Nintendo Says Wii Could Outsell PS2

Nintendo president Saturo Iwata predicts that the Wii could eclipse the classic PS2 in sales.

Nintendo president Saturo Iwata has predicted that sales of his company’s Wii console could end up surpassing Sony’s classic PS2.   “Sony’s PS2 sales of 100 million units is an extraordinary number that our home gameconsole business has not achieved,” Iwata, speaking at E3, told Reuters. “But if we can make our bid to expand the gaming population a continued success, we could exceed that.”  The Wii has outsold both the Xbox 360 and the PS3 every month since its release last November, helped in part byits relatively slim $250 price tag.   Indeed, instead of going after the hardcore game market the others consoles seek, the Wii has relentlessly pursued the casual gamer, especially females andolder players, by bringing in unlikely but popular games, a strategy that’s also worked with Nintendo’s DS.   As of March, Nintendo had sold 5.8 million Wiis, and projects another 14million before the end of March 2008. Unlike other companies, which have often sustained extended losses from hardware while making a profit on software,  the Wii hardware has already becomeprofitable.