Nintendo Wii/DS Outsell Sony PS3/PSP 5-1 in Japan

Japanese video game magazine publisher Enterbrain says Nintendo's Wii outsold Sony's PlayStation 3 more than five-to-one in May: 251,794 units vs. 45,321 units. A KBC Securities analyst cited a lack of good game titles for the PS3, resulting in the soft demand. The analyst said it's too early in the console cycle to say "game over", but added "it's not very encouraging" for Sony. Only 11,082 units of Microsoft's Xbox 360 were sold. Nintendo's handheld DS console outsold Sony's PlayStation Portable 620,670 versus 123,673 units. Sony president Ryoji Chubachi said his firm "does not rule out the possibility of lowering the price" of the PS3, in an interview with the Daily Yomiuri. Sony already cut its price by 20% before launching in Japan. Separately, Microsoft appears to be using a Nintendo-esque strategy as it has revived Pac-Man in a new high-definition (but still 2-D) version, available now via download as part of Pac-Man Championship Edition for the Xbox 360, according to a report by Bloomberg.

Sources: AFP newswire, Bloomberg [I, II], Reuters
Commentary: Nintendo to Dominate Portable Gaming Market • Gaming Wars: Microsoft's Early Halo 3 Release To Provide Added Upside • Sony And Video Games: $100 Price Cut For PS3 Would Be Too Little, Too Late
Stocks/ETFs to watch: Nintendo (NTDOY.PK) (JP: 7974), Sony (SNE) (JP: 6758), Microsoft (MSFT). Gaming software publishers: Electronic Arts (ERTS), Activision (ATVI), Konami (KNM), Take Two (TTWO), THQ (THQI)

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