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Nintendo Leads in Sales of Video-Game Consoles
Date : 18 Jul 2008 Category : Technology
NewsFactor NetworkAccording to the NPD Group, a market-research firm, Wii sales in the U.S. in June brought the total for the year to 10.9 million. This news must have been particularly disappointing to Microsoft, whose executives declared at E3 that the Xbox 360 would be the final winner in the console wars. Later, Vice President Shane Kim told news media that the declaration only referred to the Xbox 360 versus Sony's PlayStation 3.
Sales Top 666,000 in June
In May, Microsoft said Xbox 360 sales were 10 million for the year, ahead of the others, but the most recent numbers show the Wii is doing better month by month.
In June, the NPD figures show that Nintendo sold more than 666,000 Wii consoles in the U.S., plus 783,000 DS portable gaming devices. The DS was the top-selling game system in the U.S., with about 20.8 million units sold since its release. About 405,000 PS3s and more than 219,000 Xbox 360s were sold in June.
Industry sales overall climbed 53 percent from the same time last year, according to NPD, from $1.1 billion to $1.69 billion. Sales of games were up 61 percent, from $542 million to $872 million.
Nintendo is similarly leading the pack in games. Six of the top 10 best-selling games in June were designed for Nintendo machines, including Guitar Hero on Tour for the DS.
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots for the PS3 was the top-selling game in June, with about three-quarters of a million units sold, excluding copies bundled with the machine. The Wii Fit exercise game, which uses a balance-board peripheral, was in fourth place.
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