The PlayStation 3 has been on the market for three years—and for most of that time, the console has been pulling up the rear amongst so-called next-generation game console sales, regularly trounced by the Xbox 360 and (of course) the Nintendo Wii—and for a while even struggling to stay ahead of the decade-old PlayStation 2. But the introduction of the PS3 Slim coupled with substantial price cuts seem to have translated into sales momentum for the PS3—in fact, Sony claims PS3 sales this October were 70 percent higher than sales in October 2008.
Tag Archive: Wii
Super Mario Bros. Goes Multiplayer on the Wii
Nintendo owns some of the best-known gaming franchises on the planet, and today the company has launched New Super Mario Bros. Wii for its popular Nintendo Wii gaming console…and the title amplifies the franchise’s madcap fun by enabling up to four people to play at the same time, whether in cooperative or competitive modes.
“As the holiday season draws near, it feels especially appropriate to offer consumers a new Mario adventure that they can enjoy together with family and friends,” said Nintendo of America executive VP of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway, in a statement. “New Super Mario Bros. Wii has something special for everyone, and lets players of all abilities explore the imaginative world of the Mushroom Kingdom like never before.”
PlayStation 3 Still Beating Xbox In Console Sales
Media metrics firm NPD has released its figures for October sales of video games and video game systems in the United States, and the news was again good for Sony. During the month, the PlayStation 3 continued to outsell Microsoft’s Xbox 360, moving 321,000 units during the month compared to 250,000 units for the Xbox 360. The Nintendo Wii still remains the console to beat—selling some 507,000 units during the month—but the Wii looks to have peaked: compared to October of 2008, saled of the Nintendo Wii are down 37 percent.
Netflix Streaming Coming to Nintendo’s Wii?
Nintendo hinted today that the Wii may have Netflix streaming capabilities sooner than later. No actual date has been revealed, but industry analyst Dan Rayburn says “Nintendo originally planned to bring the Netflix service to the Wii before the end of this year.” This might happen, but if it doesn’t the Rayburn confirms that it’ll definitely come to fruition in early 2010.
Whether this happens next week or early next year, this is good news for Wii users and for Netflix. According to Dan Frommer, a reporter for The Business Insider, “with more than 21 million Wii units in the U.S., even small uptake could lead to significant subscriber growth for Netflix.”
Nintendo Wii Sales Sink, Gamers Want Better Games
The video game console wars are booming right now thanks to price cuts across the board on the three major game consoles. The introduction of the much cheaper PS3 slim was a catalyst for the price cuts in the industry.
With the PS3 Slim selling for $299, Microsoft quickly dropped the price of its Xbox 360 Elite to the same $299 price point. To make its console more attractive Nintendo also announced a price cut. The price cut brought the Wii to a price of $199. At that price, the console still fell behind the new PS3 as gamers finally started to buy the console in significant numbers.
Flagging Wii Sales Drag Nintendo Profits Down 61 Pct
When Nintendo launched its Wii game console all the way back in November 2006, few anticipated the system would turn into the dominant “next-generation” gaming console with sales vastly eclipsing the more-powerful Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. But the sales bubble may finally have burst for the Wii: Nintendo’s financial results for its April-through-June quarter show a sharp decline in global sales for the Wii, which helped drag Nintendo’s profits down 61 percent compared to the same quarter a year ago.
Video Games, Hardware Sales Slump In May
A new report from NPD shows the recession is hitting sales of video games and hardware hard. Overall game sales fell by 23% in May, down to $863 million, making this the first time since August 2007 that monthly sales had dipped below the $1 billion mark.
Software was down 17%, with UFC 2009 for Xbox 360 the winner, at 352,800 copies, followed by Wii Fit and EA Sports Active Bundle for the Wii.
Hardware sales were even worse, dropping 30%, with the Wii and DS coming out winners, with 289,500 and 633,500 units sold respectively.
Nintendo prepares to set new Wii gizmo into motion
LOS ANGELES (AP) — There’s nothing all that charming about Nintendo’s latest gadget.
It’s not as zany as a zapper or as sexy as a steering wheel. It doesn’t even tell you whether you’re losing weight. However, the gamemaker is hoping a small cube-shaped device called Wii MotionPlus will take the Wii’s motion-sensing controls to a new level of precision.
It’s no secret the wrist-flicking Wii Remote’s lack of accuracy has long been the console’s clunky downfall. The Wii MotionPlus, available beginning June 8, successfully defeats that dilemma by using gyroscopic sensors to exactly mimic gamers’ hand movements, making such activities as sword fighting, disc throwing and golfing look seamless on screen.
Increased Profits For Nintendo
All over the world, companies are reporting falling sales and profits. But not Nintendo. Thanks to the continuing popularity of the Wii games console, its annual profits have risen by 8.5%, to $2.81 billion. In the previous financial year its profits were $2.6 billion.
Notably, though, the rise in profits was far less than it a year ago –back then it was a staggering 47.7%.
In a statement, the company said:
"[While] the future of economies around the world is still unclear, the video game industry was less impacted by the economic downturn than most [and] remained relatively stable in spite of the large consumer spending decline."
