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]
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April will destroy the 360.
there isnt an ample supply of 360s. my store has been getting more wiis than 360s. i think the 3 differnt skus has a role in this cause we never seem to have the sku the customer is looking for.
Anxiously awaiting rabid fanboy defences or attacks in 3...2...1...
I dont understand why people care about which console sells better per month. Of course PS3 is eventually gonna beat out 360 since the 360 has been out longer. What are the total sales.. that is what matters. This month to month stuff is meaningless.
XBOX360 can suck my bawls.
@santa
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.
Also...I could really care less at this point. I have my 360, enough people have 360's for developers to make games for it. As long as an out and out boycott does not occur, I could really care less.
If you thought that the PS3 wouldn't end up out selling the Xbox360 your thinking is short sighted....
2 month of shortages from... what?
a)out selling consoles?
b)mass producing cut back?
c)SKU replacements of never ending RROD?
Although I don't buy the retail shortage excuse (from my observation, that situation cleared up mid-January), the 360 is still posting good numbers. It's selling better than it ever has. It's usually sold between 40-70K per week in the US (excluding holiday peak), and it's been routinely hitting 60-80K per week since Christmas.
PS3's are fat and ugly. But they have a good heart and I think people are starting to see that.
It's not fat and ugly. But is has a good heart yes.
Is this any surprise? As PS3 prices fall and the bundles become more attractive to consumers, sales are bound to increase. If I buy another console it's certainly going to be a PS3. I already have two Xbox 360s and a Wii (no one needs more than one), so I'm sure I'll eventually help out those PS3 numbers too.
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.
Meh I dont care, the games are still rolling in.
Xbox 360 still has a 7 million console sales lead on PS3, according to a chart I just read. Once PS3 breaks that, then Ill care.
Perhaps they're trying to guarantee they can saturate the market in April/May for GTA4 and attempt to corner any system sells for that game? Either way it's a pretty boned up excuse.
I think I agree with Soulhammer. If this was a race (which people seem to think it is) then the winner isn't who is gaining on the other one fastest, it's who is in front.
But then, I don't give a crap as me and the other PSWii60 club are playing tennis at our club house.
Blu-Ray won the format war. Why are we surprised? Now, I'm a proud 360 owner, and have bashed the PS3 on many occasions. However, if Sony is finally settling on a single vision for the console, we could see some really good stuff on the PS3 in the future, aside from MGS4 and FFXIII. I look forward to seeing what it can do.
...Also This is almost the only market were the 360 is relevant. So if they loose that factor be ready to have a repeat of the original Xbox. 4 year or so cycle with only shooters and a few western rpgs.
This is certainly good news for Sony, but the real test will come at the end of April with GTA IV. OF course, we won’t know until mid-June (that’s when the May NPD numbers will be out).
i don't care, i do what i waaaant.
Um, I (clearly) love Snatcher, but was that in any way relevant?
Sony may have an additional sale from me soon.
How does your supply chain become less efficient? Shouldn't you constantly be tweaking and adjusting to better supply your retailers? Seeing as 360 sold more units in 2006 than it did in 2007, I guess they managed to figure out how to fuck that up too.
as everyone can CLEARLY see... that xbox is with its back against the floor and the PS3 on top of it... (as clearly noted by the upside down xbox 360 title on the OLD-SCHOOL disc slot.
oh noes!
No one seemed to notice the 360 is upside down. lol.
To the people saying that its not the month to month sales that matter, but that its the total sales that do. Um, How the heck do you think that monthly sales dont have any affect on total sales?
I went to Best Buy yesterday and there was a mountain of Xbox 360's. Just to let you all know, since, you know, the rest of the world is having a shortage.
360 also started the race 1 year earlier and the lead that they hold is slim. Slow and steady wins the race. Not a rushed 1.5 system the kills it self.
You guys have got to be kidding me. “Slow and steady” doesn’t mean anything when you’re nearly seven million units behind in the race. I love my PS3, but I just can’t see it catching up to the 360 in sales this generation.
The PS3 apparently sold so many units that it actually flip that picture of the 360 at the top of this page upside-down. :P
Why do so many people care about these numbers? Its not like you'll get money if the PS3 outsells the 360... Or anything for that matter... Both consoles ( or better all 3 ) are doing great, and its great for us :-)
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 )
i don't care about numbers, i have my ps3 and i know great games are out and coming. i'm happy with my purchase and i don't really give a shit who has what or favors this, not that, i have what i want and i'll get what i want. i'm happy to see ps3 is selling good but that holds no bearing on my decision to own a console. screw numbers both systems have enough people to support them now if the video game industry collapses under it's own weight..................under it's own weight
@Speton: Maybe you got lost. Destructoid is the opposite place of where trolls go.
Sorry my comment toward the PS3 was inaccurate(slow and steady). Since it sold units in average faster.
My bad Usetdabe props
I don't know if you have any idea of what your talking about...
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.
Looks like 360 has a 6.7 million or so lead. To erase this lead, PS3 has to sell more worldwide than 360 a certain amount per week. Let's do math, in thousands.
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.
@Max
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.
I'm with Thuper Hardcore.
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.
@mix thats in canada not the u.s
it dont matter to me really, the MGS4 version of the PS3 will be mine
I agree with The Love Above.
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.
I can find Brawl at any of the 3 electronic stores in walking distance from me. Don't know where you guys are looking...
DAMAGE CONTROL!
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.
I think this shortage of the higher end models is a well thought out tactic by MS. Not trying to be a conspiracy theorist, but what is the main difference between the arcade, and pro other than the HD, headset, net and video cable. These 4 extras are either easily available as accessories on the shelves at all stores (with huge markups) or easy to ramp up production on. So really there is no reason MS couldn't ramp up production on the PRO in 2 seconds. All it takes is a different box and not putting those accessories in seperate retail packaging to sell individually.
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.