When we said that the PlayStation 3 outsold the Xbox 360 in January, Destructoid's readership was not surprised. Now Microsoft gives us a heads-up on the February NPD numbers, and they think that the PS3 will beat them out again. Are you surprised?
Ah, but Microsoft is not taking it like a man (men?). Again, they're playing the "console shortage" card, even though an analyst recently said that there is an "ample supply" of Xbox 360 consoles now available. They follow this claim up with harsh words:
“Our expectation is that because of our shortages at retail during February, we will sell less than PS3,” Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg told Next-Gen. “That’s not a surprise to us. I don’t know what Sony’s reaction will be to that, but it will definitely be a bit of a hollow victory. The competition sure didn’t show up [in February].”
Microsoft, it's okay to be outsold. Really. The PS3 was outsold for about a year! Let's be a good sport.
We'll know the actual numbers sometime later this morning as the NPD numbers for February come out.
[Thanks, JR]
Dale North is Destructoid's Editor-In-Chief, a founding editor, and specialist in Japanese gaming. An accomplished musician, Dale was reporting from Japan during the earthquakes of 2011. Luckily, he got the fuck out alive and is home in America now with his wife and beloved corgi, Einstein. Dale is also a co-founder of Destructoid's sister anime site
Japanator. Likes Corgis, Sega Saturn, PSP, iPhone, Photographic tools.
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Contest:
10:54 AM on 03.13.2008
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It can?! I do not recall seeing this feature mentioned in the user's manual. Do I need a different SKU for that feature?? Please advise.
a)out selling consoles?
b)mass producing cut back?
c)SKU replacements of never ending RROD?
I think NPD numbers are interesting, but they're largely meaningless. Total install base is what matters and is what will continue to matter. Also, if the new 360 SKUs can actually suck my "bawls" as SantanaClaus suggests, please let me know how I can distinguish by looking at the box.
Fanboys overall crack me up, but PS3 fanboys are my current favorites. Their fanboyism is based entirely on a brand-loyalty and not the particular merits of the current console's game library. I understand people wanting to stick up for their console--it's a big investment, but saying "PS3 iz ThA BEsst!!1!" does not make it true. Just to be fair: The Wii is an over-clocked Gamecube and the Xbox 360 is made out of cardboard and lighter fluid.
But then, I don't give a crap as me and the other PSWii60 club are playing tennis at our club house.
oh noes!
why else would the PS3 have dropped its price in the first year? and now with the new prices for the 360, its even better for the consumer, now we just have to wait for the PS3 to follow suit and once again I'll have the full generation...
Congrats to Sony and M$ ( not nintendo because they are a bunch of dicks that fuck the PAL-regions over )
There aren't any 360's anywhere. At least not around here. So unless the ample supply doesn't involve the state of Maryland, then their isn't an ample supply.
6700 / 30 gain per week = 223 weeks. That's just over four years.
6700 / 50 gain per week = 134 weeks. About two and a half years to tie.
6700 / 70 gain per week = 95 weeks. That's about Christmas 2009.
February saw the PS3 with an average weekly sales advantage of about 60K. March's gap looks like it will be narrower. So if all stays equal (and it never does), it probably won't happen before Christmas 2009.
Thanks for that... I really didn't want to do the math for myself, but I wanted to see see just how much the PS3 would have to sell monthly in order to catch up any time soon.
To the people that are saying GTA will be a determining factor: doesn't that game sell better in the US anyway? Don't most US gamers have a 360 (using the VG Charts page someone posted earlier)? Seems like a done deal to me.
Futureshop has a stack of 360's, I'm gessing around 20-30 units of various kinds, Walmarts shelfs a chalk full and the same applies for the Canadian Super Store. As well as about 5 Halo 3 legendary box set thing with the helmet going for $59.
There are no Wii's or Brawl to be found anywhere.
As long as I can get my grubby little asian paws on a MGS4 Bundle, the PS3 could be posting negative numbers and I wouldn't care.
Just kidding. Well... half - just kidding.
Even if the PS3 sells more, the 360 still has a much larger install base. I wouldn't be surprised if there is some significant percentage of 360 owners buying a PS3. Some people like to play exclusives from both consoles after all.
If the shared 3rd party games aren't significantly better on the PS3, a lot of the sales are still going to go to the 360.
What it really comes down to is how MS can squeeze an extra few bucks from the consumer that isn't making well educated purchasing choices. MS lose money on every console, so to make up money they accessorize the crap out of it. The 360 = the bedazzled console of this generation.
Xbox 360 Arcade
This is the box that is readily available at retail, and I think strategically so by MS's own greed. Here is everything needed to match the PRO SKU.
Arcade costs $279.99
20GB HDD $99.99
Headset $19.99 (pennies to make)
HD component cable $39.99 (pennies to make)
To match the PRO specs
Total $439.99
Xbox 360 Pro - $349.99
This is the box that is really scarce for some unknown reason according to MS (being sarcastic).
So basically MS is trying to squeeze an extra $90 bucks out of people for things that are more or less essential to enjoy the games they offer and cheap and easy to make quickly.
Wouldn't you try to sell someone the same thing for an extra $90 bucks if you could?
Not sure how the media and analysts haven't picked up on it, MS is very smart to work it this way and have suckers fall for it.