Interesting how the PS3 goes from one horrible year for the PS3, being far behind the other 2 consoles and being the most underwhelming system in the year to rank back on top in a 2nd & highly possible 3rd month straight of surpassing the Wii and 360.

Pachter on late 2008: “PS3 will likely outsell the 360 in Europe by 20-40%, and will kill 360 in Japan”

Copy Pasta!

While Xbox 360 may look attractive in Europe after today’s price cut, Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter believes that year-end will see PS3 move ahead of 360 month-on-month in the US, a strong surge in sales for Sony’s machine in Europe and the practical death of 360 in Japan.

“In the US, I think it will be close all year, with 360 outselling PS3 most months due to its lower price points (at least as long as it remains lower priced),” Pachter told videogaming247. “Sony gains a huge competitive advantage when HD monitor sales pick up at holiday, as I expect retailers to push PS3 as a Blu-ray player to anyone buying an HD monitor. By year-end, I
think PS3 will outsell the 360 in the US by a little.

“PS3 will likely outsell the 360 in Europe by 20-40 percent, and will kill 360 in Japan.”

Pachter’s comments came as Wedbush Morgan predicted both a monthly lead for PS3 in the US for February and a 27 percent increase in NPD data for the month year-on-year.

Wedbush Morgan’s Michael Pachter has told videogaming247 that his firm expects that PS3 outsold Xbox 360 in February, ahead of the release of NPD data on Thursday. PS3’s lead over the Microsoft machine, Pachter reasoned, was due to continuing supply issues for Xbox 360.

NPD data: PS3 outsold Xbox 360 in February, says Pachter

His view is in contradiction to The simExchange’s prediction that 360 had moved ahead of PS3 in February.

“We expect February U.S. retail video game console software sales data to be released after market close on Thursday, March 13. We forecast sales of $575 million, 27% compared to last year’s $454 million. For purposes of comparison, The simExchange prediction market forecasts overall software sales of $592 million,” he said.

“Our estimate reflects $485 million in sales contribution from new platforms (PS3, Wii, 360, PSP and DS) and current generation software sales of $90 million. We estimate sell-through of 300,000 Wii, 250,000 Xbox 360 and 260,000 PS3 consoles. For purposes of comparison, The simExchange prediction market forecasts 450,000 Wii, 285,000 Xbox 360 and 270,000 PS3 consoles sold in February. Our console sell-through forecasts reflect our belief that Wii, DS and Xbox 360 hardware continued to be supply constrained during the month. With the launch of several high-profile games in March, we expect supplies for the consoles to increase.”

Pachter is predicting that 360 and PS3 will remain fairly closely matched in the US for the rest of this year, with PS3 pulling ahead as we move into 2009.

http://www.videogaming247.com/2008/03/10/pachter-on-late-2008-ps3-will-likely-outsell-the-360-in-europe-by-20-40-and-will-kill-360-in-japan/