Nintendo’s Wii is eclipsing Sony’s PlayStation 3
Some of the video game industry’s smartest minds thought that couch potatoes wanted richer graphics, and more challenging virtual worlds. It turns out that a lot of potatoes simply wanted to get off the couch.
That may be the best explanation for the growing popularity of the Nintendo Wii, the new video game system that has players jumping, punching and swinging, giving them a workout right in front of their television sets.
The Wii, which uses an innovative wireless controller to translate the players’ motions onto the screen, has upset the order of the video game world. In electronics stores and elsewhere, there are growing signs that the Wii has taken the lead in buzz and sales over another new console, the Sony PlayStation 3, which has broken ground in processing power and graphics.
The competitive picture became clearer Tuesday, when Sony reported disappointing profits that industry analysts attributed largely to the shaky rollout of the PlayStation 3 and lukewarm demand for the complex machines.
By contrast, Nintendo said last week that its own third-quarter sales were up 40 percent from a year earlier, buoyed by Wii sales. Both consoles were hard to come by during the holiday shopping season. This week, visits to stores throughout the United States turned up several with PlayStation 3’s in stock, while the Wii was sold out.