Microsoft's Xbox 360 has claimed the console top spot in North America by selling 422,000 units to the Wii's 397,900 in February. Nintendo has already called foul on it though by stating it saw a shortage of stock throughout the month.
"Wii recorded another strong month of sales, despite being hindered by continued product shortages that affected U.S. retail locations during the month," Nintendo said in a statement responding to the figures.
The reaction is not likely to faze Microsoft, which will likely be celebrating its first console chart win in two years.
Nintendo can take solace in the fact that its DS platform smashed its own sales record set in January by selling 613,200 units, beating its previous best of 597,000 handily. The PSP sold 133,400 units.
The PlayStation 3, while performing better than its HD rival overseas, settles for third in the console race this month with 360,000 units - however, Sony's console saw a 30 per cent sales increase on February 2009. The PlayStation 2 sold a respectable 101,900 units.
Despite the good news for the PS3, the industry saw a downturn for the month as total hardware sales dropped 15 per cent from February 2009. Anna Frazier, games analyst at NPD, said "Honestly, I had expected the industry to perform somewhat better this month." With Heavy Rain, BioShock 2 and Aliens Vs Predator released last month, we're inclined to agree.
BioShock 2 did claim the title of best-selling game for February 2010 however, shifting 750,000 units across all platforms. 562,900 of those belonged to the Xbox 360.
"Wii recorded another strong month of sales, despite being hindered by continued product shortages that affected U.S. retail locations during the month," Nintendo said in a statement responding to the figures.
The reaction is not likely to faze Microsoft, which will likely be celebrating its first console chart win in two years.
Nintendo can take solace in the fact that its DS platform smashed its own sales record set in January by selling 613,200 units, beating its previous best of 597,000 handily. The PSP sold 133,400 units.
The PlayStation 3, while performing better than its HD rival overseas, settles for third in the console race this month with 360,000 units - however, Sony's console saw a 30 per cent sales increase on February 2009. The PlayStation 2 sold a respectable 101,900 units.
Despite the good news for the PS3, the industry saw a downturn for the month as total hardware sales dropped 15 per cent from February 2009. Anna Frazier, games analyst at NPD, said "Honestly, I had expected the industry to perform somewhat better this month." With Heavy Rain, BioShock 2 and Aliens Vs Predator released last month, we're inclined to agree.
BioShock 2 did claim the title of best-selling game for February 2010 however, shifting 750,000 units across all platforms. 562,900 of those belonged to the Xbox 360.
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Comments
Psalms 12 Mar 2010 10:06
1/8
It's worth noting that the Wii appears to be supply constricted this month. Now why would Nintendo do that...
Dreadknux 12 Mar 2010 10:14
2/8
David Armstrong wrote:
It's worth noting that the Wii appears to be supply constricted this month. Now why would Nintendo do that...
It's worth noting indeed! So much so that it's mentioned in the article. :)
But you're right, it does seem strange that there is a shortage of Wiis in a month that's really quite 'slow' for the console. Most of the big hitters are coming in Summer. Unless New Super Mario Bros. Wii really is generating a lot of long-tail interest.
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Psalms 12 Mar 2010 10:29
3/8
@Svend_Joscelyne The shortage is mentioned, but I was implying that they were constricting supply deliberately. The obvious reason would be to hold back some stock for the system sellers that Mario Galaxy 2 and Metroid: Other M will be, but we all know what Michael Pachter would claim is coming.
axt113 13 Mar 2010 17:00
4/8
Nintendo is experiencing supply shortages because of the record breaking December, they ended up airlifting Wii's to the states and as a result have had a shortage since (airlifting basically means you take from future weeks supplies to cover current demand)
Matter 14 Mar 2010 05:18
5/8
I think it's absolutely ridiculous at how well Wii has been selling. From the moment Wii was released, it has only given me disappointments. This year will be no different than the previous three years, mark my words. All we have to look forward to this year is another Mario platformer, and a bunch of reject titles with edgy, blurry graphics in addition to having fake 16:9 perspectives. Let's be honest, every major title on Wii that someone actually gives a damn about pales in comparison to what is on Xbox 360 and PS3. Wii is only for people who want to exercise, not play.
Psalms 14 Mar 2010 10:03
6/8
Matter wrote:
I think it's absolutely ridiculous at how well Wii has been selling. From the moment Wii was released, it has only given me disappointments. This year will be no different than the previous three years, mark my words. All we have to look forward to this year is another Mario platformer, and a bunch of reject titles with edgy, blurry graphics in addition to having fake 16:9 perspectives. Let's be honest, every major title on Wii that someone actually gives a damn about pales in comparison to what is on Xbox 360 and PS3. Wii is only for people who want to exercise, not play.
I think that's been true of nearly all 3rd party software, leading many to state that 3rd parties can't sell games on Wii. The only 3rd party games that I've really thought qualify as a 'next gen quality' game are Boom Blox, Okami (port), Little Kings Story, Zack and Wiki and the amazing Silent Hill: Shattered Memories. Other's, like No More Heroes, have been amazing games but just lack the final polish (some would argue deliberately, crazy Suda...). Other than the occasional disappointment from Nintendo, such as Disaster and Wii Music, which lacked in quality and substance, but were definitely still fun, Nintendo have been churning out titles that even compete graphically with the other systems. Nobody can say 480p rendered Mario Galaxy unplayable. Personally, I'm a fan of HD, but I certainly don't understand where people saying that HD is a necessity come from, I think we're still at the ED stage, which the Wii looks fantastic in. As a games programming student, I couldn't be happier that Nintendo released the Wii, it's allowing a middle ground between the budgets of a downloadable game and a blockbuster title. This industry didn't need the risk of the huge budgets Microsoft and Sony demand right now. All that's lead to is people milking their franchises with DLC, sequels (need another Guitar Hero?) and Avatar clothing.
Matter 15 Mar 2010 03:38
7/8
I agree, most of the 1st party titles on Wii - two or three of them - aren't bad games. But... that's not the point I'm trying to make. The point I'm trying to make is that they're on the same level as the games of last generation. Heck, some of them aren't even on that level! Every game on the Wii today could have been made in the Gamecube era. I mean, let's compare the best games of three genres on Wii to PS3. WiiWare has Water Warfare as its best downloadable shooter; PSN has Battlefield 1943 as its best downloadable shooter. Wii has Animal Crossing City Folk as its best life-simulator; PS3 has PS Home as its best life-simulator. PS3 has Grand Theft Auto IV as its best interactive world playground/adventure; Wii has Water Warfare and Animal Crossing City Folk. Let's face it, when Nintendo was in the process of developing Wii, they only had one thing in mind: What kind of gimmick are we going to come up with this time to compete against Sony and Microsoft? Nintendo only cares about two things: Money and their whimsical ideas. In fact, I knew motion controls were going to get a lot of people to want Wii, and I'm sure Nintendo knew it too. I have always known that something which involves physical activity would grab the attention of the people who claim to be casual players. These people, in my opinion, don't care about the actual games they're playing. They only care about their physical body, and what they're doing with it. The games are just their excuses for exercising by swinging a remote around. You know, I bet if you would go up to one of them and take away their TV, they wouldn't realize it's gone because they would be too involved in playing with the Wii remote. LOL
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8/8
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