Last year at E3, Microsoft’s Don Mattrick was convinced that The Xbox 360 would become the number one selling console globally.
It looks like he was right.
For the first time since competition launched in 2006, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is indeed the world’s top selling console last year. According to GeekWire.com, who arduously collected data from each company’s public earnings reports, Microsoft sold more Xbox 360 consoles than the competition in the form of Sony’s PlayStation 3 and Nintendo’s Wii for the calendar year, the first time since those consoles launched. Traditionally, it’s been Nintendo’s more casual oriented Wii that’s lead.
Geekwire’s report puts the Xbox 360 at 14.9 million Xboxes sold last year, compared to 14.1 million PS3s and just 10.33 million Wiis. Cumulatively, Nintendo’s the undisputed king of this gen to date, with 95 million Wiis sold worldwide - compared with 66 million Xbox 360s and 62 million PS3s. It’s interesting to note that without the huge holiday Kinect push, that title would have gone to the PlayStation 3; The Xbox 360 sold 8.2 million units, the Ps3 sold 6.5 and the Wii 5.6.
There’s a disparity of 1.7 million units between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 for the holiday period – but just 800 000 in the year over all.
Last Updated: February 6, 2012
