January U.S. sales of Nintendo Co. Ltd.'s Wii video game system soared past consoles from rivals Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp., according to the latest sales figures.

Nintendo is already outpacing its North American rival, Microsoft, which released its Xbox 360 console a year before. NPD Group research data showed that 436,000 Wii units were sold in January compared to 294,000 Xbox game machines.

Sales of Nintendo's family oriented game-console were also higher than its eagerly anticipated rival, Sony Playstation 3, which sold 244,000 units.

highly anticipated rival, Sony Playstation 3 which sold 244,000 units. Sony's last generation game console, the a seven-year-old Playstation 2, sold 300,000 units in January.

While Microsoft and Sony had marketed their new, next-gen game consoles as high performing entertainment centers, sporting high-definition graphics and new media technologies, Nintendo insisted that the system was fun for the whole family.

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