Wii tearing away as UK market leader

The Nintendo Wii has cemented its position as the most sought after console on the UK market according to new chart data.

GfK Chart Track figures show enormous growth of 2.5 million units for Wii since September 2007. The console now boasts a market-leading installed base of 3.6 million units.

Xbox 360 and PS3 also proved popular, and managed to shift an equal 1 million units each during the same 12 month period.

That means Xbox 360 still exhibits a healthy lead over its bitter rival, with a total installed base of 2.3 million next to 1.4 million PlayStation 3s.

Sales of the DS were equally pleasing for Nintendo, shooting up from 3.8 million to 7.1 million in just one year. The PSP only managed meagre gains of 700,000 units, to rise from 2.2 million to 2.9 million.

Overall, the installed base of all five consoles has almost doubled in the UK from 8.8 million to 17.3 million.

High street retailer The Game Group reckons that by Christmas the Wii will reach 4.9 million units, the Xbox 360 2.8 million and the PS3 1.9 million units.

DS units are expected to climb a further 1.2 million to 8.3 million and the PSP to 3.1 million.