PS3 and Xbox 360 racing for second – Wii too far ahead?
The console battle is still ongoing, but is it time to admit the Wii has won already, and the only thing worth fighting for now is the runners up position. If so, which competitor out of the PS3 and Xbox 360 is more likely to finish second?
We all know the Wii has outsold everything in its path up to now, with the closest sales contender being its smaller brother the Nintendo DS. But is it now safe to assume, with sales continuing to be strong, that the Wii has won the battle for console supremacy, and its left to the PS3 and Xbox 360 to fight for the scraps.
I started thinking about this after reading an article on Wired, where Chris Kohler took a look at as many sales figures comparisons as he could to try and determine what the current state of play is. His point is more about how the Playstation 3 may be able to grab a definite second place due to strong European sales, despite being mobbed by the Xbox 360 in the USA.
His figures actually go against the claims that Europe is Sonyland, and show that in every region apart from Spain, the Xbox 360 is still miles ahead of the PS3.
You could argue that this is because the Xbox has been out longer than the PS3, but that hasn’t stopped the Wii kicking ass all around the world now has it!
I think it may even be too early to call the Wii the ultimate winner, as we have at least 5-6 years of this generation to see the true results. The PS3 is gaining momentum every month, and I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Sony machine overtaking its Microsoft competitor within a year.
A mistake often made when studying sales figures is to lump the whole of Europe in as one. There isn’t anywhere in the world more diverse in both tastes and opinions than Europe, so the UK has a much different list of wants than Germany for instance.
All we can safely say at this point is: The console war continues.
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18 Responses to “PS3 and Xbox 360 racing for second – Wii too far ahead?”
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January 17th, 2008
I cant really see any reason at all why the PS3 wont go on to sell as well as the PS1 did, or maybe even the PS2. On the other hand I cant really see any reason why the 360 will do much better than than the Xbox. For the Wii to sell as well as the PS1 or PS2 it will need to sell as well as it did in the last 12 months for the next 5 years and I really cant see that happening.
Based on that I see the PS3 eventually finishing top (if only because it will be on sale a lot longer) with the Wii second and the 360 a long way back in third.
January 17th, 2008
Wii sales are great..but one does have to wonder exactly how long consumers will buy into the quirky, gimmicky, outdated, aging console that is the Wii.
Nintendo has so far had massive success in the short term..but in the longterm the Nintendo Wii will certainly “Die” off first. With absolutely no tech or media features, not even dvd playback in their machine, Nintendo may find itself struggling against the consumer machine that wants more out of their console.
For now it does seem that people want the cheap “fun” Wii…but consumer trends change quickly..time will tell.
January 17th, 2008
Interesting…the Wii has completely challenged the notion that graphics and the type of games alone determine what is the best. Even if Wii ends up finishing second I bet it won’t by a very big margin to the 1st place winner. In the end they have done really well no matter what the outcome. I personally hope it wins but thats just me. I’m not trying to be a Wii fanboy its just a preference I have. I respect anyone’s differing opinion on that issue.
January 17th, 2008
It is all opinion, but just remember that it’s really only the techies want every type of media thing in a console. Most people want a game console for games. Consider, also, that by the time PS3 gets to the $200 range, the Wii may have dropped in price as well, regradless of how much cheaper the hardware is for right now. (It’s like Z80 processors–they were a really costly thing before, but now you can get a handful for probably a dollar.)
January 17th, 2008
I have to say, I give props To the wii. Nintendo has finally got a sytems that isnt horrible as it trailed in the last 3 gernerations. However i know PS3 will win, i think nintedo is only going to get better. I was a nintedo fan boy but switch to sony. I beleieve sony will win becase it made a console to compete in the biginning and dominate in the end. Nintendo was thinking cheap but fun. Good job nintendo but i think there console goes to cheap. ANd is pretty expensive considering it has no DVD or and next gen format or it cant even play a CD. I dont think it has downloadable videos or music and it has no really good games. The hardware is also really cheap and has graphics of the PS2. Games always drive a console And PS3 is doing just that.If people appriated the 2007 linup for PS3 as it first year, it had a strong start. I think it propbly the best starting lin up of games i seen in the last 3 generations. And 2008 is only going to get better, way better. PS3 will come in first, wii will come in second and xbox 360 will come in last. I cant even stress now on how crap it is. It has games that always end up on the PC and PS3 has the ability to stream games. PS3 has exclusive titles and PC titles like crysis and HAlo and bioshock. PS3 is an amazing Piece of harware and has a wide virity of games and doesnt only focus on FPS like xbox and has a nice virity for games that can apeal to anyone in the family, and motion senser only makes the gameing more fun.
January 17th, 2008
shoot, srry for mistakes
January 17th, 2008
I love it when you guys tout your PS3 system as being the best and in the end will win the console war.
I own all three. The WII sits in the corner gathering dust and even the kids don’t want to play with it (I stood in line to get the damn thing). I think I’ll sell it on e-bay before everyone realizes the value of the system and floods the market.
PS3 I got it for the blue-ray and there it sits because the movies are too damn expensive compared to regular DVD’s. As for the games….well by time they come out on PS3 I’ve already finished them on the 360.
So there sits the hard rub……..Xbox still out sells the PS3 and has games the WII couldn’t even present.
So I get more value (bang for the buck) on the 360 and in the end its what really counts.
I want to play HD games now not in the future!
Check out this site:
http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/15489/NPD-Numbers-Are-In-Xbox-360-Leads-Industry/
and just incase you need more: http://www.xbox365.com/news.cgi?id=GuddHuNdri01171857
January 17th, 2008
PS3 all the way baby! It had a slow start just as the 360 did, but if it continues to release exlusive titles like Uncharted, Heavenly Sword, Ratchet and Clank, Warhawk, Resistants, and MotorStorm, I think they will be in a good position to over take the 360. Plus the fact that it doesn’t fail like the 360 does. I’m ready for Devil May Cry and Metal Gear!
January 18th, 2008
360 is outselling the PS3 by a long way each month. Wouldn’t the PS3 have to outsell the 360 to win the war? Or is there something I am missing?
January 18th, 2008
Dude you posted thise two links about how much xbox kicked butt but that was 2007. Last couple months ps3 keeps doing better and better. Were talking console supreacy in 2008 we all know xbox won in 2007 but not to even the wii.
January 18th, 2008
Oh one more thing here is from today amazons hottest video games sales
http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/ref=sv_vg_1/104-7010572-6343947
looks like xbox lost again :/
January 18th, 2008
Rwo more links for you just because “i told you so”
http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=157228
http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/wii-and-ps3-neckandneck-in-purchase-intent-in-japanese-survey/19106/?biz=1
January 18th, 2008
Although the wii has currently out sold the other consoles i’d like to see more statistics on when the units get back. I’m at uni and we have mixture of all consoles except the ps3, which we currently feel is not worth the price. We have had one in our house and therfore have tried it. However, the unit that we rarely use is the wii. (male and female) The main console being the 360. I think the wii is a group party game. You buy a new game.. you play it for a week, but it gets way too repetative.. I have only played the games they have and know there are others out there but from my experiences (also talkin to other people aswel) 360 are still the machine keepin the gamers hooked on. The wii jus doesn’t, its novelty. We are agein from 19 to 27 so it’s a good representation.
January 18th, 2008
Morthius,
Because you care so much lets put this into real perspective. The sales figures mention in the articles came out two days ago….so that’s fresh not two months old. But you want to go to 2008 sales so we will.
As I said it still comes down to ‘Play now’ or wait to play? This is why the xbox is selling 1.7 console units to playstation 3’s one, in January. I still call that a winner for Microsoft. Even if it’s a dip from 2 to 1.
But all that aside any one can predict things….I can predict the moon will collide with the earth in 2012 and the world will come to an end. But that doesn’t make it happen. It’s the past that shows the reality of the current trend. Hind sight! Future sales are predicated on past profit.
So if you need more….here’s proof that even the WII didn’t win the winning spot when it came to money earned. http://www.techradar.com/news/gaming/xbox/xbox-360-conquers-all-in-2007-us-console-war-201166
Oh yea and I love the article about Japan’s sales figures like that matters what we buy here in the states.
As I said before I have all three systems so if the playstation 3 ever gets to the point they out sell there own playstation 2 then I might see a possible future. I have no intention of selling my Playstation 3 unit yet because I’m still waiting for Blue-ray to be as affordable as HD-DVD movies.
Lets face facts here………HD-DVD players sold more units then Blue-ray and more HD-DVD movies were sold because they were cheaper. If Sony pulls the ears hard enough and feels the pop, lowers the price of blue-ray to around the standard DVD price the whole format war will come to a abrupt halt and my playstation 3 will have gained its net worth.. But right now it’s just a paper weight.
January 19th, 2008
You can get Bluray movies on amazon if not just cheap but cheaper then regular dvds in a store. Theres a big secret to buying DVDs one is if you buy a brand new Regular dvd movie make sure you get it from walmart. They have their 15.98 special for about a week then jack the price back up to 19.98. Second cause I hear this alot, blue ray players do have the ability to have a firmware update. I keep hearing how everyone is stuck on profile 1.0 Japanese sales and europe sales matter You think the US makes or breaks a system. NO it does not. The first xbox burned cause japan and europe didnt want it. So sales figures are sales figures. If i make 10 dollars off you and 1,000.00 dollars off a guy in germany, I still made 1,010.00. Secondly your article says xbox sales and accessories. Well every xbox had to have a wifi adapter bought at 100.00 if you wanted this option. Then theres the wireless controller batteries then the hd-dvd add on, then the wireless mics or controller mics. All that crap adds up. On top of that alot of people either had to buy a new console or traded in for an elite. Sales figures dont how trade ins or bought used models. So that figure by the xbox fan boy ad, those figures in reality are incorrect.
January 21st, 2008
So, what do you Sony fanboys win if the Ps3 comes in first place? Is it some pathetic form of vindication? WTF is wrong with you people?
January 22nd, 2008
Personally for me I dont care who wins. I like the games I like. I bought a 360 at launch cause I liked Call of duty. I bought a ps3 when they had no games cause I liked the bluray format. My threads are more of a personal feeling that honestly without downing microsoft, even though I know they are looking for global dominance, I think honestly they should stick to software and give up hardware. Isnt it true they dont make money on hardware anyway. why lose when you can win. Be like sega and stay with software. Microsoft doesnt have laptops or computers and their in the business.
May 11th, 2008
“So, what do you Sony fanboys win if the Ps3 comes in first place? Is it some pathetic form of vindication?”
They get the knowledge that they didn’t get sucked into wasting a whole lot of money by Sony again.