Sales for June 2008: Wii: 666,000 PS3: 405,000 Xbox360: 222,000 PS2: 189,000 Question for those of you who follow the industry closely: What's the conventional wisdom for the future? Is the Wii expected to just keep on trampling on everybody indefinitely or are major bumps probably coming up? Many have said the Wii is a gimmick and will eventually run out of gas, but do knowledgeable people still say that? Are there new innovations expected? Not only did the Wii pass the Xbox360 in total sales, it's kicking dust in Microsoft's face. When will 3rd parties really kick in with top-selling Wii games (or have they already and I'm missing something)? PS3: IIRC, 4-5 months ago Microsoft acted like it was a one-month fluke when the PS3 had more sales than the 360. I had lost track of the issue for a while and these June figures stun me. Some one-month fluke, huh? We already have a Wii and I expect to buy a PS3, possibly for Christmas. Are there enough quality non-"M" games to make the purchase worthwhile? Is the lack of top-notch games still a big negative for the PS3? We waited a while before getting a PS2 and the infinite number of great games was awesome. I'd like a similar thing to happen with the PS3 (but I'm realistic). Xbox360: Wha' happened? I'll admit that I'm glad Microsoft is getting kicked because I know they will do and spend whatever is necessary to stay relevant into the future. IMO, the ideal competitive market situation is when Microsoft chases the heels of the leaders and keeps them on their toes. When MS gets the lead and leverages, that is bad for innovation. So tell me, what is MS expected to do? I saw they cut the price by $50.00 but then Sony clobbered them by cutting the price of the top-line PS3 by $100.00 (though it's not backward compatible). Besides further price-cutting, what does MS have up their sleeve? A motion sensor? An early introduction of their next-gen system? The trends are going against them and they have to do something drastic, right? And we all know with their determination and vast cash hoard, they will strike back hard. How? PS2: What can you say? Parents with kids 6-8 years-old have something to be thankful for: A cheap system with infinite great games. Where would Sony be without the reliable old PS2's floodgate of revenue? RC Cola, I'd like your take. Others, please stay away from being partisan and showing favoritism. MS and Sony "Fanboys", let's try and keep it factual and not flame each other. State opinions about what you think is going to happen and why. Don't attack another member if they have an opinion, just say why they are wrong.
uh oh look at the number for the Wii...nintendo sold it soul!!! my question is how are ps2 system still selling so strong? i can understand games but the systems themselves?
SNES - the sales of the SNES got a significant boost with the early exclusive release of Street Fighter II Champion Edition Sega Genesis - sales has been steady because of games like Sonic, RPGs like Phantasy Star 2, and Madden Football, however not having Street Fighter hurts
Genesis only had a 3 button controller so Street Fighter was a joke for awhile. Wii is like the iPod. People don't buy it because its the best system. They buy it because its what they know.
wrong, Sega SPECIFICALLY created a 6 button controller at the release of SF2CE. don't test me Ziggy! The problem that I had (and the SF purists) is the SNES controllers. it made people play SF the wrong way. So when the SNES players go to the arcades they get destroyed. Fortunately, I knew some purists who created arcade controllers for the SNES. Also 3rd party people started making arcade controllers too. In the pre-online age, people like me used the SNES version for practice for the arcades. Now, the competition is online.
Thats why I said "for awhile". Cuz eventually it was rectified. To late though, a few systems later Sega would be making games for other consoles rather than creating its own. SF2 problems on Sega were like "The Dunk" T-Mac did, it ended its life.
but street fighter 2 never came out for Sega, when CE came out it came out with the controllers. it wasn't a joke, it didn't exist. yeah I agree, if they had SF2 at the same time SNES with Sega's correct button placement 6 button controller, you'd see a different outcome. And Final Fantasy still sucks.
Only thing I can think of is people bought the PS3 solely for the new Metal Gear game. Much like when the 360 sales jumped when Halo 3 came out.
Am i the only one who misses when gameplay was important in games? Nowadays everyone's interested in plot lines, graphics, and stupid 20 minute cinemas. It shows how poor the gameplay of some of these games are when i have to breakout my Nintendo, Genesis, and Saturn to have fun.
you are right. it seems the 'gamers' now care too much about graphics and cinemas. this is why people today still play counterstrike and diablo 2.
In general, I don't think people really know what to expect from the Wii. People have tried to make predictions, but they've all pretty much been wrong. I gave up trying to make predictions long ago, and now I just sit down and enjoy the ride. Regarding 3rd parties though, I think it is similar to the situation on the DS. Nintendo was able to have a lot of success on the platform, but it took 3rd parties a while to figure out how to have the same sort of success. The same is probably happening with the Wii. When most 3rd parties just give the Wii ports or games made by their B or C teams, they shouldn't expect good sales given what Nintendo is doing on the platform. In case you're curious and want to see what you missed, here are the last 6 months of sales threads: January February March April May June Posted this in the June thread, but here are the year-to-date and LTD sales as well: LTD: Wii: 10.852.948 360: 10.494.466 PS3: 4.851.677 YTD: Wii: 3.482.989 PS3: 1.608.191 360: 1.341.000 I think the PS3 outsold the 360 in all but 2 of those months, but as you can tell by the YTD figures, they've been selling pretty close to each other with maybe the exception of this last month (likely due to Metal Gear Solid 4). Probably, especially if you don't get it until December. Probably Sony's biggest "fun for the whole family" game will be LittleBigPlanet, which will be out in October: <object width="425" height="344"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/tV70kp8Z7bg&hl=en&fs=1"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/tV70kp8Z7bg&hl=en&fs=1" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowfullscreen="true" width="425" height="344"></embed></object> There are a few other Sony-developed games as well (EX: Ratchet & Clank) as well some multiplatform games, like the Lego games. I do think they've been overdoing it when it comes to hardcore, M-rated shooters though. They might all be great games, but a lot of their games are pretty similar, and it doesn't really mesh with what has made previous PlayStation platforms so popular. I'm hopeful that we'll see some more unique games in the near future. Not really. I don't think you'll be getting an infinite number of great games like the PS2 got, but there will still be a lot of them. One difference is that downloadable games do allow for a large number of fun games that are easily at your disposable, which wasn't there for the PS2. You can only sell so many consoles at a particular price point. The 360 has been out for almost 3 years and has only had a $50 price cut. It just received another one, although it is more of a SKU reshuffling (with better value) than a price cut I suppose. RROD hasn't really helped either. A couple of other factors at play as well IMO, but that's probably the main thing. It seems like they're making a big push for casual gaming. This is one thing that Sony and Nintendo have done well with their previous platforms. That + lower price tag could do a lot of good for them, assuming they're successful in reaching the casual gamer of course. They're still really strong when it comes to hardcore gamers as well. They've worked really hard on making sure that almost any AAA PlayStation franchise can now be played on the Xbox 360 as well (RE, DMC, GTA, and recently Final Fantasy to name a few), making the platform attractive to the fans of those franchises. Of course, they also have the games that attracted fans to the original Xbox. I wouldn't really worry too much if I were them, which is especially evident when you look at the LTD figures. As I've said in the past, their success (or lack there of) in regions outside of the US will make it difficult for them, but they've been doing as much as they can to make the platform successful (except for maybe cutting the price). 6 months of the PS3 barely outselling it in the US doesn't really mean much, especially since the PS3 has had a lot of momentum during that time (Blu-ray, GT5, MGS4, etc.). This won't necessarily be the case for the next 6 months. If things continue to go south, then maybe it will be the time to take more drastic actions. But in the meantime, they're still pretty much in the driver's seat (at least when it comes to the 360 and PS3). I don't agree since I think a lot of today's games have great gameplay. But if you want games that strictly focus on gameplay, I'd suggest trying more downloadable games. A lot of them are really fun and unique, and they have more of an old-school feel to them compared to these other games (some are even based on old-school games).
PS3 and 360 definitely both have enough good, exclusive games to justify buying, it just depends on how many of each of the exclusives for each system you personally care about. The "lack of good games for PS3" bit is, quite simply, a myth. It hasn't been true for quite awhile now; it just keeps getting perpetuated by console fanboys.
Yeah, if enough people spread false information, it starts getting to the point that many people accept it as the truth. This kind of stuff was pretty bad IMO during the Blu-ray/HD-DVD war, although I'm glad that finally got settled. I haven't kept track of worldwide numbers in a while, but I found some estimates at NeoGAF for those of you that are interested: LTD Wii: 28.1M 360: 18.2M PS3: 13.0M YTD Wii 8.8M 360 2.6M PS3 4.2M
I think the Wii has reached critical mass where they'll maintain console dominance from here on out. It's marketbase is much larger than the others, and the word of mouth can be inside different discussions. With the economy the way it is, maybe it they'll keep the cheap luxury toy status to promote the idea of a fun and affordable family machine. I'll stick with the notion that the PS3 will eventually overtake the 360, but with the world economy slowing, it'll take longer for that to happen, my guess is a year and a half. The reasons are that the 360 is a dead console in Japan, more Japanese dev support, and an included blu-ray player without any serious PR damage from faulty drives. The RRoD has really taken its toll on Microsoft. I think it's a mistake that they guaranteed a limited number 360s with an extended warranty and stuck with the 90 day warranty for the newer units. A blanket 2 year increase would make more customers feel like they're taken care of. Then again, some might think the problem isn't fixed for the newer consoles, but IMO, the damage has already been done and the lack of customer service will inflict even more harm on MS. I also don't like how they're pushing up newer SKUs in place of price decreases to wring out production costs while keeping up a high premium. First it was basic, then platinum, and there was elite. I guess they'll ramp up the price decreases once sales stagnate even more. I wonder who dumped their money on the ill-fated HDDVD drives... It feels like I'm harshly against Microsoft, but my past criticism of Sony was because it was too expensive in both hardware and software while the 360 has the most extensive library of quality software. MS has built a loyal online following, but it hasn't grown to the point where you or your friend is forced to buy a console. Software exclusivity has been different in nature this generation. And there hasn't been the next online gaming revolution that was anticipated 3-4 years ago. Maybe MS should've dumped some money on Blizzard to make them a console version of WoW. I think for Sony to increase dominance, they'll have to follow up MGS4 with more quality releases that showcases its hardware might. A lot has been written about parity of the two console's graphics potential, but perception-wise, I think many are still thinking of the PS3 to blow MS out of the water. While I don't see a graphics gamebreaker for the 360, if they did bring one out, it'd be a big step that the 360 is a decent machine for now AND the future. That would be like Nintendo releasing Donkey Kong Country and killing all the consoles between it and the Saturn/PS3. Overall, I think the 360 is hitting its peak in terms of growth rate, although buying one would still be a great purchase for gaming, especially online. The only reason why you wouldn't get one would be if you can wait for PC releases of its ports, huge Sony fan, or you dislike the richly rewarding online subscription fee. An extra year or two (4 or 5 more years from now) from the PS3 won't make the 360 a sucker's buy. Another 3 years Nintendo could release another console without looking desperate and reset the battlefield yet again. On a sidenote, I'm surprised how popular Rockband has become since it's a 150 dollar addon at minimum. I guess those rebate checks made harmonix one happy customer.
But, see, this is where Nintendo had a stroke of genius: instead of appealing to hardcore gamers, who will play a game for a week and then get bored with it, we'll target non-gamers. Families, middle-aged parents, retirees can all play Wii with their friends and enjoy it. They've reached a largely untapped market by focusing less on graphics chipsets and pixel shaders and more on user interface and the "fun" factor. For example, my mother-in-law can't stand FPS, racing, or RPG games, but she'll play Wii Bowling for hours and hours every day, given half a chance. Or Wii Fit, Wii Tennis, Super Mario Galaxy, etc. She's dying to get Mario Kart, but can't stand Need For Speed Carbon. THAT is the type of gamer that is winning the battle (if not the war) for Nintendo.
