Nintendo scores big win in gaming industry

Continuing its winning spree, Nintendo Co. Ltd.’s Wii gaming console again emerged as the clear winner among the trio of next generation gaming consoles in sales after selling 675,089 Wii video game consoles in May, repeatedly outselling both its rivals Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and Sony’s PlayStation 3 in the US video game consoles market.

According to the fresh sales data provided by NPD Group., the immensely popular Wii had sales of 675,089 units. And, the extremely popular handheld, the DS had sales of 452,608 during the four-week sales period of May 4th to May 31st, ahead of Sony's PlayStation Portable, or PSP, with 182,300 units.

The more-powerful systems PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 from Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. respectively, lagged behind in the fierce battle for dominance in the booming gaming consoles market, however, their sales figures are not much disappointing.

According to NPD research report, Sony again succeeded in beating its rival Microsoft. US gamers bought 208,709 PlayStation 3 units in May compared to 186,500 Xbox 360 units, the figures show.

Besides the next-gen gaming console market, Nintendo also dominated the US Game Software market. At least seven games in the top ten are on Nintendo systems.

After attaining the top spot in April, Rockstar’s GTA IV has again dominated NPD's May North American sales figures. According to NPD data, GTA IV was the best-selling game in the United Stated in its first full month with combined sales of 1.3 million units.

The Xbox 360 version of GTA IV has maintained its first spot in the top ten games list, with 871,300 units sold, while PS3 version of GTA IV ranked fourth, with 442,900 units. Nintendo’s WiiFit, which was released in the US on May 21, achieved the third place by selling 687,700 units in May. The rank wise list of Top-Selling Game Software for May 2008 is as under:

Take Two’s Grand Theft Auto IV for Xbox 360 - 871,300 units
Nintendo’s Mario Kart Wii for Wii - 787,400 units
Nintendo’s Wii Fit for Wii - 687,700 units
Take Two’s Grand Theft Auto IV for PS3 - 442,900 units
Nintendo’s Wii Play for Wii - 294,600 units
Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii - 171,100 units
Sega’s Iron Man for PS2 - 130,600 units
Activision’s Guitar Hero III for Wii - 116,800 units
Nintendo’s Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness for DS - 107,000 units
Nintendo’s Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time for DS - 102,000 units

"The Wii Wheel and Wii Balance Board accessories make gameplay fun for new gamers while presenting new challenges for those who have been playing a long time," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s Executive Vice President of Sales and Marketing.

"The diversity of the seven Nintendo games represented in NPD’s top 10 for May demonstrates how Nintendo has something for everyone."

Over the past many months, Nintendo’s Wii has been enjoying big win over its arch-rivals in the gaming industry. The Japanese console maker competes with Microsoft Corp and Sony Corp in the global videogame industry.

Both Sony and Microsoft are trying hard to enable their gaming consoles, PS3 and Xbox 360 respectively, to compete more effectively against Wii, but the Tokyo-based electronics and entertainment conglomerate Nintendo is leading all the way with its Wii video games console, the least expensive of the so-called next-generation consoles.