Analysis: Xbox 360, PS3's 'Reversal Of Fortune' Down To Modern Warfare 2

Gamasutra analyst Matt Matthews looks at Microsoft's surprise Xbox 360 hardware win in U.S. November sales as part of today's NPD analysis, linking it to Modern Warfare 2's launch and a resulting surge of Xbox-centric console buyers -- also touching on Wii and PSP sales.

[30sec]

So the 360 increased its sales (compared to last year) by 16k? And the PS3 increased its sales over 300k, while the Wii dropped by almost 800k? Yeah, I guess it is a reversal of fortune :)

EDIT: Thanks for the correction Sangria.

[Sangria]

Mmmh no, compared to last year, it decreased. In November 2008, 836.000 units were sold while in November 2009, 820.000 units were sold. So year-to-year, it decreased by 16k while PS3 increased by 332.000 units.

According to the diagram, only the DS and the PS3 increased in sales on a year-to-year comparison.

[raztad]

I agree that MW2 played a relevant role but why people is overlooking that 1m banned xboxs? most of them FOR SURE got another xbox.

[Mike134nl]

The hackers actually already found a way to unban themself, if I remember correctly

[StanLee]

What I want to know is how many XBox Live gold subscriptions Microsoft saw with the launch of Modern Warfare 2. Not only would new console owners buy gold subscriptions but friends of mine who didn't have gold subscriptions in more than a year bought new gold subscriptions.

[silvacrest]

from what i have read it is pretty complex to unban your self, so unless it gets easier i wouldn't get that to make much difference

@raz, i totally agree, as if someone is gonna let there 20+ games go to waste when they could easily buy a replacement arcade, some people are delusional

[BadboyCivic360]

to be honest, PS3 and 360 did well, its the wii that really fell off...

[deadreckoning666]

"most of them FOR SURE got another xbox."

Raztad, I find that impressive. No one forced consumers to buy another 360. They could have bought a PS3 if they wanted to. The 360 and PS3s are the same price now.I don't thk people are giving M$ proper credit. For a banned person to just get another 360 so quickly is a HUGE example of brand loyalty.

M$ did something SMART, yet the hate continues...*sigh*

@below- When u get banned, u can't play ANYTHG. Offline or online. Everything is in the terms of service.

[travelguy2k]

wasn't it just the live account that got banned. Counld't you just by another live account and be good to go. I realize you would lose you gamer score and all, but you don't need a new 360 do you?

[GrieverSoul]

Once again its here... the US sales results! The US!!! The UUU...SSS...

I just wish for once we would get a global charts across the platforms. Including JAPAN and EUROPEAN markets as well other regions across the globe. Then we would see how sales are going.

By the way, 4 million users are now on the PS3 Modern Warfare 2 leaderboards. Even if 15% are duplicate accounts its still impressive.

[Ju]

If MW2 was the one responsible for the increase in sales, then I would imagine, MS could report also an increase in XBox live memberships. Surprisingly, these haven't been reported, yet. (Even one month free memberships require new registration). If those haven't increased by much, I guess its legit to assume, a big chunk of sales went to existing users.

Also, MW2 sold reportedly 6.7M by now. The increase is possibly around 200K. A relatively low number compared to the numbers the game sold.

[lowcarb]

"I just wish for once we would get a global charts across the platforms. Including JAPAN and EUROPEAN markets as well other regions across the globe. Then we would see how sales are going."

It would be nice to have a world chart but why? These are US numbers were talking about not the other markets. Why can't you just accept the fact that as of right now (maybe always who cares) PS3 is in 3rd but starting to really gain momentum? Wii seems to be possibly slipping and with the introduction Natal and the wand (or I forgot what SOny's calling it) both company's might get huge new face lift late next year.As long as Sony keeps delivering great games is all that matters.

[Somnipotent]

correct me if i'm wrong but the reported hack to unban oneself would require a new console anyway as you'd have to use a new cpu id. plus, most people would think it easier to cough up the $199 and just swap HDD. all in all, i'm a firm believer that MS did this intentionally around the release of MW2 because they just banned the hardware and not the gamertag itself which would allow anyone to just pick up where they left off. ingenious, albeit low (but then again, it is Microsoft you know), but it makes sense.

@ dead

wrong, you can still play ur games offline, you just can't log into XBL.

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

I think MS did really well considering last year they had a price cut and this year the PS3 is the same price as the Elite i.e. the value proposition is shifting in PS3s favor. Sony by all means did great as well considering they don't have a $200 SKU.

What most likely happened is you buy the console/game for the platform that your friends are playing on and the 360 has a larger user base in the U.S.

@ju

Notice that the average selling price of the 360 went up significantly. This suggest that these are new buyers or upgraders, not replacers.

"While we are not privy to the number of Xbox 360 systems bundled with the Modern Warfare 2, we can observe that the average price of Microsoft's system appears to have seen a significant increase in its average selling price in November." - gamasutra

@deadreckoning666
Banning only affects certain features on the console and you can still play it offline. The Xbox Live account is fully functional, so no need to buy a new subscription.

[raztad]

I find rather funny someone disagreeing with me in my first post. Some delusion perhaps?

Is there anyone really thinking that 1m banned are all playing PS3/Wii games now? I still remember some comments from xbox fans arguing that the most probable scenery for those banned was to get another xbox, something I agree with.

@dead

Considering how many xbox users keep going back to the same console RROD after RROD, I wouldnt be surprised. Friends, game collection could be a powerful attractor for some. Besides to pirate on the PS3 is not a viable option, so why would them?

[Guitarded]

First of all, english is not your first language, is it?

Second, there were not one million 360s banned.

Third, well, that is where the PS3 wound up in November NPD.

Funny you should mention RRoD too. Why wouldn't I go back if Microsoft fixes it for free for three years. Even if I had to buy a second one after three years I will have a warranty until the next generation. I have absolutely no problem with that considering last generation and every one before, that was a disc based system, I had to buy a new system or have it repaired at my cost within a year and a half. Including 2 PS2 fats in less then a year(90 day fat warranty sucked, so did DRE). I had three different 360s in three years and only paid for one.

Thank you for reminding me RRoD saved me money!

[Lifendz]

but if you got banned, and you had a substantial library of games, are you really going to buy a PS3 and take the hit on trading all those games in? Even if you sell them yourself you're still going to take a major loss on those games. Nah, those guys weren't forced to get another 360 but I highly doubt they didn't. Between Modern Warfare 2, the massive bans, and the holiday season, it's no surprise that MS pushed more units than Sony.

And keep in mind that MS has a cheaper sku on the market. But all that aside, everyone did well. Nintendo may be falling down to earth but they're still on a different level than Sony or MS when it comes to sales. MS needs to refocus on Sony because Sony is right there with MS now when it comes to sales.

[raztad]

@Guitarded

Nope, English it's not my native language. Did I say something wrong? I would like to improve. Feel free to PM.

I mention RROD because I know that is something that actually happened. When people is attached to certain hardware some things can be overlooked.

EDIT: I'm not quite sure but from your post it seems you are saying RRoD is something good. Thats funny. I obviously dont agree with that, under any condition.

[Ju]

"Notice that the average selling price of the 360 went up significantly"

Not necessarily, since the $299 MW2 bundle would possibly have compensated the Arcade price for those wanting the game anyhow. That said, the ban was absolutely timed right.

[FarEastOrient]

What about the sales through Wal-Mart and Amazon, they are not included in NPD numbers.

[sikbeta]

We all know MW2 helped M$ sold more consoles, so this is old news and xboyz still claiming a victory whereas Sony obviously sold more in Japan than M$, but they don't care cuz they think USA is the only country in the world and even with wii that sold less than 2008 but still being first in sales in America only

A quote from the Gamasutra article "NPD: Behind the Numbers, November 2009" page 2:

[ http://www.gamasutra.com/vi... ]

"As with almost everything in November 2009, a key factor was the launch of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Clearly the Xbox 360 is the preferred platform for this game, and Microsoft has made multiplayer games and Xbox Live a key selling point for its system.

While we are not privy to the number of Xbox 360 systems bundled with the Modern Warfare 2, we can observe that the average price of Microsoft's system appears to have seen a significant increase in its average selling price in November.

That suggests that consumers were buying the Modern Warfare 2 bundles and possibly a higher proportion of the $300 Xbox 360 Elite systems, the ones geared for online gaming out-of-the-box"

[Sarcasm]

MS tactics is definitely cunning. 1 million Live bans before the biggest multi-player game of the year. MW2 bundle (which is a pretty good deal for the consumer so that's not really a bad thing.) Multiple price drops or rebates. And lastly they're usual horde of advertising MW2 as an exclusive game.

So yes, MS succeeded with the MW2 plan.

However, in contrast Sony's ad campaigns were excellent, and 720,000 consoles in one month is still very good especially compared to last year. And they'll make up any loss ground starting this weekend with FFXIII releasing in Japan.

Overall a good holiday for all consoles. I'm not even going to start on the Wii since it's like a freight train with no end in sight. NSMB Wii is a fun great title for the whole family, and personally I'd buy a Wii just for that title too.

[Sarcasm]

"What about the sales through Wal-Mart and Amazon, they are not included in NPD numbers."

Yes they are. This is where the inaccuracies come from NPD though. They do something similar to VGchartz where they "estimate" the portions from those retailers.

So in a way, NPD isn't as accurate as everyone believes.

[badz149]

I think when MW2 launched, 360 outsold the PS3 heavily, heavier than anybody would have thought but on Black Friday week, we had news that the PS3 sold almost 1/2 a million and there was no specific comment from M$ camp besides they sold double their previous week's number. so, IMO, Black Friday actually saved the PS3 from being outsold too much in November thanks to MW2.

but based on this one;

http://defaultprime.com/200...

Japan:
PS3 - 360 = 168,733 - 16,573 = 152,160 (PS3)

NA:
360 - PS3 = 819,500 - 710,400 = 109,100 (360)

So,
Japan - NA = 152,160 - 109,100 = 43,060 *(PS3)*

there are things both camps can enjoy but unless the 360 had managed to outsell the PS3 >43,060 consoles in EU and other countries, PS3 won November but with THAT small margin worldwide, I think, it's was stalemate!

but there's no more huge game launch for any console anywhere else but Japan left this year! FFXIII is going to do serious damage to 360 in Japan! (although I think damage is already done enough!)

[IdleLeeSiuLung]

"Not necessarily, since the $299 MW2 bundle would possibly have compensated the Arcade price for those wanting the game anyhow. That said, the ban was absolutely timed right."

Do you really think that a $400 MW2 (I'm assuming you meant $400 not $300) console sold in a recession will make such a significant impact alone? In contrast the PS3 whom overall should bring more value is just sold at $300. That is quite a compliment.

Now coupled that with the console banning, and we now expect a larger number of replacers buying the Arcade. MS has in the past said that their most sold SKU is the Pro, so I expect the Elite to take it's place now and to compensate for this.

Either way, that means that there must be an insane amount of owners owning MW2 on the 360, since the bundled game isn't counded in NPD.

[Alcon Caper]

The 360 sold more in November then the PS3? How'd I miss that?

[raztad]

LOL. You literally have been living under a rock these lasts days. On NPD day N4G exploded.

[Alcon Caper]

that's hilarious

[StanLee]

When Sony announced Black Friday sales, the PS3 fanboys flooded N4G predicting the PS3 would outseld the XBox 360 2 to 1 and I said then many would be crying when the NPD was released but alas, fanboys never really pay attention do they; they just rant.

[TheHater]

Here, I will copy and paste my previous comment because I am too lazy to rewrite it.

So the PS3 basically outsold the xbox 360 by about 152K last month in Japan according to Media Create and the xbox 360 out sold the PS3 by 100K in North America.
That means that the PS3 outsold the xbo 360 by 52K for the month of November in Japan and North America.

In the US, the xbox 360 outsold the PS3 in November by 100k, while the PS3 outsold it by 152k in Japan. So in actually, the PS3 outsold the xbox 360 by 52k worlwide last month when looking at the PS3 and Xbox 360 sales from Japan and the United States

[AssassinHD]

In the US, but the PS3 outsold the 360 by a greater margin in Japan, so the PS3 actually outsold the Xbox 360 in November. That is of course not factoring in EU numbers, but there are no solid numbers to factor in.

Edit: It seems I am 20 minutes late with this response. I see TheHater beat me to it.

[Darkeyes]

@TheHater... If you look at VGZ (don't want to, but what alternative do we have?), PS3 outsold the 360 by a good 400K in November and is ahead by 150K in the early first week of December...

http://www.vgchartz.com/mon... (scroll down to see the figures of hardware).

Not bad considering 360 outsold it by 100K in America.... Japan is the place 360 got pwnd bad last month where PS3 sold 50K consistently per week and 360 sold around 20K overall.. And the rest is Europe, but still shocked that it outsold the 360 by another 200-300K in Europe with the price difference being nearly 150-180$!!!

[TheHater]

Sorry dude, I don't trust VGchartz and their made up numbers.
I am using the official Media Create and NPD numbers for Japan and the US.

Media Create: http://www.nintendoeverythi...

[Darkeyes]

Yup Hater even I am not sure about VGZ numbers, but history has shown that they always give low numbers for PS3 and so if that holds true, then the gap might be more than 400K.... But still I think 400K is a little bit too much... I am guessing somewhere around 200-300K in November, but can't really tell what figures are true....

December is all PS3 man, with FF13 releasing in Japan, expect complete console ownage (includes Wii) in Japan and am thinking the MW2 and Banners boost 360 got will at least lose effect in December (at the most I am pretty sure PS3 and 360 both will break even in US)... So I expect PS3 to end the year strong and man early next year is gonna be sweet...

[Guido]

No sir, what's hilarious is the 1:10 ratio in sales that the PS3 gets over the 360 in Japan. What we have seen this November in North America is a slight giggle but not quite hilarious.

[SilentNegotiator]

Some World Wide estimates say different.

But NPDs don't even include Wal-Mart Sales (One of the biggest retailers in the US), how credible/accurate can they seriously be?

Sales don't mean much anyway, so long as they're going well.

[badz149]

I think a proper word would be "imploded"!

[SpinalRemains138]

Yes it is a sad truth. The fanboys who spam the board are probably failing high school economics class too. I can't understand the fanaticism that they exhibit.

[Guido]

Some may have failed economics here but not me. Having studied economics and sociology, I can see just exactly why the fanboys enjoy seeing sales of their favorite console. I also see how the PS3 is still in the lead world wide so please, don't talk trash unless you have the wisdom to back it up.

[avengers1978]

Everyone that was banned or that had there 360 RRod had to rebuy one and in november they had some impressive deals. The MW2 bundle was a good deal, wal-mart had 100 dollar 360's, and on black friday best buy gave away 6 games with the 360 not good games but 6 free games non the less. November was the first time in along time that the 360 actually out sold the PS3...even with over a year long lead on the shelves the 360 is barely ahead of the PS3 in sales. Halo:Reach footage using a new engine showed really just how out dated the 360 hardware is.

[BakedGoods]

Yeah, Microsoft's smart. Banning consoles instead of Live ID's = more sales. One million consoles were banned, if half--even less--a quarter--no, a tenth of banned gamers bought another 360 for the biggest shooter/hacker-fest of the year that's 100k in sales alone.

Compared to Sony who seemed to achieve new consumers rather than the repurchasing of their own base, it's hard to look at the 360's numbers as overwhelmingly positive.

[GrieverSoul]

This man speaks the truth!
Let him be heard!

XD

[TheBand1t]

Y'know, I llike my PS3, but this idea that MS banned a bunch of pirates who were illegally downloading games just to get more sales is incredibly stupid, to say the least.

[deadreckoning666]

@TheBand1t- Ummm, how was what M$ did "stupid". IT WORKED. Where have you been?

[Ju]

It worked pretty well. I would rather say, 10% is way too underestimated.

[TheBand1t]

....:/

I'm saying that the idea that they only banned them JUST to get more sales is stupid.

[AssassinHD]

Just to play Devil's advocate Bandit, one has to question why Microsoft did not combat piracy like this before. If their goal is to combat pirates, then why not do it all year long? I am not making this post to be anti-Microsoft, but merely for the discussion value. I do love a good conspiracy theory.

[TheBand1t]

It is, perhaps, entirely plausible that they had no way of accurately tracking the pirates.

[Guitarded]

Microsoft has done bans at least once a year since 360 launch. Some years up to three times. In fact I believe there was one earlier this year also.

In any case, IF Microsoft used the pirates to boost sales, as has been implied here many times, that seems perfectly fair. You reap what you sow.

EDIT: By the way, there were not one million consoles banned. A little research goes a long way.

[kneon]

I'm sure the banning of pirates was primarily about getting rid of pirates, which is a good thing which I support 100%. But the timing was primarily about boosting sales. If they had done this during a dead period for big games then the repurchases would have been spread out over time and wouldn't have created any substantial monthly sales increase even though in the end the total may have been the same. There may have also been a few % extra people that given time may have migrated platforms.

Timing it just before MW2 guaranteed that a lot of people would rush out and buy a new box. They can't risk waiting and falling behind on their online stats and looking like a noob :)

[Ju]

I don't understand that. If piracy is such a problem and MS is so serious about it, why not make this an ongoing process?

I mean, obviously, they do have a way to detect modded machines. Why not simply ban it as soon as it hits the network. Why announce it or even make a big fuss out of it ?

[Sarcasm]

"I'm saying that the idea that they only banned them JUST to get more sales is stupid."

You have to think about it this way bandit, why did MS ALLOW these pirates to accumulate up to 1 million? If anything, they should have been proactively banning accounts at an early rate to really discourage pirates.

Why did they wait until the holiday season and again right before the biggest MP game this year. Despite anyone's opinions on MW2, nobody can deny the huge selling power of that title.

[The EDGE]

couldn't have said it any better bakeedgods.

[The EDGE]

btw sorry for miss spelling your name, was in a hurry.

[Armyntt]

Funny how PS3 fanboys say MS banned the modders just for a increase in sales. This whole time i thought they did it to stop pirates.

[GrieverSoul]

As BakeGoods said, if they wanna ban pirates they should ban their ID´s instead of their consoles. If I mod my console or hack it by any means, its probably that I´m going to do it again! If thats true, why doesnt MS ban my LIVE ID and my subscription?! Its like an offense but with diferent weapons, its still the same criminal!

[beardpapa]

they could've just banned the id or they could've just released a new firmware update like they usually did. But nope. Console ban! If I were a pirate, I would rather pick up a cheap new arcade than to stare at my modded box and not be able to play any new XBLA, demos, or even stream anything from WMC. And shoot that sucked hard with MW2 coming out. The ban was perfect timing.

But hey! Bayonetta was out on the forums two weeks ago... so pirates are bound to stay and get on crackin.

[sorceror171]

GrieverSoul - Two problems with banning IDs instead of consoles.

First, what if you log in on your buddy's console, not knowing it was modded? Your ID gets banned. MS can avoid that whole situation by just banning the console and not the IDs on it.

Second, not banning the IDs works in MS's favor. Imagine you're a pirate and your console's been banned. What do you do? You've still got X months on your Live subscription, but no console to play with. You *could* go buy a PS3... losing those months, and the games in your library (online ones, anyway). Or you could just buy a new Arcade and move the drive over...

[beardpapa]

hey sorceror, I was under the impression that the drive got "locked" from the ban too wasn't it? I'm just glad I didn't do that mod to put a bigger drive in the system, especially after reading some that the mod doesn't really work with anything larger than 120g.

[sorceror171]

beardpapa - Read the last question here:

http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/s...

"Can I move my hard drive to an unmodified console?

Yes, to an unmodified console."

[The EDGE]

armyntt, though i cant disagree completely i say it was probably for both pirates and sales.

[DJ]

Yet they sold slightly fewer consoles than last November in North America. They must have made up for that deficit with European sales.

Gamasutra did a good analysis, and their prediction of PS3 pulling ahead of 360 in North America for December 2009 makes sense.

[Darkeyes]

Lol VGZ claims PS3 ahead of the 360 by 140K in December (the first week only), so not far fetched... Must give M$ a clap man... They knew what they were doing when they cut the price and introduced the MW2 bundle.. a Week later BAM ban 1 million off LIVE and you have all of them racing to buy a new Arcade and swap their earlier HDDs.....

Funny thing is VGZ also says PS3 outsold the 360 worldwide by 400K in November.... We saw it outsold the 360 by a good 200-250K in Japan, but I doubt PS3 outsold the 360 by 250K in Europe as well(compensating 100K in Europe).. But if it did, then great news as the gap of 6 million will shrink fast....

[wpggamer]

They were talking about total revenue. That includes hardware, software, and accessories. For that, they have to go kiss IW's behinds. 4.2 Million of one game, not to mention almost a million AC2 and LFD2. They dominated the software charts in terms of $$.

Anyone else still shocked at the DS? I still can't believe Mario Kart DS is in the top 20 worldwide. That'll never get a price drop.

[Cure]

they banned 1 million user during the biggest game this year.

those million user clearly went and bought themselves a 360 again.

MS are smart...they keep ripping you ppl off and yet you keep going back.

MS = Smart

ppl = stupid

im sure that is one reason why MS took PS3 in november.

[Guitarded]

A differing opinion does not equal stupidity. However, calling someone stupid because they have a different opinion is another matter better discussed in the Open Zone.

[Darkshader]

My coworker bought the HDTV + XBOX 360.

I told him why? His response, because it is cheap and cannot afford the PS3 bundle.

Don't you know that MS haven't fix the RROD issue, and my coworker said ... i didn't know that.

Yup a lot of customers got tricked by MS this November. So before buying an electronic appliance, do your homework first regarding the product.

[we won]

Now PS3 fanboys are doing damage control for the NPD. At least this isn't as pathetic damage control as the Halo Reach video denial. What happened to the articles saying all those 360 hackers would go to the PS3 because of the bans? So does this mean PS3 sales would have been much worse if it weren't for the hackers leaving the 360?

MWF2 sales on the 360 beat the PS3 version by almost 3 to 1, so it's clear people that decided to buy a next gen console, purchased the 360 for the extremely controversial game hence the 5 million plus sales on the 360(as of now, most likely)

What did Micro do ban the disc themselves? That's it! Microsoft banned the discs as well as the consoles, that is why MWF2 sold so many copies because people were buying two copies of the disc lol.

[user3915800]

BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT, BUT, my PS3 its still the gayest I tell you.
Ps3 the biggest flop in video-game history, beside Atari Jaguar and Dreamcast. An excellent flop only comes once in a decade and PS3 got that title this decade.

But what should I do, they are making fun of me... First it was the boomerang, then the sixasses, then the pink dildo, now the pink console, then The BBQ grill, and now I want everyone to stop, we dropped the price of the console and its the same as the 360 and we have blu-ray and you still dont love me? Why? Oh! Why do you treat me like a spanking wh@re? Because droids are just that, now get over it and cry like the little pink girls you are.

[ceedubya9]

"Ultimately the decision to purchase a console probably comes down to what the consumer feels is the best value for his gaming dollar."

I'm not one to question what people consider "value," but if you have to go by what you get for you money, and throwing Modern Warfare 2 into the equation, how can an informed consumer not see the PS3 as the better value?

Now, I love Live, and I pay for it to play online...and yes, I play Modern Warfare 2 on that console. But, I already had a 360 and live service before the release of this game, and could have chosen to buy the PS3 version if I wanted. But, if I was trying to buy a console for this game, and get the best deal for my money, then I would have surely gotten the PS3 due to the BR player and playing online without a subscription fee.

If Modern Warfare 2 really made this much of a difference for 360 sales, then it would seem to me that Sony really missed out on capatalizing on their current good fortune by not really hitting home the free online play capabilities of the PS3. I know that their adds say that "It only does everything," but I really think this is an area that they should really focus on showing the consumers. "Why spend 50 bucks top play Modern Warfare 2 online when you can do it for free and spend that 50 bucks on a new hot PS3 exclusive like Uncharted 2?"

The 360 is becoming a big part of pop culture (in the US anyway). Lots of times that can overshadow an equal or better product, like the ipod vs. other mp3 players.

[kneon]

The main focus of so many games now is the online multiplayer, and it's especially true of MW2.

I assume most people would prefer to play online with their friends so you have a very strong incentive to get the same console as them. In the US that means you are more likely to get an XBox. That is going to take a while to overcome. Sales of the PS3 are up dramatically since the price drop and as more people get PS3s then there will be more people playing online via PSN. But this is going to take time.

Also I agree that Sony missed the boat with no real advertising promoting the value of their console. line up the 3 consoles and compare them feature for feature and the Wii and XBox are a complete rip off in comparison. Unfortunately the non-hardcore gamer consumer is largely unaware of these facts. And these are indeed facts, no sane XBox fan can reasonably argue that an XBox gives you more, or even the same features for your money that you would get with a PS3. And no a $10 headset doesn't make up for the lack of free online play, WiFi, BlueRay or rechargeable controller batteries as standard issue.

There are only two real reasons to pick up an XBox, the games you want to play are XBox exclusives and/or the people you want to play online with are on live.

[theunknown]

Well said, both of you.

[ironmonkey]

ms only just bans ur xbox from playing online as for burned games those are still playable ms are not capable of freezing ur xbox from playing games theres no such thing and as for bayonetta being leaked on the net now, these banned player can still download it and still play it. ms only won the online play part but the burned games are still 100% playable

[Stevo35]

You can speculate on why this is... like me.
I think M$ put some money into so people's pockets. After all, did MW2 even release on anything but the Xbox? Here are a couple recounts of my tuesday, the day MW2 was released.

I went to Bust Buy and there was the National Guard, posters everywhere, tables of MW2 stuff.. all XBOX. I had to go to the normal PS3 section to pick up my game. Then a friend calls me. He says he was at Gamestop and the guy in front of him in line had MW2 for PS3. The employee says to the customer "You're not buying that for the Play Station, are you? You should only play this on the XBOX because it has better online gaming." Well I about came on-glued!

Why would this be this way? My guess is M$ paid these companies to do this. (BTW, I am not saying the NG took money, they were just there for effect)

[we won]

Oh teh timing, Micro timed it lol. Why risk people getting it on PS3 by banning just before the game comes out? They did the banning because the cheaters would fuc things up for the biggest game of they year on their platform. Microsoft always bans cheaters, SDF mad an issue of it, to use the issue as an excuse just in case.

PS3's YOY sales were poor for just having such a huge drop despite the increase and Wii decreasing it's YOY sales after it just had a price drop is a slight blow too.

Sony are selling Blu-ray players to families with small children, this is why PS3 exclusives flop and multi platform games sell the best on the PS3 vs its exclusives yet sell like crap in comparison to the 360 versions. Micro is carrying this industry in the console market and are the bread winners for developers.

[Udidntlistenpunk]

We have the games, you are playing DLC from 2 year old games.

giggles.

Thats pathetic.

PS3 sales are superior to 360 sales and PS3 is just getting started.

[ndibu]

100 K units more sold, no debate necessary. It does not matter to microsoft, or even sony for that matter how you think they achieved it, THEY ACHIEVED IT, move on.
ds vs psp anyone? I've noticed a general lack of fanboyism on this topic, what gives sdf?

[evileric1976]

forgotten about the 800,000 plus banned 360s? Does anyone find it a little shady that they pulled a mass banning just before the release of the biggest game of the year and the holiday shopping season? Does anyone think that maybe that helped 360 sales just a little? With everyone constantly blowing up about sony doing this or microsoft doing that over the littlest things how are the banned xboxes getting swept under the rug? I know that 360 owners have no problems with buying multiple 360s but seriously you would think they would be satisfied with the red ring rebuy results. Why do they not just ban the hackers as they come? why all at once? Can anyone give me a serious answer to these questions? if so please post.

[we won]

Stop your crying the 360 beat PS3 in hardware sales and also out sold the PS3 in software across the board. Were people buying more than one copy of games too now? lol

[Guitarded]

When my 360 red ringed, twice, I didn't buy a new one. Microsoft fixed it for free, twice.

You must be one of those people that companies like so much. The people that don't send in rebates or use warranties.

Also, I second what we won wrote.

EDIT: Something strange is going on with the agree/disagree system. When I tried to hit agree on we won's comment it states I have already voted when I have not. Strange indeed!?

EDIT#2: Why it is so important to you escapes me, yet I will attempt to give you a serious answer to your question about mass banning as opposed to individual banning. It takes fewer man hours to do a mass ban then an individual ban every time one pops up. Also they have to verify data so as not to unfairly ban someone. I expect that you won't consider those good enough reasons, but I tried.

[Udidntlistenpunk]

oh wait, it never red ringed. Never mind.

[Budg3tG4m3r]

Will the excuses never end? Gamblers that put their money down and lose allways have excuses as to why they lose. In the end it's because the other guy just had better cards. Stop with the excuses and just deal another hand.

[bjornbear]

PS3 owns europe n japan, if it owned US we wouldn't be having this flame war just about now =P

[BrianC6234]

Sneaky Micro$oft. Ban over a million 360s so you can increase your November sales.

[gamehistoryx]

People that got banned deserved it. Stop stealing and cheating.

[gamehistoryx]

M$ pretty much pushed Sony into lowering their price down to $299. Now Sony has no more room to lower that price for a few years now since they reported a $1 billion dollar lost in the first quarter of 2009 because of the PS3. M$ wins November, Uncharted 2 hype is dying. MW2 is the hype for some time to come. In 2010 M$ will drop the price of the Elite to $199 and the Arcade to $149. Natal is coming out next fall for around $79 will also be bundled with a Xbox Natal system for around $279. Now the two big system seller that Sony has for 2010 is GOW3 and GT5, but Sony has no room to lower its price in 2010. Natal+Xbox price drop+ Halo Reach+ Splinter Cell+Alan Wake will have a stronghold on Sony in 2010. The PS3 has been in 3rd place since it was released in 2006 and it might still be there in 2010.

[OSIRUSSS]

MS wins the NPD but their one year lead gets smaller. Why is that? Can Anyone answer this for me?

[Darkshader]

Yup i still believe that PSN will be free to play online or against other players.

If SONY will charge lets say $1-$5/month that will be:
- Cross Chat
- Beta Testers
- Exclusive DL Content
- Avatars
- Exclusive clothing, furniture, trophy room, apartment for HOME
- Discounts prices for downlable Movies and maybe PSN games
- Dedicated servers for Multiplayer games
- Watch Anime, TV series and Sports
- Free shipping if you buy PS3 games from SONY

something like that ... =)

[xg-ei8ht]

I have the real numbers in my hand.

88 two fat ladies.

Who cares, it's a big of fun taking the p^ss outta the other consoles, heck i have all 3.