Official January sales numbers of next gen consoles are in by the NPD Group.
To no ones surprise, Nintendo Wii took home the highest sales followed by the Xbox360 and the Playstation 3 holding up the rear.
The Wii sold 436,000 units in January and is still restricted by supply issues. People still have to line up outside stores on the weekends to attempt to be one of the few lucky people to grab one. There are also rumors floating around that stores hold Wii’s until Sunday in order to be "fair" to everyone and helps control the chaos. So if you’re still looking to get your hands on a Wii, search the internet for advance weekend edition ads, if the Wii system is advertised that store will most likely have them Sunday.
The Xbox360 on the other hand sold 294,000 units in January. Microsoft is also restricting supply of Xbox360’s this quarter according to their earnings report. This has been seen as a move to empty the supply chains so resellers don’t get stuck with ‘old model’ Xbox360’s when the speculated new ‘Zephyr’ Xbox 360 hits the shelves potentially in May.
Lastly the Playstation 3 sold 244,000 units in January which isn’t far behind Xbox360. Supply however isn’t a problem as Playstation 3’s can regularly be found on store shelves sitting there. One can only speculate as to the reason the Playstation 3 isn’t selling, but game availability, price, and a lack luster online service are most likely top reasons. It’s also hard to find a great review of the system from main stream media which doesn’t help.
The next gen race has been very interesting to watch. At this rate however, it’s not hard to see Nintendo Wii catching up and surpassing Xbox360 this year in install base.
The Wii sold 436,000 units in January and is still restricted by supply issues. People still have to line up outside stores on the weekends to attempt to be one of the few lucky people to grab one. There are also rumors floating around that stores hold Wii’s until Sunday in order to be "fair" to everyone and helps control the chaos. So if you’re still looking to get your hands on a Wii, search the internet for advance weekend edition ads, if the Wii system is advertised that store will most likely have them Sunday.
The Xbox360 on the other hand sold 294,000 units in January. Microsoft is also restricting supply of Xbox360’s this quarter according to their earnings report. This has been seen as a move to empty the supply chains so resellers don’t get stuck with ‘old model’ Xbox360’s when the speculated new ‘Zephyr’ Xbox 360 hits the shelves potentially in May.
Lastly the Playstation 3 sold 244,000 units in January which isn’t far behind Xbox360. Supply however isn’t a problem as Playstation 3’s can regularly be found on store shelves sitting there. One can only speculate as to the reason the Playstation 3 isn’t selling, but game availability, price, and a lack luster online service are most likely top reasons. It’s also hard to find a great review of the system from main stream media which doesn’t help.
The next gen race has been very interesting to watch. At this rate however, it’s not hard to see Nintendo Wii catching up and surpassing Xbox360 this year in install base.
