Wii shines, Xbox 360 loses ground

Chicago (IL) – Big announcements at E3 cannot hide that Microsoft had a rough June with its game console: Nintendo’s Wii surpassed the Xbox 360 as the most sold current game console in the U.S. every other game console, including the PSP and Nintendo DS, sold more units. Has the Xbox 360 lost its appeal? 

NPD’s June game console sales numbers hold every indication that Microsoft is increasingly under pressure by its rivals. For the first time in its life-cycle, it has lost its title as most-sold current-gen game console to Nintendo’s Wii. According to NPD, the Wii has now sold 11,008,200 units while the Xbox 360 stands at 10,465,900 units.

The PS3 still trails the two with cumulative sales 4,851,100 units, but Sony sold close to twice as many PS3s in June as Microsoft sold Xbox 360s: NPD said that U.S. retail reported sales of 405,500 PS3s and 219,800 Xbox 360s. Nintendo leads the way with sales of 666,700 Wiis. It took Nintendo only 20 months to catch up with Microsoft and nix the Xbox 360s 12-month lead.

Monthly sales. Source: NPD

Even portable consoles were selling at a higher pace than the Xbox 360 – the Nintendo DS moved 783,000 units and the Playstation Portable 337,400.

The best selling game title of the month was Metal Gear Solid 4 (PS3; 774,600 units), followed by Guitar Hero On Tour (DS; 422,300) and Ninja Gaiden II (Xbox 360; 372,200). Nintendo’s Wii Fit with Balance Board had a successful start with 372,200 units, followed by the Wii Play with Remote with 359,100 units.

Microsoft recently announced a temporary price cut of its Xbox 360 (20 GB) console to $299, while the device is being phased out and replaced with a $349 60 GB version. Sony answered with an upgrade of its 40 GB PS3 to an 80 GB hard drive, which effectively could be interpreted by many buyers also as a $100 price cut of its existing and more functional 80 GB flagship console that currently sells for $499.

Cumulative sales. Source: NPD

 For a premium of $50, buyers not only get the newer console that is able of general 1080p output (Xbox 360 1080p output is limited to gaming), but also a larger hard drive and a Blu-ray drive. It is not difficult to see that Microsoft is already under pressure to introduce price cuts or system upgrades in the near future.

Nintendo’s Wii is playing in a different league.