Wii officially the most popular next-gen console.

As of August 23, according to sample data from vgchartz.com, the Nintendo Wii is now the most popular next-gen console, surpassing the Xbox 360 in lifetime sales and market share.

This is no small feat, considering that the Xbox 360 had a full year longer on the market than the Wii. During that first year alone plus one year against the Wii and Playstation 3, Microsoft sold 10.89 million Xbox 360 consoles.

In just one year (a bit shorter, in fact: 10 months) Nintendo sold 11.42 million Wii consoles.

This puts Nintendo’s market share of next-gen consoles at 42.5%, with Microsoft in a close second at 40.1%. However, as evidenced by its higher sales in a shorter amount of time, the Wii is selling at nearly 2 times the rate of the Xbox 360. If the current trend continues, the Wii’s market share will continue to rise at double the rate of the 360, until eventually Microsoft’s market share grows stagnant and, eventually, decreases.

Sony, with its Playstation 3, holds a very distant third with 17.2% market share, caused by pitiful sales of only 4.52 million units. Samples also suggest that PS3 sales are slowing as the hype of its $100 price drop falls away.

At the very least, these figures illustrate a tremendous comeback for Nintendo, with the Wii placing it back on top of the video game market for the first time since the NES in 1985. At best, however, this could spell victory for Nintendo in the next-gen console war.