Sony: PS3 on way up, Xbox 360 and Wii going down
I am of course paraphrasing with that title, but it is in essence what Sony believes, at least according to the managing director of Sony UK, Ray Maguire. He claims that while the PS3 is still on its way up, competing formats, the Xbox 360 and Wii, are on their way down.
Maguire has already caused consternation and spitting of feathers by revealing that there will be no PS3 price cut anytime soon because Sony is a business and has to please its shareholders before anyone else. He then claimed the PS3 still has a way to go before reaching its full potential, a line that seems to have been trotted out month after month since the console was released.
He’s now added to those earlier statements in an interview with GI.biz by once again talking up what’s still to come from the PS3. The big difference this time around is that he also takes the opportunity to stick the boot in to the Sony console’s rivals, the Xbox 360 and Wii.
He said:
Yes, we might take a bit longer sometimes to bring a product to market, but when we do, we bring you the most powerful gaming platform ever to hit – and it will be something that will around for a very long time.
It’s nowhere near even halfway through its life cycle, and I could argue that some other competing formats are on their way down right now.
You could certainly try arguing that but I’m guessing there would be a few people arguing against you, me for one. The Wii clearly isn’t on its way down, with sales continuing to stay high in all territories and demand once again threatening to outstrip supply this holiday season. So Maguire must mean the Xbox 360.
The Microsoft console has had a barren patch in its time but right now, I’d suggest the Xbox 360 is doing fine thank you very much. The price cut in early September gave sales a definite boost, meaning the console even managed to outsell the PS3 in Japan for seven weeks in a row.
Then there are games, which the Xbox 360 isn’t exactly devoid of at the moment. Although I feel Gears Of War 2 may be overrated, it’s still a fine game and selling very well already. Sony may have more big exclusives on the horizon but I think Xbox 360 owners will feel blessed with the quality and quantity of games being released over the next few months.
Maguire continued:
We have to make sure that things are born at the right time, that the infrastructures are right and are tested, and that they actually work. It’s one of the things that PlayStation has been known for – a plug-and-play mentality, rather than a patch-patch mentality.
Getting it right is more important than getting it out quick, and I think it’s very difficult to make that decision, to hold something up, but again I think it was the right decision to make sure that we were defining along the line where it is that we’re trying to go to.
Maguire is right on this point, but gamers will only stand for so many delays, and Home has pushed many to the end of their patience levels. Microsoft messed up by rushing the Xbox 360 out but it’s not as though the PS3 hasn’t had regular firmware upgrades, which are patches of a sort.
It’s to be expected that company executives will talk up their own console and put a positive spin on everything, but there’s really no need to also talk the competitors down. That’s just dirty. And when the facts don’t actually stand up to scrutiny, it makes the company look rather stupid.
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22 Responses to “Sony: PS3 on way up, Xbox 360 and Wii going down”
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November 10th, 2008
*Shakes head in Ray Maguire’s direction*
Surely only Ivan will eat that crap…
November 10th, 2008
PLAYSTATION 3 is definitely going up. Nintendo is gonna stop selling that great and as for Xbox 360 that’s a joke no exclusives worth buying for 2009. I agree with him with everything.
November 10th, 2008
Wow… thats some powahful truthiness there… I trust the PR people… they always stand for the truth and honesty… just like Fox News…
Bitch all you want fanboys… Wii is kicking your ass… cant do anything aboot it…
HAHAHAHAHAHHA WIII MUSIC!!!!
November 10th, 2008
Seriously Dave, you equate firmware upgrades with defective hardware? That’s a stretch only a true xbot would make!
I fail to see why a Sony top dog evangelising his company’s product and downplaying the competition’s product is such a problem, or even news. Slow day I guess.
November 11th, 2008
@ SW, you were right, Ivan loved that article!
November 11th, 2008
Ivan came in, right on cue…… ?? lol
November 11th, 2008
This article utterly fails. And I hear Dave is a PS3 lover. BS, thats all I have to say. Everything PS3 says “this” and “that” it gets countered. You bring the bad things rather than bringing the good things. Gears of War 2? PLEASE dude. Arc Tech already gave bigger props and SAID clearly R2 is better than Gears of War 2 in every possible way, period. That’s one of the biggest electronic and entertainment websites on the Internet.
I’m gonna need to find another website. I’m sick of reading stupid articles like this.
November 11th, 2008
“according to the managing director of Sony UK, Ray Maguire”
LMAO
Credible sources for this sort of thing Dave.
Not.
November 11th, 2008
I like this Maguire fellow…
He has some good points. And I really like the way he takes some digs at the other consoles. The spike in 360 sales due to the price drop has already crested and is starting to fall. Say what you will against Sony, but no one can deny that the PS3 has gained some huge momentum in 2008. Over a year late to the party and it’s neck and neck with its closest competitor. For 2009 Sony has more must have exclusives, the price will drop – and the PS3 will surpass the 360 in sales. Mark my words.
As far as Home… I don’t really care. Oh no, the 360 has Miis… it’s the end of Sony as we know it. HA! I am far too busy with Resistance 2 and LBP. If anyone needs a good medic for Co-Op let me know.
November 11th, 2008
Tatsujin,
Metacritic seems to disagree with you, thus the majority of reviewers. What about all the other reviews that say that Gears 2 blows R2 out of the water? Or are they biased?? haha
November 11th, 2008
Got fuckee?
November 11th, 2008
Barnabee Jones,
“The spike in 360 sales due to the price drop has already crested and is starting to fall.” – Where on earth are you getting your data from? VG Chartz is showing a substantial increase in 360 sales, no drop whatsoever. I.e look at it today for the US, 114,000 units compared to 78,000 for the PS3. It sold 36,000 more units in a week! How is that ‘neck and neck’?
November 12th, 2008
Gears of War 2 sucks more of the same bullshit. You can’t compare those games.
Story
Resistance 2 Wins by default instantly
Multiplayer
Resistance 2 Wins by default instantly
Campaign
Resistance 2 Wins by default instantly
Graphics
Tie
Accomplishments
Resistance 2 Wins Trophy Medals is better than just crappy useless Achievement Points done rush.
Replay Value
Resistance 2 Wins by default instantly
Fanboys
Gears of War 2 Wins by default instantly
Over Hype
Gears of War 2 Wins by default instantly
Worth Buying
Both Wins For Sure
Epic Games vs Imsomniac Games
Imsomniac Games Wins by default instantly
SCEA exclusives all kick serious ass in graphics, story, multiplayer, replay value and reputation.
November 12th, 2008
If you ask me I think Sony is screwing them selves with this long lasting consol.
I for one get bored of a consol after 2 years.
There is no way I will keep one for 11.
I like to buy new toys a lot and I’m sure I’m not alone.
I will buy ine but I will move on when MS or Nintendo make the next one. (if sony doesn’t)
November 12th, 2008
@Harry: By neck and neck I meant overall combined sales. And the spike in sales after the price drop in Asia is over. I’ll use blorge as a reference because I am lazy (http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/11/06/gta-iv-helps-ps3-overtake-xbox-360-in-japan/).
November 12th, 2008
@NCncaissie: Look at the PS2. It came out in 2000. Eight years later it still sells pretty well and there are new titles being released, but there’s no denying that it is slowly dying off.
When the PS3 hits the 10 year mark, the successor to all three consoles will be out. So they may still produce a few games for the PS3, it will not be there main focus.
November 12th, 2008
“I’ll use blorge as a reference because I am lazy (http://gamer.blorge.com/2008/11/06/gta-iv-helps-ps3-overtake-xbox-360-in-japan/). ” -
this is why dave p is a scourge to gaming journalism. readers actually believe his lies as facts. just terrible. and bloggers wonder why they’re not taken seriously…..
for the record barn, the ps3 is NOT even with the 360’s overall sales. they are aboutj 5-7 million behind the 360 with the gap growing larger everyday.
oh…and to equate japan as “asia” is simply stupid….
November 12th, 2008
Kev, you just took the words out of my mouth.
As much as I hate VGChartz, they’re all we have, and they’re showing that the gap has been widening for the past few months.
November 12th, 2008
3 years: 360 sold 24 million consoles
2 years: Ps3 sold 16 million consoles
8 million a year for EACH console.
November 12th, 2008
“for the record barn, the ps3 is NOT even with the 360’s overall sales. they are aboutj 5-7 million behind the 360 with the gap growing larger everyday.”
Kev propaganda strikes again …..
November 12th, 2008
The PLAYSTATION 3 is gonna past Xbox 360 soon.
November 13th, 2008
In a way you are right Spidey, Yes – the 360 has sold more consoles. No argument there.
But when we look at the total of units sold vs. the years the consoles have been on the market – they are even. Anything can happen in the next year, but at the moment the PS3 is even in terms of pacing the 360s sales. That’s why that whole “software tie ratio” data was a joke. You can’t compare the tie ratio of three years vs two years. You’re playing with a stacked deck.