Nintendo Wii in full sprint against PS3, Xbox 360

Japanese research group Enterbrain says that it expects Nintendo to further outpace competitors Microsoft and Sony in the game console industry well into next year. Estimates are that 16.5 million Nintendo Wii game consoles will be sold within the last two quarters of fiscal year 2007.

Expected to boost the sales of the Nintendo Wii this holiday season is the launch of Wii Fit in December across Japan. Fans have been eagerly anticipating this title which comes with a board that senses movement. This will allow exercise and virtual sports games to be played more realistically than ever before.

Enterbrain President Hirokazu Hamamura gave praise to Kyoto-based Nintendo for making its business model very attractive to investors. As a result, the company has doubled its stock since the Nintendo Wii launched in Japan last year.

Nintendo, which partially floundered in the last generation of game systems with unimpressive sales from its GameCube, bounced back with innovative gaming to beat its rivals. Instead of capitalizing on graphics, its Nintendo Wii used a broader-appealing set of games to expand the market. It took less than a year for the Nintendo Wii to outrun the leader Microsoft Xbox 360 which launched more than a year ahead.

Enterbrain, however, says that Sony’s PlayStation 3 cannot be counted out just yet. Hamamura says that come 2009 or 2010 when high-definition TVs are made more popular in Japan, the Sony PS3 just might pick up steam.

Via Bloomberg

Japanese research group Enterbrain says that it expects Nintendo to further outpace competitors Microsoft and Sony in the game console industry well into next year. Estimates are that 16.5 million Nintendo Wii game consoles will be sold within the last two quarters of fiscal year 2007.

Expected to boost the sales of the Nintendo Wii this holiday season is the launch of Wii Fit in December across Japan. Fans have been eagerly anticipating this title which comes with a board that senses movement. This will allow exercise and virtual sports games to be played more realistically than ever before.

Enterbrain President Hirokazu Hamamura gave praise to Kyoto-based Nintendo for making its business model very attractive to investors. As a result, the company has doubled its stock since the Nintendo Wii launched in Japan last year.

Nintendo, which partially floundered in the last generation of game systems with unimpressive sales from its GameCube, bounced back with innovative gaming to beat its rivals. Instead of capitalizing on graphics, its Nintendo Wii used a broader-appealing set of games to expand the market. It took less than a year for the Nintendo Wii to outrun the leader Microsoft Xbox 360 which launched more than a year ahead.

Enterbrain, however, says that Sony’s PlayStation 3 cannot be counted out just yet. Hamamura says that come 2009 or 2010 when high-definition TVs are made more popular in Japan, the Sony PS3 just might pick up steam.

Via Bloomberg