Every time an analyst opens his mouth, the Internet swells with comments like “What an idiot” or “I could do that job.” I have a lot of respect for analysts despite their seemingly dartboard approach to predictions. These are people with teams of researchers at their disposal, crunching away at numbers and reporting on the financial stability of game companies. They aren’t all gamers themselves.

I don’t think I have what it takes to write reports to stock holders, but I’ve always wondered if I could make decent predictions. So, I asked Destructoid if I could take a stab at being the "site analyst" and they accepted. Each month, I’ll be providing a summary of the previous month and giving my own predictions for the following month. I’m also going to take a stab at the hardware NPD numbers each month.

• PS3 – The PS3 sold considerably well at 276k units, considering its price point. I’m sure Sony would have wanted higher sales due to the late month release of Killzone 2, but there is still hope. Keep an eye on March to see if Killzone 2 helped clear shelves at retailers, but those numbers may be overshadowed by sales of Resident Evil 5 which was released in March. Despite my seemingly positive outlook of the PS3 this month, it’s obvious that the PS3 needs a price cut. Currently, Sony seems to be relying on exclusives and hype to sell units, but only so much water can be squeezed from this sponge. Sony has recently stated they have plans for the PS3 price drop, and I believe they do. They are most likely waiting for a new financial quarter, a strategic date (like E3), or manufacturing costs to go down. As a company, Sony is hurting tremendously. With Stringer taking over as company president, it’s hard to say what the new direction for the Playstation brand will be, but Sony has reassured us that nothing will change. Then again, Sony says a lot of things. I'll be keeping my eyes on this one.

• PS3 – The PS3 only had two games in the top 10, but those combined for a very respectable 726k in sales. Killzone 2 came in at #5 with 323k in sales. I suspect it would have sold more had it been on the market for more than 2 days in February. Street Fighter IV sold 403k, slightly under the 360’s 446k, which is very respectable considering the install base of the 360 and PS3; 15 million vs. 7 million respectfully. Despite good performance from these two games, the PS3 was only able to get three games in the top 20. As Nintendo and Microsoft pull ahead in install base, it’s going to be increasingly more difficult for Sony to take up slots in the monthly software sales. Again, I stress the importance of a PS3 price drop.

• I predicted that Killzone 2 would show up as number 5. It did.

• I predicted the 360 would sell 100k or more than the PS3. It did.