An update on the number of Wiis sold Down Under sees Nintendo's new console wrestling with the PlayStation 2 for the top spot. March 05, 2007 - New figures from industry analyst group, GfK Australia, reveal that Nintendo has managed to sell more than 68,000 Wii consoles around Australia since its launch last December, with a quarter of that number having been sold this year. For the whole of 2006, Sony's PlayStation 2 sold more than 265,000 units, and GfK analyst, Daniel Morse, said that for the past two weeks, Nintendo's new console had wrestled the top-selling console spot from the PS2. And although the PlayStation 3 is about to launch Down Under, Morse said, "The PS2 is not declining. It's still a very strong console. It still offers good value to consumers." AS Sony gears up to launch its next-generation PlayStation 3, its venerable PlayStation 2 continues to sell well, vying with Nintendo's Wii for Australia's top-selling games console spot. Game's afoot Since its launch in December, the Wii has clocked up sales of 68,000 units, with a quarter of the sales made this year, according to industry analyst group GfK. Microsoft's Xbox 360, which marks a year on sale in Australia this month, has notched up sales of 153,000 units, selling 13,000 units this year. But Sony's ageing warhorse, the PlayStation2, dominated last year's sales, clocking up 265,000 units. Since its launch in November 2001, the PS2 has sold 1.92 million units in Australia. GfK analyst Daniel Morse said weekly PS2 sales continued to be strong, despite the pending debut of its successor and the arrival of two competitors. Low price and a large selection of games helped keep the PS2 popular, he said. "The PS2 is not declining. It's still a very strong console," Mr Morse said. "It still offers good value to consumers." Nevertheless, for the past two weeks the Wii had wrested the top-selling console spot from the PS2, Mr Morse said. Sony will keep selling the PS2 after the arrival of the $999 PlayStation 3, revisiting the strategy it used when the original PlayStation was superseded by the PS2. Some industry watchers say the $999 price tag could prove a hurdle for Sony. With a major price advantage, Microsoft's $649 Xbox 360 - the PS3's most directly comparable rival - would prove a tough competitor to Sony's PlayStation 3, editor-in-chief of games website IGN Australia, Bennett Ring said. "I think they (Sony) have a challenge ahead of them," he said. The Xbox 360 had a lead in both the number of game titles available and the number of "quality" titles, with many game publishers that once worked exclusively with Sony coming out with Xbox 360 games, he said. Nevertheless, Sony's long PlayStation history and loyal following would work in its favour, Mr Ring said. The Australian

Is 68.000 much or not? How many PS3's will be launched there?

For now im goin to believe the biggest competitor for the PS3 is the PS2. Similar in how Nintendo's consoles dont sell third party titles well due to the fact Nintendo is a good first party developer

That is good ... Years ago I heard that Nintendo was (super) unpopular in Australia; even if it was selling at 1/2 the rate of the PS2/PS3 it would be a massive improvement for Nintendo.

Wow. I thought PS2 was supposed to be market leader throughout 2007? Thats looking less and less likely, and its totally caught me off guard, frankly. A newly launched console without many games, is competing with a 7 year old powerhouse which costs half as much? Wow.

The Wii would have sold 3-4 times more (at least) if there was supply. Its still impossible to find a Wii, or any accessories around. PS2 is going strong, due to its price point. All consoles are expensive here, and the PS2 has hit a sweet spot. There are lots of good (NEW) games available for $20AU (about $15US) as well. 68k is pretty good by Aussie standards (in 3 months). The GameCube sold about 200k in its lifetime - the PS2 has sold about 2million. If we get supply, we should easily reach the GC total within the first 12 months on sale.

wait until the ps3 comes out to see if it holds.

are these numbers shipped or really sold?

It is time like this I really would like to find out how much every consol sell in Sweden :) Nice numbers keep them coming.