DS winning War

[neotokeo2001]

New data released by Media Create has revealed that the Nintendo DS sold 1,852,000 units since release in Japan.

For comparison, Total sales of the PSP were lower by about 800,000 units, at 1,068,000 units. (To the disappointment of fanboys, this does not mean that the DS is "owning" the PSP in Japan – remember, the DS has been on the market longer.)

Here are the hardware sales in Japan for the week of April 18 - 24.

1. Nintendo DS - 96,191 units
2. PlayStation 2 - 33,080 units
3. PlayStation Portable - 33,004 units
4. GameBoy Advance SP - 10,820 units
5. GameCube - 8,329 units
6. GameBoy Advance - 422 units
7. Xbox - 112 units

Nintendo has shipped well over 5 million DS handheld consoles around the globe.

The five-million mark was actually passed mid-March, the company said, just after the console's UK launch, during which it became the fastest-selling console in UK videogaming history. After an initial two-day rush yielded 87,000 sales, Nintendo went on to ship 200,000 DS handhelds in the UK.

Nintendo said it was "on track" to meet its target and ship 5-6 million DS consoles during its current fiscal year, which ends 31 March 2006.

By contrast, Sony is believed to have shipped over 2.5 million PlayStation Portables so far, 2.46 million in Q1 2005 alone.

Here are the Top 10 Best Selling Games in Japan for the week of April 18 - 24.

1. Romancing SaGa: Minstrel Song (PS2, Square Enix) - 217,000 units
2. Fire Emblem: Souen no Kiseki (GC, Nintendo) - 102,000 units
3. Naruto: Saikyo Ninja Daikesshu 3 for DS (NDS, Tomy) - 84,000 units
4. Nintendogs: Shiba and friends (NDS, Nintendo) - 83,000 units
5. Nintendogs: Dachs and friends (NDS, Nintendo) - 53,000 units
6. Nintendogs: Chihuahua and friends (NDS, Nintendo) - 46,000 units
7. Baseball Live 2005 (PS2, Namco) - 44,000 units
8. Rockman Zero 4 (GBA, Capcom) - 38,000 units
9. Mobilt Suit Gundam: The One Year War (PS2, Bandai) - 30,000 (234,000) units
10. Shutokou Battle: Zone of Control (PSP, Genki) - 29,000 units

Nintendogs looks like the next Pokemon. Wait untill it hits the US and Europe.

Numbers compiled from several locations.

[Kejoriv]

Its more amazing how many PS2 units are still selling

PlayStation 2 - 33,080 units !!!

[Gamemaster_ca_2003]

Man that the Lowest Number of XBOX Units sold in Japan That I have seen.

[Graham Mitchell]

I'm not sure of the statistics here because we're working with huge numbers, but...could any system that ships 5 million units worldwide really be considered a failure?

[PDorr3]

Man that the Lowest Number of XBOX Units sold in Japan That I have seen.

Doesnt it make you wonder about sales statistics of such systems as 32x, Jaguar, etc, especialy in the US?

It is still way too early to say which handheld is winning the war, but just based on the PSP's success in the US, I would say PSP might just beat out the DS this holiday season, eventhough the DS has some very strong franchises coming out later this year...

[smork]

For comparison, Total sales of the PSP were lower by about 800,000 units, at 1,068,000 units. (To the disappointment of fanboys, this does not mean that the DS is "owning" the PSP in Japan – remember, the DS has been on the market longer.)

I thought the DS had a December 2 release date and the PSP a December 12 date -- about the same. I think that the Japanese market will tolerate quirky products a little more than the US market, which probably explains the discrepancy. I'm sure if Nintendo can actually get some software released instead of it's fairly meager offerings as of now that both systems will continue to sell well.

[anagrama]

"There are lies, there are damned lies and then there are statistics"

[slownerveaction]

I thought the DS had a December 2 release date and the PSP a December 12 date -- about the same.

Yeah, but the PSP was available in relatively limited quantities (compared to the DS) in December. When Sony pumped up production in January, the PSP outsold the DS for a while. Then they were pretty even more recently, and now this is the first week either system has had real sales advantage in Japan.

I've gotta say this is the most interesting "console war" in a while. (Even though whether or not they're in "competition" seems to depend on the mood of the PR guys.) I'm really excited to see what the real "second wave" of games for both systems will be like.

[petewhitley]

Here are the hardware sales in Japan for the week of April 18 - 24.

1. Nintendo DS - 96,191 units
2. PlayStation 2 - 33,080 units
3. PlayStation Portable - 33,004 units
4. GameBoy Advance SP - 10,820 units
5. GameCube - 8,329 units
6. GameBoy Advance - 422 units
7. Xbox - 112 units

These numbers and this week are an anomaly, as April 21st saw the release of the highly sought after Turquoise Blue and Candy Pink versions of the DS. This is also just a couple of weeks after the launch of the Graphite Black and Pure White versions. For the year to date, the PSP has outsold the DS in Japan.

[hydr0x]

[quote="petewhitley"]

For the year to date, the PSP has outsold the DS in Japan.

yeah it has, with a speed that if it remains like that means it will be even with the DS 45 weeks from now..... enough said

[syd]

But is the PSP so much better than the DS as to warrant spending an extra $100-$150? I'm interested in whats going to happen when Nintendo comes out with their new Gameboy hand held.

[hydr0x]

But is the PSP so much better than the DS as to warrant spending an extra $100-$150? I'm interested in whats going to happen when Nintendo comes out with their new Gameboy hand held.

please, do not start another "which one is better" discussion, this thread was just about analyzing (or not) the sales numbers from Japan, nothing else

[GarrettCRW]

yeah it has, with a speed that if it remains like that means it will be even with the DS 45 weeks from now..... enough said

A lot can change in a year.

[Captain Wrong]

Which war is the DS winning? The Iraq war? The war on drugs? The war of the worlds?

[Nesmaster]

Which war is the DS winning? The Iraq war? The war on drugs? The war of the worlds?

:P

[goatdan]

I'm not sure of the statistics here because we're working with huge numbers, but...could any system that ships 5 million units worldwide really be considered a failure?

In a word, no.

In today's world though, where people on these boards especially want to declare their favorite system the winner, even if they both sell around 20 million units -- or about the same as the VCS if memory serves -- then the one that sells less is a "failure."

Back when the VCS was out and the Intellivision sold something like 2 million units, it was heralded as a great success and made Mattel TONS of money. The DS though, for some reason seems to be looked at as a distant second place for some reason, even though history proves quite otherwise. We're just in a different market. Game systems are marketed a lot different now, and a LOT more people are buying them.

Like I've said for a while, because of the sheer quantity of game systems being sold, there is room in the market for three consoles right now. Microsoft is voluntarily losing money on their console, while Nintendo is raking in the dough.

I thought the DS had a December 2 release date and the PSP a December 12 date -- about the same.

Yeah, but the PSP was available in relatively limited quantities (compared to the DS) in December. When Sony pumped up production in January, the PSP outsold the DS for a while. Then they were pretty even more recently, and now this is the first week either system has had real sales advantage in Japan.

The thing that I keep thinking about whenever I hear that they can't be compared is that Sony couldn't produce them quickly enough is that Nintendo opened a third production plant to get more DS consoles made to meet the demand. Sony went on the "make it impossible to find, people will want it more" principal that they have gone on with all of their hardware. The fact is that Sony could've ramped up production at any time.

They didn't, so the numbers in Japan can be directly compared as they are.

These numbers and this week are an anomaly, as April 21st saw the release of the highly sought after Turquoise Blue and Candy Pink versions of the DS. This is also just a couple of weeks after the launch of the Graphite Black and Pure White versions. For the year to date, the PSP has outsold the DS in Japan.

Yes. In fact, at this point the trend is that this past week with the DS in the lead was a fluke. The PSP has been steadily gaining ground on the DS in Japan. I agree with you here.

yeah it has, with a speed that if it remains like that means it will be even with the DS 45 weeks from now..... enough said

Of course, this is the point that needs to be taken into consideration. 45 weeks seems a long time, but it is less than a year. On the other hand, it seems that when I last looked at these numbers in detail, it was just around that number or a little higher. The PSP is steadily gaining, but hasn't seemed to have any huge gains... at least, not yet.

If the DS continues to roll out hits like Nintendogs and other things for the Japanese market, it could stay on top for a much longer time.

By the way, I feel that the spike in DS sales can probably be more attributed to the release of Nintendogs than the different color schemes, as I don't think too many consumers are holding off purchasing a system until the "new color" comes out. Nintendogs is a major release, especially because it appeals to a whole new set of gamers than the ones that have probably picked up the DS so far. It seems to be a LOT more "casual."

It sure hasn't worked for the GameCube...

[neotokeo2001]

I have no clear favorite between the PSP or the DS. But, With Sony releasing the PSP in the forced anti-value pack and the high price point, I don't want them to do well. Sony has also used the media to hype the release into something that it wasn't. From day 1 you could walk into a store and buy a PSP, there was no shortage or mass sell-out.

Nintendo on the other hand has dragged their feet on new releases, Maybe because of the New Gameboy Advance??

I hope both companies have some surprises at E3.

And the War that is being waged is for a billion doller stake in the collective pockets of the world.

[Nature Boy]

Which war is the DS winning? The Iraq war? The war on drugs? The war of the worlds?

War of the Roses?

[machine.slave]

Its more amazing how many PS2 units are still selling

That's because people keep having to replace their broken ones (the scary party is, it's probably true)

What I really want to know is... when the $#%@ are we going to see some of those DS and PSP games over here?!?!

[Tatsu]

Its more amazing how many PS2 units are still selling

That's because people keep having to replace their broken ones (the scary party is, it's probably true)

What I really want to know is... when the $#%@ are we going to see some of those DS and PSP games over here?!?!

Or as speaking as a European: When the fuck will we see the PSP handheld over here?!