Sony sales overtake Nintendo

Investors will be keeping an eye on Sony's share price later today (June 9th), after the latest sales data from the company showed it has overtaken Nintendo in the video game console market for the first time in eight years.

It was announced by the company that it sold 18.7 million systems during the last financial year, which is a significant amount ahead of Nintendo's 16.3 million video games machines sold.

Sony launched the latest of its games consoles just before Christmas last year and the PlayStation 4 has gone on to be a major success for the company, competing with fellow next generation machine the Xbox One, which is manufactured by Microsoft.

Nintendo games

But some industry commentators believe it is too early to write off Nintendo as a rival to Sony and Microsoft, as fighting title Super Smash Bros 4 is set to be released on its consoles the Wii U and the 3DS later in the year.

"It's a title you have to keep your eye on as it's an epic franchise," Lewis Ward, a video games analyst at the IDC consultancy, told BBC News. "But it's going too far to say it will turn around Nintendo's fortunes. By my projections the Wii U will remain in third place."

Despite this, the share price of Nintendo rose strongly today, with stocks in the video game company up by almost two per cent compared to the start of the day.

Sony has also seen sales of its portable Vita console hold up its latest financial results, although they were down by 20 per cent on the previous data released by the firm.

The share price of Sony was down by almost one per cent on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, closing the week on a low. But the new sales figures showing the PlayStation 4 has been a big seller for the company may persuade investors to buy stocks in the firm today.

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