Analysts: Wii sales will surpass PS2

Analysis firm Venture Beat has predicted that Nintendo's Wii console will outperform Sony's PS2 to become the world's most successful ever console.

The firm delivered the verdict after analysing North American sales data compiled by the NPD Group.

Lifetime sales of the PS2 presently stand at around 140 million units, but the Wii is ahead by 10% in its comparative lifetime.

Nintendo has shifted 17.5 million Wiis in the first 26 months of US sales compared to the 15.9 million PS2s which Sony managed to sell in the same time period.

Venture Beat predicted that around 154 million Wii units will have been purchased worldwide by 2014, which will make it the best-selling console of all time.

The firm also pointed out that the PS3 has sold 6.79 million units in the US market during the past 26 months, which is similar in performance to the GameCube.

However, it added that the potential long-lasting appeal of the PS3 could ultimately enable it to endure for longer than Nintendo's last-generation machine.