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31 Aug 2007
Nintendo's Wii games console has overtaken Microsoft's Xbox 360 to become the best-selling games console in the world, according to figures from a sales monitoring website.
The VG Chartz site claims that the Wii now controls 41.6 per cent of the market with 10.57 million consoles sold, while the Xbox 360 has been pushed into second place with 10.51 million sales or 41.4 per cent market share.
Sony's PlayStation 3 sits in third place with only 4.32 million consoles sold, capturing just 17 per cent of the next-generation gaming market.
VG Chartz said that its monitoring system is more accurate than other services because it does not use manufacturer shipment figures and claims to estimate current console sales.
"VG Chartz collects data directly from retailers all over the world," said an official statement from the site.
"Retailer sample sizes are small compared to professional tracking services, but are large enough to provide very accurate projections of the latest console sell-through figures worldwide."
Nintendo's success was backed up by figures from independent UK sales tracking company Chart Track, which said that sales of the Wii in Britain have now surpassed one million.
That makes Nintendo's games console the fastest ever selling home console in UK videogame history.
"Wii has passed the one million sales figure in just 38 weeks, some 11 weeks faster than the PlayStation 2 and 22 weeks faster than the Xbox 360," said a statement from Nintendo.
Nintendo added that the sales figures give the Wii 68 per cent of the UK console market.
"The non-stop demand for Wii even in the traditionally slow sales periods for videogames in the UK is clearly behind this record breaking achievement," said David Yarnton, general manager at Nintendo UK.
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Do you agree?
wii is the best
ja ja ja ja poor of you sony fanboys, don't you see,nintendo in the best console in the whole world and it will be on the top always
Posted by: javier 17 Dec 2007
um it is the best selling console
thta statement isn't going with total sales of the console but at the speed of consoles being sold and the wii has clearly won.
Posted by: m 02 Sep 2007
playstation 2 best selling
They are talking about the next gen systems if u want to compare sells put all sony's systems against all nintendo systems see who is on top then.
Posted by: john 02 Sep 2007
Sony fanboi makes me sick
I think you should get a life the ps2 came out a little after the dreamcast its stupidity to compare sales on all 3 to the ps2. You sony fanboi............. How bout your ps2 aint even muchmore powerfull than a dreamcast you wace man........... sega rules............
Posted by: Ages 01 Sep 2007
it is the fastest selling system!
in response to the above comment; The Wii has managed to sell 1 million in the UK and has managed to sell these 1 million units quicker than the time the PS2 managed when IT FIRST CAME OUT! There is no argument that the PS2 has sold the most units in the world over its lifetime.
Posted by: thano 01 Sep 2007
?????
yes....but ps2 is out for 5 years???? while wii just for 1 year.....
Posted by: mii 01 Sep 2007
australia
are Wii games purchased in U.K compatible with australian Wii console
Posted by: bette harland 01 Sep 2007
I believe what they mean is...
Fastest selling. As the information in the article states, the Wii has sold better in the same timeframe than the PS2 did. Just try and think about it - how much sense would it make to compare a unit that has been out for less than a year against overall sales of one that has been out for several years?
Posted by: Common Sense 01 Sep 2007
lol
i think ull find that says best -SELLING, not best sold
Posted by: will 01 Sep 2007
Projections to silence sony fanoboys!
Just over 10 million sales now, putting it far ahead at a similar point in the playstation 2's life. This means that through projections and the increased demand for this system, the Wii will most probably outsell the ps2 quite comfortably. Not to mention 15-20% of all ps2 sales were repairs so you might want to rethink your statment. Also Ds is closing on 50 million in 2 years, now that does smash the ps2 to pieces!!!
Posted by: brad hodson 31 Aug 2007
Sony Fanboy
the Playstation 2 sold 117 million units and the Wii's 10.5 million cant compare Well the Playstation 2 has been out for 7 years!!!! so its obviously going to sell more, and these figures are for next generation systesm not playstation 2. Sony fanboys always return to the ps2 becuase it did so well. but Sony has to move foward and not dwell on a successful past.
Posted by: rayray 31 Aug 2007
Best Selling Next-Gen Console
I'm pretty sure that the author means that Wii is the best selling next-gen console, seeing as comparing the sales figures of PS3, Wii or 360 against the PS2, Xbox or GC would be pretty pointless. At least not this early in these consoles' lifespans.
Posted by: Mark 31 Aug 2007
Best selling console????
Ben. Read the article properly. They're comparing 'LAUNCH FIGURES'. The PS2 has been out for 7 years hence the impressive figure. The Wii has been out for under a year. You can finish joining up the rest of the dots.
Posted by: Lee 31 Aug 2007
Best selling console????
I think you will find that the Playstation 2 sold 117 million units and the Wii's 10.5 million cant compare
Posted by: Ben 31 Aug 2007
No Ben
Ben, I'm afraid you're not reading hard enough, Wii is the fastest selling console globally, and in the UK, projections based on the rate of sale indicate that by the end of 2008 to mid 2009, the Wii will have outsold everything previous on a global scale. The speed is what is making the Wii the top console in this case, Wii's are flying off shelves as fast as they're being put on in almost all markets (it has slowed a little in Japan).
Posted by: Andre 31 Aug 2007
wii > ps2 by far
the ps2 came out 7 years ago, and it had pretty much no competition for at least a year until the xbox and the gamecube came out. the wii just barely came out. it doesn't have a solid game base like the ps2, which makes the numbers stand out even more. the wii will definitely out sell the ps2, just wait and see
Posted by: gdavidsolis 31 Aug 2007
LOL
LOL, the playstation only sold that many because of the many systems that broke down and people went to buy another one. The Wii is far more dependable than that garbage.
Posted by: Shade 31 Aug 2007
fastest selling
I think they said its the fastest selling console.
Posted by: Cool 31 Aug 2007