Wii sells 1.8 million consoles in the US

Tim Gray, newsfactor.com-

Although Nintendo claimed a big victory in the opening battle of the next-generation console wars, selling more than 600,000 of its Wii systems in North America shortly after its launch date, new sales data indicates that Microsoft’s Xbox 360 actually won the holiday wars.

According to research firm NPD, Microsoft sold two million Xbox 360 consoles in the United States from the beginning of November through Christmas Eve. Over the same period, Nintendo sold 1.8 million Wii consoles, while Sony moved some 750,000 PlayStation 3 units.

However, the numbers might be a little misleading in terms of the overall struggle for control of the multibillion dollar gaming market, according to Michael Gartenberg, vice president and research director at Jupiter Research.

One reason for the Microsoft victory has to do with the fact that both Nintendo and Sony ran into supply problems in the days leading up to the big holiday push, according to Gartenberg.

“It is not a surprise Microsoft sold more consoles,” he said. “They had more readily available. The real test will come when everyone is on equal footing with regards to available units.”

This 2006 holiday shopping season was expected to be the most competitive showdown in gaming history, as the big three console makers all vied for the top spot in the lucrative North American market. But problems arose almost immediately.

While the Wii and the latest generation of PlayStation had only limited numbers available, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 first went on sale a year ago, providing Redmond with ample time to work out any manufacturing kinks that might have affected sales at the end of 2006.

However, all is not lost for the console makers that ran into manufacturing problems, said Gartenberg, who predicted that any significant meaning to be derived from sales numbers won’t come until at least after the 2007 holiday season.

“It is important for these companies to work out supply issues,” said Gartenberg. “I’m sure more than a few gamers would have bought Wiis or PS3s, but just couldn’t. It is a little premature for Microsoft to claim long-term victory.”

Just in time for the last shopping push, Microsoft strategically extended the Xbox 360’s warranty from 90 days to one year, providing its fan base with the same warranty length available with consoles from rivals Sony and Nintendo.

In a statement released just before Christmas, Microsoft said that, in addition to offering the warranty for new Xbox 360 purchases, it will offer the warranty as a retroactive option for those who have had to pay for out-of-warranty repairs that were made through official Microsoft channels.

Although the Xbox 360 led the way this holiday season, Sony remains the undisputed gaming champ with sales of the PlayStation and
PlayStation 2. However, analysts expect both Nintendo and Microsoft to mount a serious challenge to Sony’s 60 percent stranglehold on the console market.

“In the end, there may not be one player that is dominant here,” said Gartenberg. “It may end up being a pretty even split.”