport Challenge
Project Gotham Racing
Kingdom Unde rFire
Viva Pinata

I could go on...

Sony Franchises that DON'T have Ratchet or Clank in the title?
Project ICO games
Syphon Filter
Resistance (confirmed, it's a series)
Twisted Metal
God Of War
Everquest
Jet Moto
Wipeout
Coolboarders
Singstar
Killzone
Parappa
LocoRoco
Warhawk
Their Sports Lineup
Untold Legends
Dark Cloud

And those were just off the top of my head. Hell, they throw so many original IPs out there, it's remarkable. But you said "franchises" so I stuck to that rule....

vidGuy @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:01PM

Sure, the Wii is a platform for Nintendo franchises. Nintendo has strong franchises and no reason to sell them on anything except their own console. You can see this franchise-spamming with the few Sony and Microsoft 1st party franchises already; Nintendo has just had established franchises for longer.

But it's not like you can only buy Nintendo, though admittedly you'd be missing out on some of the best games for the Wii.

"i would like to see an fanboy list of Wiigames that doesnt have "mario" in it .. extra points if you dont list a nintendo franchise at all.."

Disaster: Day of Crisis (Monolith)
Excite Truck (Monster Games)
Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn (Intelligent Systems)
Godfather (EA)
Guitar Hero 3 (Neversoft)
Lara Croft Tomb Raider: Anniversary (Eidos)
Madden (EA Sports)
Manhunt 2 (Rockstar)
Medal of Honor Heroes 2 (EA)
Metroid Prime 3 (Retro Studios)
Nights: Journey of Dreams (Sega)
RE: Umbrella Chronicles (Capcom)
RE4:Wii Edition (Capcom)
Scarface (Radical Entertainment)
SSX Blur (EA Sports)
Tiger Woods (EA Sports)
Zack and Wiki (Capcom)

mr nimblewick @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:10PM

@ sheppy

You are right. You don't like nintendo games, so I won't either. Happy now? Good, go away.

Poisoned Al @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:38PM

Well done in feeding the troll guys. Sheesh!

Anam @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:53PM

@sheppy

First, I want to point out that I agree with you about the Nintendo lineup. It doesn't look particularly amazing to me. However, your comment about Lair was either uninformed or intentionally understated. Just read the Gamespot review, they bashed the game for the following reasons:

1. Horrible controls make it hard to steer your dragon and force you to make only wide turns in maps that involve a lot of tight corners
2. Invisible walls used frequently and cause your dragon to turn around when you're not expecting it
3. Combat with other dragons lacks depth; basically involves pressing a button and hoping that another dragon happens to be near by to make it a combo
4. When switching to the cinematic combat view, your control of the camera is switched from analog sticks to tilt controls, forcing you to get used to two different sets of camera controls
5. Lack of radar (or any radar-like mechanic) makes it hard to tell where you need to go due to previously mentioned horrible controls, invisible walls and cinematic views that change your direction around

Now, I haven't played Lair, so maybe these complaints aren't as bad as they sound, but reviewers are bashing this game a lot harder than you claim.

sheppy @ Sep 3rd 2007 1:57PM

Anam, please keep in mind this is from someone who has yet to play Lair... BUT...

1. This is something I'll just have to test out for myself. Granted, I'm not buying Lair until it's $30 though. You see, here is my concern with this complaint. How many of the people bashing these controls can fly? I work at a Flight Training Simulator company and I wonder do these controls mimmick real life and real aerodynamics or do they mimmick arcade controls. If the former, then I can see these controls being bashed for being horrible (as real planes control horribly by Video Game standards), but this is one of those things I'll need to test personally.

2. The invisible walls could be a pesky issue if no system of maps were in place. I highly doubt there are no maps in the game whatsoever.

3. And I mean, when I'm in a Warhawk, all I can use are missiles and machineguns. What's up with that? I should be able to transform into Godzilla or catch missiles with Grappling Arms. Okay, that was over the top but in flight sims, majority of the challenge is getting yourself into a position to attack, not just attacking. So if Lair accomplishes that, no issue.

4. This would be a concern. As I said, never played it.

5. The lack of radar complaint is, frankly speaking, lame. Simply put, players in a flight sim like this, should have to rely on the same information air aviators do. Recognizing locations on the ground to orient yourself, picking that one black dot on the horizon as your enemy or ally before it's too late, basically everything Ace Combat 6 isn't, Lair should be. To use a movie term, an advanced location based GPS style system with radar capabilities on a game of this type would be a SERIOUS breach of Mise En Scene.

waves @ Sep 3rd 2007 2:12PM

You can always tell a fanboy, because they love making lists.

James @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:05AM

So many people upset that the Wii is beating everything else.

Shig @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:10AM

They're just a bunch of whiny fanboys.

License to ill @ Sep 3rd 2007 12:53PM

I could give two shits, Im very happy with my 360, the line-up of games for the system is fantastic...

Mr Khan @ Sep 3rd 2007 1:30PM

Exactly. I didn't care that GC (the only console i owned post-DC death) was getting its ass kicked, and i don't particularly care that the Wii is kicking ass, i just want to play games

The only way it benefits me as a Wii owner is that more purchases (especially in Japan, whose titles i favor) will mean more (legitimate) developer attention, otherwise, as long as the games keep coming, i don't care what happens

ThornedVenom @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:25AM

Don't know, don't care! My DS is all the fun I need in the world! >_<

-The PS3 seems to be a great value multimedia hub, enraging hardcore gamers by its price point and unnecessary extra features.
-The 360 seems to be a next-gen game console whose online gaming politics are disagreeable and whose exclusives are less expensive and better looking on a modern PC (I'm not going to mention failure rates, because apparently they're going to go down, so I'm keeping my eye on that).
-The Wii seems to be a new-gen console with far too many lazy developers working on it.

Have I mentioned that next-gen gaming is expensive?

Long live DS love! (and I really hope for the PSP to get its game back on, because competition is what drives the market to innovate... without the PSP, there'd be no DS)

Evan @ Sep 3rd 2007 1:39PM

Yeah, this is the most disappointing console generation. The original Playstation offered revolutionary new forms of 3D gameplay. However many games were hindered by limited graphics and processing power. The Dreamcast and PS2 stepped past those limits, unleashing developers to realize their visions, while the original Xbox opened up new worlds of online play.

But what does the new generation offer? 360 games are just Xbox games in higher resolution. The PS3 is a media hub that no one asked for. Downloads like XBLA - people been downloading games on the PC for years. The Wii is the only console offering any new gameplay, but, IMHO, it doesn't quite feel worthy of a whole new console.

Slaziman @ Sep 3rd 2007 3:01PM

Find me a PC for 350 dollars that can run Bioshock at the same quality as a 360, or hell even for 600 dollars. PC gaming is really really expensive and at the end of the day it's all pretty shooters, RTS games, and MMORPGS. Platformers or RPGs on the PC are almost non-existant (please prove me wrong, I need games to unleash my rig on). Therefore the fact that some Xbox 360 exclusives go to the PC is almost a moot point. I already regret my purchase of a 1400$ gaming rig (and that's because I got Vista pirated, else it would be even more expensive)

That being said, I'm still getting Bioshock for my PC!

ThornedVenom @ Sep 3rd 2007 7:07PM

@Slaziman: Touché for your excellent points, although I'd like to add a few contrasts to the picture. ^^

The first question to ask is the role gaming plays for the use of a PC (of course it depends on individuals, but I'm still going to try to underline some general points). PCs can be used as media hubs (music/movies), as an internet navigator, a work office tool, a development tool, and of course a gaming console. Justifying the price of a PC is relatively simple because PCs aren't commercialized as pure gaming machines (something the PS3 should have done), unless you're following Alienware and Voodoo ads trying to milk PC gamers with ultra-modern rigs, whereas you just really don't need that kind of power to play a game.

And you're extremely right about the lack of gaming genres on the PC. Sure, RTS and MMOs are still relatively exclusive to computers, but people still love Platformers and RPGs (excluding perhaps Oblivion, because it might be just an exception confirming the rule). I'd blame exclusivity funding, established game markets, and standardized controls. I mean, come on, keyboard+mouse works exceptionally great for some genres, but aren't as great as controllers for other ones. Even the experience itself isn't the same when you're sitting in front of a computer monitor, or when you're slouching on a couch in front of a television set.

My general points were to outline the already pre-existing consumer base for the PC being able to enjoy games supposedly exclusive to the 360. Sure, the 360 still has very strong games encompassing exclusive genres, but for those it shares with the PC, it's as if the two were sabotaging each other's success, except that the 360 itself is a relatively new platform trying to integrate itself into the gaming world. I'm not stating that a PC = 360, but that if you only want the 360 games which are available to the PC, you'd likely tend towards the PC because you may likely already have a PC at home (not speaking of the necessity of having ultimate graphics).

Slaziman @ Sep 3rd 2007 8:09PM

It's true, if you are a PC gamer buying a 360 becomes less attractive (I'm in that position right now). However, it's not just a matter of "already having a PC", I'm not sure what the minimum specs are for Bioshock but I think a 6800 series Nvidia card was the minimum, now how many computers have 7-series or 8-series Nvidia cards? Because playing Bioshock on a 6800 series card is just ruining the game, let alone doing the same with Gears, I doubt many people would do that :/

For about 200 dollars you could buy a computer than can do music, internet, word processor, etc., whereas a "gaming" PC of the lowest range will set you back at least 600 dollars (just to play the newest games on their bare minimum), 200 dollars for the normal PC + 350 dollars for the 360 is 50 dollars less, and you get a much better deal!

Not only that but, as you already said, a lot of people just don't want to play on their PC and would rather play on the couch with a gamepad. I doubt that the PC is really cannibalizing 360 sales by a notable amount because of these reasons, and Microsoft knows this, that's why they let their exclusives come out on PC.

P.S.: You are very right about why there are so little genres for PC gaming, KB+M really blows most of the time.

ThornedVenom @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:46PM

@Slaziman: I don't know the minimum specs to run Bioshock on a computer too. How much do those video cards cost? Because if they cost as much as the 360 console itself, then it's really just a question of choice (I'd personally vouch for PC because of some certain "reliability issues" soon-to-be-fixed, as well as the ability to play games freely online, just like it has always been and was meant to be).

I was actually basing my ideas on two friends who bought top-notch PCs last year (desktops though, not specifically aimed at gaming) and who're currently enjoying Bioshock in only DirectX9, and who actually claim that "it looks graphically better on computer than on 360, yet the game costs cheaper for PC". I personally haven't seen the games running because they're just online friends, but I usually take their word for what they're claiming. It's probable in that case that the "frenzy" for always having/needing the latest graphics card to enjoy a game is just moot. However, I have to admit that if the PC game's graphics are too low, it sort of kills the point of that game since you wouldn't be able to fully experience what the artistic directors had in mind.

I also agree with your $200 computer argument. Most businesses don't need that much horsepower, unless you're into the game development or the animation business. But for a smooth personal experience, for example with multitasking, you need a little more boost in RAM, a little bit more processing power, etc etc... I'm basing this argument on my own computer which seems to be running slower throughout the years (despite several reformats) due to XP "security update" patching. No wonder people are converting to Linux for practical use. But that's just a question of taste: the practical PC + console solution is still extremely viable and is chosen by many consumers (it's what Mac users used to bring out like point).

Somehow, I guess that PC/console convergence is going to be inevitable...

Slaziman @ Sep 4th 2007 8:40AM

Microsoft is already doing it's best to converge them, what with the ranking your computer gets to which you can compare the games you buy on Vista can be played with 360 controller... the only problem remaining is that PC's don't have fixed hardware, which obviously doesn't allow serious optimizing, and that's why consoles always give you more bang for your buck as far as gaming only is concerned. Also console gaming is a lot more popular, and sadly almost all good exclusives are on consoles because of this. The only real PC exclusives I can think of that interest me are Crysis and a couple of RTS games...

ThornedVenom @ Sep 4th 2007 11:40AM

Thank you for the discussion, Slaziman. It's nice to see intelligent life forms on the internet. =)

Ihar `Philips` Filipau @ Sep 3rd 2007 11:25AM

Uhmm...

And where are news in here???

Wii would outsell any console, since it is targeted at broader audience. Where is surprise?

Joystiq should boycott such news. Even if coming from Bloomberg, which targets mainly financial types - not gamers.

P.S. And if Nintendo would add DVD playback functions - with upscaling! - they would outsell many DVD players too. You can bet: "DVD player with game console function?? Fetch me two!!"