Wii sales trounce PS3 and Xbox

Nintendo’s Wii video game console outsold Sony’s PlayStation 3 six to one in June in Japan, a Japanese publishing company says.

Although the Wii has been on sale since late last year, they’re selling so briskly supply still hasn’t caught up with demand and long lines form when shipments arrive at stores.

Enterbrain Inc, the publisher, found that Wii also outsold Microsoft Corp’s Xbox 360 in Japan in June.

Nintendo, the maker of Pokemon and Super Mario games, sold 270,974 Will consoles in Japan in June, while Sony sold 41,628 PS3 machines, and Microsoft sold 17,616 Xbox 360 consoles, it said. Overseas sales were not available.

The Wii, with its motion-sensitive remote control wand – called a Wiimote – that can be used as a sword, tennis racket or fishing rod depending on the game, has helped make the game a surprise hit around the world, widening the appeal of games to far beyond the usual niche target of young males.

The latest numbers suggest that Nintendo’s lead is widening. Wii outsold PS3 just four to one in April and five to one in May, according to Enterbrain.

“The Nintendo’s game console is catching on not only among children but also adults and singles,” said Enterbrain spokeswoman Yuko Magaribuchi.

The availability of more game software for the Wii was another factor adding to its popularity, she said.

Nintendo has said it sold 5.84 million Wii machines worldwide in the five months since its release in November, 2.37 million in the Americas, and 2.0 million in Japan. The Kyoto-based company said it expected to sell 14 million more Wii machines in the fiscal year ending in March 2008.

Sony has shipped 5.5 million PS3 machines in the fiscal year through March.

Nintendo has also marked robust sales with its Nintendo DS portable machine, while Sony has struggled with its offering, the PlayStation Portable.