Japanese Hardware: PS3 Again Edges Out Nintendo Wii

For another week, Sony's PlayStation 3 narrowly edged out the Nintendo Wii in weekly sales in Japan, following recent significant price cuts for both consoles, Media Create reported Friday. For the week ended October 18, PS3 sold 30,231, making it the top-selling home console. But the Nintendo Wii, with 29,965, sold just 266 units less during the week. In early September, Sony released a slimmed-down, cheaper PS3, while Nintendo followed suit late in the month with its own price cut on the Wii. Weekly Japan sales of the PS3 peaked on the "slim" console's release, when the console sold over 151,000 units in its opening week. PlayStation 3 outsold the Wii for the month of September thanks to the new form factor and price cut. But it was still the handhelds that once again dominated the charts. DSi led the charts for the sixth week in a row with 49,145 for the week, followed by PSP, which sold 33,508. Sony also recently cut the price of the PSP, which led to a recent sales boost. Below are the Japanese sales charts for the week ended October 18, according to Media Create. DSi: 49,145 PSP: 33,508 PS3: 30,231 Wii: 29,965 Xbox 360: 3,662 DS Lite: 2,590 PS2: 2,109