Recently released video game console sales numbers show that the Wii console has absolutely dominated the console video game market in 2008. In fact the Wii console has outpaced the competition by at considerable margin. In fact the NPD reports that in 2008 10.8 million, yes million, Wii consoles were sold. In comparison the Xbox 360 sold 4.74 million units, and the PlayStation 3 sold 3.55 million units. For those who are not great at math look at it this way, there have been more Wii console units sold than both Xbox 360's and PlayStation 3's combined.
It has long been a myth that Wii console sales do not directly represent gamers interest in the Wii console itself due to the theory that gamers do not continue to play games on the console after the initial purchase and novelty value has worn off. To combat this notion it should be noted that the Wii console is responsible for the top 4 selling games of 2008, with the number one selling game being Wii Play, which moved a respectable 5.28 million copies.
Clearly Sony and Microsoft have something to worry about at this point with these staggering sales numbers in both the hardware and software arena. What makes the situation even more compelling is the fact that neither Sony nor Microsoft are even in second place, instead the Nintendo DS earns the title of being second place to the Wii console by selling an amazing 9.95 million units in 2008.
Much speculation can be made about how the Wii console has managed to position itself at the top of the food chain; but clearly there are at least a few strategic decisions made by Nintendo that stand as uncontested reasons for the Wii console popularity. For starters Nintendo positioned the Wii console at the low end of the price spectrum when it came to next-generation consoles; in fact they positioned the Wii console at the absolute bottom by offering it at a $250 price point. To individuals on a budget this is obviously much more attractive than the more than $500 PlayStation 3.
The innovation factor cannot be ignored either. The Wii console is just plain interesting as a piece of hardware, and this intrigue has gone a long way towards moving Wii consoles off store shelves and into the hands of consumers. The wireless gesture-based control offered by the Wii console has captured the hearts of consumers across the globe and has led to some impressive video games that make use of the unique control scheme. The sheer accessibility of this unique control scheme has allowed the Wii console to expand to demographic stats have not traditionally embraced video games and has proven that there is always room to grow in an industry that thought it had clearly defined its target demographic years ago. Nintendo has shown through sheer innovation and confidence in knowing what the consumer wants that the Wii console is here to stay and should heavily influence the next generation of gaming consoles.
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