PS3 outsold Wii in Japan last week

Quick, grab your loved ones and head to that bomb shelter you built in the backyard just for such an occasion. (Apartment dwellers, find a local church or Wal-Mart and get nestled in.) Sony's PlayStation 3, after seeing its ego deflated a few weeks back when the Xbox 360 trumped it, has leapfrogged into third place for last week's hardware sales in Japan, dropping Wii to a meager fourth place by a margin of approximately 21,000 units (55,924 vs. 34,546).

In its acceptance speech, Sony thanked the newly-released 40GB model and assured the attending audience that upon arrival the Four Horseman will no doubt hail the PS3 as their console of choice.

But wait! Perhaps we spoke to hastily about this being a sign of imminent apocalypse. The Xbox 360 has moved back to its normal slot, between the PS2 and Game Boy Micro. "Phew," you say as you wipe the sweat from your brow, "that was a close one." Those with an ever-vigilant and watchful eye should look out for the following scenario:

• PlayStation 3 beating Wii
• Xbox 360 beating PS3 (and therefore, by chain rule transitive property, the Wii as well)
• Nintendo DS in any position other than first

We have averted crisis thrice before today's scare, although the occurrences have happened more frequently as of late. We'll have more information later today.

[Image credit: roland]