With the recent price cut to the PlayStation 3, Microsoft expects that it will be behind Sony when the September 2009 NPD console sales figures are released later today. Ultimately, Microsoft feels that it doesn’t matter. Company director of project management Aaron Greenberg told Game Informer:
I can tell you to that when NPD releases September sales later today, we fully expect PlayStation 3 will come in as the console with the most units sold for the month. This is frankly not a real surprise to us or the analysts that follow this industry, as it is typical to see a short term bump following the introduction of new hardware and pricing into the marketplace. What I can tell you is we remain confident that Xbox 360 will not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation. It is similar to a game of baseball, it is not about just winning one inning, but instead being able to win the game by consistently delivering across all nine innings.
While I doubt that Sony can sell enough PS3s to overtake Microsoft for the year, it has a strong chance at outselling its rival for the remainder of 2009, which includes the lucrative holiday-shopping season. Considering the recent economy and the immediate financial future, this console generation will probably be longer than either company expected. This bodes well for Sony; the more time it has to catch up, the better.
What do you think of Aaron’s comments? Do you think the PS3 will outsell the Xbox 360 for the rest of the year? What do you think Sony’s chances are of catching up to Microsoft this generation?
No shock here honestly. Price drops are bound to lead to sales bumps.
Not just price drops but some serious games that people want.
Honestly, inFamous and Uncharted 2 both look really good. There hasn't been a lot of exclusive stuff for the PS3 before that that grabbed my attention at all. And I loved the first 2 God of War games on the PS2, so GoW 3 has always been the game that I thought would finally make me break down.
Since I also have a late Oct B-day, I'm considering finally breaking down and getting a PS3 after X-mas when all of the giftcards from the combination of the 2 occasions come in.
for the calendar year, M$ still has it because it wasn't until the last for months of this year that we would have seen sony's price cut [i dont know how these 4 months translate to the fiscal year BUT that is a rather bold statement on M$ to declare supremacy of this Gen.. hmm aslo considering the we're entering the bluray era. maybe we'll see a hardware update.. w/o bluray, i don't see how they could make such a claim seeing as the PS3 ships w/ bluray at the same price point now.
Wait, they do know the Wii sells like hotcakes right? Does anyone else remember the $50 rebate Microsoft was doing earlier this month? Some how I doubt it will be cut and dry on who will sell the most. (This is about the time smart consumers start buying stuff on sale for X-mas.)
@Sandrock323 For September, it seems extremely likely it will be:
1) Wii
2) PS3
3) Xbox 360
Neither company really mentions the Wii. The lead is insurmountable.
I'll be curious to see the sales after the dust settles from PS3 slim and the holidays where both consoles will get boosts. Sony does have some catching up to do but I'm sure MS is well aware that it is entirely possible for PS3 to catch up to 360 sometime in 2010
I keep expecting a time when people will wise up and stop buying the Wii. Maybe I'm down to just "hoping" at this point…..
I hear you thunder. it's like when WoW came out. it just destroyed the PC game market IMO. suddenly developers stop caring about what loyal fans like and care more about what brings in tons of cash. I know WoW is the best selling PC game of all time but that doesn't mean I like MMOs. The wii could be the biggest thing since sliced bread but I still want my games my way. Thank god for Sony/MS. even though they are both selling out a little bit they aren't forgetting the core gamer this gen.
sorry that was @ nightshade. oops
@ray, the tabs are WAY better than the "what peeps are saying" column..
the tabs had a "what peeps are saying" tab and it had a "link to most recent posts" tab [which makes it far more easier to participate in multiple articles w/o having to go back to the home page to find the other articles i was a part of] stop being evil!
@shockwave
i shudder every time i hear the mention of natal and sony's wonder wand or w/e ::barfs:: i hope they both fail epically (is that a word?)
@oOcornflakeOo Not being evil. Just trying something different that made the site a little faster. The only thing I didn't like about the tabbed section is that the categories column was too long. In all likelihood, I'll probably switch it back.
Ya cornflake, I should say I hope Sony and MS don't sell out completely. I don't imagine I'll buy those games for those systems but if they start pumping out wii quality games.
I know what you mean but I think to the casual market they are going to both succeed unfortunately. these things are what change the gaming industry forever and Nintendo started it all. let's just hope loyal gamers aren't forgotten in the midst of all these new target demographics
I have some faith that Sony & MS will attempt to implement these motion controls to hardcore games on a case by case basis, where as Nintendo has always catered to a younger demographic IMHO. Don't ask me what that opinion's based on though. I could just be talking out my ass on this one.
Seriously, what do you expect corporate cheerleaders to say? "Oh nooooz! We's gonna gets our azzezz handed to uz dis quarter! Please don't buyz a PS3 or I'll looooze my jobz! Sonyz' gonna kill us! We're teh doooooooomed!"
-M
P.S.- Sorry; been watching too many LOL cats lately.
you know knightshade I used to defend the nintendo 64 when I was young for that very reason, everyone said the N64 was for kids but I was still young so maybe that's true. truth be told I have grown up and I do think it is catering to kids/grils/moms/grandparents more than it is to any one of us here. My old roommate's parents had a wii bowling tournament, they all wore polos for gods sake.
The NES had stuff for everyone. Anyone remember how much a pain in the ass it was to fight Ryu's father in Ninja Gaiden?
How about the fight with the Grim Reaper in Castlevania?
true hrolf, back in those days though difficulty was the only difference between a hardcore game and a casual gamer game… but I can't think of any time when Nintendo actually catered to an adult audience though.
Two Words: Bionic Commando. Epic NES game. Too bad now all they do is cater to my grandma.
Has Greenburg forgotten that 360 elite dropped by $100 also?Most people were waiting for a price drop on ps3 not 360.PS3 is pushing out the best games and best hardware.Slowly even the casual consumer is wising up to that.IMHO of course.I dont think they will outsell PS3 much anymore unless they do another price drop.I will buy a 360 when it is $200 and reliable.Mainly for fable2 mass effect which may hit ps3 and perhaps halo reach some friends and brothers play Halo.
As far as the introduction of the slim that may have been a factor in Japan they like their electronics etc small.I guess space is at a premium there.Not many were waiting for a slim model elsewhere.
@Trickey… 200 for an arcade system is probably as cheap as the 360 is going to get. hell I bet you could find a used 20 gig or 120 gig HDD on Ebay for pretty cheap too.
as far as reliability goes I'd say if you buy new now your chances of E74/RROD are very very low
Yea I would pick up a used one if the warranty carried over but I dont think it does.The arcade model is worthless IMO so its not even a consideration for me.Elite @ $200 is when I will "jump in" Before then I doubt it unless maybe I traded my wii for an elite or pro.If I got an arcade I would have to buy the overpriced HDD.
oops @ Shockwave562
what I ment Trikkey is that if you bought the arcade you could get a used HDD for next to nothing
looks like on ebay you can get a used 20 gig HDD or 60 gig HDD for 20-30 bucks. 230 would be pretty reasonable for an xbox with a 60 gig hdd. just a thought
@trikkey
i doubt the elite will sell for 200 anytime soon.. thats asking a whole lot these times and days.. i hope you're happy waiting. best bet is to do what shockwave mentioned
@Hrolf
The grim reaper still owns me to this day. He's a son of a bitch.
@nintendo talk
good company. Without a doubt the most solid first party software in the business. Like it or not, Nintendo games play well and are relatively free of bugs. SMG was the best first party title of this generation so far.
@topic
I see the 360 beginning to fizzle out. Not because it is a bad machine but because the market is saturated. The PS3 will pick up I think mainly because of gamers wanting to adopt Bluray now. The bluray market is growing and the PS3 is poised to grab some of that growing marketshare from here on out.
Nice spin Aaron.
@Shockwave&o0Cornflake0o Yea I could pick the HDD for cheap used off Ebay.I am really just saying I wont buy a used 360.360 W/O a warranty is a bad bet imo.Not sure that I would want a used HDD either.
Really what it boils down to is I will buy a 360 when it is $200.00 new for the elite.There are so many games I am getting here in the next few months that I dont have the money for a 360.Also im not worried about getting one anytime soon.If it is 2 years down the road that is ok with me.Thanks for the suggestions though
when will this war end???
@rbee90 When will the war between the Autobots and Decepticons end? Or G.I. Joe and Cobra?
@ Ray
I thought he was talking about the Middle East?
@N8R Ohhhhhh, *that* war. Oops.
@rpad ad n8r
honestly….i just wanted to test out my avatar if its working…and at first, i thought, it was GALVATRON.com…hilarious…
and i know my avatar is common in gaming community sites, but i took the opportunity to be the first guy with a servbot avatar…i love tron bon and it's servbots…and i miss megaman legends 1 and 2…such great games…
@rbee90 I would read Galvatron's blog, but I think Soundwave's would be funnier.
Love the avatar, btw!
@rpad
that is just hilarious, everything would be:
JUST ATE AT MCDONALD'S…..IN N OUT SUPERIOR….MCDONALD'S INFERIOR
why thank you,it brings out the nostalgia in these forums
Depending on just how long this generation actually goes the PS3 will be either 1st or 2nd place. The Wii may SEEM insurmountable now, but Nintendo is already looking to release their next console because the Wii is losing steam like crazy due to the now more direct comparison to the now much cheaper PS3. It just doesn't compare to the high powered monsters that the 360 and PS3 are.
360 is losing steam as the XBOTs are finally wising up and getting fed up with shoddy hardware*, and now it 360 has to figure out how to compete with the PS3 at the same price point (which is ridiculous to even try). Not only that, but a lot of 360 owners seem to be wondering why they have to pay for XBL when there's very little difference now between it and the free PSN.
The PS3 on the other hand has been quietly playing a mean game of catch-up and while doing so has already got itself a decent foothold. The foothold is good and all, but the PS3 is only now actually gaining momentum, and knowing Sony they won't be trying to rush out a new console anytime soon so the battle is soon going to be fought more on their terms.
I'll be interested to see where we go from here with Sphere VS Natal.
What Nintendo did the time around may have been a bad move. They've locked themselves in a corner by making the Wii a less powerful system. While Sony and Microsoft can easily cook up their own motion controls and sell them to all sorts of people, Nintendo will have a much harder time figuring out their hardware dilemma. It's not likely that anywhere NEAR as many people would buy a new more powerful Nintendo already….
*I honestly can't believe how many of my friends are switching to PS3 after getting tired of getting 360's repaired/replaced. They're so happy about it too….
@rbee90:
I want Megaman Legends 3!!!!!
(incidentally, that's the 4th time I've said that today for totally unrelated reasons….weird)
I miss the old school goodness of the PlayStation era Megaman 8, X4, Legends, Legends 2, and Tron Bonne. :(
@Ieyke I agree with a lot of your long (and excellent) post. When you say Nintendo "locked themselves in a corner", that's strictly from a technological standpoint. By releasing a system with…meager power, the company was able to profitably sell consoles out of the gate. When you compare Nintendo to Sony's game division and Microsoft's game division, the Big N has a lot more financial flexibility that it can leverage in the next generation.
Who knows, maybe all the money the company is making on the DS and Wii has resulted in some amazing R&D results for the Nintendo's next system.
Thanks!…but isn't there an EDIT POST option somewhere? I hate spelling and syntax errors that I can't fix after I notice them… :/
Hello from Russia!
Can I quote a post in your blog with the link to you?
@Polprav I've always known that they love me in Russia. Sure, quote away and link back please.