http://tinyurl.com/3aaaq3

By Tor Thorsen, GameSpot
Posted Sep 12, 2007 5:42 pm PT

Today, the Financial Times reported that the three-way race between
the next-generation consoles has a new frontrunner. Citing cumulative
sales data through the end of July, the British newspaper's Japanese
correspondent is claiming that the Nintendo Wii has now sold more
units worldwide than the Xbox 360, despite the latter's year-long head
start.

According to the Times, approximately 9 million Wiis were purchased
across the globe as of July 31, just barely overtaking the 360's 8.9
million units sales during the same period. Both platforms were far
ahead of the PlayStation 3, which sold only around an estimated 3.7
million units internationally.

If those numbers seem low, it's because they are for consoles that
have been sold, not shipped. Typically, hardware makers tout the
number of consoles they have shipped into the retail channels, not
numbers of actual consoles sold. In July, Microsoft announced it had
shipped 11.5 million 360s, short of its self-imposed 12 million-unit
goal. In May, Sony said it produced 5.5 million PS3s worldwide, though
it has since changed its tracking method to account for consoles sold
instead of made. Reps for Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony had not
responded to requests for comment on the Times piece as of press time.

If accurate, the Wii sales milestone is a watershed for Nintendo.
Though it has consistently dominated the handheld market, the 9
million-unit figure would mark the first time since the Super Nintendo
era that Nintendo can lay claim to the best-selling console of its
generation.

After launching a year behind the PlayStation 2 in 2001, the GameCube
slid into third place, falling behind the Xbox, which was launched at
nearly the same time. According to Wedbush Morgan Securities
estimates, the still-in-production PS2 sold 112 million units
internationally as of April 2007. By comparison the now-discontinued
Xbox and GameCube sold 23.1 million and 22.1 million units,
respectively. Launched in late 1998, the Sega Dreamcast only sold 8.5
million units worldwide during its short lifetime.

The Mario Factory's previous console, the N64, was trounced by the
then-upstart original PlayStation, selling an estimated 29.8 million
to 85.7 million units through April 2007. The SNES sold 46.5 million
units, versus the Sega Genesis' 25.8 million units.