"UPDATE: Having read our story, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter decided to give us his take in an email: "Year-to-date (which I think is more relevant than lifetime), third parties have sold 13.4 million units of software for the Wii and 16.5 million units for the 360. That's NPD, and U.S. only. My guess is that the numbers are much closer to the same if we include Europe, and much higher for Wii if we go worldwide.""
Love how Pachter just e-mails GameDaily.biz when he reads their articles. He doesn't even wait for them to contact him...
But it's a great fact he brings up. With 360 only ahead of Wii by 3.1M units, or 19%, for the first half of the year, when it had an install base advantage and GTAIV (and Wii had Fit, Brawl and Kart), it means Wii is probably in shape to sell as much or more 3rd party software for the whole of the year than 360, even in 360's strong market.
MS's spin focuses on 2006 and 2007 sales and Nintendo is trying to demonstrate future trends, but that YTD figure is "right now."
"[Our former customers] are unable to find software which they WANT to play."
"The way to solve this problem lies in how to communicate what kind of games [they CAN play]."
Satoru Iwata, Nintendo President. Only slightly paraphrased.
