Hardware sales slow in Japan
Nintendo DS still leads the way as the DSi nears 1 million life to-date
Sales of videogame hardware slowed in Japan last week, with around 20 per cent fewer consoles and handhelds sold in the seven days to January 18.
According to the latest Media Create data the Nintendo DS continued to lead the way, selling just over 81,000 units, with the DSi set to break the 1 million units barrier any day now.
The PlayStation Portable was in second place, selling 42,500 units, while the Wii took third on 32,000.
The PlayStation 3 remained steady on fourth place, although Sony would like to see more than the 20,000 units it sold per week, while the Xbox 360's sales rate has increased to just under half that of its Sony rival.
The PlayStation 2 rounded out the hardware chart as it falls away into retirement.
In total Nintendo sold 113,667 hardware items across the week, while Sony managed 69,009 and Microsoft hit just 9576.
The full hardware run-down is as follows:
- 1. Nintendo DS: 81,334
- 2. PlayStation Portable: 42,559
- 3. Nintendo Wii: 32,333
- 4. PlayStation 3: 20,690
- 5. Xbox 360: 9576
- 6. PlayStation 2: 5760