Nintendo to sell Wii in China

By Kiyoshi Takenaka

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co Ltd said it aims to launch its Wii game console in China and South Korea next year, helping accelerate its break-neck growth and cement its recent lead over Sony Corp and Microsoft Corp.

One day after the three game makers' earnings announcements, Japan-based analysts said Nintendo looks well positioned to win the race for top spot in the current-generation videogame console market due to a strong software line-up and low hardware price.

"New game hardware comes around once in every five, six years. So, making a good start is crucial," Daiwa Institute of Research analyst Koki Shiraishi said.

"Since the Xbox 360 was launched one year ahead, it is roughly on par with the Wii in total sales. But if you take a look at current momentum in net growth, the Wii is well ahead."

In July-September Nintendo sold 3.9 million units of the Wii, which features a motion-sensing controller that allows users to direct on-screen play by swinging it like a racket, three times as many as Sony's PlayStation 3 sales and twice as many as Microsoft's Xbox 360 sold during the same period.

"We suffer a global shortage of the Wii. Our responsibility now is to deliver as many consoles as we can to existing markets," Nintendo President Satoru Iwata told a news conference.

"But next year, I think we can bring the Wii (to China)."

Iwata also said on Friday he has no plan to cut the Wii price in response to recent console price cuts by Sony and Microsoft.