Wii outsells PS3 fivefold in Japan

Worries continue over game unit's drag on Sony earnings; analyst says company needs more good PS3 game titles to bounce back.

The story "Wii outsells PS3 fivefold in Japan" published June 6, 2007 at 5:28 AM is no longer available on CNET News.

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[Super2online]

Critically misjudged market forces

Evidence is mounting that Sony critically misjudged what consumers are willing to spend for a game console. Great games or not, the average family will not shell out $600 to play them.

[Mpenny]

Not even that...

I don't think it evan has all that much to do with the average family not spending $600 on a system... The market for these systems (PS3 and XBOX360) are the teens/adult gamers, who may very well save up their part time job disposable income to buy one... The real reason nobody owns a PS3 is given right in the article... There are no games for it. I haven't bought one because I'm waiting for the next Metal Gear game to come, along with a few others that would make it worth the money... If it would have been ready at launch, I may very well have bought the system then. With no good games on it (and none scheduled for release for at least another 6 months) it's painfully obvious why nobody owns one. The $600 price tag doesn't help, but people will spend $1500 or more on a solid gaming computer to play the games they love... this isn't much different.

[MauiMac]

Is anyone surprised?

...

[jx_leeson]

playstation lacks innovation

LOL. Look at the Playstation 1, 2 and 3's controller. They look the same, doesn't seem like they are using their tilt feature much even. Plain old boring controllers that have been around forever, haha but now with no rumble. XBOX and Nintendo have always tried to evolve their human to game interface. If all people want are pretty games well my PC can make games look as nice as the Playstation 3, and I can buy the same controller at walmart for 30 bucks.

[Dp462090]

So?

So, what if the controller looks same? It works. There's nothing really "new" in either the 360, or Wii controllers. Even then, gaming is about games not this idiotic idea that a new controller equals "innovation." And, so far non of the this generation's consoles have much (despite what fanboys of all of the consoles would like you to think). Really people, grow the fark up.

[WJeansonne]

Nope, more like Sony was blind-sided

Technological advances have always trumped business models, time and memorial. That motion controller is truly revolutionary for games. I'm sure both Sony and Microsoft said to themselves over the past year, "why didn't we think of that?".

[smithjones]

I think you may be right...

not enough good titles, Price, and warmed over technology.
Then they throw blue ray into to make it fresh, and even that is
iffy.
Can you say Betamax?

" I'm sure both Sony and Microsoft said to themselves over the
past year, "why didn't we think of that?"."

I concur with your assesment, however, MS will dump tons of
money into the research of their own Wii controler...., and come
up with an original name like......, uh I don't know.... "They"
for their motion controler. However..., it will only come in Zune
crap brown. : )

[Neo Con]

It's "time immemorial"

..And don't get me started on "walla" vs. "voila". I know I've seen that here, too.

And one more: It's "for all intents and purposes". Get your cliche's right, people!

[freemarket--2008]

Not Really

No one has shown that these Wii customers would have even bought a PS3 or Xbox360 if the Wii did not exist. Many are casual gamers who got it because it was relatively cheap. Some will most likely get a high end system later as well...when the Wii novelty wears off.

[mofo111]

How is the Xbox360 doing in Japan?

How about the Xbox360? How are its sales relative to Wii and PS3?

[ElmoKajaky]

Xbox has never taken off in Japan

Pretty much non-existent.

[vamega]

A simple plan to boost sales

I may seem like a fool, but to me this seems a way that sony could save the ps3.

I think that a change in its marketing scheme would go a long way in selling the playstation. If they started pre-installing linux, and providing a small documentation on how to access word-processing, spreadsheet, internet, chat and other features on the os.

As pc sales are booming, it should make people more aware of the ps3 as a pc. Then they would buy it as a pc, and most of them would eventually buy a game or two.

Maybe i am missing something, but it seems that this might save their buissness

[cxie]

Not really

At current price point, PS3 can't compete with eMachine either.

[freemarket--2008]

Also...

I have linux on my PS3. It's basically useless unless you also have an HDTV attached. SD TVs do not have the resolution and the display options are limited.

[INCGGAMING]

Sony :(

Sony needs to get with the program and start shelling out games. No one wants a system with no good games. I was waiting to get this console but with the current lineup of sucky games for it I decided to wait. Sony should of really put forth the great games first or waited to release it. I know everyone wanted to get the PS3 because of the blue-ray and the promise of games but where are these games? I would of been patient and waited another year because right now my pc is more promising.

[WJeansonne]

You're right

I looked up the expression to make certain I was spelling it right using Google, but was popped! Several others misspelled it incorrectly. I should have used Wikipedia! Oh well, I'm just another product of the U.S. public school system!! LOL. And of course it's an obscure phrase that is used infrequently.

You meant "Voila" was the correct way to spell it right? The French don't pronounce the V, so that's why American spell it phoenetically.

[mbenedict]

When Nokia will outsell iPhone by 10:1...

...will CNET run a similar story? Doubt it, given the amount of money Apple pays in CNET's advertisement fees.

Since the PS2 still outsells the Wii, these kind of stories are meaningless.