Americans have certain rights. Among them are to own a car and have a square meal everyday. Most, but not all citizens enjoy those things.
Now, Nintendo wants to add to that list that everyone in the US should have one of its Wii game consoles. For a brief period a month ago its looked like the introduction of Microsoft’s (MSFT) "Halo 3" video game would help its console, the Xbox 360, move ahead of the Wii. Then Sony (SNE) cut prices on its PS3 and it appeared that the move might help it move into the lead.
Neither effort worked, at least for long. In October, sales of the Wii were, once again, way out in front. The entire industry grew rapidly, so all three companies got some benefit. Reuters wrote of the industry: "Total sales were $1.1 billion, compared with $643 million a year earlier, according to market research firm NPD."
Nintendo sold 519,000 Wii game consoles during the period. The Xbox 360 moved 366,000 units. Sony PS3 was in third place with 121,000. The PS3 is no better than a paper weight, at least in terms of Sony’s operating income.
Nintendo could sell six million Wii units in the next year, perhaps more. There are probably 200 million adults in the US, ruling out people over 90. It really won’t take Nintendo that long to have a Wii in everyone’s hands.
Douglas A. McIntyre
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