The Wii has kicked some serious booty in terms of global sales, getting close to 100 million sales and 'winning', at the time of writing, its generation of systems. That impressive success can mask the fact that the diminutive console has seen momentum go off the cliff since early 2012, as games dried up and the Wii U arrived as its replacement. The worldwide statistic can also override regional variations, so today's news that the Xbox 360 is about to pass the Wii in the UK should come as no surprise to gamers in the region.
In the HD battle of the last-gen between the 360 and PS3, Microsoft's box has always seemed to be the dominant force in the UK. As opposed to the Wii's stalled momentum, the 360 has continued to perform courtesy of plenty of game releases and its status — it seems — as the online gaming machine of choice for many. According to MCV, GfK Chart-Track has confirmed that the 360 has gone beyond 8.4 million sales in the region and is expected to go past Wii "in a matter of days".
The Xbox has enjoyed its fair share of exclusives, but is typically associated with third-party behemoths such as FIFA 13 and anything with Call of Duty in the title, while the Xbox Live service is also a huge draw. This seems to be a case of the tortoise beating the hare, with the Wii's early momentum making way to the 360's longevity.
Don't worry Wii, plenty of Brits — especially those in the Nintendo Life team — still love you.
[source mcvuk.com]
Comments 61
How many of those do you bet are replacements?
I own both consoles and very happy with both of them.
Congrats to Xbox.
@C-Olimar i was gonna say that too, half of those consoles have broken and they had to re buy a new one. ik lots of people thet their 360 broke and bought a new one
1) Wii U has been released
2) Everyone and their great grandmother has a Wii
Also, as others have mentioned most probably bought replacement 360s, especially after the whole red ring of death that's been flying around.
I thought the Xbox 360 already did pass the Wii's sales in the UK.
The UK was the only place in Europe where the Xbox 360 was huge, the rest of Europe and Australia prefer the PS3.
@MrSRArter And the Wii. It never took off in UK in quite the same way as it did in rest of Europe. Even still, 8.4 million is no small feat, though Nintendo could have handled the UK market better.
While I don't wish to be the bearer of bad news (for the "Wii destroyed the competition/dominated the gen" types), but just as a warning, it's almost guaranteed that the same thing is going to happen in the US within the next few months.
The only reason XBOX has sold more. Is the average Xbox lasts about a year before it stops working. My brother has had five Xbox replacements since it came out. I have never had to replace the Wii.
@MrSRArter
We must have bigger hands in the UK.
8.4 million ÷ 5 = 1,680,000
I have both a Wii and a 360. Wii is plugged into the TV, 360 is back in it's box, going to trade it in at Game one of these days for the Wii U, probably next year (Mario Kart 8, X... nuff said)
I have bought 3 UK Xboxes due to red ring issues not covered by Microsoft's red ring replacement policy. Its a doodoo machine and I wish I had just owned a ps3
@ICHIkatakuri
You just needed some cream for that...
DS still beat them both
@Crouteru
The Wii was obviously the "victor" in terms of sales yeah definitely, but overall?
I dont think so.
When I think of last gen, I dont think primarily of the Wii's accomplishments, I think of the 360/PS3's, with achievements/trophies, party chats, retail games digitally, etc.
I only think of the Wii's accomplishments in terms of controls, seeing it led both Sony/MS to do their versions.
However, the Wii likely sold more because it appealed to not just hardcore gamers, but also casual gamers, even non-gamers, so course it'd sell well, mix that with a lower price of the 360/PS3, big win, not because it was "the better console", I'd define a "better console" as the one I used the most, and the Wii by no means was that, only several occassions throughout the year when the next big nintendo game came out.
@C-Olimar Yep, same thing I was going to say as well, there was a few two or three guys I knew on youtube who kept getting console banned or red ringed of death so they kept buying 360's, the last time I checked they bought six.
@ferthepoet
And my old DS still works even with a coffee ring on the top of it.
Not much of a surprise, especially since the Wii U has been out for a year ahead of Xbox One. Still, I continue to play on my Wii to this day! Can't beat a bit of Wii Fit to work off those chocolate bars!
Oh for some reason I thought UK liked the PS3 better than 360. I'm trippin.
@MadAussieBloke
Haha.. The true sales in the UK. Let`s hope that gives Bill Gates a red ring...
The Wii might have been a success sales-wise, but it definitely did not win last gen. Sure, everyone owns a Wii, but anytime I see one it is almost always thrust off to the side, pitiful and unplugged, while a PS3 or 360 claims center stage in the living room.
This isn't much of an achievement, the 360 was out well before the Wii (almost 2 years) and so many people own a Wii it's not even funny.
@Ralizah for a Sony/Microsoft fan, yes, for a Nintendo fan, no. Wii won, easy as that ^-^ I own a PS3 and Wii currently, and I play my Wii all the time while my PS3 collects dust and is used mainly as a DVD/Blu-Ray player So, I'm the opposite of you.
I never understand the draw. I did at first, when the PS3 had a rocky start, but I just can't understand why people would choose a 360. Nintendo is awesome, has great exclusives, but yeah you'll miss some of the latest and greatest 3rd party games if you only have a Wii. But the PS3 also has all those huge multiplatform 3rd party titles (including FIFA) while also having a fantastic catalogue of exclusive titles, many of them game of the year contenders and winners. With Nintendo or Sony you get some of the world's greatest exclusives, including unmissable gems, and with Sony you also don't miss out on the massive multiplatform titles that make up the best of what the 360 has to offer. I just don't get it. And the PS3 is getting cheaper by the day, and still has massive, critically acclaimed exclusives being released.
So far I'm playing this generation out like the last. Nintendo first (since they release out of sync) and watch to see what happens with the other two and maybe get a second console. My money is on Sony again, but it's safer to wait it out and I'm more than happy with all the Nintendo goodness while the other systems build their games catalogues.
@BestBuck123 Completely agree with you. I started out with a 360. Switching to PS3 was one of the best gaming decisions I've ever made. The 360 exclusives (Halo, Gears of War) are massively overrated in my opinion. If you have a 360 you can play AMAZING games, no doubt about that, but almost all of them are also on the PS3, which has superb exclusives now. It's like Sony realized the weaknesses of Nintendo (3rd party support) and Microsoft (exclusives) and copied the best of both of them. I do think Sony is the way to go if you can afford one system because of that balance. In saying that, I'd always want a Nintendo console though so two systems is the way to go for me
(plus 3DS)
I think alot of the PS360 taking center stage is because it works as a dvd player. To be honest outside of Demon Souls and Dark Souls, i only used my PS3 to play blurays and netflix. I have roughly 10X more Wii games then PS3. Had a 360 but sold it. It has some good FPS exclusives but I'm honestly tired of FPS... i guess that's why i love nintendo consoles. They give me a much bigger variety. My Wii U already has more games then my PS3.
@hydeks
Just starting playing Donkey Kong Country and Fire Emblem: Radiant Dawn on my Wii again. Wonder if Xbox owners will be playing any of their old games in a few years time.
@undead_terror @ScorpionMG The sad thing is I'm not even exaggerating to make Nintendo seem better. Most people I know have bought at least 2 Xboxes, and I'm sure I read somewhere that 1/3 of all Xboxes break. I doubt all those people get them repaired.
I'm willing to bet that more people own a Wii than an Xbox.
@Harrison_Peter
I don't think the 360 exclusives were overrated. They are great games in their respect. I think the whole first person shooter is an overplayed genre. The Xbox One release schedule can pretty much be summed up as Shooters and Sports with a splash of games that can be found on 360/ps3/wiiu
my Wii is now my gamecube because I use my Wii U as my Wii.... but lets see, I've had 2 Xbox 360s(technically 3 because one broke, sent it back and got a factory repaired one) and I am sure most people are in the same boat that got an Xbox 360s because it just stopped working all together. as for my Wii, I got it 1 month after it came out and it still works like it did when I bought it and I used it more than my 360. Them pass the Wii is probably due to two factors.
1: there is a new console out for Nintendo
2: People don't need to keep replacing their old Wii with a New Wii because their old Wii doesn't break nearly as easily as the Xbox 360.
@ikki5
Spot on...
@ikki5 That's a great assessment as it perfectly matches my usage. I held on to my Wii to play my GameCube games and I use my Wii U for all the Wii duties (and of course Wii U games).
Fortunately, I've never had to replace my 360 and I get great use out of my PS3. Granted I have nothing but 5 games for it (6 when I pick up The Last of Us this weekend), it makes a great media player/DNLA device. My Wii has never collected dust as I always have friends over every weekend and we engage in local multiplayer. Oh and the Nintendo exclusives have massive replayablilty. Out of all my systems, my Wii U is getting the most usage right now.
@hydeks Hate to say it like I'm being biased, but you're part of the minority then. Mainly its the Wii collecting dust and the other 2 is the main consoles being played. The Wii, in terms of sales, is still beating the other 2 by 22 million.
@hydeks The Wii wasn't built to be able to play the majority of modern video games. As a result, once Nintendo stopped supporting it and focused its attention on developing the Wii U, the already thin trickle of decent software for the Wii dried up almost completely. Outside of a few of these excellent RPGs that have finally been released in NA, the Wii is pretty much dead. PS3 and 360, on the other hand, are still very much alive and will be supported well into the next gen.
Nintendo might have made a lot of money, but it dropped the ball in terms of securing its reputation in the home console market last gen.
@X-Factor So did I, but the rest of Europe and Australia do like the PS3 more though.
I liked Xbox 360 the best, then Wii. Xbox 360 had the hardcore games, Wii had motion, and PS3 had a bluray player I had the Wii on day one, because I wanted Zelda, Smash, Mario, etc. games I bought Wii U for as well.
I eventually got an Xbox 360 S when those came out(I was unwilling to buy the original model in fear of RROD).
Anyway, RROD ended up not even being hard to fix. I can see why you would want an account system for Xbox 360, but Nintendo systems don't break as easily.
With people just buying new systems instead of repairing the ones they have, I think an account system is the least of the problems.
I wouldn't be surprised if we start seeing reports like this for PS3. The Wii was dominating earlier in the generation, but PS3 sales are still growing pretty rapidly, while Wii sales have dropped off. I don't know if it will get around the 100mil mark like Wii did, but it might get closer than we expect.
The PS3 is on fire right now. It has a low price point, blu-ray support, PS+, and a way better library of exclusives than the 360. Unless one is particularly fond of dudebro shooters, I can't imagine why one would opt for a 360 over a PS3 these days.
@Hydeks 360 outselling the Wii isn't a big deal, because... everyone has a Wii? Surely that makes it a big deal?
And people should quit saying that the Wii was not a success in the UK. It was a HUGE success, it's one of the highest selling consoles of all time in the region, so 360's success in going further should be applauded, not dismissed.
Wii won over a lot of people early on with gimmick motion controls and selling it as a family machine and as an exercise machine for women and the elderly.
gamers realized this and it became a dust collector for them and their friends didnt buy one after that.
The 360 and PS3 churn out new, good games every week. Tons of RPGs and adventure games, sports games, etc. that nintendo has none of. So this is expected.
I think people are forgetting that both 360 & PS3 were sold at a substantial loss per unit, I think 3 games needed to be sold to go into profit but i'm unsure so don't quote me. Thats not even taking into account the millions Microsoft lost with the whole red ring thing and Sony having to cut PS3's price earlier than they would have liked too as well as the PSN hack. Meanwhile every Wii was/is sold at a profit.
That said X-Box live profits were/are outrageous which is why Sony have adopted their online multiplayer requirement in hopes to cash in on this lucrative venture.
Console unit sales are not the be all and end all, its all about overall profit. I'm sure someone smarter then me can calculate the overall profit each console has made using hardware, software, subscriptions and accessories info.
@Ralizah
I think your forgetting alot of the 'benefits' of going PS3 is opinionated.
1. PS+ is a rip-off, IMO. You don't get to keep the games, so paying $50(cost of PS+) for games you get to keep past a year may be a better option for some instead of renting many for a year.
2. The exclusives are worse on PS, IMO. I like Gears of War and Halo better than Killzone or Uncharted. The "dudebro" stereotype is BS in some cases. I look at exclusive games from all the consoles that are the most similar gameplay wise.
Gears of War>Uncharted
Halo>Killzone
Super Smash Bros.>PS All Stars Battle
Mario Kart>Modnation(aside from the custom options, Mario Kart is still a better game overall)
Those are the first ones that come to mind. Any game PS has is beat out by a Nintendo OR Microsoft game. Again, just my opinion.
I just think a story about fighting underground monsters on the offensive(Gears of War), is more interesting than fighting people over treasure(Uncharted).
So, ya. In conclusion, I would choose Xbox 360 over a PS3 in the games department. You really have to look at the exclusives when push comes to shove, and Xbox 360 had the multiplats as well as the exclusives I wanted.
I still have a PS3, but that thing is strictly for bluray and media(which I hardly use anyway).
I will never understand why anybody cares about XBOX. The continued success of the 360 is completely baffling to me. Oh, well. Plenty of people seem to enjoy it, so I guess it's just not my type of system.
@SCAR392
1) PS+ gives people steep discounts, at times, on digital games, and access to many, many high-quality games so long as they pay the yearly fee. What do you get when you pay for Xbox Live, again?
2) The Playstation has access to WAY more exclusive titles, particularly adventure and RPG type games. And why are you comparing Sony against Microsoft AND Nintendo? That doesn't make much sense. We're talking about Microsoft vs. Sony. It doesn't matter what exclusives are offered by Nintendo.
Aside from Alan Wake and Shadow Complex, what truly great exclusive titles are on the 360? Anything half as good as the Disgaea games, The Last of Us, Heavy Rain, MGS4, Twisted Metal, God of War, etc.?
The two things 360 used to have going for it were great TIMED exclusives and a much lower price point. Neither of those things are true any more.
I personally don't see what the big deal for the 360 is in the end. (Less exclusives, you have to pay for online, and breaks more easily than the other consoles) It is tons better than the original xbox, but compared to the ps3, wii, and pc I don't see why everybody got it. As long as you enjoy the console though in the end I guess that is all that matters.
Ok, that's very interesting news sarcasm Now back to Animal Crossing.
@Ralizah
Opinion. No argument needed. Also, Xbox Live is more reliable and there still are some free games that you can actually keep past a year, as well as deals like any online app/game shop.
I have a PS3, and I've come to think Xbox 360 is better overall. Again, opinion. Going forward, PS4 requires online. They should have been doing so ro begin with.
I bought tons of the discounted games on PS+, but it wasn't worth it. They make a lower price look attractive so you spend more in the long run.
Overall, it's just an opinion. I don't just put down Sony for no reason like many think.
If you want PS, go ahead, but I know for a fact that Sony doesn't have it's priority set on gaming as much as Microsoft and Nintendo.
The games are discounted because they aren't worth that much anymore, anyway. I bought Borderlands 1 based on reviews and ended up hating it, and no one was playing it anymore. It just so happened it was on discount with PS+.
PS+ is required now past Sony home consoles. That puts them a generation behind in online development.
Those are the kind of stupid choices Atari and Sega were making before they went software.
Nintendo proves time and time again that they know their stuff. As a consumer, the smartest company will always get my money the most. That definitely isn't Sony.
PS2 BC should have been one of the highest priorities for the PS3, seeing as PS2 still had a huge fanbase. BTW, PS2 BC on PS3 is possible. Sony is just stupid.
This is not as relevant as it would have been a year and half ago. This gen is moving on.
They must have taking Microsoft seriously when they made the statement "buy a 360 if you can't constantly have the XBONE connected to the interwebs"...
@SCAR392 Well of course Borderlands is dead... Borderlands 2 is the next "big thing" when it comes to that series, so everyone's on that... Plus they just released a (quite hilarious) DLC for Borderlands 2...
@B3ND3R
I bought it before Borderlands 2 came out though. I'm just saying, people always tend to give more grief towards Nintendo than any other game company.
I like Microsoft and Nintendo's gaming platforms, but I can't say the same about Sony.
I'm not being a fanboy, because I LITERALLY have legitimate reasons to dislike Sony. Same thing with Apple. I just don't give a crap.
My guess is my same type of reaction to how Sony handles PS, is the same reaction PS fans have towards Nintendo's decisions regarding their consoles.
You think Nintendo is handling Wii U poorly? Well, I think Sony is handling PS4 poorly, AS A BUSINESS.
Business wise, Nintendo has the biggest advantage this generation.
@Crouteru Depends how is defined. In terms of profits Nintendo definitely wins. (Microsoft lost about 6 billion - Sony lost about 3 billion).
@Ralizah Sony treat their customers with a contempt unlike any company I know of on earth.
Sooner Sony are gone the better in my opinion. (Saturn / Dreamcast were much better than the Sony Consoles in the same time period in any way that matters to me. (Exclude lazy developers not optimizing anything (Still happens now) - think the playstation era is when awful cross platform releases started).
(If they had a RROD type issue they would blame it on every single owner of the console). Recently they have tried to charge people £80 if their firmware update bricks an unmodified console. (Microsoft would give you a brand new one. Nintendo would fix it free of charge).
I have a Sony phone - manufacturing defect (Faulty compass) they won't fix it.
They use proprietary everything just to annoy people as much as possible.
They remove major features on an existing product (OtherOS) (That is something Microsoft wouldn't ever do). They don't provide updates for the Blu Ray functionality to play new disks if you choose not to do this.
Sony loves DRM more than MS (Enough to put rootkits on Audio CD's) it just used that cheap trick against the Xbox One knowing that EA / Ubisoft will proceed with it regardless. Here is the kicker it won't work properly (Issue the PC has). At least the Xbox One DRM would have worked properly.
Console warz!
The X360 has also enjoyed a steady flow of decent games, compared to the Wii. Particularly in the last few years. The Wii also reached saturation a couple of years back and has largely lost its place in public conciousness.
LOL one consoles is still in production, the other is not, duh.
It's like when this site said the DS surpassed the PS2, same deal.
let's not forget at least half of those 360 sales are people replacing their 360 that broke because of bad build quality
Yeah too right, I know two people who have gone through 3 Xboxes each due to faults! Am still on my first Wii I had since launch, that I have played the s**t out of and still going strong. Haha.
Who cares about sales. I'm a big fan of the Wii. But all do respects the 360 has been the better system. Nintendo Kept us waiting by holding out on software and never did get a viable online gaming service going. There were some absolute gems on the Wii Like Xenoblade and Last Story but we had to practically beg for them. Plus North America will more then likely never get Dragon Quest X Unless we again beg real hard! I don't appreciate that in Nintendo. There is a reason the Wii-U isn't doing so well and it's that it's Fans have lost trust in them.
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