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Wii and DS drive Japanese gaming sales to new high

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.
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