Sony PS3 Outsells Nintendo Wii in Japan

Monthly sales of Sony's PlayStation 3 in Japan topped the Nintendo Wii for the first time since the gaming consoles debuted late last year, according to a November survey.

In the four weeks ending Nov. 25, Sony Corp. sold 183,217 PS3s in Japan, while Nintendo Co. sold 159,193 Wii consoles, market researcher Enterbrain reported Friday.

The improved sales of the PS3 follow price cuts in Japan and elsewhere. There have been no price cuts on the Wii, which go for $249.99 in North America, 249 euros ($370) in Europe and 25,000 yen ($230) in Japan.

Tokyo-based Sony slashed the price of the PS3 with a 20-gigabyte hard drive by about 10 percent to 44,980 yen ($409) from 49,980 yen ($454). Another model, with a 60-gigabyte drive, saw its price fall from 60,000 yen ($545) to 54,980 yen ($500).

Sony also introduced a 39,980 yen ($363) 40 GB model.

Sousuke Kamei, spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment, declined comment on the Enterbrain data. But he said sales of the 40-gigabyte machines were brisk in Japan.

"Sales are gaining momentum as we head to the year-end, and the availability of more game software for the PS3 is also helping boost sales," he said.

Although the PS3's predecessor, the PlayStation 2, dominated the gaming market, the PS3 has struggled against the Wii.

The Wii has succeeded in drawing people not usually accustomed to playing electronic games by offering easier-to-play games that use a wandlike, motion-sensitive controller.

By October, Nintendo, based in Kyoto, had shipped 13.2 million units worldwide of the Wii. Nintendo, which also makes Pokemon and Super Mario games, is expecting to sell 17.5 million Wiis by March 31, the end of its fiscal year.

Sony sold 5.6 million PS3s worldwide as of the end of September.

The PS3 also has lagged behind the Xbox 360 console from U.S. software maker Microsoft Corp. Microsoft has sold 13.4 million Xbox 360 consoles over the last two years.