Report: Wii software growth has peaked, dropping off

Despite having a significantly larger install base than any other console, Nintendo's Wii software sales have apparently already peaked and are starting to drop off. That's according to an analysis done by Gamasutra, which compared the growth patterns of the last six major consoles and found that the Wii is peaking far earlier than any of the others.

This past May, Wii software sales were down 29 percent year-over-year and, for the whole of 2010, the Wii may only sell two games per console. For a system in its fourth year, that's an "unprecedented" rate of decline, according to analyst Michael Pachter.

These are still just estimates, and if Wii's software sales turn around -- perhaps because of multiple big releases later this year -- it's possible that the numbers could hold steady at this rate for a few more years, rather than dropping off further.