There's okay numbers for the UK, and there will be widely reported European totals for PS3 for the launch week. They'll also be plenty of press releases toting sales accompanying the quarterly sales reports. There doesn't have to be really good European data for Nintendo to try and create some headlines.

cheap blu ray? With sony lowering the price of the blu ray to most likely 299 this year...I doubt anybody would want a PS3 for the blu ray after that.

@Death2009 only some percent of people in europe have hdtv at home - i think blue ray is no reason to buy a ps3 ... iam going to buy a new television soon - i want a bigger one and i buy one without hdtv -> much cheaper :) i think the best time of blue ray will be in some years ... to the topic: i also think that nintendo is shipping more units to europe ... good idea that shocked people from the price can buy wii or xbox360 :)

Erik you should be working for some sort of professional gaming site and/or publication. Your posts are always highly insightful. As usual, you hit the nail on the head. Nintendo says they aren't competing with Sony, but take each and every opportunity to make Sony look bad. Having the Wii sales in Europe be much higher during the month the PS3 launches would put quite a damper on Sony's party.

Daggone right they are. Nintendo is playing this lamb role, this underdog role VERY well. So well that people write them off. "oh oh we're not competing. we're not competing" Bull. Actually they DID mean what they said but not in the sense many thought it was. They are not competing with the same methods that the others use. And they are not competing but rather overshadowing their competition. Basically they are saying that Microsoft & Sony are fighting for anthills while Nintendo fighting for Himalayas. When people say they are not competing on same level they don't realize the irony of their words. Yep that's EXACTLY what they're doing. Nintendo is quietly saying XBox 360 & PS3 are not UP to Nintendo's level. Nintendo's focus is not on competing but rather, dominating. They are whales eating up the smaller oceanlife. Blue Ocean Strategy. I said it in a recent thread but when they put up their launch nearly side by side with the PS3 they wanted to prove their idea & vision was right. They sought to discredit Sony's direction & vision with their own. And they knew many would underestimate them thinking they wouldn't have a chance. Some STILL think the ball is gonna drop for the Wii as if this success is a fluke of some kind. The more time goes on the more the realization will sink in. Nintendo putting the spoils on Sony's PAL launch sounds about right from what I've been seeing from Nintendo. The Japan sales charts tell the whole tale. Nintendo's Wii has sold MORE THAN DOUBLE of what Sony's PS3 has there yet Sony launched there almost a whole month earlier. November 11, 2006 = PS3 December 2, 2006 = Wii They rigged each of these launches in a certain way to prove a point. Virtually side by side in America to tarnish PS3's luster. Almost a month after in Japan to showcase the differential. Launching in Europe/PAL regions according to schedule while PS3 fumbles their worldwide launch to create the impassable gulf between the systems & decrease Sony's buzz. Wolf in Sheep's Clothing = The Wii The brandname just lowered your guard even more. Wheeeeeeeee!! When the execs of Sony & MS both tried to insult the other by saying you could add Wii as a supplemental system to theirs Nintendo knew they had them right where they wanted them. Reggie said that we would prefer that you buy Nintendo products. Period. The others didn't take Wii seriously or didn't think the audience took Wii seriously and put Wii in this junior role patting him on the head as if saying "go play outside now". That or it was fear resulting from the showing at E3 2006. They both checkmarked Wii as the winner with those comments. The people who buy Wii alone combined with the people who buy Wii60 & PSWii will make SURE than Wii rules over all. Not many people will buy PS60. The rule of association. Sometimes I wonder if Nintendo isn't dabbling in the black arts using mind control over their competitors' executives hearing what comes out of their mouths sometimes. Company infiltration & espionage? Sabotage? SOMEthing's up! John Lucas

Correct. A real back stab attack by a company named Sony. They should try to sue them . If you look at this situation, you know why severalö companies had doubts about BluRay, not about the Format itself, but their departments have a history in blocking each other.

It would be the same manufacturing process for the "core" Wii unit (PAL or NTSC). Australia uses PAL - but the unit supports both systems. Im sure its just software that controls the language/BIOS (and maybe even this is the same everywhere - just a country code). The hard bits to make are the controllers & main unit - power supplies are easy to make/get, and they could easily change the orders if they wanted to redistribute units elsewhere. It may well be a "strategic" redeployment of units to Europe - customers go to a store to buy a PS3, see Wii's in stock (less than half price, with a game) and get that instead. Something like that anyway. I can't comment for Europe, but I still haven't seen *any* Wii's in stock here in Australia - still at instant sell-out stage.

I've read him long ago & have posted some links to his articles here as well. The guy is a genius. He's obviously close to 50 maybe 60 years old & must have seen the world of videogaming develop from its beginnings. He's been here BEFORE it was videogaming. When it was gaming on computers amongst those in the know. That's the feel I get from his articles. He tells you the perspective BEYOND Nintendo. THAT'S what makes his articles so great. A lot of his stuff I was already in league with mentally but he even enlightened me further on certain things which wowed me! It's like he brushed off a little more dirt from the gemstone so I could see the shine better. And he *really* knows how to drive a point home. Wii sells with hardly a great change in its library since launch. Wii Sports will sell this system all year long. My 84 year-old landlady is just one more person who has tried playing the Wii & enjoyed herself after NEVER even smelling a videogame system before. We like to play this sports team rah rah mess but there is no such thing as a "console war" really. When you have to scramble for market you don't have the market. It's like butterflies. The market will come to you if you do things right & please people's needs. Not necessarily wants but needs. Sometimes wants. The marketing on top helps grease the wheels. Yamauchi said DS was gonna raise Nintendo to heaven or sink them to hell. That was their last chance to be a central driving force behind the industry. Sure they'd be profitable but they'd lose that edge. When DS succeeded Nintendo's road to success was being built. Wii & DS are twin systems & that WiiDS Phenomenon I always talk bout is going to come true. We will have never SEEN anything like it in gaming before. TWO MAJOR MONSTER SYSTEMS feeding into each other all over the world??? Game Boy and NES didn't have the proper chance to fully cross-pollinate. Game Boy Pocket and SNES weren't set up like DS & Wii are. Game Boy Color was more successful than N64. Game Boy Advance was much more successful than Gamecube. DS & Wii will be phenonema on both sides of the videogame market. THIS is the difference. The cross-pollination of these audiences will leave people's jaws hanging. The money Nintendo's about to make in the 7th gen may make Bill Gates jealous! Now that IS hyperbole but I swear the Nintendo company with their tight business plan is in for some really good days. Yes, RolStoppable you've figured it out. It's all about the timing of releases. They learned from the Gamecube mistake of Metroid Prime/Wind Waker/Super Mario Sunshine. They are going to juggle this frenzy all year long at the least. THAT'S what will steadily drive these sales past all competitors. John Lucas

Situation in Munich: sold out. I guess the situaiton is just the same worldwide

JohnLucas: I hope it goes so well too, but they have to be careful anyway, the road is not entirely paved yet. But I must admit I laugh and shake my head each time I read gamers say one of those things : - They'd better release a killer app soon because my Wii is gathering dust - The Wii has a poor line-up - There's no big game driving sales ... These gamers think their tastes and time to play a game are the norm. But the fact is that it's not, and the Wii is still sold out nearly everywhere (no more in the USA if you believe some people). The Wii being sold out, Nintendo can afford to delay their big games even more. Besides, I think some games can't be released too close to each other, as they would cannibalize each other's sales. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I doubt SM Galaxy and Dai Rantou can go out next to each other and sell to their full potential. I even wonder if SM Galaxy and Metroid Prime or Dai Rantou can sell next to each other. If I was Nintendo, I would release Metroid Prime first, when sales in NA start to decline. Because Metroid Prime will sell mostly to western people. While SM Galaxy will sell to both market, but I would keep it for Christmas time. And Dai Rantou as a kirifuda (not a hanafuda) if Metroid Prime isn't enough until Christmas. But I doubt they will need more than Metroid Prime.