Konami believes Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360 will draw console war
By Dave Parrack
Could this be the first time in a console generation war where no one company and platform emerges as the dominant winner? Konami certainly believes so, insisting in a recent statement that none of the big three consoles of PS3, Wii and Xbox 360 will beat the others outright.
Japanese games publisher Konami, behind gems such as Silent Hill, and Metal Gear Solid, claims that the incredible dominance which the PS2 enjoyed last generation isn’t going to be repeated by anyone this time around. And they are probably right in this assessment.
The statement read:
“Previously, a single home gaming platform [PS2] was the market leader worldwide, but that pattern has changed. Whichever platform best caters to users’ preferences in a particular country or region, in terms of the games available to be played on it, is now the one that will dominate the local market.”
It’s not hard to see where they are coming from, with the Nintendo Wii continuing to shift masses of hardware units (although considerably less software per console) in Japan itself. And while Sony and the PS3 are struggling, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is on a stretcher waiting to be condemned. Nintendo has always done well in its home country, even with the very average Gamecube.
In the US and Europe however, the Xbox 360 is doing much better, and is almost overtaking the Wii in sales terms. The PS3, well it’s doing rather badly everywhere, but still has some life in it, with the games available about to take a distinct turn for the better.
Will a success like the PS2 ever actually happen again? In seven short years it has sold in excess of 120 million units, and is still refusing to die, with Sony repackaging it as a starter console.
I’m sure all the Blorge readers have their own take on the sales figures, and current state of the battle for supremacy, but here are the cold, hard facts:
The Wii has sold approx 13.5 million units worldwide, the Xbox 360 an estimated 13 million systems, and the PS3 about 5.5 million units globally.
So there isn’t much of a gap between the Wii and the Xbox 360 in terms of global sales, and while the PS3 is in a definite third place, the mega franchises of Metal Gear Solid IV, Final Fantasy XIII and Gran Turismo 5 are sure to add a few million to that total. If the PS2 can sell 120 million consoles, a gap of 8 million is definitely doable for the PS3.
Time to discuss a single universal console again?
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November 14th, 2007
Does anybody realize that the Wii has outsold the 360 in less than a year, while the 360 has had a year advantage?
November 14th, 2007
Um KOSTA from what I hear since the release of halo 3 and ace combat for japan the xbox 360 is back in the lead with sales.
November 14th, 2007
@matt — no your wrong. in north america the 360 enjoyed a massive increase in sales and did outsell the Wii for about a month. Now, the Wii is again outselling the 360. In japan, ace combat 6 combined with a price reduction did substantially increase 360’s sales, but, still no where near the Wii’s sales.
Therefore globally (Other regions still much more in Wii’s favor) Wii is still leading week after week, month after month in total sales.
The author’s rounded figures are pretty much right on and Kosta’s point still remains. Yes they are close now, but, the Wii has sold 13.5m in 12 months, whereas the 360 has 13m in 24 months. The Wii is destined to be the clear market leader. Maybe not as much as the PS2 was, but still a clear leader.
November 14th, 2007
The author of the piece needs to do a bit more research, as pointed out the 360 had a year head start. In Europe and USA the Wii has outsold the 360 this year, with only 1 month courtesy of Halo giving the 360 an advantage. You’ll find the 360 is popular in English speaking countries US,UK and Australia. In the whole of Europe the PS3 is doing well but it is the Wii that is out in front.
November 14th, 2007
I am the author of this piece, and I know the Wii has only been out a year compared to 2 for the Xbox 360. Nowhere did I say it hadn’t.
The Wii has done phenomenally well over the last 12 months, but that’s still a short amount of time when this generation is expected to last at least 5 or 6 years, maybe longer.
November 15th, 2007
This generation might last 5-6 more years for the PS3 and 360, but I’ve heard nothing from Nintendo to suggest that they won’t stick to their 5 year life cycles.
They said the DS will last longer, but that doesn’t really translate to the Wii.
The last 12 months is very likely 20% of the Wii’s life, and, while that’s still not very much, we have to understand that Nintendo has never had longer lifecycles for home consoles. It’s always been a new one every 5 years.
Assuming they do stick to their guns, not only is the last year a pretty sizable part of the Wii’s life, but it may also force Sony and MS to act with new consoles, if it is much better than the current generation (and it likely will be, due simply to the speed at which technology advances.)
Also, since Nintendo has made money from the first Wii sold, they’re really sitting in the driver’s seat for when the next generation begins, now.