Wii wins

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If Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3 were to square off in a fight, like the heroes of their video games, this round would go to Nintendo.

More than twice as many Nintendo Wiis were sold than PlayStation 3s last month, according to NPD Group, a research company in Port Washington, N.Y. Microsoft's XBox 360, which has been on sale for a year and had more selling time during the month, beat both of them.

It was the first time that all three playing systems had been on sale together in the quickly growing industry. Video game sales rose 34 percent to $1.7 billion in November from a year ago.

Nintendo knocked out PS3 for a number of reasons, despite the PS3's wee bit of an advantage -- it went on sale Nov. 17, two days before the Wii.

Sony's troubles may have to do with price. The PlayStation 3 sells for $499 (or $599 for an upgraded version), whereas the Wii sells for $250. The PS3 was also set back by a shortage of parts, delaying shipment.

The Wii, which went on sale Nov. 19, sold 476,000 units. The PS3 sold 197,000. The XBox 360 sold 511,000 units.

Older gaming systems beat the newbies, partly because they were on sale for the entire month. Nintendo sold 918,000 of its DS, the hand-held system. PlayStation sold 664,000 PlayStation 2 units and 641,000 Nintendo Game Boy Advance units were sold, according to NPD.

The figures are based on NPD estimates and do not include sales at select retailers, such as Wal-Mart, because those retailers don't release such sales information.

Price resonates with college-age gamers.

"I wish the PlayStation people would consider the idea that $600 is unreasonable for the average player," said Charles Basden, a junior at George Washington University who hails from New Jersey. "Traditionally I'm a PlayStation player but I'd rather shell out $300 than $600."

Mr. Basden said he probably is going to buy a Wii.

For other video game fans, price isn't the most important factor.

"The Wii looks interesting because of the hand-motion options," said Ian Balina, a freshman at GW from Rockville.

But, he said, Nintendo is for younger players. He plans to buy a PlayStation3 and hopes to play the Wii at friends' homes.