Wii is 'impulse buy', says Sony

February 1st, 2007, 18:44 Posted By: wraggster

The battle of the next-gen consoles is hotting up, with Sony dismissing the Wii as an "impulse buy" while Nintendo claims its machine is in higher demand than the PlayStation 3.

Speaking to the New York Times, Sony Computer Entertainment of America spokesperson Dave Karraker said that 100,000 PS3 units are being shipped into the US each week - and are selling out.

However, he conceded that sales have slowed since the busy Christmas period, stating, "The frenzy we saw at the holidays has subsided a bit."

Karraker went on to compare the PS3 and the Wii, suggesting that Sony's console is much more powerful and should therefore be regarded as being in a different category. "Wii could be considered an impulse by more than anything else," he said.

If Karraker is correct a lot of consumers are acting on impulse, with a continuing shortage of Wii units in the US. The PS3, on the other hand, is said to be readily available in many areas.

Sony has suggested that there appears to be more demand for Nintendo's console simply because the company is shipping less stock, but NoA's vice president of marketing, Perrin Kaplan, disagrees.

"That's absolutely inaccurate," she said - claiming that Nintendo is shipping at least the same number of units as Sony.

The NYT article also quotes "company officials" as stating that a million Wii consoles are being shipped around the globe each month, with the US receiving half of that number - and therefore more than the 100,000 PS3 units per month Sony has claimed to be shipping.

via gibiz

Who thinks Sony are just crybabys because the Wii has done so well so far ?

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