Sega claims PS3 to outsell Xbox 360, with the Wii in last place!
The Wii and Xbox 360 are currently battling hard to stay at the top of the hardware sales charts, while the PS3 battles to hang on to their coattails, but according to Sega, the fight isn’t over yet, and the Playstation 3 could end up trouncing the Xbox 360 and Wii.
The PS3 has so far struggled to keep up with it’s two console rivals. The fanboys can bitch and moan all they like, but the sales figures are there for all to see.
The Wii has been an incredible success, surprising gamers and the industry itself with how phenomenally well it has sold in all territories. The Xbox 360, though out a year longer, has also done well, and even beat the Wii’s monthly sales due to the Halo 3 effect. But the PS3 continues to struggle, selling under half the amount its two rivals have.
It may not all be done and dusted though, as in an interview with Games Industry, Noah Musler, Sega’s director of artists and repertoire, claimed that the PS3 may yet catch up with the Xbox 360, and even surpass it in terms of units sold. As for the Wii, he could see it ending in third place… maybe. He told them:
“But all of our projections… I think that most analysts would agree that PS3 is going to catch up to the 360, if not surpass it, as more and more big titles come out.”
“Microsoft has done a good job of closing the gap between the platforms. I don’t think they are in the situation they were in with the PS2 and Xbox 1, but it is still too soon to say.”
“There is usually a third place console, and even if it turns out to be Nintendo, which is debatable based on how successful they have been recently…although, it does seem like they might end up in that space. It is really difficult to say. We think that they are going to be neck-and-neck with PS3 and 360 for a while.”
So to paraphrase, Musler thinks the consoles will all converge and be head to head for a while, before the PS3, strengthened by the big exclusive games heading its way, will forge ahead and prove victorious. That’s quite a bold claim, and I can see little evidence for it at the moment.
I don’t think the Wii has done all it can, with demand still outstripping supply everywhere. So I wouldn’t quite write it off yet. This console generation is destined to last at least 5 more years so maybe by then the Wii will be looking quite old fashioned and cheap. The innovation which is Nintendo’s big strength will also look boring by then, but that’s a long way off and sales are still phenomenally strong.
The PS3 will have to go some before it catches up with the Xbox 360, and although there are definite signs it is heading in the right way, I just can’t see it doing so any time soon.
As always, let us know what you think…
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15 Responses to “Sega claims PS3 to outsell Xbox 360, with the Wii in last place!”
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November 20th, 2007
And Sega says that becuase…
It’s making predictions without looking at what happened with its own consoles. I’m not saying that it couldn’t happen, but the statement seems inaccurate.
For instance, the Sega Saturn–very difficult to program for. It had a lack of developers because of the cost of development. The Playstation 3 is the same way–if all the information I’ve recieved is true, it’s expensive and hard to program the PS3 and therefore people don’t want to program it as much!
Then another thing–early releases instead of waiting caused problems. If my information is correct, Sega dropped the Genesis to work on the Saturn early, causing upset fans and Saturn problems. Microsoft released the XBox 360 early–hardware problems!
Remember past actions, Sega…I don’t doubt that the Nintendo will win–it looked at all the mistakes it made and fixed them, whereas Microsoft and Sony, which were doing so well, seemed to say “Well, Sega did this, but that could never happen to us…” It’s like saying “ONE drink of alcohol couldn’t hurt me–I’m better than most people.” Doesn’t work.
Nintendo: It learned that games, not graphics, make a success, and that not many people need good graphics, so it fixed the problem by changing the graphics VERY LITTLE and inventing a fun system for everyone. Another mistake it fixed–cartridges didn’t sell well, so it switched to CDs.
Microsoft: The XBox came in late, and it still sold very well. What happened when it came a year early? (Of course, that might be why more XBox 360s are sold then Wiis–too many hardware failures! Do the math.) Microsoft didn’t seem to think that maybe it could have the same problems as Sega did with early releases.
Sony: It was selling great even though it had the worst graphics both times! So, did it decide to keep selling for games and not for graphics becuase it was a very popular console? NOPE. It took a risk and tried to be THE BEST, even though it was doing just fine! Now is a console hard to program.
Hey readers, I’m not trying to put down XBox and Playstation and glorify Wii. I’m just trying to reason that maybe Sega needs to reason out the winners a little bit more based on past experience.
November 20th, 2007
I think that Nintendo will win over the next 5 year period, even though I wouldn’t buy a Wii unless it cost me $100 or less (which may very well happen in the next few years).
Why do I think that Nintendo will win? Well, it all comes down to profits. The real goal of any company is profitable operations, and Nintendo is by far the most profitable console maker. If Nintendo starts to become old news in a couple of years, they will just continue to drop the price well below what Sony and Microsoft can afford. In addition, Nintendo will inevitably release a new system some time in the future. And, because their strategy requires a simple system without much horse power, releasing a a sucessor to the Wii before Sony is able to release PS4 is not all that far fetched.
In short, regardless of units sold, Nintendo has a death grip on console profits. They can afford to drop the price of the Wii significantly, so if market share becomes an issue, Nintendo can has plenty of room to breath in terms of pricing. I do believe that PS3 will become a dominant player toward the end of this current generation’s life cycle largely helped by Blu-Ray. As for now, why would you buy a PS3 unless you have a 1080p TV (if you have a 720p, just get a 360, you’ll probably be happier).
November 20th, 2007
To say the ps3 is struggling is a bit misleading I think, as it is only out 1 year it has sold 5.6 million to the 360 13.4 million, so if out 2 years like the 360 at its current rate it would have 11.2 million and not forgetting it did not launch in europe until march. Realistically it is both the 360 and ps3 that are struggling to keep up with the wii. I do believe the ps3 will still beat the 360 long term but but not in dominant fashion like the ps2, which until discontinued is still the no.1.
November 20th, 2007
Little evidence? what an idiot, the sales figures are the same as the 360 in it’s first year (quite an accomplishment seeing as the 360 had no competition for year, whilst the ps3 has had to put up with the Wii from Day 1), has the author of this article not noticed the recent sales surges? anyone can take a look at the release list for 2008 and see nothing on the 360 (I mean it take a look there is nothing there in 2008) they’ll be living of H3 (online which is good, single player is awful) DLC till gow 2 is out in 2009 sometime. Whilst as much as i like the Wii it doesn’t have much else other than Smash Bros. Brawl. 2007 is the year of the Wii, 2008 will be the year of the ps3 (i hope the Wii does well as well). No room for the 360, 2006 was the year of the ps2.
November 20th, 2007
I Really can’t wait to see who wins the console war then we can all go back and laugh at all these idiots who predicted xbox sony and the wii as the winners. I sure hope xbox doesn’t win they have a pos console. Sony or Nintendo will defiantly win it.
November 20th, 2007
In 2 yrs time, can ANYONE honestly say that running a SDTV console like the Wii with a huge HDTV market, is going to be a valid premise. Of course not. Wii has a very fixed lifespan – SEGA knows it. Dont expect anything much from Wii after 2008.. it just wont even feature in the market place.
As others noted. PS3 is selling at same rates (and better) than the X360 in its first year, and PS3 has two competitors, X360 in its first year had none – so from a market perspective, the PS3 is doing quite well. Or.. the X360 did quite poorly.. Either way the recent sales numbers put the PS3 as the lead platform in ALL regions.. Whether this continues though is another story.. time will tell all.
November 20th, 2007
Depends on what you mean by winning the console race. In terms of profit Nintendo wouldn’t care if they came last as they would still make a profit on every console which means they willl enough capital in the next console wars. Meanwhile Sony and Microsoft are both losing vast amounts of money so this will cause problems.
November 20th, 2007
fuck ps3 wii good job love ur games’
but XBOX 360 OWNS ALL OF U!!!!!
HALO3 TO THE END BITCHES
November 20th, 2007
For a moment, let’s forget all about the games, the graphics, the SDTVs and the HDTVs. I think that no matter who wins this war,Nintendo might win the next one. Why? It’s gained reputation–but Microsoft has, I’m sure, lost reputation, and Sony has probably lost it too–and most definitely, lots of money…I don’t know, let’s see how the next war turns out.
Incidently, GroverFD, Matt has a point. The Wii could do very well with dropping prices after 2008, and more people would be willing to pay for a cheap Wii than an expensive HDTV game console. Even if price drops didn’t help, and the Wii doesn’t do so well after 2008, Nintendo will most likely have enough capital to release a new console early that would spur up interests again.
November 20th, 2007
Wii has a very creative and innovative touch. Yet, I believe the appeal will not last. It’s more a gadget than a gaming machine. Xbox 360 has nice titles and some definite market advantage now. Microsoft will have to react swiftly though as the PS3 is the strongest player in long-term technology approach. The full potential of PS3 will become more obvious during 2008 and in 2009 when the Wii is already forgotten, the PS3 will take lead. As a consumer however, I am truely disgusted by the exclusivity limits. Every system has truely amazing titles. Which one to by?
November 20th, 2007
Too many stupid people here, the key to the Wii that PS3 and 360 can’t match is accessibility, people intimidated by the PS3 and 360 love the Wii because its easy to pick up and play, the Wii will not die out, because the people who will keep buying it hae no desire to own a PS3 or 360.
To think that PS3 will take flight on its tech is stupidity, it will continue to fail because of the same difficult gaming that has kept it mired in the same demographics forever, people who don’t understand this should go read Blue Ocean strategy and the innovator’s dilemma
November 21st, 2007
You’re awfully bold to say that the Wii “will seem quite boring” in five years. Given the fact that developers still haven’t even scratched the surface of what the Wii can do, I think it still has quite some time before people fully experience what the Wii has.
And when the Wii has put out all it has to offer, I’m more than willing to wager that, rather than seeming boring, it’ll likely seem more like the status quo.
November 21st, 2007
What if Nintendo release a high def Wii next year? With upscaling dvd player, hdmi 1.3, that can also upscale their video.
November 23rd, 2007
Ok, in my opinion, I think the ps3 will win this console war as well as the format war of next gen movie format.
Each unit of ps3 Sony is selling, features a hd movie player known as ‘blu-ray’. Now currently, ‘blu-ray’ is backed up by all these movie companies while the rival hd-dvd isn’t, as compared. Another thing, blu-ray is somewhat leading in technology in terms of disc space and also sales of players and movies. Check it yourselves, blu-ray is beating hd-dvd in many ways and sales is one of them.
Now, this is relevant to the ps3 is because of the fact that ps3 is most efficient and convinient multi-media built techonology that features blu-ray at the best price. Which means, people will buy the ps3 for the next gen movie format.
Last thing, the ps3 is selling at a high price compared to its rivals, but the price is reducing now and as cheap as the other consoles, it will sell like hot cakes because of the superior techonology that makes the ps3 dominant as the true next gen console.
December 5th, 2007
Microsoft is bullshit and americans are stupid. Learn to spend your money wisely.