March Console Sales Numbers (omg)

[Big Fo]

Hardware:

Wii .....................721K
Nintendo DS .......698K
PSP................... 297K
Xbox 360 ...........262K
PlayStation 3 ......257K
PlayStation 2 ......216K

Software:

WII SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL...........................2.7M
360 *TOM CLANCY'S RAINBOW SIX: VEGAS 2 .......752.3K
360 ARMY OF TWO..............................................606.1K
WII PLAY W/ REMOTE.......................................... 409.8K
PSP GOD OF WAR: CHAINS OF OLYMPUS............... 340.5K
PSP CRISIS CORE: FINAL FANTASY VII..................301.6K
WII GUITAR HERO III: LEGENDS OF ROCK.............264.1K
360 MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K8.......................237.1K
360 *CALL OF DUTY 4: MODERN WARFARE..............237K
PS3 ARMY OF TWO...............................................224.9K

Industry Sales
---------------------------Mar-07-------- Mar-08---- CHG
Total Video Games --------- $1.1B------ $1.7B----- 57%
Video Games Hardware---- $377.9M ----$551.3M--- 46%
Video Games Software----- $579.1M ----$945.6M ---63%
Video Game Accessories---- $139.5M----- $220M ----58%



Holy crap at the Wii numbers, utterly ridiculous for the month of March. Smash Brothers did great as well. I wonder if Nintendo is starting to catch up to demand, the going rate on ebay has dropped to around $50 over MSRP. They're gonna need a lot more of them for Mario Kart Wii next both and Wii Fit in May.

Two PSP games making the top 10 is unusual, it's rare that one even makes it. I hear the God of War game is really good.

The 360 versions of Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and Army of Two outsold their PS3 versions big-time, at a greater ratio than the installed base of the two consoles. Both HD consoles had declining sales from last month taking into account a 4-week February and a 5-week March.

Videogames are often said to be one of the few recession-proof industries.

[wade moore]

This is US or Worldwide?

[Big Fo]

US only.

[Groundhog]

If 360 sales > PS3 sales, go ahead and assume it's US only.

[Groundhog]

Videogames are often said to be one of the few recession-proof industries.

We'll see, I guess. Both the consoles as well as the games are considerably more expensive than they used to be.

[Eaglesfan27]

So much for MBBF's predictions of the PS3 catching the 360 in early 09. The US numbers have to be more favorable for Sony for that to happen at anytime in 09 much less early 09.

Those Nintendo numbers are incredibly impressive.

[Groundhog]

I'm interested to see what Nintendo do next, console wise.

[Big Fo]

Nintendo PR

US, April 17, 2008 - In March, Nintendo again defined industry momentum in both home and portable video games sales, according to the independent NPD Group, which monitors retail activity in the video game industry. More than 720,000 Wii systems sold in March, representing the highest monthly sales total outside of holiday months (November or December) to date, while Nintendo DS™ also sold through nearly 700,000 systems.

Nintendo also finished with the top-selling U.S. game of March. Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which launched March 9, came in at No. 1 with 2.7 million units sold.

"Nintendo systems represented 58 percent of all video game hardware sold in March in the United States," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We expect our momentum to continue with big upcoming game launches like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit."

Other March U.S. statistics, according to NPD, include:

Three Wii games finished in the top 10, including Super Smash Bros. Brawl at No. 1, Wii Play™ at No. 4, and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock at No. 7. Nintendo DS has now sold more than 19 million units in the United States alone since it launched in November 2004.

For more information about Nintendo, please visit Nintendo.com.

Microsoft PR

Consumers continue to make the ultimate vote for Xbox 360 as the console of choice by investing $9.4 billion to date this lifecycle in the Xbox 360 experience, far outpacing that of other game consoles. (March NPD data)

Going into March, some key U.S. retailers were still experiencing the trickledown effect of Xbox 360 console shortages. By the end of March, supply issues had improved and we expect retailers to be fully stocked with Xbox 360 consoles in time for the “Grand Theft Auto IV” launch. According to NPD, 262,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold in March, reclaiming the #2 position in the next-gen console category.

In just two weeks, Xbox 360 will extend its industry lead with the year’s most anticipated game launch, GTA IV. Launching April 29, GTA IV will be coming to Xbox 360 on day one. GTA IV will feature the first ever online multiplayer for the franchise and Xbox 360 is also the only place you can earn GTA IV Achievements and increase your gamerscore.

Starting this fall, only Xbox 360 owners will have access to exclusive GTA IV episodic content. Whether it’s the results of online polls or data from pre-sells, consumers have made it clear that the benefits of Xbox LIVE and exclusive access to GTA IV episodic content are making Xbox 360 the chosen place to play GTA IV.


Man, MS loves to hammer home the fact they have the definitive version of GTA IV :D

We'll see, I guess. Both the consoles as well as the games are considerably more expensive than they used to be.

Consoles yes, games I'm not so sure. I remember back in the days of cartridges prices were higher in some cases, Street Fighter II on the SNES was $70 in 1992, around $105 today when accounting for inflation. Things did get cheaper once CDs largely replaced cartidges though.

I'm interested to see what Nintendo do next, console wise.

You and me both. It will be interesting to see how all three companies react to the way this generation is unfolding, and which of them will be the first to launch a new console.

In Nintendo's case I hope that in addition to improved motion controls and keeping the IR pointer that they make it capable of HD graphics and have it come with a hard-drive, but those seem pretty obvious. Something along the lines of PS3 power but if the PS3 had a lot more RAM. And ditch the friend codes, copy XBox Live for online play but don't charge for it, kthnx.

[General Mike]

Yeah, game prices haven't changed that much in the last 15 or 20 years. I remember alot of the premier NES games were 49.99 and then the Genesis and SNES games were between $60 and $80.

[Groundhog]

Ahh, I forgot that video game prices aren't as criminal elsewhere as they are over here. $120AUD isn't uncommon for a new 360 or PS3 title, which is $112US. That's why I buy all my games as imports, because even with shipping I'm sometimes saving $50.

[Groundhog]

You and me both. It will be interesting to see how all three companies react to the way this generation is unfolding, and which of them will be the first to launch a new console.

In Nintendo's case I hope that in addition to improved motion controls and keeping the IR pointer that they make it capable of HD graphics and have it come with a hard-drive, but those seem pretty obvious. Something along the lines of PS3 power but if the PS3 had a lot more RAM. And ditch the friend codes, copy XBox Live for online play but don't charge for it, kthnx.

I hope Nintendo don't really strive for PS3 graphics power - I don't think their titles really *need* it. Definately improve on what they have now, but they don't have to try and take a giant leap forward, as I think they've shown this round of next-gen consoles.

I'd like to see them to progress their motion sensoring, perhaps something along the lines that that dude with all the videos on youtube did - with the 3D effects and the like. Mix that with more sensors (maybe sensors connected to your legs, arms, head, etc.), and you could have something like what we all expected we'd be playing by the year 2000. :D

[sterlingice]

Those numbers for Brawl are impressive! Can't really call it a system seller at the moment as, well, there are still no systems to sell but hopefully that will smooth out between now and Christmas.

If you're Nintendo, you just keep putting the pressure on and continue the momentum through next Christmas and this generation is not just over in theory but in practice. That said, how many more bullets are in the gun? Nintendo's sent all of their big stuff out early in the generation. What's next? A second Zelda for the Wii? It's not that they can't just coast from this point forward, but there's nothing on the horizon to keep the buzz up after Mario Kart is out. Wii Fit will be interesting- I'm still not buying it as the next big thing stateside. But I didn't think so about Brain Age and it sold like crazy in the US.

Speaking of which, the DS just chugging along. Tho there are rumors of a slight redesign at E3. They're pretty much out of big guns on the little screen, too. Also, a lot of the "second tier" franchises like Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, Contra, various RPGs, off the wall games, etc- stuff that really rounds out a library but doesn't sell a ton of systems- those are mostly tapped out for the DS, too.

That said, I'm really curious about The World Ends with You which comes out next week and IGN put up a great review about so maybe I'm wrong about the lack of IPs for Nintendo to hit right now.

SI

[sterlingice]

FYI- more numbers out in IGN today, tho of Japanese in variety:

DS Hits 100 Million in Japan


Games, that is.


by John Tanaka (http://ds.ign.com/email.html)

<script>showUSloc=(checkLocale('uk')||checkLocale('au'));document.writeln(showUSloc ? 'US, ' : '');</script> April 17, 2008 - The DS is as popular in Japan as The Sims is in the entire world. Japanese retail tracker Media Create announced today that the DS has sold a total of 100 million pieces of software in its home territory.

It took the DS three years and five months to reach this feat. In contrast, the PlayStation 2 took four years and three months.

Media Create also provided a few stats for the system. Since launch, the DS has seen 922 titles. Of these, 21 have crossed the million mark.

New Super Mario Bros. is the best selling DS game of all time in Japan with 5,174,163 units. Below it on the top 10 are Brain Age 2 (4,835,159), Animal Crossing DS (4,693,662), Brain Age (3,771,440), Mario Kart DS (3,042,753), Pokemon Diamond (3,005,505), Pokemon Pearl (2,490,564), English Training DS (2,216,322), Mario Party DS (1,706,506), and Big Brain Academy (1,654,285).

Except for the Pokemon games, these are all Nintendo-published titles.

SI

[Big Fo]

If you're Nintendo, you just keep putting the pressure on and continue the momentum through next Christmas and this generation is not just over in theory but in practice. That said, how many more bullets are in the gun? Nintendo's sent all of their big stuff out early in the generation. What's next? A second Zelda for the Wii? It's not that they can't just coast from this point forward, but there's nothing on the horizon to keep the buzz up after Mario Kart is out. Wii Fit will be interesting- I'm still not buying it as the next big thing stateside. But I didn't think so about Brain Age and it sold like crazy in the US.

Speaking of which, the DS just chugging along. Tho there are rumors of a slight redesign at E3. They're pretty much out of big guns on the little screen, too. Also, a lot of the "second tier" franchises like Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, Contra, various RPGs, off the wall games, etc- stuff that really rounds out a library but doesn't sell a ton of systems- those are mostly tapped out for the DS, too.

That said, I'm really curious about The World Ends with You which comes out next week and IGN put up a great review about so maybe I'm wrong about the lack of IPs for Nintendo to hit right now.

SI

The DS is still looking pretty good for the next few months IMO, the weird thing is that it is all third-party driven. The World Ends With You, Super Dodgeball Brawlers, Final Fantasy IV remake (maybe everyone else played GBA remake but not me), Etrian Odyssey II, Civilization Revolution, Trauma Center: Under the Knife 2, tastes differ of course but it looks good to me. Thank goodness third-parties are coming out with what should be quality games since Nintendo's upcoming stuff is limited to Pokemon Mysterious Dungeon and Crosswords DS, neither of which I find to be all that appealing.

I'm looking forward to TWEWY next week, from its reception it seems to be one of the best games on the DS.

As far as Nintendo having already fired their big guns once Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit come out, it certainly looks that way. The remaining franchises (Starfox, F-Zero, Pikmin, etc) are second-teir compared to what has come out already. From a Nintendo financial report and other sources these are the games they have planned for the rest of the year:

Animal Crossing
Mario Super Sluggers
Kirby
Wii Music
Disaster: Day of Crisis
Fatal Frame IV

Definitely some potentially good games in there but yeah compared to what has come out during the past year it doesn't quite match up.

[MJ4H]

Another Zelda is very likely since Twilight Princess was essentially a Gamecube game. StarFox, Kirby, Pikmin, and Animal Crossing should be big. Wouldn't rule out another Mario game either (I mean Mario platformer). Certainly there will be more Wii-Whatever games.

[MizzouRah]

Why would Nintendo ever change its present strategy? They are proof that a non-HD console can do just fine... in fact, not just fine, but mind-boggling GREAT!

[Big Fo]

In four or five years they could make an HD console for a lot cheaper than Sony and Microsoft are currently making, I don't expect the Wii's successor to be coming anytime soon. HDTV ownership will be much higher at that point as well, and maybe even people will have learned that you can't get an HD signal through composite cables.

[cartman]

and maybe even people will have learned that you can't get an HD signal through composite cables.

composite and component are way too close in name. Very easy to confuse people.

[Mustang]

$120AUD isn't uncommon for a new 360 or PS3 title, which is $112US. That's why I buy all my games as imports, because even with shipping I'm sometimes saving $50.

Holy hell.. $112? I'd never be able to buy a new game.

[Raiders Army]

I heard a basic breakfast for one in Australia is $30 US.

[Groundhog]

I heard a basic breakfast for one in Australia is $30 US.

5 years ago with the Aussie dollar it was probably $30aud for an Aussie to buy breakfast in the States.

A "basic breakfast" at a cafe/restaurant here would be anywhere from $8-$15aud or $7.50-$14usd (and well beyond, depending on how posh you want to go), and that's for a "big breakfast" (not sure if that's a term used in the states; means sausages/eggs/bacon/mushrooms/tomato/toast).

Everything else is pretty reasonably priced, it's mainly electronics and video games that are far more expensive here than elsewhere. Why that is, I have no idea.

[Big Fo]

Sony PR

PlayStation by the Numbers

March 2008

PS3 Sales Up Nearly 100% Year-Over-Year; PS3 Momentum Continues

Total PlayStation Hardware Unit Sales Top 770,794

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued the strong momentum with 257,120 units sold in March. (according to NPD March 2008 sales data). This represents a year-over-year sales growth of over 98%. More than 1.9 million software units were sold for PS3 in March, representing a year-over-year growth of 139.2%.

The Season of Monster Titles Has Begun: The April releases of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Grand Theft Auto IV kick off the waterfall of blockbusters coming to PS3 this year, including the exclusive titles Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 and SOCOM: Confrontation to name a few. These mega hits combined with enthusiasm for Blu-ray promise to further drive PS3 sales throughout 2008.
PLAYSTATION®Network Continues to Thrive: In North America, there are over than 3.7 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts and more than 67 million pieces of content have been downloaded from PLAYSTATION Store to date.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued to boast strong sales with 297,011 PSP hardware units sold in March, up 22.1% over the previous month and representing a sales increase of 65% growth year-over-year. Sales were fueled by the of recent exclusive blockbuster releases of God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, the two best-selling handheld games in the month of March.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had an excellent month in March with hardware unit sales reaching 216,485 units. The PLAYSTATION exclusive hit title MLB® 08 THE SHOW™ debuted as the top-selling title for PS2 in March.

As always the focus is on the positives.

[Groundhog]

As always the focus is on the positives.

Isn't that the norm for every company in the universe?

[Raiders Army]

5 years ago with the Aussie dollar it was probably $30aud for an Aussie to buy breakfast in the States.

A "basic breakfast" at a cafe/restaurant here would be anywhere from $8-$15aud or $7.50-$14usd (and well beyond, depending on how posh you want to go), and that's for a "big breakfast" (not sure if that's a term used in the states; means sausages/eggs/bacon/mushrooms/tomato/toast).

Everything else is pretty reasonably priced, it's mainly electronics and video games that are far more expensive here than elsewhere. Why that is, I have no idea.

I'll have to talk to the guy I work with. He told me that this week. He also said that a carton of cigarettes was $10.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This is US or Worldwide?

Here are the worldwide numbers for March.......

March Worldwide Sales Numbers

Wii - 1,437,000
PS3 - 829,000
360 - 624,000

March North American Sales Numbers

Wii - 721K
360 - 262K
PS3 - 257K

March Japanese Sales Numbers

Wii - 214K
PS3 - 65K
360 - 9K

March PAL Sales Numbers

PS3 - 507K
Wii - 502K
360 - 353K

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

So much for MBBF's predictions of the PS3 catching the 360 in early 09. The US numbers have to be more favorable for Sony for that to happen at anytime in 09 much less early 09.

Those Nintendo numbers are incredibly impressive.

Certainly, the numbers don't bear that out. The PS3 beat the 360 for the 5th straight month and still haven't started releasing their console selling exclusives. The PS3 even narrowly beat the Wii in Europe thanks to the release of the glorified demo otherwise known as GT5: Prologue.

Worse yet, the 360 had no shortage of units like they had claimed in January and February when they were beaten in all three regions. They came within 5K units of losing all three regions again without any excuses available to spin the numbers. The 360 desparately needs a price cut in the next couple of months if they hope to avoid getting buried in their home region of North America now that the PS3's big games are incoming over the next 3 months.

[stevew]

I remember when Lair and Heavenly Sword were going to turn this thing around!!!!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I remember when Lair and Heavenly Sword were going to turn this thing around!!!!

Yes, it's actually quite amazing how far Sony has come since the disaster known as Lair. The industry sales have done a complete 180 since October. Obviously, GT5 and MGS4 are a much different beast than those games as you well know. I'm going to go out on a relatively sturdy limb and say that MGS4 will fare a bit better than either of those titles, especially since it's included in system bundles.

[stevew]

I'll probably buy a bundle for MGS, but I more or less just want a blu ray player. And maybe the Show.

[Groundhog]

I'll have to talk to the guy I work with. He told me that this week. He also said that a carton of cigarettes was $10.

I don't smoke but yeah, I think they are about $10 or so. The government puts a big tax on cigarettes though, which is why they are so expensive. Came in to effect a few years ago now.

[stevew]

10 bucks a carton, or 10 bucks a pack?

Surely you mean pack, I think anyways.

[Groundhog]

Yeah, a pack that would be.

[TroyF]

I remember when Lair and Heavenly Sword were going to turn this thing around!!!!

That's just it. We keep hearing about the bigtime Sony exclusives and the reality is very few of them have been worth a damn for the PS3 yet. Lair was supposed to stem the tide a little bit and was a monumental bust. Heavenly Sword is a decent, not great game that didn't do a damned thing.

Sony is still struggling in the US. Despite Blu Ray winning, despite their big exclusives on the way. . . let's not mince words here, they are still down close to SEVEN million consoles in the United States. The only thing MS feels bad about now is the Europe numbers. They hoped to continue being stronger there. As for Japan, we've talked about that from the start. MS knows it's a dead end and wasn't expecting any gains in that market.

Even counting all markets, Sony needs to beat MS by over 535K units a month, every month for the next year to catch MS by March of next year worldwide.

They aren't even at half that number now and MS hasn't done a damned thing to try to stem the tide at this point. No price cuts, no huge announcements. Nothing. They just keep plugging along.

Sony could catch MS in '09. For that to happen they need every single one of their huge releases to be as good as advertised. They also need MS to continue to sit on their hands with little to no big games or announcements in play.

Neither is going to happen. After looking at the numbers today, I think it's likely MS holds it's worldwide lead through '09. I'm not at all convinced they'll ever catch MS in the United States. If they do, it'll be well into 2011 and we'll all be talking about the next big system release.

Sony is going to spin this as a win, as are Sony fan boys. But the reality still holds true. The console which had close to 75% of the market in the previous gen still doesn't have 25% of the worldwide market share and is getting completely mauled in America with a 17% share of the market. (and losing more and more of that along with MS everytime Nintendo pounds them by 500k.

Can anybody name me a product that had 75% market share worldwide and lost 2/3 of that share in a single cycle? Yet people still try to put lipstick on the pig.

My next two console purchases are likely GTA for the 360 and Mario Kart for the Wii. The next PS3 game will likely be in June (although I'm not sure I'll pick up Metal Gear, I know people who love the series but I can't stand playing 10 minutes of game and then watching 20 of cut scenes, so I'm on the fence there)

After that it'll likely be nothing until the football games come out in July.

Only game that could change that is WipeOut HD.

[Groundhog]

You're under-estimating world wide sales. It's not just about North America and Japan - Only 31% of the Worldwide sales for the PS3 came from North America, 8% from Japan, and a total of 61% from PAL.

For the 360, North America has a larger share with 42%, Japan a paltry 1%, and PAL 57%.

The 360 is clearly the leader in the States, but the PS3 is doing pretty darn well everywhere else.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

You're under-estimating world wide sales. It's not just about North America and Japan - Only 31% of the Worldwide sales for the PS3 came from North America, 8% from Japan, and a total of 61% from PAL.

For the 360, North America has a larger share with 42%, Japan a paltry 1%, and PAL 57%.
The 360 is clearly the leader in the States, but the PS3 is doing pretty darn well everywhere else.

The 360 isn't even the leader in the U.S. anymore. They lost the last two months and basically tied this month despite no supply contraints and a competitor who is selling at a higher price point overall. Microsoft should be increasing its market share at this point in the lifecycle, not giving it away. Not only that, but Microsoft had declared at the start of the year that they needed to win Europe. They're getting hammered over there right now.

[wade moore]

It definitely seems like Europe is the key battle ground right now between MS/Sony. The US for all intents and purposes is running at a draw the last few months. But MS continues to lose ground in Europe. I don't know that market well enough to understand what they need to do - but they should be looking at a price cut, etc, etc. for it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

It definitely seems like Europe is the key battle ground right now between MS/Sony. The US for all intents and purposes is running at a draw the last few months. But MS continues to lose ground in Europe. I don't know that market well enough to understand what they need to do - but they should be looking at a price cut, etc, etc. for it.

Microsoft made a price cut in Europe last month. They saw a relatively minor bump in sales for two weeks and then numbers went back down again.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Interesting weekly numbers coming out of Japan. All three consoles are selling relatively low numbers..........

Wii - 46K
PS3 - 8K
360 - 1K

Pre-sales of the MGS4 bundles are through the roof for the June release, but that doesn't help Sony in April. Wii is down quite a bit from its numbers a month or two ago. 360 doesn't seem to be stirring hardly any interest at all. Doubtful that GTA4 will provide much of a boost in Japan, where the game isn't nearly as popular as Europe and N.A.

[sterlingice]

Are those weekly numbers? Kyoto only, maybe? Someone missed a 0?

SI

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Are those weekly numbers? Kyoto only, maybe? Someone missed a 0?

SI

Correct. That is a weekly number for Japan.

[sterlingice]

That makes a lot more sense ;)

SI

[gstelmack]

Even counting all markets, Sony needs to beat MS by over 535K units a month, every month for the next year to catch MS by March of next year worldwide.

The rest of you can keep arguing what you want, but when all these "catch" predictions were made 6 months ago Sony needed something like 300K+ wins every month, and they're not hitting it. Sony may finally be winning the month-to-month battles, but not by nearly as much as everyone was predicting they would nor by enough to meet the crossover point by next year as everyone was predicting they would.

But I do agree wholeheartedly that Microsoft needs to make SOME sort of a move, as the "down 200K per month" is not good news for them.

[TroyF]

You're under-estimating world wide sales. It's not just about North America and Japan - Only 31% of the Worldwide sales for the PS3 came from North America, 8% from Japan, and a total of 61% from PAL.

For the 360, North America has a larger share with 42%, Japan a paltry 1%, and PAL 57%.

The 360 is clearly the leader in the States, but the PS3 is doing pretty darn well everywhere else.


I'm not underselling worldwide sales. I'm saying that Sony is winning the worldwide console market by about 200k a month right now. (this is over the 360, Nintendo is no longer part of the discussion fellas, they've won, game over)

For them to take over the 360's worldwide lead, they'll have to get beat by over 530k a month for the next year. Does anyone honestly believe Sony is going to pull that off? The Wii is beating Sony by about 600k a month now, and close to 450k of that is in the United States.

Do I see the PS3 becoming so utterly dominant at any point in the next year they get close to Wii totals? Hell no. Look, I agree with anyone who says MS is crushed to be getting pounded like this in Europe. I don't think they expected that after their start.

But if they don't start getting crushed like that in the US, Sony isn't catching them with worldwide numbers until 2010. And no mater how you slice it, Sony is going to go from 75% of the worldwide market to WELL under 50% in this cycle. (40% is even a pipe dream at this point)

Monumental fail in terms of the console market folks. The Blu Ray can be another discussion. But Sony went from total domination to a solid 3 and needing a monsterous run to get out of #3 by the third or fourth year their console is out.

MS is crushed by the Euro market. Sony will continue to roll in Japan like they always have. MS will put out a price cut at some point. I'm not sure when I can see Sony ever catching up in the American market now.

[Mustang]

I can say that I read these thread not because I actually give a shit, but just interesting reading the posts from people that do.

Odd I guess, but.. eh..

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I can say that I read these thread not because I actually give a shit, but just interesting reading the posts from people that do.

Odd I guess, but.. eh..

It's somewhat like polical discussions. In the end, it doesn't matter much, but it's fun to talk about.

[Eaglesfan27]

Certainly, the numbers don't bear that out. The PS3 beat the 360 for the 5th straight month and still haven't started releasing their console selling exclusives. The PS3 even narrowly beat the Wii in Europe thanks to the release of the glorified demo otherwise known as GT5: Prologue.

Worse yet, the 360 had no shortage of units like they had claimed in January and February when they were beaten in all three regions. They came within 5K units of losing all three regions again without any excuses available to spin the numbers. The 360 desparately needs a price cut in the next couple of months if they hope to avoid getting buried in their home region of North America now that the PS3's big games are incoming over the next 3 months.

Very simple math here. Worldwide, PS3 is at least 6 million units behind the 360, more likely over 7 million units behind them, but at least somewhere in the 6-7 million range depending upon which numbers you use. PS3 needs to convincingly win all of the regions to even have the slimmest of slim shots at catching the 360 by early 09 since they need to sell at least 600k more than the 360 per month to catch up by "early 09." That isn't happening when the 360 is still winning in the USA. To catch the 360 at any point in 09, they are going to have to sell at least 300-350k/month more every single month throughout 08 and 09. I strongly doubt that will happen. Time will tell which of us is correct. As Troy said, Microsoft isn't just going to sit still, they are going to make moves to regain momentum.


Edit: Or I could have read the rest of the thread, where Troy made the same points :)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Time will tell which of us is correct. As Troy said, Microsoft isn't just going to sit still, they are going to make moves to regain momentum.

I agree with this. My personal opinion in regards to sales is that we're going to see a much bigger hardware boost in June for the PS3 than the 200-250K boost we saw with Halo 3 last year. Not only is it a good value with MGS4 included, but it involves the reintroduction of the 80 GB machine in N.A. and the first shot for Europe at a BC PS3. But I'm not sure HOW much bigger it will be. We won't have to wait too long for that.

In regards to Microsoft making a move, they're hands are somewhat tied right now.

1. They already made their move in Europe. They cut prices on their consoles. Judging from the minor boost that only lasted two weeks, Europe didn't seem to care too much.

2. They're much like Sony last year at this point in that they don't have any games slated for release this year that will move consoles. Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Halo Wars, and the Square RPG exclusive should make the existing installed base happy, but none of them will provide a boost 100K over normal numbers when they are released.

3. There are going to be 2-3 million Xbox 360 console owners that are going to see their RROD warranties expire later this year. What those people do when their old Xbox 360's fail again after the warranty expires will have a big effect on the market. Sony and Nintendo are going to gain some converts when that occurs.

Sony has also reduced the cost of PS3 manufacture quite a bit. If they need to make a move, they could drop the 40 GB PS3 to $299. That would be a big move if they did it in the October timeframe.

No matter what, the heated competition bodes well for consumers as a whole. We're going to see a lot of good deals head our way in the coming 6-8 months.

[Eaglesfan27]

The top selling 100 games of the last 12 months were announced in this article:

http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=9639&Itemid=2


Reading from OS, here are the Sports Titles that made the list:

97. NASCAR 08 (PS2/PS3/X360) 490K sold

80. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Wii) (other versions came out earlier and are not counted here) 610K

73. NBA 2K8 (PS2/PS3/X360) 670K (it's sad to see such a great game didn't break a million when Madden despite all of the criticism sold almost 6 million.)

64. The Bigs (Wii/X360/PS2/PS3/PSP) 730K

62. Skate (360/PS3) 780K

54. Tony Hawk’s Proving Ground (PS2/PS3/Wii/DS/X360) 950K

53. Football Manager 2008 (Worldwide Soccer Manager 2008 in America)
(PC/X360/PSP) 1M - Nice to see the game continues to do well.

52. Motorstorm (PS3 Exclusive) 1M

46. NBA Live 08 (PS2/PS3/PSP/360/PC/Wii) 1.1M

30. NCAA Football 08 (PS2/PS2/XBX/X360) 1.5M

20. Forza Motorsport 2 (X360 Exclusive) 2.1M

18. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 (Wii/DS/X360/PS2/PS3/PSP/PC) 2.3M

13. WWE Smackdown Vs Raw 2008 (PS2/PS3/PSP/X360/DS/Wii) 3.5M

12. Pro Evolution Soccer 2008 (PS2/PS3/PSP/X360/DS/Wii/PC) 3.8M (surprising to me)

5. Madden NFL 08 (PS2/PS3/PSP/X360/Wii/GC/DS/PC/XBX) 5.7M

4. FIFA Soccer 08 (PS2/PS3/PSP/X360/Wii/DS/PC) 5.7M



The top 3 aren't sports games, but for those that are interested:

3. Guitar Hero 3: Legends of Rock (PS2/PS3/X360/Wii/PC) 7.5M

2. Halo 3 (X360 Exclusive) 8M

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (X360/PS3/PC) 8.3M

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New Mortal Kombat game announced.............

http://www.mortalkombatonline.com/

Today, Midway Games confirmed what had been rumored for a while: the first next-generation Mortal Kombat title, up until now called "Mortal Kombat 8" by the community, is officially titled Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe. As the title suggests, it will be a crossover with the characters and setting of DC Comics. Further information about the game should be forthcoming.

[Eaglesfan27]

Not a Dola -

It's even sadder that College Hoops didn't even make the list.


EA's offer to Take Two expires today. Take Two has tried to imply they have other offers. Microsoft stated today that they aren't interested in purchasing Take Two. When talking about why Microsoft wasn't interested, Shane Kim's quote made me chuckle, "there's an awful lot you can do with 3 billion dollars."

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187221

It will be interesting to see if EA ups their offer of 26 dollars per share, if they back off (unlikely) or if they reapply pressure in pursuit of a hostile takeover (again.) It seems like the board has rallied the troops over at Take Two, but I imagine that might only last until after GTA IV releases.

[stevew]

That's just rediculous that Live moved 500k more units than 2k8. People obviously will buy any piece of shit with an EA logo on it.

[Kodos]

Yeah, the Live thing is unreal. I thought people had figured out by now that Live sucks.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg declares the war for the 'core gamer' over.......

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10040&Itemid=2&limit=1&limitstart=1

Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg gives Next-Gen an in-depth view on the console war from Microsoft's vantage point, getting a few digs against PS3 in the process.

Microsoft has been lamenting Xbox 360 hardware shortages this year, which the company claimed allowed PlayStation 3 to outsell the Xbox 360 in January and February.

However, the Xbox 360 was able to edge out PS3 in terms of hardware sales in March in the US, according to the NPD Group. But not by much: 262,000 versus PS3's 257,000.

Nevertheless, Microsoft remains utterly confident in the battle against its closest games rival (we'll just mention briefly that the Nintendo Wii sold a mind-boggling 721,000 units during the same month). Here, Greenberg talks Grand Theft Auto IV's impending release and its expected effect on hardware sales, why he believes Microsoft has effectively "won" the core gaming audience at Sony's expense, and how the Xbox 360 hopes to succeed in PlayStation-loving Europe.

Next-Gen: This month, the Xbox 360 edged out the PS3. Does this mean that supply is back to normal?

Aaron Greenberg: Yeah, I think we're happy with where we're at with supply. We definitely started to see improvements in the month of March and that is reflected in some of the sales you're seeing there. We weren't exactly where we wanted to be, but there's definitely much improvement. But we're definitely back in the game, and we're prepared for the launch of GTA IV next month.

But yeah, it's always good, even if it's close, to beat the PS3. For us, one of the things we've said is that we're going to be really careful to watch any sort of signs for the Blu-ray impact, and it seems pretty clear that while Blu-ray may have won, consumers don't care. PS3 sales have actually declined week over week and month to month since the format war has ended. Games are what sell systems, and we feel pretty good about where we're at in that position.

At the same time, PS3 and Xbox 360 sales are pretty much neck-and-neck. How does Microsoft hope to expand the gap in its favor?

We expect we'll end the year with a two- to three-times larger installed base than the PS3. Supply. We had a lot of shortages where you couldn't even find Xbox 360s on sale in January and February. That really impacted our ability to effectively market at retail in March. We had retailers pull a lot of circular ads, we weren't being featured in-store. We were on-shelf for most of the month, but the barn was sort of empty. Believe it not, those retail circulars do drive part of the sales. We didn't have that support in March, but we will have that in April and around the launch of Grand Theft Auto IV.

What kind of hardware uptake are you expecting with GTA IV? Are you getting a better picture of that yet?

Actually, it's interesting. Based on what we're hearing from retailers right now, both in the US and in the EMEA, we're seeing our preorders for GTA IV outpacing the PS3's by a 2:1 margin. We've seen some really good signs early on about how presales are going. We think that similar to titles like Madden, Guitar Hero, Rock Band, etc., that GTA will be another multiplatform title that will lead and sell better on Xbox 360, in addition to the fact that we have exclusive content coming.

Back to hardware sales, are you concerned at all that PS3 appears to be keeping pace with Xbox 360?

One thing you have to realize is that this is the time of year when games are primarily sold as opposed to hardware. So it's a slow time of the year for hardware sales. 70 percent of all hardware sales happen in the second half of the year. We think we'll continue to extend our lead over the PS3 over the course of the year. We expect we'll end the year with a two- to three-times larger installed base.

...Frankly, we'll see most of the growth in the second half of the year. Titles like GTA are the exceptions to that rule. We think that title will help move hardware sales when that launches.

So it's pretty safe to assume that Microsoft has some pretty big plans for the second half of the year that it's not ready to talk about yet.

[Laughs] That's very safe to assume. We definitely have a lot of cards in our back pocket that we have not played yet, and we're very excited to, throughout the year, share more about what we believe are pretty significant announcements around the Xbox 360 experience and games that will drive people to purchase our console versus the PS3.

I'm sure you've seen the insane Wii figures. 721,000 sold in March in the US. What's Microsoft's take on that?

We think Nintendo's success, to be honest, is great for us. They're doing great things to help broaden the audience in the industry. We're playing a role as well. And Xbox is a great complement to that experience. It's interesting, because we're not really targeting the same consumer with the same kind of experience, but in many ways we're finding that as we grow and broaden...a lot of that audience is going to be graduating up from the Wii experience. We think we're a great complement to that. What Nintendo's doing is great for the industry, but it's great for us as well.

The attach rates for Xbox 360 continue to be strong, standing at 7.5.

And that doesn't include any digital transactions at all. In the history of all NPD data across multiple generations, no console life cycle has ever attached anywhere near 7.5 games.

Both in the US and in the EMEA, we're seeing our preorders for GTA IV outpacing the PS3's by a 2:1 margin....That really speaks to our strength with the consumer, frankly. I think the battle for the core user is sort of over, if you will. We're heading now well beyond 20 million in console sales. I feel we've secured that core buyer, and that gives us quite a bit of an advantage versus PS3, which is late to the game and still at a price disadvantage relative to the Xbox.

That's quite a claim to say that the battle for the core user is over. PlayStation 3 has got LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo 5 and Metal Gear Solid 4 coming. Do you really feel it's safe to say that you guys have won the core?

Yeah. I think the type of audience that they are going after with many of those games, frankly, are Xbox 360 owners...They're trying to go after a consumer that has already bought an Xbox 360, and frankly has a much broader lineup with more titles and more exclusives. You could say that they showed up with too little, too late.
The PlayStation brand is still very strong in Europe in particular. We're hearing that outside of the UK, the Xbox 360 is dying.

Without a doubt, Sony is a very formidable competitor in Europe, and they have entrenched themselves as an established brand, and we recognize that. But it's also part of the reason why we say Europe is the battleground territory for us this generation. So we've really double-downed our efforts there in marketing spend and our aggressiveness in that market.

In Europe, the core consumer is still very much up for grabs, and we will continue to do things in Europe that we may not do globally, because we see that market is so critical to our success. We've launched a massive TV advertising campaign--multi, multi-million campaign across the region that launched before anything in the US...The second thing is that in advance of GTA IV, we've dropped the price of Xbox 360. We're now a lower-priced console throughout Europe. We're cheaper than the Wii, and just about half the price of a PS3. The result of that is our sales doubling, sustained over a number of weeks now, across Europe.

[MJ4H]

So condescending. Graduating up? Arrogant mfers.

[MJ4H]

Dola

I hope by next-gen the sony and ms console users are ready to graduate up to a nintendo console.

buttheads

[Eaglesfan27]

That's just rediculous that Live moved 500k more units than 2k8. People obviously will buy any piece of shit with an EA logo on it.

I didn't even realize that when posting the figures. Ridiculous that a game so much worse in quality sold so many more units than its competitor strictly due to marketing.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I didn't even realize that when posting the figures. Ridiculous that a game so much worse in quality sold so many more units than its competitor strictly due to marketing.

It's unfortunate. It's killing the game quality in most cases right now. Consumers have to be really careful to pick out the bad apples.

[rjolley]

I wonder how many of those units were sold on systems where NBA2K8 doesn't exist.

[cartman]

But on the flip side, Skate was a much better game than the latest iteration of Tony Hawk.

[Big Fo]

Interesting weekly numbers coming out of Japan. All three consoles are selling relatively low numbers..........


40-50k per week is around what the PS2 did at it's peak, 200k per month is pretty damn good in a country with less than half the population of the US.

This graph gives a good snapshot of the console market:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f64/donny2112/Sales%20Numbers/PS3vsWiiFit_MC-1.png

Embarrassing stuff for Sony really. At least Japan likes the PSP...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

40-50k per week is around what the PS2 did at it's peak, 200k per month is pretty damn good in a country with less than half the population of the US.

This graph gives a good snapshot of the console market:

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f64/donny2112/Sales%20Numbers/PS3vsWiiFit_MC-1.png

Embarrassing stuff for Sony really. At least Japan likes the PSP...

I doubt that Sony is terribly worried. They're pre-selling a large amount of consoles for June. They just need to get more games out that cater to the Japanese public. They're 3rd on the totem pole right now with the high sales potential in Europe and N.A. getting the preferential treatment.

[Daimyo]

2. Halo 3 (X360 Exclusive) 8M
Who was it that said Halo 3 wasn't a system seller?

[gstelmack]

They're pre-selling a large amount of consoles for June.

What?????? What'd I miss? They are PRE SELLING a console that has been shipping for 18 months? Even for new models, that has to be ridiculous.

[stevew]

I think you can reserve it at gamestop too.

[Atocep]

Who was it that said Halo 3 wasn't a system seller?

Those 8 million people already had 360s.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Who was it that said Halo 3 wasn't a system seller?

The console sales received a 200K boost for two months over the normal months. They expected a much bigger boost than 400K over normal sales numbers. Great software sales though.

[Groundhog]

73. NBA 2K8 (PS2/PS3/X360) 670K (it's sad to see such a great game didn't break a million when Madden despite all of the criticism sold almost 6 million.)

46. NBA Live 08 (PS2/PS3/PSP/360/PC/Wii) 1.1M


I can't believe people out there still buy NBA Live over NBA 2K... Wow.

[SackAttack]

Not a Dola -

It's even sadder that College Hoops didn't even make the list.


EA's offer to Take Two expires today. Take Two has tried to imply they have other offers. Microsoft stated today that they aren't interested in purchasing Take Two. When talking about why Microsoft wasn't interested, Shane Kim's quote made me chuckle, "there's an awful lot you can do with 3 billion dollars."

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187221

Pretty sure I read 3-4 days ago that the offer got extended to mid-May. EA wants Take-Two BAD.

It will be interesting to see if EA ups their offer of 26 dollars per share, if they back off (unlikely) or if they reapply pressure in pursuit of a hostile takeover (again.) It seems like the board has rallied the troops over at Take Two, but I imagine that might only last until after GTA IV releases.

One of two things happens. One, GTA IV sells so well that the stockholders see financial solvency for the company and are no longer tempted by the buyout offer, or two, EA increases the bid and the stockholders cash in at $35-40 a share after GTA IV destroys sales expectations.

No chance sales tank and the investors panic, I don't think.

[RainMaker]

I think it will be interesting to see what impact GTA has on the console wars. There have been a ton of rumors about the exclusive content Microsoft paid for, and some reports that it's actually a new city to be played. If that's the case, I can definitely see it selling some consoles.

And while some might balk at the exclusive content and think it'll only be some cars, I say no way. Microsoft dropped $50 million dollars on this content and I have to believe it's going to be something big. That's a lot of consoles to sell to make up that amount. If they don't get something big like new cities (or the old games converted into downloadable content), I'd be shocked.

[Abe Sargent]

Those numbers for Brawl are impressive! Can't really call it a system seller at the moment as, well, there are still no systems to sell but hopefully that will smooth out between now and Christmas.

If you're Nintendo, you just keep putting the pressure on and continue the momentum through next Christmas and this generation is not just over in theory but in practice. That said, how many more bullets are in the gun? Nintendo's sent all of their big stuff out early in the generation. What's next? A second Zelda for the Wii? It's not that they can't just coast from this point forward, but there's nothing on the horizon to keep the buzz up after Mario Kart is out. Wii Fit will be interesting- I'm still not buying it as the next big thing stateside. But I didn't think so about Brain Age and it sold like crazy in the US.

Speaking of which, the DS just chugging along. Tho there are rumors of a slight redesign at E3. They're pretty much out of big guns on the little screen, too. Also, a lot of the "second tier" franchises like Ninja Gaiden, Castlevania, Contra, various RPGs, off the wall games, etc- stuff that really rounds out a library but doesn't sell a ton of systems- those are mostly tapped out for the DS, too.

That said, I'm really curious about The World Ends with You which comes out next week and IGN put up a great review about so maybe I'm wrong about the lack of IPs for Nintendo to hit right now.

SI

There will always be a NintenDogs or brain Age around the corner for the Nintendo systems that are more clever in using the controllers they have.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think it will be interesting to see what impact GTA has on the console wars. There have been a ton of rumors about the exclusive content Microsoft paid for, and some reports that it's actually a new city to be played. If that's the case, I can definitely see it selling some consoles.

The problem is that unless Microsoft reveals exactly what the DLC will be in a massive marketing campaign before the release, it's likely to not have any effect on sales. People aren't going to buy the 360 because it's rumored on a message board that there will be additional downloadable cities.

I have seen that MS is going to have some sort of marketing campaign for the game, so we'll just have to wait and see what it entails. Sony has already launched some of its PR in the form of large billboards on buildings in some of the major cities, especially NYC for obvious reasons.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sony stock has been upgraded to a buy rating by several investment firms today. The upgrade comes after an announcement that the PS3 will have new smaller processing chips as soon as August. This will result in considerable cost savings on manufacturing of the console and put Sony in a position to cut the price of the system this holiday season if they decide that it would be advantageous to do so.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/21/ps3-to-get-smaller-cell-and-or-rsx-chips-in-august/

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New articles concerning Sony's new movie download system for the PS3. Movies are expected to be DRM-free and will play on PSP as well as other portable video players.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10096&Itemid=2

[Daimyo]

New articles concerning Sony's new movie download system for the PS3. Movies are expected to be DRM-free and will play on PSP as well as other portable video players.

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10096&Itemid=2

It doesn't say anything about being DRM-free...

It says:
The company will embrace open standards, meaning that its video offerings will be compatible with a range of devices including PSP.

There is a difference.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

It doesn't say anything about being DRM-free...

There is a difference.

So what do you believe it will be? It's either protected or not protected. The LA Times article discusses extensively how the copyright arm of Sony is going to be forced to back off. That's a pretty clear indication that DRM is not going to be a part of the final system.

[stevew]

According to the specs on most of the new DVD/BD players at work, they seem to be featuring the "SD Card" slot as an option. Seems to be very possible the SD transfer thing will be a reality.

[stevew]

Sony stock has been upgraded to a buy rating by several investment firms today. The upgrade comes after an announcement that the PS3 will have new smaller processing chips as soon as August. This will result in considerable cost savings on manufacturing of the console and put Sony in a position to cut the price of the system this holiday season if they decide that it would be advantageous to do so.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/04/21/ps3-to-get-smaller-cell-and-or-rsx-chips-in-august/

They also have pretty aggressive pricing structures on their new LCD line, and are introducing a couple series that are in line with pricing on most of the lower tiered brands.

I think their market share should increase quite a bit, and they should start cutting into the upstarts like Vizio to a certain degree.

[Eaglesfan27]

Best Buy is offering to "professionally install" Xbox 360 games:

http://consumerist.com/381845/let-best-buy-professionally-install-your-xbox-games

[stevew]

I dunno how much best buy charges, but at Sears it's about 230(300 if it requires separate trip) bucks if you want to get your harmony remote installed and programmed for your devices. We saw that at a staff meeting the other day and it was a collective wtf. We don't install games, thankfully.

[SackAttack]

Best Buy is offering to "professionally install" Xbox 360 games:

http://consumerist.com/381845/let-best-buy-professionally-install-your-xbox-games

Yeah, see, this one I can speak to.

The cases the games go in? Frequently, the Computers department slaps those stickers on the same cases when they stick RAM in 'em.

So you know what happens when the RAM gets sold and the Xbox 360/PS3/Wii games need to get cased?

Hey, look. Here's a case. With an install sticker on it. Good job, guys. Now we look like asshats.

[Daimyo]

So what do you believe it will be? It's either protected or not protected. The LA Times article discusses extensively how the copyright arm of Sony is going to be forced to back off. That's a pretty clear indication that DRM is not going to be a part of the final system.
Okay, so I read the LA Times article and it says nothing about DRM. It again says they are trying to conform to open standards that will allow broad device compatibility. It says nothing about being DRM free. Following open standards does not mean you don't use DRM... they are not the same thing.

Unlike closed networks such as Apple's, Sony plans to embrace open standards that would make its offering compatible with a range of computers and hand-held devices, including its PlayStation Portable.

[Eaglesfan27]

Yeah, see, this one I can speak to.

The cases the games go in? Frequently, the Computers department slaps those stickers on the same cases when they stick RAM in 'em.

So you know what happens when the RAM gets sold and the Xbox 360/PS3/Wii games need to get cased?

Hey, look. Here's a case. With an install sticker on it. Good job, guys. Now we look like asshats.


I figured it was something like that. Still a funny picture :)


Also, for anyone who doesn't have College Hoops and has even the slightest interest:

On OS, they are reporting that Target (may be regional only) clearance ads in at least 2 parts of the country have College Hoops available for the 360 or PS3 for 14.98. That game is an absolute steal at that price.

[stevew]

I figured it was something like that. Still a funny picture :)


Also, for anyone who doesn't have College Hoops and has even the slightest interest:

On OS, they are reporting that Target (may be regional only) clearance ads in at least 2 parts of the country have College Hoops available for the 360 or PS3 for 14.98. That game is an absolute steal at that price.

shit, need to get out there

[Daimyo]

DOLA, an open standard could simply mean they have devised their own DRM system, but will publish the specification and allow others to incorporate it freely into their software and devices. That is opposed to a closed standard like that used by the Apple music store where they have their own DRM system and do not allow others to incorporate it into their software or devices (eg, only iTunes and iPods can play music purchased from the Apple music store).

[Eaglesfan27]

shit, need to get out there

I have no idea if this is close to you in Hermitage, but Springfield, PA is one of the confirmed Targets. It's 14.99 there. Obviously, talking about 08 version of College Hoops :)

[stevew]

I have no idea if this is close to you in Hermitage, but Springfield, PA is one of the confirmed Targets. It's 14.99 there. Obviously, talking about 08 version of College Hoops :)

That's a bit of a trek :)

I actually live about 10mins from ohio. Calling the local stores now, will
see what's up.

[stevew]

Hmmm, local store says they are out. Entirely likely that means Clearence or that they are indeed out. Going that way anyways, i guess.

[wade moore]

I figured it was something like that. Still a funny picture :)


Also, for anyone who doesn't have College Hoops and has even the slightest interest:

On OS, they are reporting that Target (may be regional only) clearance ads in at least 2 parts of the country have College Hoops available for the 360 or PS3 for 14.98. That game is an absolute steal at that price.Damnit - I was just at target a few hours ago but didn't look at the games.

[fflix]

I figured it was something like that. Still a funny picture :)


Also, for anyone who doesn't have College Hoops and has even the slightest interest:

On OS, they are reporting that Target (may be regional only) clearance ads in at least 2 parts of the country have College Hoops available for the 360 or PS3 for 14.98. That game is an absolute steal at that price.

Read this and went to check out the Target in San Mateo, got the 360 version for 14.98. Thanks for the heads up. Checked out the Target in Cupertino, which had both College Hoops 2k8 and Nhl2k8 for 14.98.

[RainMaker]

Speaking of movies, has anyone heard anything about that potential Netflix/Microsoft partnership on the 360. As a Netflix subscriber, I can tell you that I'd be more than happy to pay some extra money to be able to stream movies through my TV via the 360.

[RainMaker]

I figured it was something like that. Still a funny picture :)


Also, for anyone who doesn't have College Hoops and has even the slightest interest:

On OS, they are reporting that Target (may be regional only) clearance ads in at least 2 parts of the country have College Hoops available for the 360 or PS3 for 14.98. That game is an absolute steal at that price.
I might pick up another copy in the event my current one gets scratched. I have a feeling I'll be playing this game a lot next year considering March Madness sucks balls.

[Eaglesfan27]

I might pick up another copy in the event my current one gets scratched. I have a feeling I'll be playing this game a lot next year considering March Madness sucks balls.

I've thought about going to Target to pick up a spare as well.. this game has to last a long time. :)

Glad that the info helped a few people at least. I saw it on OS and figured it would be appreciated here.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Pachter interview on a Xbox magazine podcast. Interview starts around the 21:00 mark. Summary of his comments..............

- GTA4 will boost PS3 sales more than 360 sales
- PS3 will pull ahead to stay month to month after GTA4
- MS wont and shouldnt do a price drop
- MS will wait until Sony cuts before dropping

Link:

http://www.oxmpodcast.com/podpress_trac/web/138/0/oxmp_111_20080417.mp3

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Analysis of March NPD numbers................

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=10114&Itemid=2

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Multiple analysts predict GTA4 will provide a large hardware sales boost for the PS3...........

http://www.reuters.com/article/reutersEdge/idUSN2116666620080424?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0

SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) - "Grand Theft Auto 4," the biggest, meanest, raunchiest video game of the year, looks set to help Sony Corp's (6758.T: Quote, Profile, Research) PlayStation 3 console gain new ground in its turf war with Microsoft's Xbox 360.

It's already a given that the newest chapter in Take-Two Interactive Software Inc's (TTWO.O: Quote, Profile, Research) hit criminal franchise will be the biggest game of 2008, with up to $400 million expected in sales in its first week.

But "Grand Theft Auto 4," which rampages onto store shelves next Tuesday, will also be an important new weapon in the running battle between the PlayStation 3 and Microsoft Corp's (MSFT.O: Quote, Profile, Research) Xbox 360.

The two console giants are trying to convince gamers that their machines offer the best way to revel in "GTA4's" gritty violence and gleefully dark skewering of American culture.

The game, which cannot be played on the older PlayStation 2 or original Xbox hardware, is expected to boost sales of the new consoles over the next few months, typically a slow season for the industry.

"This is one game that has the potential to move some hardware," Bob McKenzie, senior vice president of merchandising for video-game retail chain GameStop Corp (GME.N: Quote, Profile, Research), said in an interview.

"The anticipation is that it will sell both systems."

But the PS3 stands to gain the most from the game and its tale of Niko, an Eastern European immigrant who must face his brutal past as he serves a crime syndicate by jacking cars, running drugs and rubbing out rivals. Continued...

The stakes are higher than ever. Last year, sales of video game console hardware in the United States soared 73 percent to $5.1 billion, according to market research firm NPD.

VICARIOUS THRILLS

"Grand Theft Auto 4" is expected to sell between 9 million and 12.5 million units in 2008, luring gamers with simulated vicarious thrills -- depending on one's viewpoint -- including drunk driving, stripper lap dances and the chance to fire heavy weaponry into urban crowds.

If sales come in at the high end of that range, the game will directly spur sales of 2 million additional PS3s in 2008, versus 1 million Xbox 360s, reckons Michael Pachter, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan.

"I think PS3 'wins' this battle," Pachter said.

The "GTA" series has played console kingmaker before. When "Grand Theft Auto 3" hit the PlayStation 2 in 2001, it was such a phenomenon that many people bought the machines just to play that one game.

Sony is now banking that many gamers who first played the series on the PlayStation 2 are Sony loyalists who see the new game as the ultimate reason to shell out $400 or more for a PlayStation 3.

"So many people who owned the PS2 went into PlayStation family because of 'GTA'. The release of 'GTA4' could expedite their decision to upgrade," said Edward Williams, an analyst with BMO Capital Markets.

Scott Steinberg, vice president of marketing for Sony Computer Entertainment America, said "GTA4" was just one of several titles to drive PS3 sales in the coming months.

"I think without question that we are transitioning away from a tipping point to a shoving point for folks getting motivated," Steinberg said. "For the whole spring and summer, we are expecting a pretty nice uptick in PS3 sales."

COUNTERINTUITIVE

The idea that the PS3 will gain the most from "GTA4" will strike some as counterintuitive.

After all, Microsoft has the lure of exclusive, Xbox-only downloadable content that will arrive later in the year, a fact it is hammering home with a marketing blitz to rival that of its own flagship "Halo 3" game last year.

A poll on gaming blog banned site showed that 58 percent of the 38,000 votes cast were for the Xbox 360 version, with the downloadable content cited as one of the main reasons for the choice. That fed expectations that the enthusiasm would fuel more Xbox 360 sales as well.

The game will almost certainly sell more copies on the Xbox 360 given the bigger base of owners -- 9.9 million in the United States versus 4.1 million for the PlayStation 3.

"Online is such a strong part of the game and Microsoft has done such a great job of developing the online community, so for people who own multiple consoles, they will buy it for the 360," said IDC analyst Billy Pidgeon.

But Microsoft, coming off a blockbuster 2007 with hits like "Halo 3", has a lighter exclusive lineup this year and analysts reckon that most dedicated gamers interested in buying an Xbox have already done so.

"It could sell a little bit more hardware for Sony than Microsoft, given where each of those boxes are in their life cycle," Ricardo Torres, editor-in-chief of video game news site GameSpot.

"The PS3 has had a slow build but they have momentum coming off of the holidays and 2008 does look like it's going to be their year. 'Grand Theft Auto' is really the starter pistol for four or five releases for Sony that will be a compelling reason to get a PS3."

[Eaglesfan27]

It should provide a boost for both systems as the analysts predict in the article that you quoted.

[BrianD]

Sounds like the article makes two separate points and tries to call them related.

1. GTA IV will sell consoles.
2. Hardcore gamers that will buy this game probably already own an XBox.

Point 1 seems obvious. Point 2 is reasonable since XBox has a higher install base. Making the leap to say non-hardcore gamers who don't already own a console will buy the PS3 rather than the XBox to play it seems like a stretch. The XBox is farther along in the life cycle, but it isn't like it is at the end of the cycle...

[Kodos]

To some degree, I think the casual gamers will gravitate towards getting a PS3 if they don't already own a next-gen console and they are buying one to play GTA IV. They most likely played versions of GTA III on the PS2. Brand loyalty will probably influence their decisions. Also, casual gamers would be less likely to know that there is a difference between the 360 and PS3 versions.

[Travis]

To some degree, I think the casual gamers will gravitate towards getting a PS3 if they don't already own a next-gen console and they are buying one to play GTA IV. They most likely played versions of GTA III on the PS2. Brand loyalty will probably influence their decisions. Also, casual gamers would be less likely to know that there is a difference between the 360 and PS3 versions.

That, and rightly or wrongly they also pointed out that an upcoming release like MGS may sway some on the fence to go the PS3 route now. Had Sony been able to scoop MS on the exclusive content for GTA then the numbers could have gotten interesting.

[MikeVic]

What the hell is the "exclusive content?" Isn't this game coming out in April or early May or something? Shouldn't the exclusive content be known already.

[Cringer]

What the hell is the "exclusive content?" Isn't this game coming out in April or early May or something? Shouldn't the exclusive content be known already.


Nope, they are probably still working on some of it. The exclusive content is downloadable stuff and it is not supposed to be out until the fall I think.

[Big Fo]

Nintendo's latest earnings report (http://www.nintendo.co.jp/corporate/release/index.html) is out, which gives us some updated numbers. Shamelessly taken from neoGAF since I don't speak Japanese, here they are:

Current hardware LTD:
NDS: 70.60m
NA: 22.39m
Japan: 22.38m
Other: 25.82m

Wii: 24.45m
NA: 10.61m
Japan: 5.90m
Other: 7.94m


Wii Forecast for the next FY: 25m
DS Forecast for the next FY: 28m

Wii Software forecast for the next FY: 177m
DS software forecast for the next FY: 187m

Pokemon Diamond/Pearl: 14.77 million
Brain Age 1 and 2 (combined): 23.81 million

DS has 57 million-selling games (LTD). As of last year, there were 30.

Smash Bros Brawl: 4.85 million as of March 31

There are 26 million-sellers on the Wii.

Looks like Nintendo plans to increase production from 1.8m Wiis per month to 2.08m, I wonder if that will be enough.

25m more Wiis sold would have it pass the Super Nintendo after only two and a half years, crazy. The NES at 62m would be passed within three years of launch at this rate.

Profit/loss by year for the Big 3:

FY* Sony** Nintendo Microsoft
1998 974,000,000 629,000,000
1999 1,130,000,000 645,000,000
2000 730,000,000 421,000,000
2001 -409,000,000 726,000,000
2002 623,000,000 800,000,000 -750,000,000
2003 939,000,000 560,000,000 -1,191,000,000
2004 650,000,000 316,000,000 -1,215,000,000
2005 404,000,000 777,000,000 -485,000,000
2006 75,000,00 894,000,000 -1,262,000,000
2007 -1,969,000,000 1,489,000,000 -1,892,000,000
2008 -965,000,000 2,480,000,000 532,000,000

Totals 2,182,000,000 9,737,000,000 -6,263,000,000

Congratulations to Microsoft for actually making money from their gaming division for the first time. I have no idea how much Sony stands to make off Blu-ray's victory but it'd take quite a bit to make up for the last two years.

[Schmidty]

I just have to ask - why does any of this matter so much to people? I'm not trying to be a smart ass or anything - I just don't understand what the intense interest is about. Are any of these consoles so close to being dead, that the constant monthly tracking and discussions are necessary?

[BrianD]

Wow, now there is a post that we haven't seen in ANY of the console threads yet.

[Schmidty]

Wow, now there is a post that we haven't seen in ANY of the console threads yet.

:confused:

I just asked a question. I honestly was seeking a real response, not a dick-headed sarcastic repartee.

[Malificent]

:confused:

I just asked a question. I honestly was seeking a real response, not a dick-headed sarcastic repartee.

It's no different than political discussion or following who's winning in a sports league. You don't have any personal ties to it, but you just find it interesting to talk about.

[Schmidty]

It's no different than political discussion or following who's winning in a sports league. You don't have any personal ties to it, but you just find it interesting to talk about.

But that wasn't necessarily my point. Maybe I didn't make it clear: Are any of the consoles in serious danger of being discontinued or severely slowed in production any time in the near future?

I ask this, because (although I generally dislike them), I have been considering picking up a console in the next few months, and I want to make sure I don't buy a dying bird and not know it.

[Kodos]

None of them will die, you can rest assured about that. Basically, figure out which one has the most games that you like, and go with it.

[MJ4H]

Well if any of them severely tank, yes. None of them are really in any danger in this generation I'd say. Nintendo is clearly on cloud nine. Sony has the blu-ray thing going for them, and Microsoft has a big head start and consequently a big market share.

[Schmidty]

Ok, thanks. Now I just have to figure out which one has the best RPG's, Sims, and Strategy games. I'm assuming that all of them have similar quality sports games, so I don't have to worry about that.

[Big Fo]

Best RPGs - XBox 360
Sims and Strategy games - uhh, it might be better to just stick to the PC

Edit - For RPGs you might want to consider the PS2, and maybe a DS for strategy games, but you sounded as if you were choosing between 360/PS3/Wii

[Big Fo]

Updated tie-ratios for all five current-gen systems, USA only:

Xbox 360: 7.5
Wii: 5.3
PS3: 4.6

DS: 4.7
PSP: 4.2

joystiq.com link (http://www.joystiq.com/2008/04/24/npds-latest-software-tie-ratios-for-consoles/)

[twothree]

I ask this, because (although I generally dislike them), I have been considering picking up a console in the next few months, and I want to make sure I don't buy a dying bird and not know it.

Well, my best guess is that the XBOX 360 will be the first of the three consoles to be replaced, maybe in as little as two years. The original XBOX did not have a very long sales life compared to the Japanese consoles, only around 4 years, before being replaced with the XBOX 360. Each Playstation system and Nintendo system, I believe, has had over a 5 year sales life before being replaced, and the Playstation 3 and Wii each launched a year after the XBOX 360.

[SackAttack]

Well, my best guess is that the XBOX 360 will be the first of the three consoles to be replaced, maybe in as little as two years. The original XBOX did not have a very long sales life compared to the Japanese consoles, only around 4 years, before being replaced with the XBOX 360. Each Playstation system and Nintendo system, I believe, has had over a 5 year sales life before being replaced, and the Playstation 3 and Wii each launched a year after the XBOX 360.

I think this might be the first generation in a while that actually extends *beyond* the typical five-to-seven.

Microsoft short-circuited the Xbox lifespan because they wanted to steal a march on Sony in this generation. So far, they seem to have been successful at it, and they're finally starting to realize financial benefits from that. If Sony starts curb-stomping them, they might reassess that stance.

Nintendo is in a position where a new PlayStation console or a new Microsoft console really wouldn't force their hand as it might have in the past. The bulk of their current audience probably wouldn't feel threatened by a new hi-def machine.

Sony, in addition to proclaiming a "ten year life cycle," spent an awful lot of money and brand capital to get Blu-ray established as the next-generation movie format of choice, and depending on who you listen to, as much as 90% of the installed BD players are PlayStation 3's. As long as Microsoft doesn't force the issue, they're probably going to be okay with building the brand back up and reaping whatever Blu-ray benefits come their way.

[Kodos]

I think Sony might be content to not match an Xbox 720 (or whatever) if it came out soon. The early years of a console are the least profitable ones. They might believe that they packed enough technology into PS3 to last longer than the usual console lifecycle.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What the hell is the "exclusive content?" Isn't this game coming out in April or early May or something? Shouldn't the exclusive content be known already.

That's been a major question in recent days in the media. Microsoft is really dropping the ball by not letting people know in the run-up to the release what will be available as exclusive downloadable content on the 360. If you're going to spend $50M on something, you'd think that you would use it to your advantage. They should be talking about it at all times and letting gamers know just what will be available later this year. The only ones talking about it right now are the people who already own a 360. That's great to support the user base, but the intent was to increase hardware sales and that's not happening right now according to early pre-sales figures.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think Sony might be content to not match an Xbox 720 (or whatever) if it came out soon. The early years of a console are the least profitable ones. They might believe that they packed enough technology into PS3 to last longer than the usual console lifecycle.

I'd agree with you and SackAttack. I don't think Sony will be in any hurry to jump to a new console anytime soon. They have a very good console on their hands that has the Blu-ray player and a lot of media features available. The improvement in the graphics department to a new console at this point would likely be relatively minor if it were done in 2010. Add in the huge success that the PS2 has been despite the introduction of the PS3 and it may be in Sony's best interests to ride this horse for a bit longer. A sub-$200 PS3 in a couple of years could be an awfully attractive buy for the mass market despite being out for 4 years at that point.

I think Microsoft's decision on how quickly to move to the next console depends on just how much they're losing in warranty costs to fix defective consoles. If they can get out a console model later this year that reduces the RROD problems, they could stick with the 360 a bit longer. If the problem persists, I don't think they can afford from a financial perspective to stay with the 360 past the year 2010.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

It should provide a boost for both systems as the analysts predict in the article that you quoted.

I'm going to go out on a limb here and say that Microsoft likely wouldn't have drop $50M on exclusive DLC to secure a 2:1 or 3:1 loss in the sales margin in Europe since they have identified Europe as the battleground that they need to win this year. One thing that these sales margins show is that the PS brand loyalty in Europe is very strong. I'm not sure even Sony could have expected these numbers to go this highly in their favor.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Infinite Undiscovery website is finally up with lots of screenshots............

http://www.square-enix.co.jp/undiscovery/

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Surprising announcement from Sony today. The PS3 version of Singstar will be coming to the States on May 20th, which is sooner than was expected. Honestly, not sure why it took this long. The 2nd version is already well into development.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Here's the latest weekly numbers out of Japan...........

WII - 44,241
PS3 - 7,438
360 - 1,076

The standard consoles are really struggling to gain market share in Japan right now. The PS3 is in desparate need of a AAA title that appeals to the Japanese crowd because the Western-oriented titles just aren't doing enough to get the Japanese to buy. A price cut may be another alternative. It's a good thing that the European market is doing particularly well for them. Japan is certainly holding off on buying consoles at this point.

[SackAttack]

I think the 44k/week for the Wii suggests that it isn't consoles they're holding off on buying, it's the PS3 and 360 ;)

[spleen1015]

I think the 44k/week for the Wii suggests that it isn't consoles they're holding off on buying, it's the PS3 and 360 ;)

Remember, the Wii isn't on the same level as the PS3 or 360. It is not a standard console.

[SackAttack]

Remember, the Wii isn't on the same level as the PS3 or 360. It is not a standard console.

You're right. It's blowing the other two away. The PS3 and the 360 really don't belong in the same conversation. Maybe we can give them a different name to distinguish them from the console Nintendo is selling. :p

[Kodos]

Next gen versus last gen 1.5?
























;)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I think the 44k/week for the Wii suggests that it isn't consoles they're holding off on buying, it's the PS3 and 360 ;)

Not really. That 44K is actually pretty low for Japan. The Wii sales have dropped quite a bit from even a couple of months ago. In January, they sold 110K/week. In February, they sold 80K/week. That's just as significant of a drop.

Certainly, it's a two horse race over there as the 360 is basically not selling at all at this point. They need GT5, FFXIII, and MGS4 to come out sooner rather than later. Unfortunately, 2 of those 3 games won't be coming out for another 10-12 months. June should help with the release of MGS4, but the true boost likely won't come until a year from now. Price should probably be dropped by that point as well given the cheaper PS3 production cost starting in August.

[stevew]

Can you use a PS3 with a harmony remote, or do you have to use the bluetooth controller. I'm working on getting everything assigned to one remote(to rule them all).

[Travis]

Can you use a PS3 with a harmony remote, or do you have to use the bluetooth controller. I'm working on getting everything assigned to one remote(to rule them all).

I haven't tried it yet, but there is a workaround out there apparently that will let you do this. You need to get one of the third party PS3 remotes that comes with an IR dongle that plugs into one of the USB ports, then program the commands for that remote into the harmony. Last I checked I think about the only thing you couldn't do this way was to power on/off the console with the harmony, but again, haven't tried it myself

[Eaglesfan27]

Certainly, it's a two horse race over there as the 360 is basically not selling at all at this point.

One of your most hilarious lines ever. The Wii has won that region like every other region. They have a 3-1 margin right now in total units sold in Japan. They aren't giving that up when they are outselling the PS3 6 to 1.

[stevew]

I haven't tried it yet, but there is a workaround out there apparently that will let you do this. You need to get one of the third party PS3 remotes that comes with an IR dongle that plugs into one of the USB ports, then program the commands for that remote into the harmony. Last I checked I think about the only thing you couldn't do this way was to power on/off the console with the harmony, but again, haven't tried it myself

Hmm, thanks.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

One of your most hilarious lines ever. The Wii has won that region like every other region. They have a 3-1 margin right now in total units sold in Japan. They aren't giving that up when they are outselling the PS3 6 to 1.

What's hilarious is that you somehow drew that conclusion out of what I said. Just because I state it's a two horse race in that region doesn't imply that the PS3 will catch up in Japan. Obviously, the release of Super Smash Bros. inflated the margin this month, so the 6:1 margin is not the norm. You'd complain if I solely used the sales numbers from the MGS4 release month in Japan. It's not any more accurate to state that the Wii is outselling the PS3 by a 6:1 margin on a regular basis.

I will note that several analysts have predicted that the Wii will be surpassed by the PS3 worldwide in 2011. I don't subscribe to that theory, but it's certainly not nearly as out of the question as you seem to imply. However, I'd personally agree with you that the PS3 will probably end up 2nd in that region. For that matter, the order of finish in all regions going forward will likely be the same as the Japan setup. Wii in first, PS3 in second, and 360 in third. It's been that way for several months except for the 5K unit move past the PS3 that the 360 had this month in North America.

[Big Fo]

A few things MBBF:

Smash Brothers came out in January in Japan, so what hardware bump there was petered out weeks ago.

Wii sales this last month (~200k) in Japan are in line with average monthly sales in the PS2 during it's best years, which isn't too bad really. "Holding off on buying consoles" :D

Wii sales were that high in January because the first few days of the New Year form the most important holiday season there...

Oh, and don't expect to Metal Gear Solid to save the PS3 in Japan. Bigger selling series (Gundam, Hot Shots Golf, Dynasty Warriors) have all made the PS2 -> PS3 jump and sold less than their predecessors, without causing any kind of long-term increase in hardware sales.

[Eaglesfan27]

Actually, the Wii has outsold the PS3 by a 6-1 margin several months in the last year in Japan. That is not a 1 time margin, this is a massive trend.

Edit: I was bored and double checked the numbers and most months it has only been 5-1. 6-1 is a new benchmark.

[gstelmack]

What's hilarious is that you somehow drew that conclusion out of what I said. Just because I state it's a two horse race in that region doesn't imply that the PS3 will catch up in Japan.

Then there is no race. If someone has no chance of winning, there is no race. It's a one-horse race then. By saying it's a two-horse race, you do in fact imply that the PS3 has a chance to catch the Wii. Otherwise you would not have used the term.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Surfer Girl mentions in her latest post that she believes that the Bioshock sequel will be a 360/PC game and that there will be no PS3 version.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Always frustrating to see this kind of stuff from developers. It's well known that EA develops for the 'lowest common denominator' in consoles to avoid negative fan feedback if one version were better than a similar console. This article is a bit different in that the developers for the upcoming Ghostbusters game are openly admitting that they could produce a better game on the PS3, but they have decided to 'dumb down' the PS3 version to avoid negative feedback from 360 users.

http://www.n4g.com/ClickOut.aspx?ObjID=140033

I'm not sure why they openly admitted this, as it sets them up to be between a rock and a hard place. If they develop a better PS3 version, the 360 users complain. If they dumb down the PS3 version, the PS3 users complain. Either way, I think they would have been better off not saying what they did.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

New Prince of Persia game on the way this holiday season for PS3/360. Ubisoft needs this one to do well.

http://www.themanroom.com/news/Prince_of_Persia_on_Xbox_360_PS3_this_Holiday_Season/2632

[Deattribution]

Thus far I've seen about 8 GTA4 commercials and everyone of them ended with the Playstation 3 logo and absolutely no mention of the Xbox 360, or even a logo for it anywhere on the screen that I could see. Maybe that's factoring into the larger boost for the PS3.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Things are starting to become a lot clearer now. Microsoft just cut prices in Asia. Also, estimates for number of shipped units for the 360 are to decline by 40% worldwide in fiscal year 2008 while the PS3 and Wii will see substantial increases. The analysts that were predicting Sony would pass the 360 in units sold worldwide by 2009 likely knew this was coming. This is going to make it awfully tough for the 360 to remain ahead of the PS3 for more than a year.

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601101&sid=aPVnmYFcu28g&refer=japan

April 29 (Bloomberg) -- Microsoft Corp. cut prices of its Xbox 360 game console in four Asian markets to help fend off market-share declines against Nintendo Co. and Sony Corp.

The Redmond, Washington-based company cut estimated retail prices in Hong Kong, South Korea, Singapore and Taiwan, Brenda Hsieh, a Microsoft spokeswoman in Taipei, said today. The price of a basic version will drop by 17 percent to NT$10,360 ($340) in Taiwan and by about 11 percent in Hong Kong effective today, Hsieh said. Prices will fall 5.1 percent to 369,000 won ($369) in Korea and by 20 percent to S$499 ($366) in Singapore, according to separate e-mailed statements.

Global Xbox 360 shipments will probably fall 40 percent to 9.1 million units in the year ending in March 2009 after peaking during the previous 12-month period, Daiwa Institute of Research Ltd. estimated last month. Shipments of Sony's PlayStation 3 will jump 47 percent to 14 million units, while those of Nintendo's Wii may rise 26 percent to 24 million, according to Daiwa.

[MikeVic]

Ok, I know someone here will know the answer and I didn't want to find the last time it was talked about instead... in case the SKUs have changed.

What were the differences in the current PS3 and 360 SKUs?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Ok, I know someone here will know the answer and I didn't want to find the last time it was talked about instead... in case the SKUs have changed.

What were the differences in the current PS3 and 360 SKUs?

Assuming you're looking at the best units for each console, the PS3 has built-in Wifi, backwards compatibility (60 and 80 GB machines), and free online play via PSN.

360 Elite has larger HDD and the Xbox Live functionality.

There's more minor differences, but that's the main differences.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Crytek boss says that future games will no longer be PC exclusive due to piracy. Expect to see them on consoles as well...........

http://www.pcplay.hr/modules.php?r=23

[gstelmack]

Assuming you're looking at the best units for each console, the PS3 has built-in Wifi, backwards compatibility (60 and 80 GB machines), and free online play via PSN.

360 Elite has larger HDD and the Xbox Live functionality.

There's more minor differences, but that's the main differences.

The 360 Elite and Pro also have backwards compatibility via software for most Xbox titles (and many of them include an HD resolution upgrade for the trouble) that works pretty darn well. It's just funny that after all that bashing Sony did of that route, they've switched to it as well.

And it is worth noting now that the format war is over that the PS3 does have built-in BluRay. While that does not affect gaming much, it is an advantage the console has.

[Ksyrup]

I wonder if the Wii numbers will continue to be big, or even go up more, with Wii Fit coming out next month. My parents finally broke down and bought a Wii this weekend solely for Wii Fit.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I wonder if the Wii numbers will continue to be big, or even go up more, with Wii Fit coming out next month. My parents finally broke down and bought a Wii this weekend solely for Wii Fit.

They'll be big again this month. The supply has finally caught up with demand. Several sites had Wii's available for longer than usual a couple of days ago. They're at the point where there maximizing sales right now and will do so for the foreseeable future.

[Daimyo]

Super Smash Bros, Mario Kart, and Wii Fit all within a 2-3 month period should make it big... along with Mario Galaxy in November, Nintendo is firing its big guns.

[wade moore]

Mario Kart question - does it only come with one wheel and if so are they selling the wheel seperately?

[PurdueBrad]

Mario Kart question - does it only come with one wheel and if so are they selling the wheel seperately?

1 wheel with it and you can buy them separate. I did this today but have not opened any of them yet.

[wade moore]

Thanks!

I'm not getting it right away since I got GTA IV, but I imagine the wife will want to get it at some point.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

God of War III may have online multiplayer. That would be absolutely SICK.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187977

[Eaglesfan27]

A bunch of GTA IV related news:

PS3 version is running at 630p vs 720p for the 360 (another article updates and says it is running at 640p on the PS3):

http://kotaku.com/385237/gta-iv-runs-at-630p-on-playstation-3-so-whats-that-mean

Analysts predict over 13 million copies to be sold this year, and predict that the game will have a longer shelf life than Halo3:

http://360.kombo.com/article.php?artid=12739


Xbox 360 Owners get an unexpected bonus with GTA IV, a free month of Xbox Live Gold:

http://www.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3167615


Another comparision of the two versions of GTA 4:

http://www.videogamer.com/features/article/29-04-2008-389.html

[wade moore]

I anxiously await MBBF's rebuttle.

[SackAttack]

God of War III may have online multiplayer. That would be absolutely SICK.

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187977

Or absolutely POINTLESS. I love that game as much as the next red-blooded American, but I'm having a hard time seeing what the benefit of online GoW would be.

Just because a game CAN go online doesn't mean it necessarily SHOULD.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I anxiously await MBBF's rebuttle.

Is there one to be made? Most people are attributing the lower resolution on the PS3 to the reason that the PS3 version looks better, has less pop-ups, and has less framerate stutters. It was basically a port from the 360, so I'm not sure we should be surprised that it's sub-par given the recent comments from the 'Ghostbusters' game developers. As most developers have previously stated, the best move as a developer for ease of development is to use the PS3 as the primary development system and then port it over to the 360. GTA4 started its development quite some time ago, so they really didn't have an opportunity to do that.

As far as the 'unexpected bonus' of 1 month of XBL, the PS3 owners got a bigger bonus when they purchased the system. It's called a lifetime of free online console play. It's not a bonus if it should be free in the first place, but Microsoft is awfully glad that people are thankful for a free month while they charge people for the other 11 months.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Or absolutely POINTLESS. I love that game as much as the next red-blooded American, but I'm having a hard time seeing what the benefit of online GoW would be.

Just because a game CAN go online doesn't mean it necessarily SHOULD.

Sure, it could go either way. Right now we're just speculating, but a blood-letting hack-n-slash against other players could be a lot of fun depending on how well it's developed. I'm sure we'll hear more as we get closer to the release early next year.

[Eaglesfan27]

As far as the 'unexpected bonus' of 1 month of XBL, the PS3 owners got a bigger bonus when they purchased the system. It's called a lifetime of free online console play. It's not a bonus if it should be free in the first place, but Microsoft is awfully glad that people are thankful for a free month while they charge people for the other 11 months.

I guess I should post this article, which points out that the PS3 version is having issues with online play with GTA IV. I haven't seen similar articles re: the 360 version. You get what you pay for:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187968

[wade moore]

PS3 Online and Live are entirely different animals. I know there are supposed updates coming to the PS3, but until then as EF27 says - you get what you pay for.

[Deattribution]

I guess I should post this article, which points out that the PS3 version is having issues with online play with GTA IV. I haven't seen similar articles re: the 360 version. You get what you pay for:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187968

Unless it's December through mid January for XBL users, then you just get a subpar game that you'll never use and no online play at all for any game.

No system is without it's flaws, it just matters whether they're fixed or not.

[Daimyo]

Mario Kart question - does it only come with one wheel and if so are they selling the wheel seperately?

Wheels by themselves are $15. However, you can also play the game with the plain wii-mote, nunchuck, classic controller, or gamecube controller. You may want to try the wheel first before buying a second. Personally I think the wheel is cool and works very well, but I always end up going back to the classic controller after a few races. My wife plays exclusively with the wheel.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I guess I should post this article, which points out that the PS3 version is having issues with online play with GTA IV. I haven't seen similar articles re: the 360 version. You get what you pay for:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/article.php?id=187968

Online play issues and freezing are currently being reported on both systems according to Rockstar customer support. There's a lengthy thread on Neogaf that details the situation.

As far as getting what you paid for, I don't think any 360 owner has any room to flame. There's a warehouse of skeletons in that closet. Thankfully, that warehouse is on the Microsoft campus, far from prying eyes. XBL has been far from reliable in recent months either, as reported by several blogs/media outlets.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

European numbers in for GTA4...............

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/30423/GTA-IV-smashes-one-day-sales-record

[SackAttack]

I don't really care about the wars that have been going on, and I realize that my experience doesn't equal everyone's, but I bought a 360 on December 28th and have played online almost every day since then without ever having any difficulties.

I'm not trying to make a point against MBBF, but am genuinely confused as to how some people had problems getting online and some didn't.

I know the main problem for me wasn't so much the getting online as the fact that when the console is struggling to connect, you get that hourglass in the middle of the tab and basically can't DO anything unless you either disconnect from the network or wait it out.

[TroyF]

Is there one to be made? Most people are attributing the lower resolution on the PS3 to the reason that the PS3 version looks better, has less pop-ups, and has less framerate stutters. It was basically a port from the 360, so I'm not sure we should be surprised that it's sub-par given the recent comments from the 'Ghostbusters' game developers. As most developers have previously stated, the best move as a developer for ease of development is to use the PS3 as the primary development system and then port it over to the 360. GTA4 started its development quite some time ago, so they really didn't have an opportunity to do that.

As far as the 'unexpected bonus' of 1 month of XBL, the PS3 owners got a bigger bonus when they purchased the system. It's called a lifetime of free online console play. It's not a bonus if it should be free in the first place, but Microsoft is awfully glad that people are thankful for a free month while they charge people for the other 11 months.

1) Your continued assertion that the PS3 is more powerful and better than the 360 for graphics has been shredded by people since the first week the console was out. How many times do we need to hear from our own FOFC game developers about how the PS3 has some advantages and the 360 has some advantages with neither being anything close to perfect? I'm sick of hearing this garbage. I don't care about the developers of Ghostbusters (I'm sure that game will be a monster hit), EA (they are brilliant in how they program, right?) or others say. I look at results. And at the end of the day it doesn't matter WHY this is the case, it just is the case.

2) As with the above points, the GTA game has things it does better (such as pop ups) and things it does worse (such as frame rate in melee battles or closed quarters)

3) Live is another debate we get into quite a bit. The reality is LIVE is the better option right now. For most things, I'd rather pay my whopping $4 a month for LIVE gold than use the free PS3 service. The interface is superior. The ease of use is superior. The PS3 has been getting better and maybe it catches XBox Live in those areas soon. When it does, we can have a debate. As of now, my guess is people with both systems would vote for the LIVE service being better, even when taking cost into account by a 75/25 mark. (and that may be too low) Again, when that gap closes, give me a call. The "free" arguement can only work in two ways. The first is that the two services are equal or the free service is better than the pay service. Then cost goes into the equation. The second is if the price of the pay service is so severe that people would rather take the inferior service than pay out the ass for the better one. The PS3 doesn't hold either one of those cards yet. The 360's service is clearly superior at this time and the $4 a month price tag is not a major obstacle for those who own a $400+ gaming machine.

As for the Wireless connector, it's something I think MS dropped the ball on.

[Cringer]

Just remember when the April numbers come out, the 360 numbers are artificially inflated by 1 with my purchase of one yesterday which will probably be returned. :D

That is all.

[wade moore]

As far as getting what you paid for, I don't think any 360 owner has any room to flame. There's a warehouse of skeletons in that closet. Thankfully, that warehouse is on the Microsoft campus, far from prying eyes. XBL has been far from reliable in recent months either, as reported by several blogs/media outlets.

Oh come on now - it had problems for a few weeks at the holidays...

[wade moore]

European numbers in for GTA4...............

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/30423/GTA-IV-smashes-one-day-sales-record


So 55:45 ratio in favor of the 360 - what is the ratio of consoles owned in Europe?

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Oh come on now - it had problems for a few weeks at the holidays...

And it also had another problem roughly a month ago.

The skeletons I was referring to was the stacks of RROD consoles.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

So 55:45 ratio in favor of the 360 - what is the ratio of consoles owned in Europe?

Edit: Previous ratio that I listed was for all of Europe, not the UK. These sales numbers are for the UK. The ratio is 2:1 in favor of the Xbox 360 in the UK, so that is a big win for Sony to sell 45% of all units.

It should be noted that bundle numbers aren't included in these sales numbers, so this isn't a total number yet. We'll see the boost in console sales over previous weeks and be able to get a pretty good measure of the hardware effect, which also includes GTA4 bundles.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Just remember when the April numbers come out, the 360 numbers are artificially inflated by 1 with my purchase of one yesterday which will probably be returned. :D

That is all.

Duly noted.

Any chance you can stick the refurb in the return box and keep the new one? :)

[wade moore]

And it also had another problem roughly a month ago.

The skeletons I was referring to was the stacks of RROD consoles.Didn't know about any problems a month ago - must have been minor - I didn't have any problems and you weren't flailing about it around here.

As for the RROD - what does that have to do with XBOX Live or how GTA IV plays?

[spleen1015]

As for the RROD - what does that have to do with XBOX Live or how GTA IV plays?

Nothing. It just means the PS3 wins this generation...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

As for the RROD - what does that have to do with XBOX Live or how GTA IV plays?

He brought reliability and 'you get what you pay for' into the discussion. Given the extreme unreliability of the 360 console and the good performance record of the PS3, those are the last two things that you want to use in a discussion to defend the 360.

[wade moore]

He brought reliability and 'you get what you pay for' into the discussion. Given the extreme unreliability of the 360 console and the good performance record of the PS3, those are the last two things that you want to use in a discussion to defend the 360.It is perfectly valid when defending Live vs. the PS3 online. Apples and oranges, apples and oranges.

[Chubby]

XBL is great on a bricked console, eh?

[TroyF]

XBL is great on a bricked console, eh?

The discussion was centering around the two online services only. I know it's a shock to some people, but many of us haven't had the RROD problem or a bricked console. But even if we had, that's not part of this discussion. Nor is the fact that the new batch of 360's have been more durable.

All that comes up in this is Xbox LIVE vs. The Sony online service. Which is better? IMHO, the LIVE service is 10x the value of Sony's even though I'm paying $50 a year for it. That's my opinion and if yours differs, that's fine. (though I think you'll be in the minority which is my opinion as well)

[Chubby]

The discussion was centering around the two online services only. I know it's a shock to some people, but many of us haven't had the RROD problem or a bricked console. But even if we had, that's not part of this discussion. Nor is the fact that the new batch of 360's have been more durable.

All that comes up in this is Xbox LIVE vs. The Sony online service. Which is better? IMHO, the LIVE service is 10x the value of Sony's even though I'm paying $50 a year for it. That's my opinion and if yours differs, that's fine. (though I think you'll be in the minority which is my opinion as well)

Well of course SOMEBODY has to be int he 60% that hasn't had any problems with the 360 ;)

10x the value compared to something that's free? :) I have no complaints with PSOnline and don't plan on getting a 360 anytime soon but that has more to do with a general 360 vs PS3 argument.

[Groundhog]

The discussion was centering around the two online services only. I know it's a shock to some people, but many of us haven't had the RROD problem or a bricked console. But even if we had, that's not part of this discussion. Nor is the fact that the new batch of 360's have been more durable.

All that comes up in this is Xbox LIVE vs. The Sony online service. Which is better? IMHO, the LIVE service is 10x the value of Sony's even though I'm paying $50 a year for it. That's my opinion and if yours differs, that's fine. (though I think you'll be in the minority which is my opinion as well)

Yes, XBL is better than Sony's online service but, of course, it would damn well want to be considering you pay for it. It may not be much, but far too many games REQUIRE you to have it in order to get things like roster updates.

And I had a thread on here about all the problems I had LEAVING the XBL service, which was a gigantic pain in the ass and did plenty to turn me off the service altogether, considering the main reason I was cancelling it was that my 360 had RRoD'ed on me, to then have some guy in an Indian call centre put me through 20 questions and do his best to get me to NOT cancel, despite me telling him that my damn console wasn't working, was really the straw that broke this camel's back.

[gstelmack]

Yes, XBL is better than Sony's online service but, of course, it would damn well want to be considering you pay for it. It may not be much, but far too many games REQUIRE you to have it in order to get things like roster updates.

That's the fault of those games. Silver accounts are free and allow pretty much everything except online gameplay, including things like access to DLC.

You pay $50/year (or ~$37/year if you catch one of the Circuit City "12+1" cards for $40 sales they run every few months) to get a service that actively pays attention to cheaters and hackers and bans them, plus supports a variety of other matchmaking and online play services.

[Groundhog]

You pay $50/year (or ~$37/year if you catch one of the Circuit City "12+1" cards for $40 sales they run every few months) to get a service that actively pays attention to cheaters and hackers and bans them, plus supports a variety of other matchmaking and online play services.

Is cheating or hacking rampant on the PS3? If it is, I honestly haven't heard about it.

[gstelmack]

Is cheating or hacking rampant on the PS3? If it is, I honestly haven't heard about it.

Don't know. I do know the PS2 had some severe issues early on, while the Xbox and 360s big issues were griefers.

[Bee]

For me personally, I'd prefer the free PS3 online vs having to pay for the 360 LIVE content but I know I'm in the minority because I don't have a lot of interest in online games. I'd rather have a free mediocre service than a pay service that's better since I seldom use the service anyway. That's especially true since the PS3 online service is still in the "growing and improving" stage.

It will be interesting to see if the resolution difference in the game ends up impacting sales in any noticeable way. While visually there may be no noticeable difference between the two versions, some people do get hung up on numbers. In the end, I doubt it will make much difference but taken along with the 360 exclusive DLC it might hurt the expected PS3 console sales boost to some degree.

[Sweed]

Yes, XBL is better than Sony's online service but, of course, it would damn well want to be considering you pay for it. It may not be much, but far too many games REQUIRE you to have it in order to get things like roster updates.


FWIW I have both consoles and the roster issue is a big deal to me too. I bought the game and then have to pay to keep rosters updated with the 360?
Doesn't seem right to me and is why I buy sports titles for the ps3.

That's the fault of those games.

Doesn't really matter to me as a customer who's fault it is. I'll admit I have no idea how this all works between the producer of the game and MS or Sony but the fact is if I buy a sports title for the ps3 my rosters are free. If I buy for the 360 I have to pay.

So who makes the decision to put the roster content on the Gold membership vs the Silver? The game maker or MS? If it's the game maker why would they do this? To me it just doesn't make sense, they should put the patches (which, to my knowledge, all of the games do?) and rosters on Silver and the rest of the services on Gold.



For me personally, I'd prefer the free PS3 online vs having to pay for the 360 LIVE content but I know I'm in the minority because I don't have a lot of interest in online games. I'd rather have a free mediocre service than a pay service that's better since I seldom use the service anyway. That's especially true since the PS3 online service is still in the "growing and improving" stage.



Same for me just not really interested in playing online with people I don't know getting pissed because of cheaters and guys that want to "game" the system. I only use the online capability of the consoles for patches and in the case of the ps3 rosters and purchasing add-ons for Rock Band.

From what I've read here I'm sure the MS online is the better product. But, like Bee, I'm probably in the minority being happy with the free lower quality service than a better one I would have to pay for. In my case I'd be paying anywhere from $20 to $50 a year for three or four roster updates depending on if I bought two or three one month cards or a whole year. Simply not worth it to me.

[rjolley]

I have a 360 and the free silver membership for XBox Live. I was able to get roster updates and patches with no problems, at least for College Hoops 2K8 and NBA2K8.

I'm not sure if other games are the same, but it was my understanding that patches and roster updates were available through the silver membership, possibly a few days later than the gold membership.

[Eaglesfan27]

I have a 360 and the free silver membership for XBox Live. I was able to get roster updates and patches with no problems, at least for College Hoops 2K8 and NBA2K8.

I'm not sure if other games are the same, but it was my understanding that patches and roster updates were available through the silver membership, possibly a few days later than the gold membership.

That is correct. Only thing Gold membership is required for is online play. It is not required for any patches or updates.

[Sweed]

I have a 360 and the free silver membership for XBox Live. I was able to get roster updates and patches with no problems, at least for College Hoops 2K8 and NBA2K8.

I'm not sure if other games are the same, but it was my understanding that patches and roster updates were available through the silver membership, possibly a few days later than the gold membership.


Maybe I'm being limited by sample size? My only real experience was with Madden. I bought Madden 08 for the 360 because of the 60 vs 30 frames per second. I know with Madden you had to have Gold to get the updated rosters. After last year I'm not planning on buying either of the EA football titles though unless reviews show the major problems have indeed been fixed.

Maybe the question should have been why does EA put their rosters on Gold and not Silver?:)

[TroyF]

I have no issues with the people who are actually comparing the two services.

Everyone who knows me knows that I'm not much of an online player. I enjoy the occasional football game. (Eaglesfan27 and I really need to play some more this year) :)

I enjoy some online death matches. And I'm sure I'll enjoy GTAIV online when I decide to play.

The reasons I like LIVE are almost all interface based. It's easier for me to see who my friends are, read messages, set up online games and navigate through the menu screens. MUCH easier. I know the PS3 is working on these issues, but right now the 360 beats the hell out of it currently IMHO.

The other thing seperating the two consoles for me right now is the controller. After spending a lot of time with The Show and Dark Sector on the PS3 the past month or so, starting to play GTA on the 360 really shows me how much I love the feeling of that controller over the PS3's. The dual shock 3 just feels flimsy to me. Strictly opinion, but the 360 controller continues to be the best "classic" style controller I've ever used. (The WII remote is terrific in a different way)

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Three new videos are available for upcoming exclusives.

Wardevil for the PS3............

http://ps3.ign.com/dor/objects/750042/wardevil-unleash-the-beast-within/videos/WARDEVIL_042908.html

Too Human for the 360..............

http://www.g4tv.com/lv3/21545/

Little Big Planet for the PS3............

http://www.g4tv.com/xplay/videos/21513/XPlay_Web_Exclusive_Hands_On_Little_Big_Planet.html?start=0&end=0

[MikeVic]

Too Human is still being made? Geez, wasn't that an N64 game?

[sabotai]

Not sure if Little Big Planet alone would be enough to make me buy a PS3 (still waiting for at least one more price drop), but when FF13 comes out, that game will make me having to get a PS3 (I'm an FF junkie afterall) a good deal easier.

[Bee]

Not sure if Little Big Planet alone would be enough to make me buy a PS3 (still waiting for at least one more price drop), but when FF13 comes out, that game will make me having to get a PS3 (I'm an FF junkie afterall) a good deal easier.


FF13 is the first game that will make me give the PS3 serious consideration. I'll need a couple weeks of people raving about the game before it will probably push me over the edge though. :D

[Eaglesfan27]

FF13 is the first game that will make me give the PS3 serious consideration. I'll need a couple weeks of people raving about the game before it will probably push me over the edge though. :D

Same here, although I might preemptively ask for a PS3 for this upcoming Christmas.

[Cringer]

Last I checked with my boss, we will be looking at getting a PS3 when the 80GBs are out again in June and being sold with MGS.

Also, I should have my old 360 back next week. The wife was slow with paying for the work to be done on it so I am not sure how fast they will get it done, they could have started 24 hours ago. Turns out my 360 did indeed have a screwed up DVD drive. They said the laser, and some other part were messed. They will be fixing those, cleaning out all the dust in the unit, and shipping it back to us with a 90 day warranty on what they fixed for about $119. So far videogame911 seems alright to me, we will see how my 360 is when I have it back before final judgement though.

Also with my 360, they said they could only fix the problems in the DVD drive and can not replace the entire drive. This is, and I don't recall their exact words, basically because they have parts of the DVD drive built into other parts so that it makes it extremely difficult or near impossible to replace the whole thing.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Something that we had discussed in previous threads, though this article updates the numbers. PS3 currently has the highest percentage of quality games, while the Wii currently only has 11% of its games getting a review score of 80+.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/01/report-only-11-of-wii-games-score-above-80/

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sony bringing out 3 different MGS4 bundles in Japan for release day. Each bundle will have a different color of PS3. I remain amazed at how a simple change in the color of the console/handheld in Japan seems to create a major spike in sales. It's the same console people!!!!!

http://kotaku.com/386445/japan-gets-another-metal-gear-solid-4-ps3-bundle

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Ronnie-

It shouldn't be considered any differently than a political discussion. Possibly the only difference is that there's a lot of good info in this thread about the games/systems.

[spleen1015]

Something that we had discussed in previous threads, though this article updates the numbers. PS3 currently has the highest percentage of quality games, while the Wii currently only has 11% of its games getting a review score of 80+.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/01/report-only-11-of-wii-games-score-above-80/

Yeah, but most of the games in that 11% are better than anything on the PS3.

To me, this ratio doesn't matter. What matters is how many quality games each system has and the PS3 is losing that battle.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Yeah, but most of the games in that 11% are better than anything on the PS3.

Couldn't disagree more, though it's certainly a matter of preference. My Wii is now going on 6 months sitting unplugged from the TV. I play my PS3 4-5 times a week.

[spleen1015]

Couldn't disagree more, though it's certainly a matter of preference. My Wii is now going on 6 months sitting unplugged from the TV. I play my PS3 4-5 times a week.

That's because you don't think Paper Mario, Mario Galaxy, Smash Bros., Mario Kart, and Metroid are good games. Or maybe they aren't games for you.

Just like with me, there hasn't been any reason to buy a PS3.

[Fidatelo]

Sure but Sony pays you for that! :D

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sure but Sony pays you for that! :D

Yes, I'm rolling in Sony money. My dog got an extra pig's ear yesterday. :D

[TroyF]

Something that we had discussed in previous threads, though this article updates the numbers. PS3 currently has the highest percentage of quality games, while the Wii currently only has 11% of its games getting a review score of 80+.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/01/report-only-11-of-wii-games-score-above-80/



Just when I think it can't get any dumber, it does.

1) It doesn't matter what PERCENTAGE games get 80 or 90 or any number. It matters how MANY games get over an 80 or a 90 or any number. If one system has 10 games come out for it and 8 are 80 or above and the other system has 20 games come out and 11 are 80 and above. The second system still kicks the firsts ass because it has 3 more good games. Who gives a crap about the junk games, I'm not buying them anyway.

2) Using the 80 or 8.0 score is a horrible way to look at titles. Many review sites throw their hands up in the air and anything average or better gets between a 75 and 85. That means some real garbage gets thrown in. 90 is really where you need to look for the A+++++ titles. Currently the PS3 has 4 such titles and none of them are a system exclusive. The Wii has 5 titles, all of which are system exclusives. And the 360 has 12 titles, 7 of which are exclusives.

3) If you've had your Wii unplugged for five months, it continues to confirm the obvious. You haven't even bothered with some truly terrific titles. Pro Evo soccer is a blast. No More Heros is a vastly underrated title. Mario Galaxy is a terrific game. Mario Kart is a lot of fun. Super Smash Bro is terrific. If they aren't your kind of titles, that's fine. But don't bash the system for that. The Wii is coming out with quality games. There is junk out there for it, but smart shoppers can avoid that. I'm not going to rush out and purchase GO Sports Skydiving for the PS3, nor am I going to hold it against Sony that the garbage came out on their system and they published it.

This is why people think you work for Sony. If the article had talked only about A+ exclusives to this point and showed Sony in a distant third, you'd never have linked the story.

[MJ4H]

Different Strokes for different folks. I play my Wii pretty much every day. We have friends over for Wii parties almost once a week. These last anywhere from 3 or 4 hours to 12 hours and are some of the most fun times I have ever had. I have seen 1, maybe 2 or 3 games each on PS3 and xbox 360 that make we want to play them. It's about the games for me, and I just like different things than some others I guess. And I honestly couldn't care less whether my games are in 480p and your games are in 1 googolp.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

This is why people think you work for Sony. If the article had talked only about A+ exclusives to this point and showed Sony in a distant third, you'd never have linked the story.

But that's not the case, so I obviously can't link to a story like that. No one was upset when I was linking to stories about Sony management screwing up the release or when they were putting out PR stories in Europe that didn't even come close to matching what was actually occurring. The premise that I never link to negative Sony press or positive press for other system is simply untrue.

The one game you do mention that I'd like to play once it gets cheaper is No More Heroes. I've heard very good things about that game.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Another manufacturer leaks that they have been contracted to build Xbox 360's with built-in Blu-ray players. I still think this is a terrible idea to do this. If it is true, it could lend more credence to the recent mention by insiders that Microsoft executives are not sold that the HD digital distribution is a viable mass-market alternative at this point........

http://kotaku.com/386372/another-manufacturer-says-xbox-360-blu+ray-coming-this-year

Another Manufacturer Says Xbox 360 Blu-ray Coming This Year

XBOX 360 BLU RAYA report from Taiwanese news source Economic Daily News says that Pegatron Technology—a recently formed subsidiary of Asus that shouldn't be confused with the Decepticon leader—has received an order from Microsoft to manufacture a Blu-ray equipped model of the Xbox 360. According to the report, Pegatron says that it plans to begin production on the HD version of the Xbox 360 soon, with plans to ship within the next six months, aiming for a pre-holiday release.

It won't be the first time we've heard talk about Microsoft gloming on to the format, as the DigiTimes recently pegged manufacturer Lite-On as a Xbox 360 Blu-ray drive maker and Sony executives hinted that its competitor was feeling Blu to the Financial Times. MS CEO Steve Ballmer recently went on record about the move away from HD-DVD, saying the company will "support Blu-ray in ways that make sense."

Microsoft PR, of course, continues to beat the digital distribution drum and deny the existence of a BRD playing 360. We would of course be shocked to learn that something slipped from the airtight walls of Microsoft early, so we're sticking with unconfirmed rumor at this point.

The EDN report also mentions that a price cut for the Core (Arcade) version of the 360 is planned, but doesn't provide further details on timing or adjustments.

[gstelmack]

Yes, I'm rolling in Sony money. My dog got an extra pig's ear yesterday. :D

Well, you did mention you were too rich to get a tax rebate :p

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Well, you did mention you were too rich to get a tax rebate :p

Yes, you won't see my income on the statements. It's listed as 'Other Expenses' on the Sony financial documents. :)

[Kodos]

Just saw yesterday that a Clank game is coming for the PSP. Awesome!

[BrianD]

The 360 possibly getting a Blu-Ray drive is interesting to me. I've been holding off on getting a new console for a number of reasons, but the PS3/360 feature split is one of them. The PS3 having Blu-Ray and free online (which I won't use much) is pretty strong, but the 360 has more people playing currently and a better online system (which I still probably won't use much). I would love to see a combination of Blu-Ray and a console which has the majority of the players.

[dervack]

Also with my 360, they said they could only fix the problems in the DVD drive and can not replace the entire drive. This is, and I don't recall their exact words, basically because they have parts of the DVD drive built into other parts so that it makes it extremely difficult or near impossible to replace the whole thing.

Well, the real reason they can't is that the DVD drive is locked to the console. Meaning, if you put in a new DVD drive, it won't read any 360 discs unless you extract the registration of the old DVD to the new DVD drive. It's possible to do, since one of these weeks I need to replace the DVD drive on this 360 that I got for free, but it's not exactly an easy process. You need a PC with a SATA interface and software tools. But the DVD drives are only like 50 bucks, so it's not that expensive.

[Daimyo]

I still think this is a terrible idea to do this. If it is true, it could lend more credence to the recent mention by insiders that Microsoft executives are not sold that the HD digital distribution is a viable mass-market alternative at this point........
Why is it a terrible idea? Blu-Ray is the only advantage PS3 has over the 360 right now in NA so why not neutralize that if they can?

[TroyF]

But that's not the case, so I obviously can't link to a story like that. No one was upset when I was linking to stories about Sony management screwing up the release or when they were putting out PR stories in Europe that didn't even come close to matching what was actually occurring. The premise that I never link to negative Sony press or positive press for other system is simply untrue.

The one game you do mention that I'd like to play once it gets cheaper is No More Heroes. I've heard very good things about that game.

You damned well know you wouldn't have linked the story I suggested.

What's amazing to me is that you purchased the Wii and then are stunned that Mario, Zelda and Metroid games are the high water games for the system. Ummm, ok. Do some research on Nintendo next time and figure out what they make. I'm still stunned you have a Wii that's been unplugged for five months. Mine doesn't go more than 5 or 6 days without being in use to some degree. Five months? Donate the thing to a senior citizens home or a burn center for children and let someone get some use out of the system.

As for MS, I think they are making a good move if the blu ray rumors are true. There wasn't a clear winner between HDDVD or Blu Ray when the system came out. So they weren't morons and didn't tie their system to one or the other. Make an HDDVD add on, etc. By the time they get the Blu Ray player in, the costs will be lowered so they won't have to sell their system at 600 bucks. They'll also take away one of the edges Sony has. It's a smart business decision.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Why is it a terrible idea? Blu-Ray is the only advantage PS3 has over the 360 right now in NA so why not neutralize that if they can?

My opinion is that they're better off selling the system for their game selection and avoiding a system that will be just as expensive as the PS3. If they switch sides for a third time in the format war (putting in a BR player after saying HD-DVD was the one and then saying that digital distribution was the way to do), some consumers may question whether they have a long-term idea for the system or are just being reactionary (with the possible 360-mote being another example).

[cartman]

My opinion is that they're better off selling the system for their game selection and avoiding a system that will be just as expensive as the PS3. If they switch sides for a third time in the format war (putting in a BR player after saying HD-DVD was the one and then saying that digital distribution was the way to do), some consumers may question whether they have a long-term idea for the system or are just being reactionary (with the possible 360-mote being another example).

What a crock. They didn't "switch" from HD-DVD to downloads, they supported both simultaneously. They didn't decided to stop supporting HD-DVD, Toshiba made that decision for them. They have said all along they would consider supporting Blu-Ray as well if the situation warranted. Nothing "reactionary" about that.

A bigger reason to not support Blu-Ray is that the format is not really taking off after the demise of HD-DVD. Sales figures for players are not increasing since the HD-DVD plug was pulled. (http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9932311-7.html?tag=bl) For Blu-Ray to be a long term viable media, it is going to need to get an alternate delivery vehicle gain widespread acceptance besides the PS3, else it becomes another UMD.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

A bigger reason to not support Blu-Ray is that the format is not really taking off after the demise of HD-DVD. Sales figures for players are not increasing since the HD-DVD plug was pulled. (http://www.news.com/8301-10784_3-9932311-7.html?tag=bl) For Blu-Ray to be a long term viable media, it is going to need to get an alternate delivery vehicle gain widespread acceptance besides the PS3, else it becomes another UMD.

From the article you cite............

"The NPD Group released some of its retail sales tracking data Wednesday that showed sales of Blu-ray standalone players (not a PlayStation 3, combo player, or PC with Blu-ray drive) had mostly decreased since the beginning of the year.

So, if you take away the three most popular versions of a Blu-ray player, it's not selling all that well. Sound reasoning in that article.

In related news, Nintendo consoles (not including DS or Wii game systems) have seen double digit declines in sales over the past year.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Sony reports 4X increase in profits overall ($3.6 billion profit). Gaming division provides 40% of that profit increase; cuts losses by $950M..........

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=27372

[spleen1015]

In related news, Nintendo consoles (not including DS or Wii game systems) have seen double digit declines in sales over the past year.

BECAUSE THE WHOLE WORLD HAS ONE NOW!

[cartman]

So, if you take away the three most popular versions of a Blu-ray player, it's not selling all that well. Sound reasoning in that article.

And that goes to further bolster my point that Blu-Ray needs to find another widely adopted player besides the PS3. Someone buying a stand-alone player is guaran-damn-teed buying one to play Blu-Ray movies on. Someone buying a PS3 or PC with Blu-Ray isn't. Otherwise, like I mentioned before, it runs the risk of becoming like UMD, having the vast bulk of it's market tied to a single device (PS3), which the primary use for is not to play movies.

I'll have to dig up the links, but I read that several studios are thinking of cutting back on their Blu-Ray release plans due to lower than expected sales on current titles.

[Fidatelo]

Spleen, I think you missed his point...

[Daimyo]

His point is pretty silly. If Blu-Ray is taking off you'd expect to see sales increases across the board for PS3s, standalone players, combo players, and PC drives. Of those four the only ones that you know will always lead to future BR movies sales are standalone players and combo players. The fact that standalone players sales have decreased from the start of the year to now is certainly relevant to the discussion. It would be interesting to see the combo players numbers, but with the death of HDDVD, I imagine they're so insignificant to be irrelevant.

Unless you meant his "point" about trying to make a parallel with Nintendo which was completely pointless and not really worthy of comment...

[Daimyo]

DOLA, unless of course you mean MBF missed Cartman's point... which he obviously did.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

The fact that standalone players sales have decreased from the start of the year to now is certainly relevant to the discussion.

You're right. It's extremely relevant. Its relevance is that the makers of those players need to do a lot better job with the stand-alone players. The stand-alone players don't hold a candle to the BR abilities of the PS3, hence the reason that most sites having anything to do with HD media offer up the PS3 as the best BR player available at this point in time.

Paramount and Universal won't even be releasing their movies on BR until June, which should provide a solid boost. BR disc sales have nearly doubled in the past three months since the format war ended. That's a much better indicator of whether the format is heading in the right direction than anything that was said in the previously noted article.

[stevew]

I offloaded my Nintendo paperweight a few weeks ago for a good price on Ebay. If you aren't going to use it, i'd suggest doing so while you can still get a good return on it.

[Philliesfan980]

I offloaded my Nintendo paperweight a few weeks ago for a good price on Ebay. If you aren't going to use it, i'd suggest doing so while you can still get a good return on it.

Are you saying the Wii was a paperweight for you?

[stevew]

pretty much. I'm really not big into gaming these days, and the Wii just wasn't a good fit for me. I'd had it a year, so it was out of warranty. Figured getting back basically what I'd payed was a good enough deal for me.

[spleen1015]

Spleen, I think you missed his point...

Actually, I misread what he said.

[Fidatelo]

Which means you missed his point :)

[spleen1015]

Which means you missed his point :)

It means I can't read because of my Washington, DC public school education! It is all Marion Barry's fault!

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Early sales numbers are in for the first day of Grand Theft Auto sales in North America.

Unit sales in North America:

Xbox 360: 1.5M
PS3: 1M

Attach rate in North America:

Xbox 360: 12.9%
PS3: 21.2%

It would appear that the early rumors that the 360 version attach rate was exceeding the PS3 were highly overexaggerated. Certainly, that's not what Microsoft wanted to hear, given that the Xbox 360 has a 3:1 console ratio lead over the PS3 in North America. The full picture won't be in until later in April once we get some rough numbers for the first 2-3 weeks of sales.

As mentioned earlier, the Xbox 360 held a 55:45 unit sales lead in the UK on the first day. The attach rate was much better for the PS3, given that the 360 has a 2:1 console lead in that country. Overall in Europe, it's expected that the PS3 version outsold the 360 version. Final numbers in that regard should be in sometime next week for verification.

[Eaglesfan27]

What's the source, MBBF? MS is claiming over a 2-1 margin of GTA IV Sales in America, and I haven't seen any conclusive numbers from any reliable sources, yet.

[SackAttack]

I guess it depends on where you go, but the PS3 hasn't come close to doing better than 2.5 or 3 to 1 at my store. That said, the PS3 really hasn't sold that well here since the 80 GB model got discontinued. There was that big burst of folks getting 60's while the getting was good, but as soon as the 80 was gone, it's like interest deflated.

We got something like 500 360 versions and 200 PS3 versions of the game, and we're at 1:1 parity or so right now in terms of the number of copies left, having not received a restock shipment yet. I'll let you do the math.

[eiskrap]

As mentioned earlier, the Xbox 360 held a 55:45 unit sales lead in the UK
It sold out on 360 (definitely in London and online retailers) so it couldn't really sell any more, not sure if the PS3 version did as well. Its only just becoming available online again now so this figure its pretty useless for a while...

[Marc Vaughan]

It sold out on 360 (definitely in London and online retailers) so it couldn't really sell any more, not sure if the PS3 version did as well. Its only just becoming available online again now so this figure its pretty useless for a while...

I think some of this is 'hype' - put it this way the friend I'm staying with picked up a copy locally (near Cambridge) without much hassle at all.

I have no doubt that stores did sell out during the initial few hours in London - but wonder if this wasn't at least somewhat by intent and supply restriction more than anything.

[eiskrap]

I think some of this is 'hype' - put it this way the friend I'm staying with picked up a copy locally (near Cambridge) without much hassle at all.

I have no doubt that stores did sell out during the initial few hours in London - but wonder if this wasn't at least somewhat by intent and supply restriction more than anything.

Just speaking from experience... the main websites I use are all out of stock still, and I couldn't find a copy in London last week. Think this would definitely have an impact on the number of 360 copies sold this week. Managed to get a copy online, but they're out of stock again... so there are still supply issues.

[Big Fo]

The 360/PS3 ratio for GTA4 will be interesting. Depending on the what multiplatform game it is the numbers have varied wildly.

A few months ago Devil May Cry 4 (a "PlayStation legacy" franchise, the previous three games were PS2 exclusives) came out and it was 296k and 233k (56/44 in favor of the 360 version).

Last month the game Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 came out, the sequel to a game that came out in the 360 in November 2006 with a (somewhat shoddy IIRC) PS3 port released in June 2007. In this case the sales split was 752k/155k in favor of the 360 version. (83/17)

GTA being massively more popular and less of a "PlayStation legacy" franchise than Devil May Cry (GTA came out on PC and Xbox as well last gen, just not when the PS2 games came out) will be somewhere in between those two, but it's hard to predict exactly.

As of the March NPDs:

XBox 360 - 9.9m
PS3 - 4.1m

(70/30 split in 360's favor)

A 2:1 split as their PR indicated would be solid for Microsoft IMO, and if packing in the one free month of XBox Live gets new subscribers then it's even better for them.

One thing that might surprise some people would be if Mario Kart Wii were to outsell the PS3 version of GTA next month, which I think is quite possible.

Edit: These are all NPD numbers, so USA only. America is by far the best territory for the 360 in relation to the PS3 so the split in Europe will be completely different, but we rarely get to see reliable numbers from that territory so...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

What's the source, MBBF? MS is claiming over a 2-1 margin of GTA IV Sales in America, and I haven't seen any conclusive numbers from any reliable sources, yet.

The sales estimates of 1.5M to 1M are from a retail estimate at VGCharts.com. I can't access that site here, but the article is listed in the headlines listing.

FWIW, the NPD numbers are scheduled to come out early this month (May 9th), so we'll have full sales numbers for the first 5 days later this week. European numbers for the 1st week should be out this week as well. I'm interested to see the overall 1st week numbers when compared to first day sales in both regions.

The U.S. stores had enough stock generally to cover demand, so the NPD numbers should accurately represent demand. As SackAttack mentioned, the 360 holds a 2:1 margin in overall installed base, so that will be the likely measure of success for Microsoft in North America.

Europe had some shortage issues that may lead to better 2nd week sales in that region due to resupply. So the first week may not completely be an accurate picture of demand. The overall installed base in Europe favors the 360 at a 55:45 ratio. Sales of GTA4 bundles in Europe will also be an interesting thing to watch. Any increase in hardware sales can likely be attributed to GTA4. For comparison, the worldwide boost for Halo 3 was around 400K console units.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Analysts predict that GTA4 release could cause a shift in console sales...........

http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/02/wii-grand-theft-tech-personal-cx_bc_0502wii.html?feed=rss_popstories

[MJ4H]

I predict I could win the lottery.

edit to add: ............

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

First review of MGS4 to be released on May 16th.

http://metalgearsolid4.net/2008/05/05/first-metal-gear-solid-4-review-coming-next-friday.html

[BrianD]

Analysts predict that GTA4 release could cause a shift in console sales...........

http://www.forbes.com/2008/05/02/wii-grand-theft-tech-personal-cx_bc_0502wii.html?feed=rss_popstories

I don't follow all of the "analysts predict" links, but I did this one. There is no analysis done in the article and none even hinted at in the article. It is an OpEd piece slamming the Wii because you can't play GTA IV on it.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

I don't follow all of the "analysts predict" links, but I did this one. There is no analysis done in the article and none even hinted at in the article. It is an OpEd piece slamming the Wii because you can't play GTA IV on it.

Certainly, Pachter's comments are made based on quite a bit of research. He's making his comments based on the market trends that he's noted.

I don't agree with the general premise in the article that the Wii will suddenly suffer. It will be interesting to watch Wii sales over the next 9-12 months now that supply is finally catching up with demand. It's going to be extremely high sales over the next few months, but then we'll have to see if MS or Sony makes that next price cut in the fall that puts them in pricing competition with the Wii. That would be a great market test to see if the Wii can compete on level terms in regards to pricing.

[TroyF]

I don't follow all of the "analysts predict" links, but I did this one. There is no analysis done in the article and none even hinted at in the article. It is an OpEd piece slamming the Wii because you can't play GTA IV on it.


And it makes the same old tired arguements that the Wii has already clobbered. I love this quote:

The advantages of the Playstation 3 and Xbox 360 go beyond just rich, immersive games. "If [gamers] care more about high-definition, or they care about online, or they care about more graphically rich immersive games, they're going to consider a 360 or Playstation 3," Pachter asserts.

This was true when all of the consoles came out. The people who purchase the Wii don't give a damn about HD graphics. They aren't your die hard video game addicts that want to see huge explosions. They are everything from senior citizens to the parents of a couple of 6 year olds who want to interact with each other and play games with the kids.

The Wii has dominated from day one. It hasn't shown a single sign of slowing down. This isn't a game critic. This is an idiot and a hack.

[Eaglesfan27]

Certainly, Pachter's comments are made based on quite a bit of research. He's making his comments based on the market trends that he's noted.


What research? He never shows any real evidence of research. I wonder if he is also on the Sony payroll ;)

[BrianD]

Certainly, Pachter's comments are made based on quite a bit of research. He's making his comments based on the market trends that he's noted.

I don't agree with the general premise in the article that the Wii will suddenly suffer. It will be interesting to watch Wii sales over the next 9-12 months now that supply is finally catching up with demand. It's going to be extremely high sales over the next few months, but then we'll have to see if MS or Sony makes that next price cut in the fall that puts them in pricing competition with the Wii. That would be a great market test to see if the Wii can compete on level terms in regards to pricing.

I don't agree with that at all. Pachter is as much of an analyst as I am...or at least that article shows as much analysis. He gave a few facts and opinions from other analysts citing how much money Take Two is expecting to make off of GTA IV and how much Microsoft has paid for exclusive content, but that is about it. The rest is all editorial. I also find it interesting how all of the article is "PS3 and Xbox360" this and "Xbox360 and PS3" that, but the final line of the article is that GTA IV will give the PS3 a new lease on life.

Actually, the only way that last line makes sense is if he is really saying that the 360 is fine and GTA IV will help, but the PS3 was about to be dead and GTA IV is the reason.

[BrianD]

I have to agree with Troy that calling the Wii and the PS3/360 competing products is silly. They may both be competing for entertainment dollars, but they are completely different products targeting different markets with only a small amount of overlap.

[Daimyo]

Which sells more this month? Mario Kart Wii or the PS3 version of GTA4? I'd bet on the former. His article focuses on games like GTA4 and MGS ignoring Nintendo's first party hits like Mario Kart and Smash Bros that sell very well on their own and will be released throughout the Wii's lifecycle.

[Big Fo]

Pachter predicted something like a 55/35/10 split between Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo before any of the consoles came out, he's been proven to be spectacularly wrong and every now and then comes out with a new article that supports his false hypothesis.

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Pachter predicted something like a 55/35/10 split between Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo before any of the consoles came out, he's been proven to be spectacularly wrong and every now and then comes out with a new article that supports his false hypothesis.

That's a lousy reason to write off an opinion/analysis. If we're going to use that criteria, we should ignore every opinion/analysis as having no basis because you won't find a person in the gaming media that predicted that the Wii would do so well. Pachter was part of the vast majority that thought the PS3 would do well.

I'm assuming that you're implying that you knew that the Wii would handily be ahead at this point. If so, we'll subscribe to only your opinion going forward.

[gstelmack]

That's a lousy reason to write off an opinion/analysis. If we're going to use that criteria, we should ignore every opinion/analysis as having no basis because you won't find a person in the gaming media that predicted that the Wii would do so well. Pachter was part of the vast majority that thought the PS3 would do well.

I'm assuming that you're implying that you knew that the Wii would handily be ahead at this point. If so, we'll subscribe to only your opinion going forward.

Well, it's a bit different in this case where he's trying to say his old opinion was not wrong, it's just taking longer for Sony to catch Microsoft and both to catch the Wii than he aniticipated it would...

[Mizzou B-ball fan]

Well, it's a bit different in this case where he's trying to say his old opinion was not wrong, it's just taking longer for Sony to catch Microsoft and both to catch the Wii than he aniticipated it would...

Quote where Pachter said that? It wasn't in this article. I'm assuming it's in another article.

[TroyF]

That's a lousy reason to write off an opinion/analysis. If we're going to use that criteria, we should ignore every opinion/analysis as having no basis because you won't find a person in the gaming media that predicted that the Wii would do so well. Pachter was part of the vast majority that thought the PS3 would do well.

I'm assuming that you're implying that you knew that the Wii would handily be ahead at this point. If so, we'll subscribe to only your opinion going forward.

I'm not discounting him because he was wrong. (though I do think he was an idiot not to see the PS3 in real trouble long before its release. Let's face it, I predicted that the PS3 would have a disasterous first year and I'm not brilliant or an industry insider by any stretch)

Why I'm discounting him as a hack (along with the writer of the article) is because he's giving the same old tired line now that was being used before the consoles came out.

I know this may come as a monumental shock to him, but people knew the Wii didn't have HD and the PS3/360 did a long time ago. Look at sales numbers and tell me how many people that has impacted? Last month the Wii sold 608,000 units more worldwide than the PS3.

The PS3 sold just over 200k more than the 360 last month for comparison.

The Wii demand is still not slowing down. This generation is O_V_E_R as far as #1 is concerned and any hack that can't see that is just that, a hack.