Nintendo Wii outsells Sony's PS3 in Japan in July

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii game console outsold Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 by a ratio of over 4 to 1 in Japan in July, game magazine publisher Enterbrain said on Friday.

Nintendo sold 396,752 units of the Wii in the five weeks ended July 29, compared with 91,987 units of the PS3.

The PS3, packed with Sony's cutting-edge technology such as a Blu-ray high-definition DVD player, has been lagging the Wii in sales since their launches late last year due to PS3's high price and scarcity of strong software titles.

In June, the ratio was 6 to 1 in favor of the Wii.

The console features a motion-sensing controller that allows players to direct on-screen action by swinging it like a bat or a sword, enabling virtual tennis games in the living room.

Nintendo said last week its quarterly operating profit more than tripled on stellar demand for the Wii as well as for the DS handheld game gear, and raised its annual forecast above market expectations.

The Wii sells for 25,000 yen ($210) in Japan, twice as expensive as the basic version of the PS3.

Before July data became available, shares in Nintendo closed up 4.7 percent at 55,500 yen, in a rebound from a recent downtrend, which followed a two-year bull run.

Sony, locked in a three-way battle with Nintendo and Microsoft Corp. in the $30 billion video game industry, gained 1.0 percent to 6,110 yen.

Microsoft sold 17,970 units of its Xbox 360 in July in Japan, Enterbrain data showed. The machine went on sale about a year ahead of the Wii and PS3.

($1=119.12 Yen)