Wii Outsells PlayStation 3 in Japan

TOKYO, Jan. 10 — Japan is offering some of the first glimpses into the hotly contested market for new video game consoles, and the view so far doesn’t look good for struggling Sony and its much-touted PlayStation 3.

Enterbrain, a Tokyo-based video game magazine publisher, released sales estimates in Japan today that showed Sony fell far short of its goal of selling one million PlayStation 3 consoles here last year. Sony sold 534,336 units between their debut in Japan on Nov. 11 and Jan. 7, Enterbrain said.

By contrast, Enterbrain reported that rival Nintendo sold 1.14 million units of its less expensive new game console, Wii, by the same date, despite going on sale three weeks after PlayStation. Microsoft’s Xbox 360, which has had limited success breaking into the Japanese market, has sold 311,053 units since arriving in December 2005, Enterbrain said.

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