[AUS] Wii outselling Xbox


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The Nintendo Wii is the fastest-selling games console in Australian history, snatching the title from Microsoft's Xbox 360.

In the first four days since its launch last Thursday, 32,901 Wii units were sold nationwide, said Daniel Morse, games analyst at GfK.

This compared with the previous record of 30,421 Xbox 360s sold in the four days after its launch in March, he said.

Australian electronics retailers are enamoured of the Wii's initial success. Neil Merola, business manager for Myer's electronics division, described the result as "outstanding".

"When you compare it to [Xbox] 360, we would have sold four times the number of Wii than 360 at launch. So the uptake has just been sensational," he said.

Mr Merola attributes the Wii's success to its broad appeal as a "family-oriented game". He predicts the Wii will "clearly" defeat the Xbox 360 in Christmas sales at Myer stores.

"The core demographic for us is female and families ... so the Wii uptake has been fantastic for us," he said. "We will sell whatever stock Nintendo can ship to us."

Brad Harker, director of stores at EB Games, said sales were "sensational", but wouldn't make a prediction on which would be the better seller this Christmas.

"They're both selling extremely well. I can't say that one is eating the other's market at all; I think the market is growing larger as a result of this," Mr Harker said.

Perhaps expecting today's announcement that Nintendo had seized its record, Microsoft yesterday issued a statement claiming it had just recorded its highest grossing week of console hardware sales in Australia since the Xbox 360's launch.

"Figures from GfK ... show that around $2.6 million worth of Xbox 360 consoles were sold in the week ending 13 December," reads the statement.

But Microsoft's announcement was hardly unexpected, given sales always pick up in the lead-up to Christmas, and this will be the first Christmas since the Xbox 360 went on sale.

Nintendo spokesman Vispi Bhopti rubbished Microsoft's $2.6 million figure, noting "Wii sold (in 4 days) just a smidgin under $13 million worth of hardware (and that's not including accessories or software)".

Although the Wii's price tag is markedly cheaper than that of the Xbox 360 - $399.95 compared with around $650, respectively - Nintendo makes a profit on every Wii sold, while Microsoft makes a loss.

As a result, Microsoft is relying on strong games sales to turn a profit. Microsoft says that for every Xbox 360 console sold, 4.8 games are also sold, which it says is "around twice the attach rate of any console in history at this stage of the life cycle".

It is too early to determine a comparative figure for the Wii, but GfK figures show initial Wii games sales to be high.

The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess title for Wii was the best selling game last week, despite only going on sale on Thursday.

But Nintendo's sales success could be affected by an impending lawsuit - Interlink is taking Nintendo to court over patent infringement relating to the Wii remote.

Nintendo is yet to make an official comment on the case.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/games/wii-outse...5685799546.html

I haven't owned a nintendo console since N64, i'll probably pick up Wii sometime soon. I am a bit surprised at the success of Wii in Australia but nevertheless, its good news.

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when was xbox 360 released?

cause it sounds like the study is stupid if the 360 was released a while ago, the reason wii is outselling right now is not because its better, but because its christmas time

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"When you compare it to [Xbox] 360, we would have sold four times the number of Wii than 360 at launch. So the uptake has just been sensational," he said.

Must be just a Myer thing, since they both sold pretty much the same at launch (360 - 30,421, Wii - 32,901) overall. Not suprising though as nearly every time a console is released here it breaks that record, although Xbox 360 did pretty well at launch compared to the Wii considering it was $250 more with less stock. Let's hope that Nintendo are able to get more than 5% of the market here this time.

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I've noticed in shops like EB and JB's quite a few people asking for Wii's but being told they are sold out.

If they only knew mine was sitting next to the TV unused because I havn't bothered with Zelda, can't be bothered with Rayman (waiting 1 month for Wario) and over Wii Sports. Ha!

I'm actually using the DS I have bought for my nephew for Xmas more than my Wii! *

* I am only using it so I can show him how to work the menu's etc... ;)

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