Sony"s PlayStation 3 games console has outsold the Nintendo Wii for the first time on a monthly basis in Japan, with 309,939 PlayStation"s sold in September. The Wii ranked fourth, behind both company"s handheld offerings, with the console selling just 61,691 units in September.
According to Bloomberg, Nintendo"s DS Lite and DSi handheld consoles came a close second to the PlayStation 3, selling a combined 297,060 units. Sony"s PSP finished ranked third, selling just 83,887 units, according to market researcher Enterbrain Inc.
Sony cut the price of the PlayStation 3 in Japan to 29,980 yen ($335) at the start of September, when it introduced the PlayStation 3 Slim, which is one-third the size of the original. The new model and lower price saw the Tokyo-based company"s console sell more than 1 million units worldwide in three weeks. Sony also announced last month that it will lower the price of the PSP in Japan to 16,800 yen, from October onwards.
Microsoft also offered a price cut for its Xbox 360 console, cutting the most expensive model to 29,800 yen in Japan, while Nintendo was the last of the three console makers to announce a price cut. From October on the motion-sensing console will be available for just 20,000 yen.