People see facts and figures constantly and brush them off as, well, facts and figures. But, when people see charts and graphs they “oooh” and “aaaah” over them because the visualization is easy to understand. Now, thanks to the NPD Group and Deutsche Bank, people are seeing some pretty graphs about the console battle. These show just how well the race is going on all fronts of the war.
Although the data is fairly small the colors show it all, the Wii crossed over the Xbox 360 numbers in unit sales and hasn’t stopped since the launch. Here we are, on the third holiday season since the Wii launch, and people still cannot find them in stores. Shortage? Doubtful. Considering the massive sales numbers and the fact that they did take the 360 in numbers it seems the supply just can’t meet the over-the-top demands, but why is the demand so high for the little Nintendo bundle of joy? People just can’t get enough Wii.
The Xbox 360 has much to brag about as well, they’re not first in the race but their nearest next-generation graphic console, the PlayStation 3, isn’t even close. The chart shows them both rising in much the same way, with the same “pops” along the sales chart but in a completely different scale. Since Microsoft doesn’t want to consider Wii a competitor, they’re clearly winning the war in their eyes.
Oddly enough, one of the big pops in Xbox 360 sales where around the PS3 launch. Perhaps these consumers were waiting for both consoles to launch before making a decision? More than likely, it was holiday related and had little to do with the PS3 launch but it is fun to ponder anyway.
What about software sales? We’ve heard the Wii has little to offer in terms of games while the 360 wipes the floor with the competition.
To our surprise, the Wii is rocking the sales figures in terms of software but still doesn’t compare to the Xbox 360. Microsoft pulls out 93-million units while Nintendo takes home a modest 73-million units in software… yet again Sony doesn’t show up to the fight. Looking at November 2007, you can see the Wii jumps significantly in unit sales, no doubt related to the Super Mario Galaxy launch — once they hit that figure they never looked back and continued to climb.
Although a few of us expected Sony’s PlayStation 3 to make huge progress this year, each month they have marginal growth is causing their competitors to excel beyond anyones imagination. We’re starting to wonder how well Sony’s “10 year plan” is going to work out with their competitors taking advantage of the market now when, in 10-years, they will be sitting on their pile of cash to re-invest in the 8th generation of consoles.
(Thanks, GameDaily)
The “year” Sony may be talking about is fiscal year 2009… which rolls into March 2010. Although Sony hasn’t tagged either title with an ETA, it’s being assumed that we’re talking 2009 until spring 2010. Given most games launch in the September and October time for the holiday season that leads us to believe it will either arrive for the holiday or slide to 2010. If the title isn’t ready for prime time by the holiday season, can you wait a full year for these games?
The obvious answer is no, Sony don’t NEED theese 2 games to drop in the 2009 calendar year.
If you take a look at the games that are CONFIRMED to hit before 2010:
Killzone 2
White Knight Chronicles (US and EU release)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Yakuza 3 (Japan)
Infamous
Final Fantasy XIII (Japan)
Heavy Rain
New Ratchet & Clank
Gran Turismo 5 (Possibly)
That’s more than enough to offset anything that Microsoft/Nintendo can conjure up. Even if Microsoft were to shock everyone by releasing Halo 4 and Gears Of War 3 (Har har) Sony would still outshine them without the two games you mentioned.
Personally, i probably won’t even be picking up MAG and God Of War 3 is an afterthought for me. The game i’m most looking forward to is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
The obvious answer is no, Sony don’t NEED theese 2 games to drop in the 2009 calendar year.
If you take a look at the games that are CONFIRMED to hit before 2010:
Killzone 2
White Knight Chronicles (US and EU release)
Uncharted 2: Among Thieves
Yakuza 3 (Japan)
Infamous
Final Fantasy XIII (Japan)
Heavy Rain
New Ratchet & Clank
Gran Turismo 5 (Possibly)
That’s more than enough to offset anything that Microsoft/Nintendo can conjure up. Even if Microsoft were to shock everyone by releasing Halo 4 and Gears Of War 3 (Har har) Sony would still outshine them without the two games you mentioned.
Personally, i probably won’t even be picking up MAG and God Of War 3 is an afterthought for me. The game i’m most looking forward to is Uncharted 2: Among Thieves.
With the inevitable price cut supposedly sometime this year, i think sony can hold off GOW 3 and MAG at least till next year.
The PS3 seem to be coming alive and starting to gain some real momentum and i think a $100 price drop might just seal the deal and save them from utter failure and embarrassment.
Microsoft has already got their install base sewn up hence only need to worry about selling software. Sony on the other hand have the harder task of marketing what seems like a luxury brand (to most people) in a recession. Many people simple can’t justify spending that much on what is primary a game console. (blue-ray simply doesn’t cut it Sony)
At the end of the day it comes down to Two words, PRICE CUT, and they better do it quick.
With the inevitable price cut supposedly sometime this year, i think sony can hold off GOW 3 and MAG at least till next year.
The PS3 seem to be coming alive and starting to gain some real momentum and i think a $100 price drop might just seal the deal and save them from utter failure and embarrassment.
Microsoft has already got their install base sewn up hence only need to worry about selling software. Sony on the other hand have the harder task of marketing what seems like a luxury brand (to most people) in a recession. Many people simple can’t justify spending that much on what is primary a game console. (blue-ray simply doesn’t cut it Sony)
At the end of the day it comes down to Two words, PRICE CUT, and they better do it quick.
The price cut would have been announced today had there been one. Sony’s losing too much per unit still.
The price cut would have been announced today had there been one. Sony’s losing too much per unit still.
The “Rumoured” PS3 price cut isn’t supposed to take effect until April………so why would they have announced it in March??? LOL………….
The “Rumoured” PS3 price cut isn’t supposed to take effect until April………so why would they have announced it in March??? LOL………….
The rumored price drop was March.
http://www.gamestooge.com/2008/11/25/playstation-3-march-2009-price-drop-rumor/
The rumored price drop was March.
http://www.gamestooge.com/2008/11/25/playstation-3-march-2009-price-drop-rumor/
Another rumor:
http://www.gamestooge.com/2009/03/07/more-ps3-price-drop-predictions-by-analysts/
This one was shot down by Sony as well.
Another rumor:
http://www.gamestooge.com/2009/03/07/more-ps3-price-drop-predictions-by-analysts/
This one was shot down by Sony as well.
LOL…..as the link you just provided proves, the price cut isn’t expected to take place until April at the EARLIEST.
Better learn how Sony’s FISCAL year works……..it runs from April through to March of the following year. It makes far more sense for Sony to cut the price at the start of a new fiscal year rather than at the very end of one.
LOL…..as the link you just provided proves, the price cut isn’t expected to take place until April at the EARLIEST.
Better learn how Sony’s FISCAL year works……..it runs from April through to March of the following year. It makes far more sense for Sony to cut the price at the start of a new fiscal year rather than at the very end of one.