Xbox 360 is 7 million units ahead in US, can PS3 catch up? It would take a miracle.

Gamesthirst: This generation Xbox 360 will win one market, the most important one, The United States Of America but the rest of the world belongs to Sony.

[The-Warranty]

7 million in the US alone?

I smell bullsh1t

edit: Oh yea I forgot Ms puts shipped consoles.............

[Vicodin]

Even if you put aside the fact that Microsoft continues to be the only company that lies about actual sales to customer numbers by using shipped to retail store numbers, the actual sales of multiplatform games and revenue generated from each console in the US as reported by all the major publishers shows the PS3 and 360 are roughly equal. And in some cases like EA, the PS3 is leading.

So, one or all of these must be true:

* There are massive numbers of duplicate Xbox 360 consoles out there that no one is buying games for because they are dead and no longer in use

* PS3 owners are buying games at an incredible rate relative to the claimed installed base numbers and despite the fact that Sony has about a 5-6 to 1 first party developer advantage giving PS3 owners many more exclusive games to choose from to compete for the wallets of gamers

[thor]

No I think it is just simply that people who bought a 360 3 years ago, aren't necessarily buying games for it now. There are also many people with more than one console in their household.

Also, another factor is that the main demographic that is likely to buy games (and not just 1 or 2) is the demographic that's likely to spend a lot on gaming and hence have both consoles. So seeing as games are pretty much identical on both, that would explain why sales are more equal.

I'll put it like this; suppose that:
- There are 10 million people who bought a cheap 360 and buy 1 game a year for it
- There are 5 million gamers who bought both consoles and buy 4 games a year for each
Then the 360 has 30 million game sales
The PS3 has 20 million game sales
But the 360 has 15 million compared to 5 million consoles sold.

My numbers are just examples to show my point.

[BulletToothtony]

the gap was 6 million 1 month ago, and i believe after the last incredible month the ps3 had it should be safe to say that the gap is only 5 million now..

people don't know how to spin anymore the fact that ps3 it's on its way back to the top..

[ABizzel1]

Actually it wouldn't take a miracle. PS3 is blowing the 360 away in Japan. And it's continually selling more than the 360 in Europe, and by now I'm sure it just about caught the 360 in Europe since the 360 only had a 1 million lead. That's why the PS3 has a very good chance of catching the 360. The PS3 does well in every region. While the 360 only does good in US and Europe.

[deadreckoning666]

@The Warranty-*sigh*, why are there always claims of conspiracy when the 360 is posted to be ahead of Sony in sales by a large amount. Do you have inside info on who lies about sales and who doesn't???

BTW, I thought sales didn't matter...

Edit: I really don't know what the hell M$ or Sony does with sales figures if ya ask me. Where can I find this info?

[The-Warranty]

I'm not calling conspiracy, does M$ not put shipped consoles while Sony put sold?

@dead- look at Vicodin's post, you can find the link to how Sony counts sales.

[leeger]

I have to agree on this one, the PS3 will have a very very hard time to catch up on the 360 in NA, but in terms of worldwide it is very much possible
LTD of 360 in NA is 15.89M units
LTD of PS3 in NA is 8.21M units
that is a 7.68M lead.

[BulletToothtony]

at some point early this year MS announced that they had sold 14 mil or so 360s in europe then sony announced the had sold 15 mil..

the next month MS tried to spin it and said that they were one mil ahead of the ps3 but it was too late.. the numbers were already out.. they were just plain lying..

If the 360 is so far ahead and selling as faster than the ps3 like MS says then how is the gap closing more and more each year.. Europe it's sony land and they passed the 360 a sometime last year.. but MS would never admit that even when they announced so themselves.

[droid and bot]

i wonder how many of those actually RROD on there users
and i wonder if the base is actually bigger

because all i can hear is 360 users talking about going to there 6th or 7th xbox

[Sarcasm]

It's articles like this that makes me ashamed to be called American.

[CrazzyMan]

That is around 35-40k per week.
2010 - 2011 - 2012
Then PS3 will catch x360 in NA.

Miracle? No.

[ThanatosDMC]

The title is such a big fat lie and spelled wrong.

Shipped to retailers vs Sell through to consumers. Weird... again.

[StanLee]

To those questioning Microsoft's reporting numbers, they are the only ones who accurately report these figures. There is no way of knowing the exact number of consoles each consumer has purchased. There is no way. The only accurate reporting tool are those hardware shipped to retailers and wholesalers. There are numerous Mom and Pop outlets and online retailers that retail consoles and these are never accurately represented. If Sony or Nintendo say their figures are those sold directly to consumers, they're lying. The only way to actually get this figure is for every person who purchases a console to self report, which does not happen. But moronic fanboys would believe otherwise I'm sure. Moving on, the PS3 will surpass the XBox 360 in North America since Sony aims for a longer life cycle for its console. At this rate the PS3 would have to outsell the XBox 360 by 195,000 consoles each month to surpass the XBox 360 in its life cycle which is projected to last another 36 months (3 years).

Edit: To all those fanboys who disagree with my comment, I dare you to prove otherwise. Kindly prove that it can be accurately recorded the exact number of consoles sold to consumers. I dare you.

Edit 2: I must have impressed many fanboys with my comments. I now have 6 less persons who have me on their Ignore List. That's a first. Usually, the list of persons who have me on their Ignore List increases, not the other way around. :D

[kurochi]

@1.10

It's people like you who makes me believe that there is hope yet for Americans.....

[leeger]

unless the PS3 starts to sell like Wii numbers back in 2008 (almost impossible) then I really find it unlikely to overtake the 360 in NA. Even now with the slim I doubt if the PS3 can outsell the 360 by more than a 100k units every month.

[erathaol]

I mean the PS3 Slim pretty much busted down the doors and created a huge leap i momentum for the brand, while Uncharted 2 is being haled as one of the best games of this generation and one the biggest game this year (Modern Warfare 2) will come to both consoles.

I'll be more interested in how they'll play out their bash/smash game next year. With Natal and Halo: Reach coming out toward the end of the year, yet the Wand and God of War III will be coming out at the beginning.

[really duh]

You're just upset because that puts MSFTs overall lead at over 8 million. There is no way of knowing who will win the world or who will end up selling more. IMO Natal will keep PS3 in last place by bigger margins we see now.

[2Spock]

"7 Million Unites"

Really, Unites? I mean c'mon Unites, really?

[Ju]

"PS3 in last place by bigger margins" like ODST did.

For a week. In the US alone (6k units, meh, and nowhere else). LOL :)

Halo doesn't sell consoles any more. Who ever wants to play Halo has a 360 already. Forget it.

BTW: I strongly doubt Natal or the Wand will shake the industry (well, MS will market it as the second coming and Sony will simply ignore it, like they always do).

[Syronicus]

You ask people to prove you wrong but you cannot even prove yourself right. Simply put, having worked with inventory and sales, it is no such feat for a company to keep tabs on sell-through numbers. In fact, the simple use of the bar codes located on each console can easily translate to sell-through numbers electronically distributed to Sony and Nintendo. If you know nothing about sales or inventory then please, just shut your mouth.

[leeger]

You do know that in NA we have the NPD to track sales and according to NPD the 360 is ahead by 7.68M units as of the end of Aug. So are you guys trying to say that NPD is tracking shipped figures for MS and sold to consumers for Sony? you guys are joking yourselves.

[darthv72]

between shipped and sold as it relates to these numbers? I can understand being sold to a consumer is one thing but isnt a retail store ALSO a consumer? Just on a grander scale?

So if you ship x number of units to a store wouldnt that store in essence had to have bought them? MS isnt going to ship free units to a store and then wait to get the $$ from consumers. Also wouldnt it seem a difficult task to try and track ALL units sold to customers from the various retail chains that may be smaller than the obvious ones (wal mart, best buy etc)?

edit: Wouldnt there be a way for MS to tell how many have actually been sold by way of the serial numbers registered with them? Even if you dont use live you can still register your console for warranty support and what not.

[Genesis5]

Gee a 1 year head start and 7 million is the best they could do. Ps3 will catch it before all is said and done.

[n4f]

how about the wii its in first position wich is what everyone is aiming right why limit to second or third
after all second place is first loser

[Dannagar]

The rest of the world belongs to Nintendo.

[indysurfn]

Your talking Bullshi because Sony is the company that counts shipments. And they admit it! That is why you should use independent numbers from NPD group. Not to mention that Sony counts Africa and Russia and others as part of its European numbers, talk about misleading and conniving.

Talk about the pot calling the kettle black. I remember Sony getting their fans all in a frenzy earlier this year about sales of Killzone II. Then when the truth came out about the real numbers, the fanboys here had egg on their face, because it sold badly compared to halo wars and new war simulation game. Sony knows how many they shipped, and how many was sold, but proceeded to trick people into thinking they sold a lot of killzone II. When they knew it was miss leading shipment numbers. Just like they did with MGS4, and especially Little big planet, Once the NPD numbers come out fantoys have egg on there face, and NEVER learn the lesson.
Sony just reloads and repeats.

@vicodin
If you was correct about there being masses of broken unused xbox360's out there with no games sold for them, then Microsoft would have a terrible attach rate. Kinda like Sony has! But they don't! They have by far the best attach rate. And EA? you mean about to get bought out for losing many 16+ months in a row EA? EA has clattered to Sony fans for 2 generations, and Sony fans buy EA games because they know, and like the sequels.

[paul0388]

Who cares about sales anymore. Sure they pad their numbers, but do you know how much that matters to me? 0 - nada - negatory - not at all.

Quality over quantity.

We all know where the GOOD games are so why do sales matter?

[MNicholas]

also count towards sales.

I know people who work there and they say they see a Wii brought in about once a month (if that) a PS3 maybe 1 or 2 per week at most, and 360 about 2 to 4 per day.

Two 2-4 360's per day from just one store, my friends. All counted as sales.

[soxfan2005]

"It's articles like this that makes me ashamed to be called American."

It's statements like that make me (and probably many others) ashamed to have to call you a fellow American.

Disrespecting your country simply because your video game console of choice is behind the competition?? Disgusting.

[RememberThe357]

What?

[n4f]

come on dont tell me that youu were sad the ps3 slim sold 1 m

[Anon1974]

We know the PS3 has been outselling the 360 since it launched worldwide, so why does one territory matter when it's clearly the consumers console of choice (next to the Wii) worldwide?
Japan is a huge market, and no one is wringing their hands over "can the 360 catch up in Japan" Europe is the same way, but no one seems to care if the 360 can catch up there.

Are we focusing on the PS3 in the US simply because that's the only territory where it's behind the 360?

Gaming journalists...

[Tomdc]

why is america the most important market? Europe is pretty much level with it in terms of video game sales and has the potential for more as europe has double the US's population? Of course some of the more eastern countries are less likely to buy consoles but you can hardly claim north america is the most important.

[Jinxstar]

It's alot of people who bought 2nd 360's...

[YogiBear]

Your ashamed to be an American because of the 360 and MSoft's business ethics? I can't believe how narrow minded that comment was.

[randomwiz]

its not 7 million... they're using data for June 30th 2009

[corneliuscrust]

BUBBLES!!!!!!

You're one of the only posters in this thread that seem to understand the situation.

Why do people assume NPD lies just because MS is ahead on paper?

And does this mean that MS made a better console? NO! Does it make Ps3 any less fun to play? NO!!!!

Does it magically give MS the edge in the market? NO!!!

Ps3 is still an amazing console. Why do fanboys have to turn it into a matter of pridE?

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

It seems to be a lot of confusions among the fanboy. I mean after all it is either:

a) more software sold is because the Xbox 360 has twice the install base of PS3 in U.S.

b) the Xbox 360 console lead in the U.S. is bogus and MS over report consoles shipped or each consumer buys multiple consoles due to RROD.

Do you see a contradiction?

By the way, the U.S. might not be the world, but we account for 50% of the market. Like it or not, we are the biggest single market!

[Immortal Kaim]

GamesThirst has 3 "articles" in the top stories section, and all of them are playing off the fanboy wars to generate heat. I guess this proves my hypothesis, Fanboys aren't the smartest bunch...

[GarandShooter]

@ Sox and Yogi

I think this comment was what Sarcasm was referring to:

'This generation Xbox 360 will win one market, the most important one, The United States Of America'

The 'most important one', downplaying the importance of the rest of the world.

@ Sarcasm

I am never ashamed to be an American, though I may be ashamed of the words or actions of some of my fellow countryman. (not directed at you, BTW)

[SixZeroFour]

"saying that the US is the most important market it's fanboy talk..
the gap was 6 million 1 month ago, and i believe after the last incredible month the ps3 had it should be safe to say that the gap is only 5 million now..

people don't know how to spin anymore the fact that ps3 it's on its way back to the top.."
------
actually you would be right IF xbox didnt sell a single console in NA...i would think that the difference between 360 and ps3 sales sept 09 is about +250k-500k for ps3...not a million
------
@Genesis5

"Gee a 1 year head start and 7 million is the best they could do. Ps3 will catch it before all is said and done. "
------
are you saying that 7mil in one year isnt good sales? what would be good sales for a year then

mind you, that 7mil turns out to be about 580k a month or 130k a week

i dont know about you, but those are fairly good numbers...and these are all estimates, but dont down play the sales if they ARE decent
--------
im in no way trying to play sales numbers anything...im just defending it from ppl that arent exactly getting their info right...or maybe i was wrong myself...in any case, this is how i saw it when i read these 2 comments

[MetalGearRising]

Sony lost this gen and they'll never ever be able to catch xbox360 in sales and its time Sony admits its failure and move on with PS4 and save it self from humiliation.

[twoface]

Did you just Turn 10?

[shazui123]

thats because sony are 2.5 mill ahead in japan and 1 mill ahead in other territories combined. Therefore that 7 mill lead in US translates to a 4 mil lead overall. Funny, because I can remember them boasting of an 8 mill lead earlier in the year. Sony halved MS's lead in just 7 months o.O

[leyego]

the only people wishing for the next gen consoles are people with no worries whats so ever and there mommies buy them consoles and games (look at u metalgear), or the super fanboy who doesn't want to see MS lose.

[The Killer]

hahahahahahha

what happened to europe?? wow, americans are really sheeps, they just prove that to me each day with their articles and comments.

[The Killer]

sorry if i stereo typed americans but there is some truth in what i said,

many americans follow their media like their god, what ever CNN or Fox news says you believe it, and you believe any sh!t the corrupted government say to u, 9/11 was american made attack to occupy iraq anf afghanistand.

the financial crisis was planned too, who is the winner? the big cooperations who got trillions from the government.

iraq because of

1: oil
2: eliminate any threat to israel
3: weaken the arabs even more

afghanistan because of

1: marijuana production and exports, because taliban banned marijuana farming until US invaded there was non in the taliban managed lands.
2: petrol/gas pipe which suppose to pass by afghanistan

[WenisWagon]

And what does all of that have to do with video game console sales numbers?

[XXXCouture]

And if it wasn't for us (europeans) you would speak indian and smoke funny-tobacco all day.

lol jk

[ReviewsArePolitics]

It's about taking the lead at all costs, my bad.

I wish the morons above me were put at the helm of one company today just to see how bad they fail.

[blackbeld]

I Agree with you The Killer...........

Americans is only good for two things............. and that is the...... PORN INDUSTRY and the MACINTOSH I love it........

For all others they make crappy consoles broken cars that wont start in the winter.... Dollars good for nothing bottom low ... for €1,- you get $1,50- dollars thats too cheep and the Dollar will go lower and lower....

But hey enough politics.... M$ is going down and the MAC will rise ....360 going down PS3 will kick they're but.

[talltony]

"This generation Xbox 360 will win one market, the most important one, the United States of America, but the rest of the world belongs to Sony."

[The Shining]

lol 2010 is coming, Unfortunately for last place psturds. muahahahaha

Xbox 360 will be owning PS3rd this time next year.

[The Shining]

buahhahahahaha PS3rd

[gnothe1]

its been know for awhile that the 360 had its biggest lead in the U.S.A. the PS3 has the lead in japan, they both claim a 1 million lead in Europe so if there was a 7-8 million console lead where did you expect it to be, on the moon?, stop trying to call everything MS do as bull5hit, oh an sony counts SHIPPED also as do nintendo so its not just MS the counts that!!

[Vicodin]

Bzzzttt!!!

http://news.spong.com/artic...

"We said we'd asked SCEE exactly how it did calculate its sales - and which territories it covered. A spokesman for the company has now responded as follows:

"We calculate our install base by 'sell through' and have done for the last four years I believe", we asked for a little additional clarification...

"We classify 'sell through' as the number of units consumers have actually purchased from retail. 'Sell in' is the number of units we've sold to retail.""

Sony only reports actual sales to customer numbers.
Nintendo does the same.

It's only Microsoft who lies about sales numbers.

[dp277407]

awww you suck its ok though your 360 does too.

[n4gn4gn4gn4g]

I know the SCEE person 'said' that, but if you look at the actual annual reports all three console manufactures report sell in.

What ACTUALLY changed for SONY was that they used to report shipped from factory (but sitting in their warehouse)...now they report shipped from factory/warehouse to retailer. MS used to do this too...if you look at their results in the first 2 years of the 360 the numbers are all fvcked up because they were channel stuffing and reporting it as sales.

[gaffyh]

@Vicodin - THANK YOU for posting that. Maybe now the fanboys will STFU when people say Sony uses sales to actual customers rather than sales to retail. But there will be someone who still argues, even though it's written in plain back and white. Bubbles up.

[StanLee]

It doesn't matter what that Sony representative said because it's not true. There is no way to accurately report the number of consoles sold to consumers unless each person self reports. If you go to any online retailer or online reseller, or Mom and Pop outlets there are a number of consoles inventoried. That's because these outlets buy these consoles from Wholesalers. You go to Ebay right now and you can find a hundred online resellers selling new, in the box PS3s and each would say 10 or 15 in stock. These haven't been sold to consumers so how can they be reported as such? The Sony representative was talking out his ass.

[Zack Sawyer]

Ok so what makes that article proof exactly?

I spoke to a SCEE spokesperson the other day and he said they were preparing to drop billions of sponges into the oceans to soak up all of the worlds water and hold all countries to ransom.

See how that works? Just because I said that doesnt mean it happened.

Also how do these differ?

MS - "We count the number of units in the hands of consumers"

SCEE - "We classify 'sell through' as the number of units consumers have actually purchased from retail"

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

Then the next question should be:

How does Sony track sales to consumers (sell through)?

[gaffyh]

@fanboys above - Sell-through has a universal definition of "sales to actual customers"

http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...
http://dictionary.reference...

"the percentage of wholesale goods shipped that are actually sold AT retail" - notice it doesn't say TO retail.

example:
http://www.thebookseller.co...

example 2:
in Japan they calculate sell-through of games:
http://www.andriasang.com/e...

If they can do it for books and games, they can do it for electronics easily. You guys act like there is no possible way for them to calculate sales to customers, even if they showed you, you wouldn't believe it. Every news outlet even mentions that Sony calculates sales by Sell-through, and you still don't believe it.

[Zack Sawyer]

Ha ha ha, your calling us fanboys?!?!? Get real, do you know that you are in an Xbox360 thread? Where do you expect to find people that play and enjoy their 360? Whats going to happen if someone like you comes in here slagging off their console?

And you didnt answer my question? I never said that they couldnt track the sales, I could imagine that they can. But what makes that source from a spokesperson that for all we know didnt happen, proof?

And you also never gave me an answer about what the difference is between:

MS - "We count the number of units in the hands of consumers"

SCEE - "We classify 'sell through' as the number of units consumers have actually purchased from retail"

[snake_eater]

Ps3 with its upcoming exclusives will dominate moneybox360 soon bots will realise that, project anal will not save you its time to start selling your xboxs.

clearly sony's vision is way ahead of its competition

[MetalGearRising]

7 million thats gonna be hard for Sony to reach those figures but then again Uncharted 2 is soon to be released i'm sure that game bound to sell at least 1 Million in its life time so thats a good start.

[ultimolu]

Sure it will be. So when a consumer decides on a next gen console, which one will they choose if both are at the same price? And don't give me that crap about nobody cares about bluray because I will prove you wrong.

[OmarJA]

LOL! you lost kid?

[n4gn4gn4gn4g]

How is the USA the 'most important market'...wake up call to gamethirst...the EU market is bigger.

[soxfan2005]

The US is one country - it takes dozens of European countries combined to equal the US's numbers.

It's kind of like arguing that Tiger Woods is NOT the best golfer in the world because every other golfer has more wins COMBINED.

[Anon1974]

You say you can't count Europe altogether because the US is one country and Europe is made up of many countries.

Truth is, when you look at Europe and break it down per country, it's like breaking down the US per individual states. There's nothing wrong with comparing sales data that way, in fact, it makes more sense to look at Europe as a whole when comparing sales then to compare the US with 300 million people to France, for example, with 60 million.

[soxfan2005]

States don't have different currencies, languages, etc. It's not the same.

[Anon1974]

So we shouldn't count Europe as territory because they speak different languages?

Come on now. You can't compare a country of 60 million like France to a country like the US with 300 million. Use your head.

Do you think when Microsoft execs sit around a table, discussing software and hardware sales they say "US sales are up, but Spain has been disappointing."

Of course not. They look at European numbers, US numbers, Asian numbers. I can't believe anyone would argue that the EU shouldn't be considered a sales territory.

[Droid Control]

... but it won't last.

I wonder how many console World wide M$ are ahead by...

and how long before sony catches up, and the 360 slips to 3rd place>>>

[Ric Flair]

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Whoooooooooo !!!

[ultimolu]

...Lol!

[cooldude123]

Yes, the Europe market is bigger, but Americans purchase more games...

[Anon1974]

Have a look at weekly sales data from Europe compared to the US.
You'll see, if you take Halo ODST off the top, the other 9 software titles in the top 10, Europeans are buying far more games then the US is but when you throw Halo ODST to the mix, Halo is selling 3 times better in the US then Europe.

But keep in mind, 60% of the 360's sold were sold in the US, so of course Xbox titles will sell better in the US then in Europe.

[twoface]

Why would this console generation last another 3 years at most?

I still see a lot more to come with console life extenders like ps3-mote, natal and 3d (maybe even 4d). And yet the games too need time to evolve to take advantage of these new tech.

[Ju]

Yeah, I vote for 5d.

[niceboy]

7 million units lead? Men that' tough!

[Veneno]

This is the game industry. It's never too late to create awesome games.

[Vo_Cal]

Why are you guys upset? Just because it's a bad Sony story doesn't mean you should run through and defend it. Sony will eventually bounce back and pawn MS. They always have. MS will just have a stronger base for thier next generation console. You should welcome the competition, not b!tch about it. Grow up guys, UC2 is on the way!!

[TheBand1t]

k

[Blow Out Your Brains]

PS3 will never catch up because of the idiotic fanbase that continues to buy a new 360 everytime their last breaks. If SONY released faulty hardware maybe they would be winning....

[Sarcasm]

Even though that's a fanboy statement of yours, it might hold some truth to it.

I wonder how many 360s do 360 owners really buy. Some buy a second one as a backup.

Most PS3 owners are still with their original. (Except the minority of YLOD's and Blu-Ray drive failures)

[Jdoki]

My 360 is out of warranty - if it breaks I either have to pay for a repair or just buy a new one.

I have a launch model... tiny hard drive, no HDMI, loud DVD drive/fans and guaranteed faulty! (I am actually on my third 360, but they each went wrong in warranty but before the new motherboards were released).

If (or more likely, when) my 360 breaks I would be crazy to get it repaired, so MS would basically get a double sale off me. That may look great for their sales figures, but it's a skewed view - and I'm sure I'm not the only one in this situation. (Although to be honest I am happy enough with my PC, PS3 and Wii, so I'd have to think hard before spending money on another 360)

[thetruthinator]

How could the numbers be so inflated if there was a 3 year warranty for all Xbox 360 consoles?

Warranties are just now starting to end and it may just be STARTING to skew sales... a little

What you are trying to say is that for the past 3 years xbox owners have had their xbox break, and then they just went ahead and bought a new one despite the fact that they could have it replaced for free under warranty. Yes that would be idiotic... but i think claiming that this is the case isn't all that bright either

[xg-ei8ht]

How is M$ 7million ahead in the USA, I SMELL MB$.

[shazui123]

it probably is. But the ps3 is overall (except the USA) 3 million ahead everywhere else combined. Therefore the 8 mill lead MS had over sony in march has become 4 mill in just 7 months, sony are making a killing

[leeger]

maybe you should ask npd why......
The lead is around 7.6M now.

[Ju]

The lead is there. But consider this.

Launch - 2006: +4M lead (800k PS3 sold on launch)
2007: +2.6M
2008: +1.5M
2009: +0.6M - and complete stop since about Sept 1st (short interruption last week).

(these are per year numbers).

The biggest lead resulted from the launch year and the PS3 not being on the market. US kept building its lead here until recently. This growth completely stopped with the release of the PS3 slime (and got interrupted for last weeks Halo ODST release by about 6K units - bust has already been revoked this week with 85k vs. 70k units sold).

So, MS is consequently loosing ground in the US. Can the PS3 catch it? Not really if they don't double their sales in the US anytime soon, or MS drops out. Does it matter ? No really, as long as SW sales even out at some points. It doesn't matter how much you've sold in the past. Its important what you can do now and how you can out this install base to work. And the trend is clearly, that the PS3 is closing the gap in SW sales even in the US. MS has the benefit of some blockbuster exclusives like Halo (Gears and possibly CoD) to turn out to be mega sellers, but its more like a short spark then growing the base, overall.

[thetruthinator]

Well lets just say that NPD overestimated 360 sales by 50%... That still leaves about a 3.5 million console lead that would still take alot of time for sony to overtake. how much higher would ps3 sales have to be per month to pass a 3.5 mill 360 lead in 2 years? lets see.

3,500,000 / 24 months = 145,833 units

Thats quite a bit, almost double what ps3 typically sells each month AND assuming NPD 360 sales are actually double what they should be.

[Optical_Matrix]

It probably is in America alone though. Because The PS3 is behind about 7 million units. If that 7 million is in America alone it proves what I've been saying all along. The only reason 360 is ahead is because of America. The system is over 2.5 million ahead in Japan and 1 million ahead in Europe.

[themyk]

at this point in the game, if your still concerned about who is in second and who is in third. then you are a sad sad little person. just look to see what console puts out the most and the best games.

and if people can't tell that that console is sony then your just lying to yourself.

yes i know xbox live is great. but it's not that much better than psn to make you miss the games that are being made and released on ps3 only. i mean get over it.

who cares about who in second or third. i mean do you realize how stupid that argument is. it's not like either the ps3 or the 360 is in first or anywhere near first.

[Stationfan]

Who cares how far ahead a console is, i'm not a stockholder. Ill take the console ahead with Exclusives now, and exclusives coming in the future. Quality exclusives that is.

[R4mpage]

or Uncharted 2...I wonder if Uncharted 2 is going to move consoles in the US.

[Sir Ken_Kutaragi]

...NPD Sales coming... ;-D

7 million MY @SS!!! ;-D

+ 'Gamesthirst'??? Yep the ChatBots are Thirsty for some 'AAA' games!!! ;-D

Hmm...MAG beta or Uncharted 2 beta tonight for me??? Hmm... ;-P

[divideby0]

depends upon your definition of winning.

My 3rd 360 launch console sits as a dust collector. The large majority of the games I have purchased this year were for our PS3, not the 360 AND this trend will NOT stop, judging by my wallet, the PS3 will be consuming it, not the 360

[shazui123]

since the ps3 is 3 million ahead in all other territories combind then that 8 mil lead at the start of this year has then literally been halved, good for you sony! not so much for you MS

[00000000000000000001]

You don't need to purchase another 360 because MS will fix it for free. Unlike Sony they charge you an arm and a leg to fix your console.

[beastdude]

loser headstarts first.

[koehler83]

US is not the be all/end all of the world.

[dkgshiz]

Never believe anything M$ says. There units number is probably rigged.

[man0fsteel]

x-box = 31 million worldwide (SHIPPED) (as of August 27, 2009)
and
PS3 = 24.6 million (Sold-Through) (as of August 5, 2009)

Then how..

AHHH forget this article

[KILLERAPP]

If this numbers are correct then the PS3 is only 4 million behind the 360?

As of right now since the PS3 sold one million in three weeks in September, they sold like 1.2 million in September then the gap is really a lot closer than everyone thinks, wow.

[JackBNimble]

It's easy to say your winning the race when you start it early.
Mile for mile they have been running it at the same pace.
But like most long distance runners will tell you , if you don't pace yourself you will burn out and fall behind.

[BulletToothtony]

this new blog so serious.. according to MS and Sony's number the gap was only 6 mil a few months back..

[kaya]

If sony didn't have ms to compete with, then ps3 wouldn't be what it is today, neither would you have some of the great games you have today and visa-versa. We can even contribute a lot to the wii, so really who care how much each is selling?

But then again, I guess it's a good there are blind fan-boys running around like ya'll or that competition wouldn't be there either. So even though I think ya'll sound so stupid, I must say thanks for keeping the competition alive. As for me, I'm proud to own both great consoles, cause either way I win.

[tawak]

7 mil lead
5 mil is defective(rrod)

[RAM MAGNUMS]

After this holiday that 4 million lead will be gone.
Gone. Gone. Oh it hurts when it's gone. Gone. Gone.

[DonCorneo]

sony has 1 million lead in Europe and about 3 million lead in japan in Japan

7 -1 - 3 + (xbox's lead in asia/australia) = MS lead down to 5

hmmm.. suck to be you salesbots

LMAO!!1!

[Jamaicangmr]

"This generation Xbox 360 will win one market, the most important one, The United States Of America but the rest of the world belongs to Sony"

There goes your credibility azz whipe.

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

Wii??

[Counter_ACT]

Probably not any time soon in the US, but this Christmas I reckon the PS3 will decimate the 360 in Europe.

Also why is the US market the only one that matters? Pretentious prick.

[Jigga69]

The PS3 was out 1 year later.
The PS3 will live longer.

[KILLERAPP]

What is exactly the gap between the PS3 and 360? Can someone get some official numbers.

[The Stuttttterer]

7 Million units my A A A A A A Ass

[Halo_Reach]

7 milions ? More like 8 milions in the US.

Oh and since when is UK from Sony or Germany ?? LOL

Nice Try Fanboys...Or Even Austraulia ???? All Xbox 360 Where 360 blows Ps3 away.

And Wii Blows both and the same time.

I Believe more in VGChartz than in this crap.

[Omega Zues]

The official numbers will be impossible since MS counts numbers as shipped, not as sold.

Sony counts units as sold, not shipped.

So right now no one knows just how many units MS have actually sold.

[PoisonedTea]

Perversely, the best thing MS did was introduce the 3-year warranty for the XBOX360 (albeit under duress from the law). It's great to know in the back of your mind that when your console is going to fail, you can send it away and have it repaired for free - as long as it's in the 3 year warranty.

When you're buying the XBOX360, you're thinking, "3 years is a long time, who cares if it breaks? It'll be repaired." It's this kind of thinking on the part of overly-cautious consumers like myself that has possibly shifted a few more of the XBOX's. I know this kind of thinking entered my mind when I bought my XBOX360 Elite.

[Rowsdower]

single tear

[MetalGearBear]

YES!!!!!

[kenjix]

it seems that the arguments keep moving

No Games
Too Expensive
Online Sucks
MultiPlats are better
No RPGs
Winning UK and US
Multiplat sell better on xbox
now it's we're winning in just the US.

Wow how the tide has turned what's next after they announce that 7 million consoles are the result of 3.5 million rrod failure replacements more than once?

This must be the best victory article they could right.

[DonCorneo]

because half of the lead is the RRoDead brokeboxes

[Bumpmapping]

It's game over for M$,with Sony being around 5mil behind M$. This holiday I think Sony be 3-4 mill units behind Microshaft,assuring Sonys take over next year for the number two spot.

[JeffGUNZ]

The only way that will happen is if 360's stop selling all together. Which obviously won't happen. You are just speculating and your numbers are way off. Show facts and proof this will happen, if you can't, shut your mouth.

[snake_eater]

Total sales worldwide (as of august this year):

moneybox 360: 31m
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Playstation 3: 24.6m
http://en.wikipedia.org/wik...

Clearly the PS3 is dominating moneybox 360 around the world, more and more bots are selling their xboxs and buying PS3s eventually it will catch up xbox in the US, it's just a matter of time.

[DonCorneo]

we all know the ps3 sold 1 million in the first 3 weeks of sept. that means there are about 26 million ps3 out there now.

down to 5 million, bots. (one-year headstart)

and it sucks that there was no spike in brokebox hardware sales when ODLC was released.. sucks to be you, bots

[xg-ei8ht]

PoisonedTea

I do agree with you with that point u made, at least you have some insurance stp.

But in truth i'd love to know real numbers.

Do i think M$ is 7million infront in the US. Nope.Never,Nada.

I think the Gap is more like 4.5 million.

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

I would rather not argue numbers but...this guy is off

[PLAYSTATIONGENRATION]

Playstation will surprise us all...there was a time when they sold about 2 million a month worldwide and it will be nothing to have a sales splurge hell the wii did it

[TheMART]

Well thats about right, Europe is ahead 1 mln. then some other areas like Australia etc.

8 to 9 mln. ahead is about correct. And no, the PS3 won't catch up to that anymore this gen. The 360 will end up somewhere around 70 mln. this gen, the PS3 will end up around 50 to 60 mln. It all depends on the critical mass a machine gets in a certain region.

The critical mass in Japan weighs more heavy on PS3's side, thus mouth to mouth only drives it there, not the 360. USA the critical mass is on 360's side, PS3 is lost there. Europe is still in the middle a bit, although more on the 360's side. If Microsoft takes aggressive marketing, pricing and sales in the EU and the critical mass is reached there, its a certain win.

[The-Warranty]

8-9 mil? your telling me the lead increased since the slim launched?

How deluded are you?

[Bumpmapping]

Whatever makes you sleep better at night buddy.Don't worry M$ will come too the rescue next year for your gaming needs... Its called "NATAL" now you can look more of like a jackass, swinging you arms around at TV screen for "Entertainment",Whil e the adults will be playing their true superior exclusives on PS triple.

[JeffGUNZ]

He is actually pretty accurate. The Slim is going to be a short term boost, but that's all. The slim is a skinny PS3, that's all. After the holiday season, it will stop selling well. Microsoft won the US market and is winning the EU market. The lead in Japan is like 2.5, which is Sonys home turf, in America, the 360 is up 7-8 million. Bigger gap. Sony is a great system, but will not surpass the 360 in sales.

By the way; I thought all you PS3 users play games and not sales, so why do you people even care if the 360 outsells the PS3 or not. You are all such hypocrites it's unbelievable.

[RAM MAGNUMS]

360 is done.
Sales lead Is gone.

World wide ps3 outsold 360.
World wide the ps3 owns this generation.

Ms needs to bring out the 720 & it better cost $10 dollars around the world.

[Nathan Drake2]

on amazon ps3 is 14. and x360 22.the only difference is that you get 2 games bundled with x360 for the same price(299$).
you still thing 7 million is too much?

[Bgibbs]

I wonder if MS realizes there are more territories to worry about than just the US? Also wonder if they know their position in Japan

[Bumpmapping]

Fail Jeff you failed. I can sense the nervousness coming right out your post.You're scared just like M$ is, over the power of the Playstation brand....Deep down inside there's that gut feeling telling you that this holiday season is going to be Sony's victory.You can't come too terms with it.You and The mart live off sales, it makes you feel superior too every one else around you.With out that you guys are as vulnerable as taking candy from a baby.

[fr0sty]

360 is 7 million units ahead worldwide, not just the US.

and PS3 is closing in very fast... it closed the gap by 3/4 of a million units last month alone.

[McLuvn]

I just want me damn Sony exclusives.
They are piling up nicely.
360, not so much.

[lonix]

Fails in front

7milion defective units ahead of Sony something to be realy proud of
I'm sure 7 million modded consoles with thr red ring

[JackBNimble]

33% of 31 million is over 10 mil in RROD..... just saying.

It may even be higher then that nobody really knows the truth.

[Dead_Cell]

I can now pinch my nipple and orgasm face as I stroke my console of choice.

[RAM MAGNUMS]

Ms counts rrods as units shipped (back to the morgue) they repair or replace the unit & they count that too(delivered).

[NecrumSlavery]

It's 7mil world wide. It's ahead in JP and Euro, so this article us complete bullsh|t. And Sony is closing the game fast. So I think total sales are around 5 mil ahead. Also does this factor in which 360 idiots who purchased more than 1, 2, or 3 360s do to RRoDs.

[HOFFMAN99]

they're counting includes what was repaired and people who bought a new xbox because their original cant last over 2 years. Sony is making a huge comeback and the charts prove it buddy

[N2NOther]

I think Sony can easily make up that gap. Especially with how strong sales have been with the recent price drop.

Either way, I don't care because I have both consoles so who "wins" this sales war matters very little to me right now and in the foreseeable future.

[anatomyofme]

Microsoft counts resales from the rrod so HOW MANY PEOPLE really own 360's .... Its my belief that the lead isn't that big and if anything its TIED!!!!!!!

[keysy420]

if you look at the ps2 sales the difference between america and europe is like 2 millon not a big difference. Also the xbox doesn't have 11 million system sold. people like me have bought atleast six. ( i learned my lesson) so i dont really count as 1 even.

[ForROME]

Are you freaking that naive, what do you mean you cant count what retailers have sold? Retailers report stock and sell through to the distributors, if sony shipped Best Buy 120 units, they are told if they are down to 10 of them left telling SONY they sold 110, I have worked in the corporate office of a major retailer SONYs is much more fair of a install base then MS's. MS can report an extra million just because they are sitting on shelves and not sold.

[Mr_Showtime1]

Who gives a sh!t? I've got my consoles already and could care less about how many Sony or MS are selling.

[mayberry]

NEWS : Twinkies are outselling lemon zingers third year in a row!

ME : I still like lemon zingers alot better!

[ForROME]

WRONG Lemon ZINGERS tell you how much they sold is why, not shipped!

=p

[The Iron Sheik]

Unites? Apparently bots spell about as well as they count.

[spektical]

BUBBLES LOL!!!
haha that was good lol.

ps3 will surpass 360 in sales (not that i care). The 360 is ahead because it came out one year before ps3 and because of the so many RROD's.. i never get why this "journalists" fail to mention that (maybe they are being paid not to O.O ).

[mayberry]

Are we not understanding each others point? Mine is - twinkies "SELL" more but I like zingers better. All that matters to me! Not "SALES".
<edit> I see, yes, sold is better than shipped.

[Chevalier]

"That may look great for their sales figures, but it's a skewed view - and I'm sure I'm not the only one in this situation. (Although to be honest I am happy enough with my PC, PS3 and Wii, so I'd have to think hard before spending money on another 360) "

Exactly, I work at a game store and I get customers come in regularly saying they'll just buy an arcade with the better chipset and keep their hard drives to recover their gamer score/account. It'll take awhile, but, who knows if it'll happen.

It depends on if the momentum can be kept by Sony. If it continues till next year that PS3's in my store still sell more than 360's then I'll definitely have to say yes. Right now my store is easily selling 3-4 PS3's for every 360 sold, but, it's only one store. When I started working at the store it was ALL 360 sales, now, going into the same period last year that is not the case at all. The PS3 is doing very very well overall.

[bjornbear]

me to care about sales at this point...Sony leads in Japan and Europe...USA is BIGGEST market but...seriously, who wants it to outsell anyway? Sony beat the crap out of everyone with PS1 AND PS2...let even if they remain 3rd (which in all honesty i doubt they will) it won't matter.

Whats more alarming is that Xbox hasn't been 1st in 2 generations...and they seem to be heading the Sega way (pointless extra costs, never being 1st in sales, milking main franchises, etc...)

[HypnoticMonkey]

Does it even matter if they catch up or not? The orignal Xbox "lost" to the PS2 but did that change anything? Not really.

[Henry Cain]

This is a bull$h!t article! How can this guy say that America is the only country that counts. Thats funny not to long ago M$ was trying to win the Japanese console market. Now that M$ has lost that market. America is the only country that counts. It won't matter in the long run, because worldwide sales count more than just American sales.

[tetsuhana]

And why is the US the most important market???? Oh yeah cause the dollar is so much stronger than the Yen, Euro and GBP....I forgot.

[Silent]

This is the real eqation
7Millions 360s divided by RRoDs

[stonecold1]

final fantasy 13 and versues will put xbox 360 in last place

[Forklift]

Why do any of you care how much either console is selling? Do sales affect the quality of the games that you enjoy? Microsoft is ahead and Sony is catching up; does it matter? The PS2 outsold the Xbox; does that make Jet Set Radio any less fun to play? Will Killzone 2 become a better game if the PS3 overtakes the 360?

Neither Microsoft nor Sony is your friend. Both are out for your money, and nothing else. Both companies will ultimately do whatever it takes to make as much money as possible, regardless of what is good for the industry. Both companies are guilty of shameful business practices. Both companies have made lousy hardware (the PS2 was a piece of junk, as well. Remember?); ironically, inferior hardware seems to win console wars. The Gameboy beat the Game Gear and Neo Geo Pocket., the PS2 beat the Xbox and Gamecube. The 360 is ahead of the PS3. Rinse and repeat. What the hell does any of it matter?

[devilhunterx]

In other news, XB2 needs a miracle to actually sell a console in Japan.

[Bathyj]

Can I say this one more time.

Its hilarious that fanboys dont think Sony can calculate SOLD to customers based on shipments and retail feedback, but they think Microsoft counts RRoDs and deducts them off their shipped numbers.

Do you see want I'm getting at?

7m lead - 1m in stock,(not sold) - (lets say 25%) RRod = 4.5m.

Yes that will be impossible to catch.

Actually it will be pretty hard if M$ keep spitting out a Halo game every 6 months.

[madpuppy]

to abandon the one with the least sales. that is not going to happen when all consoles on the market have been sold in multiples of millions. Now, what really confuses me is the loyalty people have for the Xbx360, I can understand if some haven't had a problem with theirs (yet). But, most everybody I have known or have come across have replaced a broken 360. and alot of times more than once. I personally have had to replace mine 3 times. (All warranted out) Frankly, I am tired of it. Owning a 360 is like getting involved with a really pretty and fun girl, you think you have a good relationship with them till one day you come home to find she is in bed with your best friend...and your dog. after that you want nothing to do with her, if you are normal. But, these people that have to go out and replace the 360 out of pocket, must be the biggest tools on the face of the planet. It's like they decided to marry that useless slut and defend her unfaithful, disease ridden body any chance they get. "I know she has the clap(red ring/E74), but, the doctor gave her a cream (MS warrantee) and it's all good now.

As for me I am kicking that unfaithful whore out of my house and getting a really nice faithful PS3. ( ahem, my second, just for the bedroom)