Wii to pass 360 by June in the USA
Smash Bros. effect, says Fils-Aime.
Nintendo believes its Wii console will pass the total installed base for Xbox 360 in the USA by June.
Regional boss Reggie Fils-Aime made the bold if unsurprising claim to Bloomberg, and pointed to mid-2008 releases of Wii Fit and Super Smash Bros. Brawl as the reason why.
The most recent data shows Wii with over 8 million sales in the USA, which is slightly behind the Xbox 360 total of over 9 million.
However, Wii has been outselling rivals PS3 and Xbox 360 around the world and was crowned the generation leader by The Financial Times in September 2007.
The Wii has sold over 20 million units worldwide, the Xbox 360 has sold 18 million, and the PS3 more than 10 million.
Interestingly all three platform holders count the US as their largest market, although Wii, and to a lesser extent PS3, enjoy success in Japan.
The PS3 is also expected to gain considerable momentum in 2008 from the recent discontinuation of HD-DVD, as well as from key releases like Metal Gear Solid 4.
But, before you get carried away, Microsoft has a trick or two up its sleeve: perhaps the biggest being Gears of War 2 for a November 2008 release.