PS3 bounces back, trumps Wii sales in Japan

Don't look now but Sony's PlayStation 3 has pulled an upset in the year-long game console battle as it outsold rival Nintendo's Wii in Japan last November.

This is according to an Associated Press report, which stated that a survey conducted by market researcher Enterbrain found that in the four weeks through Nov. 25, Sony sold 183,217 PS3 consoles, while Nintendo sold 159,193 Wii consoles. Enterbrain also reported that PS3 sales in Japan trailed behind Wii in May and June with 5 to 1 and 6 to 1 ratios, respectively.

The improved sales of the PS3 follow Sony's price cuts on the machine around the world. Sony slashed the tag of it's PS3 with 20Gbyte hard disk memory by 10 percent from $454 to $409. PS3 with 60Gbyte memory now sells for about $500 from $545 and a newly introduced 40Gbyte model is available for $363.

Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman Sousuke Kamei declined to comment on the Enterbrain data, saying the figures were not the company's or Nintendo's. However, he disclosed that the sales of the 40Gbyte machines were brisk in Japan. He added that sales for the PS3 are gaining momentum as they approach the year-end and the availability of more game software gives an added boost.