• Ars Technica, Thursday, July 19, 2007 11:15 AM

In the video game console wars, worldwide leader Nintendo continues to kick butt. Japan, apparently, is the bellwether, as Nintendo's Wii is trouncing the Sony's PS3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360, with sales of 2.9 million, compared to 1.01 million for Sony and a paltry 420,705 units for Microsoft. The Japanese don't seem to have any interest in the Xbox 360, so Microsoft is pretty much fighting the war on two fronts: the U.S. and Europe.

Perhaps that grim reality forced Peter Moore, Microsoft's vice president of Interactive Entertainment, to take a new job with game publisher Electronics Arts, which produces games for each of the competing systems. In Japan, Wii sales continue to rise steadily. Its pull is so strong that in its first month, the Wii outsold the PS3 and the Xbox 360 in their first seven months.

The race is a little tighter in North America: In the first seven months of 2007, Nintendo sold nearly 4 million consoles, compared to approximately 2.5 million Xbox 360s and 1.5 million PS3s. Overall, Xbox, with a one-year head start, leads the pack with nearly 6.5 million units sold. But Sony may be closing in on Microsoft, especially after the 360's weak showing at the Electronic Entertainment Expo in Los Angeles, the resignation of Moore and the $1 billion-plus warranty extension related to flawed hardware. Sony, had an impressive E3, followed by a $100 price drop and the launch of Home, the PS3's Web network.

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