The popularity of Nintendo's Wii console and DS handheld sent the combined sales of game machines and gaming software in Japan to a record high last year, research by a Japanese publisher showed.
The results underline the stellar success of Nintendo Co, the Japanese firm behind Super Mario and Pokemon games. The Kyoto-based manufacturer has pursued a strategy to reverse the gradual decline that has ailed the industry in recent years by introducing games that appeal to newcomers, including the elderly and women.
Nintendo said yesterday its Wii Fit game, which uses a board resembling a weight scale to help people exercise in the living room with yoga positions, hula hoops and push-ups, already sold a million units in Japan in a month since going on sale last month.
Overseas sales plans for the hit game aren't decided yet, company spokesman Ken Toyoda said.
Enterbrain, which publishes game magazines, found hardware and software gaming sales in Japan totaled ¥687.76 billion (US$6.3 billion) last year, up 10 percent from the previous year.
The top-selling machine in Japan was the Nintendo DS portable machine, with 7.1 million units sold last year, Enterbrain's research released earlier this week showed. Since going on sale in 2004, sales of the Nintendo DS have totaled 21 million in Japan, it said.
The No. 2 selling machine here last year, the Wii, is also from Nintendo. The console has been a sellout around the world since arriving at stores in late 2006. In Japan, 3.6 million Wiis were sold last year, for a cumulative 4.6 million, Enterbrain said.
Offerings from rival Sony did not fare as well -- at 3 million for the PlayStation Portable and 1.2 million for the PlayStation 3 last year. Only 257,800 of Microsoft Corp's Xbox360 machines were sold in Japan last year.
Ranking No. 1 in game software was Wii Sports, which has players using the wandlike remote to play virtual tennis, boxing and other sports, at 1.9 million sold in Japan last year.
The game is typical of how the Wii has emerged a hit with such offerings that aren't stereotypical shoot-em-ups. The DS handheld has also wooed new customers with its touch panel and brainteaser puzzles, educational material, cooking recipes and other easy-to-play software.
Nintendo president Satoru Iwata told Japan's top business daily, the Nikkei, the company would continue that strategy by offering wireless downloads for the DS, such as searches for purchases in a mall and train schedules at a station.
"We don't need to stick to a narrow definition of games," he said in an interview published yesterday.
Nintendo said previously it had shipped 13.2 million Wii units worldwide through the end of September, and is targeting a cumulative 23 million Wiis by March 31, the end of its fiscal year.
Sony said previously it sold 5.6 million PS3s worldwide as of the end of September, although the company has since reported robust holiday-season sales in North America at 1.2 million. The Japanese electronics and entertainment company has not yet given a new worldwide number.
Microsoft has sold 17.7 million Xbox 360 consoles globally over the last two years.
WAITING GAME: The US has so far only offered a ‘best rate tariff,’ which officials assume is about 15 percent, the same as Japan, a person familiar with the matter said Taiwan and the US have completed “technical consultations” regarding tariffs and a finalized rate is expected to be released soon, Executive Yuan spokeswoman Michelle Lee (李慧芝) told a news conference yesterday, as a 90-day pause on US President Donald Trump’s “reciprocal” tariffs is set to expire today. The two countries have reached a “certain degree of consensus” on issues such as tariffs, nontariff trade barriers, trade facilitation, supply chain resilience and economic security, Lee said. They also discussed opportunities for cooperation, investment and procurement, she said. A joint statement is still being negotiated and would be released once the US government has made
Authorities have detained three former Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TMSC, 台積電) employees on suspicion of compromising classified technology used in making 2-nanometer chips, the Taiwan High Prosecutors’ Office said yesterday. Prosecutors are holding a former TSMC engineer surnamed Chen (陳) and two recently sacked TSMC engineers, including one person surnamed Wu (吳) in detention with restricted communication, following an investigation launched on July 25, a statement said. The announcement came a day after Nikkei Asia reported on the technology theft in an exclusive story, saying TSMC had fired two workers for contravening data rules on advanced chipmaking technology. Two-nanometer wafers are the most
NEW GEAR: On top of the new Tien Kung IV air defense missiles, the military is expected to place orders for a new combat vehicle next year for delivery in 2028 Mass production of Tien Kung IV (Sky Bow IV) missiles is expected to start next year, with plans to order 122 pods, the Ministry of National Defense’s (MND) latest list of regulated military material showed. The document said that the armed forces would obtain 46 pods of the air defense missiles next year and 76 pods the year after that. The Tien Kung IV is designed to intercept cruise missiles and ballistic missiles to an altitude of 70km, compared with the 60km maximum altitude achieved by the Missile Segment Enhancement variant of PAC-3 systems. A defense source said yesterday that the number of
Taiwanese exports to the US are to be subject to a 20 percent tariff starting on Thursday next week, according to an executive order signed by US President Donald Trump yesterday. The 20 percent levy was the same as the tariffs imposed on Vietnam, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh by Trump. It was higher than the tariffs imposed on Japan, South Korea and the EU (15 percent), as well as those on the Philippines (19 percent). A Taiwan official with knowledge of the matter said it is a "phased" tariff rate, and negotiations would continue. "Once negotiations conclude, Taiwan will obtain a better
RSS