The first official, NPD, sales figures for all next-generation console sales in the U.S. are now available and they suggest that Nintendo's Wii sold more than twice the hardware that Sony's PS3 did while it seems that the Xbox 360 has made the most of the release of Gears of War.
With the release of the PS3 and the Wii the next-generation console wars have truly started and the first figures are now in; Sony's Cell-powered beast has sold 197,000 units, a figure which seems to match well with industry speculation that the Japanese consumer electronics giant only managed to ship 200,000 units instead of the 400,000 promised. Nintendo's underpowered yet innovative console managed to sell 476,000 units and has established itself as a true challenger as Microsoft's XBox 360 may have outsold the Wii, 511,000 units, but it relied on a one year head start and the much-hyped release of the Gears of War title.
These figures are really not a reliable source of conclusions regarding the next-generation console wars as both new hardware launches were plagued by manufacturing shortages. Additional issues about the figures arise from the great differences in pricing as Nintendo's Wii costs a mere USD 250 compared to the USD 400 and USD 600 needed to purchase an X360 and PS3 respectively. The figures however, are probably a good way to judge how the holiday season sales will go as availability for the PS3 is expected to remain at current, or slightly improved, levels.
The NPD figures are calculated using about two thirds of the U.S. retail sales and the sampling of U.S. consumers.
