Nintendo (NTDOY) is eating Microsoft (MSFT) and Sony's (SNE) lunch in the console wars, the NPD Group says.
Look at the sales figures for consoles in October:
- Wii: 803,000 consoles
- Xbox 360: 370,000
- PS3: 190,000
- PS2: 136,000 (People are still buying PS2s?)
Nintendo's dominance (and Sony's problems) don't end there. Among handheld videogame players, Nintendo again beats Sony:
- Nintendo DS: 491,000
- Sony PSP: 193,000
Then dig into the downstream market of videogame sales:
Of the top 10 selling videogame in the U.S. last month, four of them were for the Wii (number one seller Wii Fit, Wii Guitar Hero, Mario Kart, and Wii Play). The PS3 only had one title crack the top 10, LittleBigPlanet (a game at the center of religious controversy), at ninth place.
Why the Wii? Hardcore gamers probably still prefer one of the two other systems, which offer better graphics, but the Wii lends itself to casual players who otherwise might not own a game console at all -- a huge market.