Wii and PS3 sales gap shrinking in Japan

by Alexander Sliwinski { Nov 2nd 2007 at 11:57AM }

The PS3 appears to be slowly shrinking the sales gap between itself and the Wii in Japan. During October the Wii sold 110,415 units and the PS3 came in with 47,183 -- a narrowing 2-to-1 margin. In September the PS3 closed to a 3-to-1 margin from its of 6-to-1 margin in June.

It appears that Sony's alterations to the PS3 are helping to sell more units. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 just sits around with his hands in his pockets, kicking sand, selling 18,717 units in October, and asking why the Japanese don't like him.

Tags: japan, ps3, sales, wii

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

gonk @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:00PM

up is down and down is up!

wait, scratch that. this sounds normal

Zertoss @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:02PM

Up is black, white is east.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:09PM

Obvious exits are north, south, and Dennis.

Scoota @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:06PM

I agree too.

Donald @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:53PM

> Get ye flask

The1 @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:28PM

Shrinking the GAP would mean that the PS3 sells increased 10 fold. Where the WII sales are slowing while the PS3 is increasing my a small increment.

ukickmydog (NDF - Earth) @ Nov 2nd 2007 4:05PM

changing bias? maybe

Revo @ Nov 4th 2007 1:33AM

Ye can't get ye flask.

guek @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:03PM

this newspost is a bit misleading. the wii's installed base is still growing faster than the ps3's in japan, just at a slightly slower rate. in any case, it's been a really really slow couple of months in japan for gaming. on top of that, handhelds are absolutely dominating consoles.

Fish @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:08PM

Agree 100%

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:09PM

I agree too. The Install base gap is still growing between them, its just not growing as quickly.

Djuan @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:43PM

In June, the gap was 6-1.
In In September, it was 3-1.
October's gap was 2-1.

Looks like the sales gap is shrinking to me. The article wasn't about the user base, as everyone knows the Wii has a commanding install base worldwide.

The fact remains that the sales gap IS shrinking though, so how is this article misleading?

F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:47PM

Why you guys don't understand? did you see the sales last week here in America? 120,000 in a week, the Wii outsold the 360 here in America last week.

The Wii sales are higher than here than past months. They are producing more Wii's to bring them here in America, and now there are more shortages n Japan.

Its that simple.

FrankTheCrank @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:56PM

Two words: Final Fantasy.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:05PM

Two Words: Not Relevant

Fact: Wii has been outselling PS3 on a weekly basis nearly since launch.

Fact: The Wii is still outselling the PS3

Fact: The gap in install base (the number that really matters) is widening.

I'll start to "worry" when PS3 starts to consistantly outsell the Wii in raw numbers per week. Until then, the PS3 is drowning under sony's own arrogance.

Clack @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:57PM

In the biz they call this 'spin'.

Phranctoast @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:01PM

@Crono and Fernando.

I really hope you have stock in Nintendo. Otherwise I really dont see what the significance will be if Nintendo continues to outpace the ps3.

As it is now, third party companies games pale in comparison to the Nintendo made games. Will these numbers convince third parties to release new games or will you continue to see older ps2 leftovers modified for the wiimote? When will the third parties do something? The wii has been outselling the ps3 for a while now, yet the only good games I keep seeing are 1st party.

arrrgh @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:01PM

hahah yeah so are these real numbers for sony? or more "shipped" units to nintendo's "sold" units?

MC Hampster @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:11PM

Wow, public math education FTL.

If the Wii is outselling the PS3 2-1, the _sales gap_ between the two is not shrinking, it is still growing. As long as the Wii continues to outsell the PS3, the sales gap will increase. Now, you can say there is a decrease in the _sales ratio_, but not in the sales gap. It's a sort of second order derivative: if the sales were velocity, the Wii is going faster, but it's acceleration may not be as high as the PS3.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:12PM

Actually, Phranc, I want sony to fail more so that sony exclusives move to the 360 (because I own one). Specifically, MGS4 and FF13. Because once those move to 360, the Playstation 3 will be finished, and depending on the state of sony as a whole, the Playstation brand will be finished. Just another Notch on Nintendo's belt, comfortably next to Sega and Hudson and Neogeo and 3D0.

And can we harken back to the 1st years worth of Nintendo DS. How everything on it was shovelware (I was pissed about this too) until suddenly developers "got it", and now there is a deluge of great games on it.

Look at Zack and Wiki. Capcom officially "Gets it". Or Medal of Honor (can't remember which suffix. The one Cassamassina's jizzing on), they apparently "get it" too. Konami "got it" long ago with elebits. Sega "got it" with Monkeyball, and some would say Sonic.

Point is, 3rd parties, nay, Big third parties have finally gotten used to the idea and we will see very soon a deluge of quality 3rd party games on the wii.

Vidikron (FU) @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:28PM

@Crono

Wow.. you want the PS brand to simply go away? That's a bit shortsighted and, frankly, just plain stupid. The only reason we have the Wii and DS as they are now is because of the pressure applied to Nintendo from Sony.

Phranctoast @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:41PM

I knew you were a hater, but for the outright death of a brand is beyond what I ever expected from you.

I favor the ps brand over the box, but I even see the importance of competition and what MS has introduced to consoles.

Please explain one thing though. How does the wii, outselling the ps3 in Japan, help move the games you want to the 360? The 360 is selling abysmal there and it doesnt appear to be changing.

This to me shows the wii is losing some of its steam and the ps3 is finally in a price range acceptable for the Japanese wallets.

arrrgh @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:20PM

Only it's not losing steam. At all. That's why this article is insanely misleading. As has been explained in many posts above

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:33PM

I just want Sony out of Videogames. They've done nothing for it except steal the ideas of those who came before them and market it better.

If not for Sony, Sega would still be around, making consoles and being a decent rival to Nintendo. Microsoft may have never entered the market (since DC was running on a version of windows, why would they need to?)

And most of all, I want the playstation brand to go away because of everything that it stands for in the market: overpriced bloated technology used to further the companies agenda at the expense of their fanbase. The end of playstation would signal the end of 600 dollar consoles from here on out, at least for another 2 or 3 generations, until someone else tried to do it again.

Its not blind hate. They deserve it for what they've tried to do to the industry.

Imagine where we would be now if Nintendo had maintained the sony partnership for the SNES CD addon. The N64 would have had a CD-Rom, Square would never have left Nintendo, FFVII wouldn't have looked like complete ass, the dreamcast would be alive and kicking and this generation would have looked completely different, probably for the better. One things for sure, no console would have launched for more than 300 dollars.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:46PM

"Please explain one thing though. How does the wii, outselling the ps3 in Japan, help move the games you want to the 360?"

It doesn't. But all those People buying wii's are NOT buying PS3s, which reduces their marketshare and leaves their install base thoroughly disappointing. High budget PS3 exclusives cannot turn a profit with a low install base of the hardware. Therefore, multiplatform releases is the best way to ensure success of the software. Konami isn't going to dumb down MGS4 for a wii release, but they might port it to 360 and triple their available customers. Same with FF13.

I'm just going to laugh when FFCC for wii outsells FF13 on PS3.

Phranctoast @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:52PM

@arrrgh.
losing steam as in selling less than it was, which is true of course. PS3 is not gaining. The PS3 has to sell more at any given time to be "gaining". The article is misleading because technically "gap shrinking" signifies the ps3 is selling more than the wii at any given time, while its not. I still stand behind "losing steam" however.

Vidikron (FU) @ Nov 2nd 2007 5:15PM

@Crono

If it weren't for Sony Sega would still be around and a good competitor for Nintendo? Please. Sega did themselves in with the successive failures of of the Sega CD, 32X, and the Dreamcast. Sony just put the nail in the coffin.

And you are aweful quick to codemn Sony based off of one system when the last two were very successful and GOOD for the industry. The first system was anything but bloated and was very dev friendly. Nintendo is every bit as arrogant as Sony, just a lot more business and PR saavy as of late. But the arrogance is there. That's the entire reason they wound up so far behind Sony the last two generations. Devs used to hate working with Nintendo because they got raped with the costs of using Nintendo's proprietary carts. Did you wish for Nintendo's doom back then? I doubt it. You are so very shortsighted on this issue, it's rather distrubing. Take those fanboy blinders off... you've taken a noticeable downturn toward rabid fanboyism as of late.

Noshino @ Nov 2nd 2007 6:27PM

way to go Crono, you are right there with CaptainAmericaX (not Fernando, as I know that he does somewhat acknowledge Sony) when it comes to Sony hatred.

First of all, Sega just did everything that happened onto themselves,I liked their marketing strategy in Japan, but seriously, it was poor in the US.

Second, you are pointing Sony as arrogant? where were you all the years that Nintendo was one? (for the record, they still are)

Remember the cartridge? hell, if it was up to Nintendo we would still have them...
What about 3rd party support? it was zero to none...
Online support? nah, they say we don't need it....

One thing I did like was the improvement from console to console, but guess what? the Wii and DS are just rehashed hardware, and they are marketing as the second comming of jesus...

Sony has done shit, I admit it, horrible crap on the last few years, mostly PR department, but at least, I got what I paid for, and to say that the PS3 isnt worth it shows me that you are as idiotic as you can get because I bet you haven't even tried one

Sega did great things during its "short" era, brought many new ideas to the table, yet didn't excel in any of them.

Microsoft improved on what Sega had started, Online features (If im not wrong, there was another console even before the DC that had online features).

I like what Sony and Microsoft are putting on the table, but not what Nintendo is doing, its the most arrogant move ever, and yet, their fanbase are totally going through with it...shame

Phranctoast @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:02PM

Its only a matter of time...

Until everyone in Japan already has a wii.;)

the ps3 price drop and the bunch of great games coming out will help a lot.

whats going on with Mario in Japan?

FrankTheCrank @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:58PM

Indeed. It's only a matter of time.

When Final Fantasy hits....well, the shit is going to hit the fan.

F. Rocker or Fernando R.? @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:08PM

Well... Nintendo Wii also have two final Fantasy on the Wii.

And Nintendo have an even bigger system seller than Final Fantasy in their hands: Dragon Quest IX in the DS.

So, for any way you look, Nintendo is in a better position than Sony.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:57PM

@Frank.

Keep in mind though that the psp had released an FF game(an FF7 game) on the psp and that helped the psp a bit. But that wasn't enough, and the DS went back to being #1 again. I expect the same to happen when FF13 hits, ps3 will get a spike in sales(maybe even outselling the Wii for a few weeks) but will go back down.

Dread-not-naught @ Nov 2nd 2007 5:33PM

@Vegeta

And keep in mind that Crisis Core is not a "true" entry into the Final Fantasy series, as it is not a full-fledged game to carry the weight as say Final Fantasy XIII can. A good example of this can be seen with the sales of Final Fantasy X-2 comparatively to Final Fantasy X or XII

Squeek @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:07PM

It's also possible that the reduced shipping rate has had an impact as well as Nintendo is storing units for Christmas.

They used to produce over 100,000 units for Japan a week. Now it's down to 30,000. They're not in a shortage and they're still getting sold out, so...

FoxHoundADAM @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:14PM

I think the 360 sits on shelfs because the Japanese are being dumb consumers who apperently don't like playing really good games and would rather buy another Mario Party game or spend $100 more for a console and play Gundum Crossfire.

FidliousWong @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:21PM

Not again....

You know, as much as you're pointing at Japan for buying Gundam games, Transformers, Madden, and Spiderman 3 burns up these charts. Kinda makes your point moot.

Look, if 360 had a lineup more catered to the Japanese market instead of the occassional exception to the rule, it would sell more.

SoulBlade @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:50PM

yea.. they can easily say the same thing like "silly Americans want to play their Haloz"

FoxHoundADAM @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:24PM

But the 360 is catering to Japanease gamers, at the very least it is on the same level the PS3 is. Ace Combat 6 is huge in Japan, not to mention Trusty Bell, Blue Dragon, Id@lMasters, and even Lost Planet to name a few.

Look, I understand the 360 is more weigthed towards the western markets but I just don't think the sales in Japan as proportional to the quality of games they are seeing.

Geist @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:06PM

And I think the 360 is a big steaming turd. We all have our opinions, and just because the Japanese don't buy certain things doesn't make them wrong. This argument has been repeated for-goddamn-ever.

IslandLife @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:14PM

Hmmmm, I see that NDF is all over this case like Nancy Drew.

guek @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:24PM

you mean like they're ON Nancy Drew ;D

FidliousWong @ Nov 2nd 2007 12:18PM

Eh, it's closing the gap and selling more (those white PS3s are shit hot) but it's still a far cry market leader. This does at least firm PS3's presence a bit more.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 1:12PM

No, they're not "selling more". Wii is selling less, but still outselling PS3. The gap in sales is WIDENING. Its just not widening as fast as it was a month ago.

But weekly charts are showing wii sales are trending back up and PS3 sales are trending back down. This article might have been relevant 3 weeks ago, but as of now its incorrect.

Vidikron (FU) @ Nov 2nd 2007 2:33PM

@Crono

He meant the PS3 is selling more than it was... and quit arguing over semantics. The monthly sales gap IS narrowing, you're talking about total sales which is still widening, but at a slower rate. I don't know why some of you are so hung up on that point.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School) @ Nov 2nd 2007 3:37PM

It isn't argueing over semantics when the headline is so misleading. The sales gap is not narrowing. The monthly ratio is narrowing, but the sales gap is widening.

ill trooper @ Nov 2nd 2007 4:20PM

Chrono, you're being weak and you can stop now. We all know what you think about this... But the "ps3-to-wiis sold each month" ratio has lowered, and that's what the headline is talking about. You not agreeing with the wordage doesn't change the science.

It's no big deal, take a break.

Who cares? I own all the consoles and they all serve their purpose. You're not gonna get to play Mass Effect or Call of Duty 4 on a Wii and you can't play Super Smash Brothers on a PS3 or a 360, so standing with only one platform is just dooming you to miss great games in the long run. Plus the posts from fanboys get boring.