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Pachter: PS3 Outsold 360 in March
By Kris Graft Print | Send to a friend | Email the editor
PlayStation 3 outsold Xbox 360 for the third month in a row, but the Nintendo Wii overshot the combined sales of its rivals, according to Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter.
ImageAhead of March's NPD Group sales data, due to release this Thursday, Pachter forecast PS3 sales of 365,000 units, edging out sales of 310,000 for Xbox 360.

In a Monday investor note, Pachter predicted that Nintendo will come out on top for yet another month, with Wii sales of 700,000 during March's five-week retail period.

Pachter believes that Wii and DS supply improved during the month, adding that the Wii supply situation has "made forecasting unit sales quite difficult." Pachter said a weak US dollar may have driven Nintendo to give a larger piece of the 1.8 million Wiis produced monthly to Europe at the expense of the US market.

"However," Pachter wrote, "we believe that European supply has caught up with demand, and think that the company likely shipped the U.S. its “'fair share' in the month of March, particularly in light of Nintendo’s need to support the launch of Super Smash Brothers Brawl."

He said that Wii demand is "expected to outstrip supply well into 2008."

The simExchange virtual stock exchange forecast Wii sales of 593,000, and PS3 and Xbox 360 sales of 301,000 and 296,000, respectively.

Software will also likely be the big story for March, as Pachter expects console software sales of $850 million, a 47 percent rise at US retail.

Super Smash Bros. Brawl from Nintendo is expected to be the top game for the month. The title, released on March 9, sold over 1.4 million units in the US in its first week. Pachter believes the title sold 2 million during the entire month.

Other top sellers may include Army of Two, Rainbow Six Vegas 2, Major League Baseball 2K8 and catalog titles such as Wii Play, Guitar Hero III and Rock Band.

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