Overall, though, Nintendo sold ~600,000+ units than Sony though, right?  Or is my math off?

Given the total install bases of the hardware, that's still a pretty impressive showing for Nintendo.

So yes, Wii2 is coming then.

Not bad, it only took them, what, four years?

No, you're right.

That the PSP outsold the DS for the first time only in its final year of life is a little depressing. But its like someone who can't beat someone in a fair fight so they wait until they are in a retirement home and then they only just barely beat them. Well, congratulations, Sony, you finally managed to beat up someone, but you had to wait until they were elderly before you could do it. This makes the PSP system nothing more than a punk bully.

It wouldn't be so bad if the PSP didn't also outsell the 3DS last week in Japan. That's something there is really no excuse for and it shouldn't have happened ever.

Chozo thats not fair considering they have both been around for the same amount of time.

This is still interesting for full year numbers.  It really means that in Japan DS and Wii have probably hit a Saturation point.

DS may have hit a saturation point, but Wii doesn't have any meaningful games.

If Wii had more AAA... or even AA.... scratch that, a steady stream of core aimed games of any grade above a C effort, then they would still be selling on ~par to 2 years ago if not better.

"Saturation point" is nonsense logic. It's said to mean "everybody who wants one has one" but that applied to the Virtual Boy too. Sales are a reflection of how many people want one and it's the job of the console manufacturer to increase that number.

On the console front this looks like things finally working they way they should.  The PS3 is just a vastly superior console.  The Wii has virtually non-existent third party support and the only thing that truly seperates it from the last gen Gamecube is the controller which is usually used for button-replacement waggle.  So we're bascially getting Gamecube games with imprecise controls.  The PS3 however has incredibly healthly third party support despite being the least successful console and the hardware is clearly a generation up from the PS2.  And it even now has motion control as an option so the one big ace in the hole that the Wii had has been taken away.

Maybe the Wii just reached it's saturation point.  Or maybe now that the PS3 is actually affordable it has gained steam.  That was the PS3's big problem - it was just too damn expensive.  Now that that is not an issue it can compete entirely on its merits as a videogame system.  The Wii's runaway success was pretty shocking.  It defied all logic.  It was a system with effectively no third party support selling like hotcakes almost entirely on the success of a game that was like a modern take on Pong.  People called it a fad because it sure seemed like one.  The Wii just didn't seem good enough to sell as well as it did.

Could anyone honestly provide a good reason why the Wii SHOULD have outsold the PS3 in 2010?  Is this some injustice?  What did Nintendo do to deserve having the best selling system of 2010?  It was the same as every year on the Wii - a handful of great games released months apart with nothing of note in between.  Of course the Wii still sold fine in 2010 so it isn't like Nintendo is screwed or anything like that.

If the Wii was the best of the best at everything then you could call this an upset.  But it's just been Nintendo coasting since day one.  Eventually that was going to catch up to them.

As for the DS could it perhaps be that everyone guessed the DS was on its last legs?  The second the DSi came out it was like a big red sign saying "the DS successor is on the way".  So if you still don't own a DS why buy one now?  Might as well wait for the 3DS.

As for the 3DS sales, well, what does it got going for it at this point?  The launch lineup ain't exactly setting the world on fire so why not wait?  Again, it isn't like at this point the 3DS really deserves to be a runaway success.  It has not proven itself yet.

Actually according to Media Create, the Wii did beat the PS3 for 2010.  The last week of Media Creates 2010 sales had the YTD totals at this.

Wii - 1,674,438
PS3 - 1,586,122


Basically the PS3 and the Wii ended up at a tie for the year 2010 in Japan.  When Famitsu has the PS3 as the winner and Media Create has the Wii as the winner, neither side can truly claim victory for 2010.