December 2012 NPD: Microsoft's response, Xbox 360 sells 1.4 million

As usual, Microsoft has provided a monthly response to the latest batch of NPD data.

[Dark360]

!!!Congratulations Microsoft!!!

[darthv72]

their original xbox sold to a 1/3 in total units to the 360. i'd say MS is more than satisfied with their 2nd outing.

We have reached a point that (i would guess) the systems sold to both MS and sony are from users who had one or the other. they have matured to understand there isnt anything wrong with playing both sides.

I honestly dont think there are nearly as many one sided holdouts anymore now than there was 5-6 years ago. That's a good thing as there are more that can appreciate what each platform has to offer.

[MikeMyers]

Of course they are and so was Nintendo with the Wii. With Sony it depends on how you look at it. Comparably they are doing well too but if you take how Sony did the previous 2 generations then it looks like they lost a major chunk of the market that they used to be a dominant player in.

I would also like to know why people are so adamant about talking worldwide numbers in a topic clearly stating NPD which we all know now isn't worldwide figures. Since I live in the U.S. those numbers are far more relevant to me because it means Western studios are very likely to support it. It also means when it comes to online play it will be very easy to have people to play with and not have to deal with playing people across the globe with things like lag being an issue.

This isn't about the U.S. being the best market, it's about a market that is more relevant to me. Do you think Japanese gamers care at all how well the Xbox 360 is doing here? In fact many games don't even come here that we even know about.

Microsoft still needs to majorly improve in other regions. They have done very well in the U.S. and pretty good in certain areas in Europe but other key areas need addressing. That's a whole different topic and one that doesn't really belong in a NPD topic.

[mcstorm]

I agree with you. Sony have been the biggest losers this gen losing the market to both MS and Nintendo. Nintendo shocked the world by how well the Wii sold and MS shocked a lot of the core on how well it has done as at the beginning people were saying they had no chance again this gen but it did very well.

Sony can take a big + from this gen as they were so far behind the other 2 at one point it looked bad for them but they have pulled the numbers back over the last few years.

What a lot of people don't realise or want to say is that no one can be top for ever. Look at the PC market and how it has changed to be tablets and phones that are now becoming the main devices to get your emails ect from and Apple are the top of this tree but Google and Microsoft are now starting to shift there own products and one of them will end up taking it from Apple just like they did from MS.

No one knows who will come out on top next gen but I see it as all 3 being very close next gen as they all have a big name about them now and to me I would rather have this than one leading the way as it keep all 3 pushing each other and offering us gamers the best experience on there consoles.

[MikeMyers]

I don't think Sony was a big loser, they just had much better competition. Which is why like I say, all of them are going to have to work harder gaining our business. It took Sony a couple of years to get their groove on with the PS3. Games starting coming in and most importantly they got pricing under control. Do you really think the system would have been lowered to $299 that quickly if Nintendo and Microsoft weren't as competitive.

You're right, it is hard to stay on top. When you have 3rd party publishers no longer favoring one system in a dominant fashion like we saw on the PS2, it makes each much more accountable. So they need to step up their game. Whether it be better marketing, showcasing the hardware through exclusives, trying different forms of gameplay, focusing on offering the best online service or offering the a system that can do much more than just play games. It's a whole combination of things. It's not who has the most exclusives, it's not who has the most money, it's not who has the most powerful system either.

[Jack Meahoffer]

Darth I think you're onto something in regard to the number of one console holdouts this gen versus last. Makes sense basically a three way tie. And I agree its a very GOOD thing. Bubble.

[Ryo-Hazuki]

Price is a big point in the U.S

Cheapest PS3 is 269.99
Cheapest 360 is 199.99/179.99

Who buys consoles this late in the generation? Casuals

And what do casuals look for....Price.

This gen Sony is trying to recoup the losses from the gen because off the 600 dollar price tag while they were still losing money per console. MS has the price advantage this gen. It won't happen next-gen though. Sony should bring over the 12 GB PS3 from Europe so it can compete with the 360s cheapest model instead of getting undercut in the price by MS.

[TheGamerDood]

Look at all the xbox nerds breathing a sigh of relief today. xD Yesterday numbers didn't matter but today they do. lol

I really feel bad for those that bought 8yr old hardware for 200 bones when the next hardware is about to debut in a few months. Shame on you MS for selling outdated hardware.

[Mainsqueeze]

@TheGamerDood
Same could be said for all the PS3 nerds like yourself that charged into an xbox 360 article talking about ps3 sales or trying to start some console debate...plus right now both consoles aren't outdated yet, not until next gen hits anyways.

[optimus]

@darth... I guess i'm one of the very few that continues to side with just one... Some might say that i'm missing out but i don't feel like i am, there are comparable games for each system (if you want to talk exclusives) but i've grown into a casual gamer so i really don't have the need nor the desire to support more than one gaming system...
And i do recall during the 16 bit era that people tended to support just one system and there was nothing wrong with that. Doing so made sega and nintendo push each other which that type of competition is sorely missed in today's generation.

[Rendermonk]

Trying to reply to "MikeMyers" but won't let me so I'm adding it here.

I understand your point about which market were talking about and how it's relevant to us as Americans, that's all very true. But when read as is, it's taking the consoles true sales out of context. It makes it sound like the most preferred and bought console out there, is Xbox 360. But it's not, it's just true of the US. Worldwide it's not really the best selling and most preferred consoles... That's why people argue the point, but the "NPD" is very vague for the general reader, clicking the article. It's a misleading non-truth. Worldwide PS3 oustsold the 360 in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012. That's 5 of the 7 years both systems were on the market....Really changes the perception of how well each system is doing doesn't it.

[Rendermonk]

was trying to put this up here...

Trying to reply to "MikeMyers" but won't let me so I'm adding it here.

I understand your point about which market were talking about and how it's relevant to us as Americans, that's all very true. But when read as is, it's taking the consoles true sales out of context. It makes it sound like the most preferred and bought console out there, is Xbox 360. But it's not, it's just true of the US. Worldwide it's not really the best selling and most preferred consoles... That's why people argue the point, but the "NPD" is very vague for the general reader, clicking the article. It's a misleading non-truth. Worldwide PS3 oustsold the 360 in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012. That's 5 of the 7 years both systems were on the market....Really changes the perception of how well each system is doing doesn't it.

[Gamer1982]

Cheapest PS3 is 269.99
Cheapest 360 is 199.99/179.99

Add on Xbox live and PS3 is a LOT cheaper. As not many buy a console for offline gaming these days. People may compare PS+ but you dont need PS+ to play online. You can compare PS to Xbox live till you go blue in the face but the fact is most people like myself just wanna play games and play them online. Most don't even use headsets anymore unless with there friends thanks to the amount of crap we get.

So PS3 is not the most expensive how come only America cannot see this people would say looking at the stats? Well its not about price to Americans its about buying American..

[dantesparda]

So let me get this straight, so when the 360 sells 1.4 million its a great deal, good news, party, woo hoo! but when its reported that Sony has outsold MS 77 million to 76 million, its so what, who cares? big deal! but yeah there's no media bias right? Or fanboy bullsh!t

[UnholyLight]

I know this is a little debatable based on timing and coincidence but at least on 4 or 5 occasions while at a local Future Shop I saw at least 2 or 3 groups of parents looking for the "xbox thing with the kinect" and picking up games to go along with it as Christmas gift this past Christmas. So ultimately, at least in Canada I find it hard to believe that "NPD is lying" or something like that. Microsoft has a firm stranglehold in my area generally speaking and it seems to show in places like EB Games where the wall is much larger space wise for Xbox 360 and a large amount of people I know at University own Xbox 360. The ratio is probably 10:1. But originally I am from a smaller town where PS3 was also pretty popular among people with probably a ratio in our town of 3:1 so...Like I said, I guess it's pretty random but where I live in the city Xbox is really popular.

[MikeMyers]

Rendermonk, you couldn't respond most likely because your reply is attached to someone who had their response hidden for trolling. I have one comment left so let's see if I can make it a good one.

Quote:
"I understand your point about which market were talking about and how it's relevant to us as Americans, that's all very true. But when read as is, it's taking the consoles true sales out of context. It makes it sound like the most preferred and bought console out there, is Xbox 360. But it's not, it's just true of the US."

But this topic is clearly about NPD stats which don't take into context worldwide figures.

"Worldwide it's not really the best selling and most preferred consoles... That's why people argue the point, but the "NPD" is very vague for the general reader, clicking the article. It's a misleading non-truth. Worldwide PS3 oustsold the 360 in 2007, 2008, 2010, 2011, and 2012. That's 5 of the 7 years both systems were on the market....Really changes the perception of how well each system is doing doesn't it. "

end quote

It only changes the perception if that is how your interpret it. Your interpretation is missing one key area and that is this is about NPD stats, not worldwide stats. So when the daily news comes on at night do you tell whoever is watching that the crime rate doesn't mean anything because worldwide it's not that bad? You are the one taking the article out of context. I'm not saying the Xbox 360 is the preferred system worldwide, you are. In the U.S. sales data shows the Xbox 360 is outselling the PS3. So? What is there really to feel threatened about if you only care about worldwide stats?

I've said it before and I will say it again, I don't care what sales charts are happening in Japan for hardware or software. That is no disrespect. Some of those games don't even make it here unless you import them. When I go on the Rotten Tomatoes site it shows me movies I may be interested in and what's popular and so forth. The information is tailored to my interests. I'm pretty sure Japanese gamers don't really pay much attention to how well the Xbox 360 is doing, period. Let alone in the U.S. I'm not bothered by that and I am certainly not bothered by Sony or Nintendo releasing sales data for the European market, Japanese market or even the U.S. market, which some they do. I don't go into those articles and say, "but those aren't worldwide figures".

The U.S. region is the largest region for sales. When you allocate hardware and software sales for all 3 consoles combined the U.S. territory is larger than both Europe and Asia. That may be why some highlight the numbers more or it could be just another case of the media serving the needs of Americans who probably frequent these articles more than Europeans and Asians.

[showtimefolks]

i see people arguing all the time, let's just say all 3 consoles were successful and all 3 did some things right and some wrong.

This gen was a huge success for MS because the original xbox wasn't that successful, ps3 started out bad with huge price point and not a lot of games to where now its #2 on the list behind wii and it has had the best exclusives this gen.

2 things i want to say:

xbox360 came out a year earlier, and 1.5 years earlier in europe from ps3

yet ps3 has outsold xbox360 since day one at a much higher price point.

now to my 2nd point, sony recently started making money on ps3 so this late success is much needed for them a company not just a gaming brand.

I think we can all agree on this: competition is great for us as gamers since 3 companies are competing for our dollars.

[darthv72]

first, was that based on your opening statement i thought it was going to be a more neutral stance on things.

second, reading the rest proves that you are making excuses for the first.

honestly, there is nothing wrong with taking a middle of the road approach to things like game consoles. Picking sides is pointless which leads to that last part of your comment.

competition IS great for us as gamers. Lets just leave it at that.

[showtimefolks]

darthv72

i don't think i took any sides, i stated the facts.

sony started out bad because of arrogance,high price and not a lot of games along with difficult development for cell processor

ms started out great but a lot of that goes to them having an open season on the market with no competition, they released an unfinished console and lost billions doing that. than after 2010 their message changed from we care about core gamers to better with kienct

i bought xbox360 and ps3 at launch. one company has only gone up while other has gone after we want this box to be in your living room for everything but gaming.

competition was great for sonby because after huge success with ps1 and ps2 they became very arrogant so i am hopeful with ps4 launching with next xbox that MS will have a rude awakening too just to realize we the core gamers made them success and now they have totally forgotten about us.

so i am not picking any sides both sides by the way have pros and cons, early on it was ms with xbox brand leading the way now sony has caught up to them and have produced better software support from within their 1st party studios

[Gamer1982]

Competition is not always great for gamers it leads to division and segregation. Its why we have to buy 2 or 3 consoles just to enjoy our favourite games and now its got to the fact where that's only 1 or 2 games thanks to exclusives being so small. I hate the fact each console has almost exactly the same games minus a couple of exclusives. As I have to buy a console now for 1 or 2 games if I really want to play them. I also hate the fact that thanks to competition we have stupid things like exclusive DLC its not good for the consumer so just quit with the competition argument.

I would honestly love an MS/Sony joint Console with MS making the software and Sony the hardware as MS know how to make software I mean they make billions from it every year (people may disagree but they are probably sat at a windows computer now). And Sony have been making Hardware since I was born and I am nearly 31! They own rights to blu-ray meaning a lower price console too and it will probably mean non proprietary.

Nintendo will still be around for "competition" if you need it but it would end the major fanboy wars and the stupid exclusive crap like DLC. We might actually see a great generation for GAMERS. This generation for me has been a bust and I stopped playing my ps3 and 360 over a year ago and upgraded my PC and have been playing that now for over 2 years.

[otherZinc]

@GalacticEmpire
@Merrill,

If that were true SONY would respond to its shareholders EXACTLY how M$ just responded to their shareholders!

SONY won't do that, it would be lying to its shareholders, they'd get sued for that.

[sak500]

wrong place

[tommygunzII]

@ whoyouwit04

I predicted PS3 passing the 360 in December 6 to 8 months ago (off by one month). Anyone who was paying attention saw this coming a mile away.
Dont scramble now, it comes off as desperate. Even if the numbers are a little off, PS3 has/is going to pass 360 easily.

[testerg35]

The problem with that is that I think every year since PS3 launched, Sony fans have been saying the same thing.. every damn year.

[1nsaint]

@sarcasm lol so now its the xbox that has an advantage because it launched before the ps3? I would say ps3 has the advantage cause the tech is a year newer.
Sure MS had a year more to sell, but this article is just about the December sales.

I think most 'real' gamers got their console of choice already and MS and sony are now realing in the casual gamers, which is kinda sad imo, im noticing a lot of good games (even whole franchises) are getting dumbed down and less extensive, just to make it less complicated for the new casual gamers.

All this fanboy war going on is pretty lame too.. Most ps3, 360 and pc gamers are all enjoying the same kind of games so why hate on each other, u guys are acting like you get a part of the cash Sony and MS are making

[Mainsqueeze]

LOL gotta love N4G and the internet. A story about good sales for the 360 turns into a bunch of PS3 fanboys charging in on the defensive that in turn starts a war of rumors about which console has sold more...who cares people? seriously...

[JamieL]

Yea it's so sad, and super f#@king pathetic, but damned if it's not fun to read this garbage. It's like my tabloid magazine.

[morkendo23]

hmmm, wonder if MICROSOFT speaking the truth.
everyone in U.S. should have a 360 by now.
im sure European and Japanese gamers not adding to that 1.4 million With only halo,gears,forza how is those increase possible?????

[BABYLEG]

America fool.. 360 is so far ahead here its not funny.

[edwoods]

This MESSAGE is for 99 percent of the N4g community: Stop posting lame messages below articles with your pseudo intellectual, business-mind wannabe strategies on what multi million/billion dollar companies should or shouldn't be doing. Just because you took a few economic classes in college and learned a few big words doesn't mean you know anything. No one on here has any true investment wisdom, so stop stroking each other off and go get job's in the stock market if you're so damn "smart"

[kreate]

this! :)

[sikbeta]

US = XBOX-Land

Congrats!

[solidt12]

Sony’s PlayStation 3 has eclipsed the Xbox 360 in global shipments, according to a market analysis document by the International Data Corporation.

As reported by GI.biz, the document by Lewis Ward – titled Worldwide Video Game Entertainment Console Hardware and Packaged Software 2012 – 2016 Forecast – contains shipment figures for both Sony and Microsoft’s current-gen machines as of December 2012.

According to the report, PS3 stands at about 77 million, while Xbox 360 is at 76 million. That’s despite Microsoft’s box getting a 12-month head start on its leading rival and maintaining the advantage ever since – or at least, up until last month.

[Urusernamesucks]

@Sarcasm I guess it realy does since the Xbox did so badly in japan while the ps3 conquered the world evenly, YET still Out-sold the ps3. ARE YOU FROGETTING. Give some props to Xbox you dam famboys

[starchild]

Actually, I don't see why any of that matters. The most relevant point is that Microsoft hugely increased their market share this generation, while Sony lost a large amount of market share.

We'll see how things turn out next generation. Personally, I am leaning towards buying the next Playstation over the next Xbox, unless Microsoft can convince me that their philosphy on exclusives has changed and they plan to release more of them.

[shutUpAndTakeMyMoney]

"Microsoft's response, Xbox 360 sells 1.4 million"

ok... Started at 10 million when ps3 launched.

This is the classic story of the tortoise and the hare.

Sell as much as you want MS you still have no new AAA IPs since 2010.

Why is there 3 AAA game and 80+ kinect xbox exclusives & why was the last 2 E3's focused on casual and media?

Those 1.4Million are most likely casual gamers a.k.a the new core gamers to MS.

"Rare hiring new developers for Kinect 2 and Xbox 720 games"
http://www.digitaltrends.co...

"Forza 5: Turn 10 Hiring For 'Next Forza'"
http://www.nowgamer.com/new...

"Halo 5 Being Prototyped For Xbox 720"
http://www.cinemablend.com/...

"Microsoft Buys Media-Streaming Startup For Xbox"
http://www.ign.com/articles...

They get Crytek to make an exclsuive(Ryse) it's for kinect they turn fable 4 into a kinect game, steel battalion is now a kinect game.
zzzzzzzzz

Such a boring platform..

*waits for The Last Of Us, God Of War Ascention, Beyond Ni-no-Kuni, Sly 3, Rain, Puppeteer, Until Dawn, Disgaea D2, Tales of Xillia, The Witch and the Hundred Cavalrymen, Yakuza 5, Dust 514.*

I do want to play gears but 1 game and paying for multiplayer is lame.

@below
funny that non of you can prove what I said wrong..

@nukeitall
Hell yeah I am mad I wanted to see another killer instinct!

You support this?

"Don stated that it was Rare's versatility covering kids and adult games throughout the N64 and GameCube era that helped them stay relevant, but having a lot of their mature themed games shotdown created a negative atmosphere within the studio, causing a lot of key talent to part ways with the company. " - ex rare dev.
http://www.cinemablend.com/...
fine..

[nukeitall]

Are you mad? :D

Last I checked, Xbox 360 has a vibrant community and Xbox Live is the biggest it has ever been. Go enjoy your games on your platform of choice, and let others do theirs!

[Convas]

You are the very definition of a pathetic try-hard

:D

[Honest_gamer]

can you actualy buy the games you are stating, fed up of people saying they will wait for xxx game but dont bother buying it, then complain that the software sales are not as expected

[Christopher]

***Those 1.4Million are most likely casual gamers a.k.a the new core gamers to MS. ***

So? If they're making a good amount of profit by catering to the needs of those games, what's the problem? Is it that you are no longer their core audience? If so, you might want to get over that. Microsoft and others are going where the money is, and that must not be where you are at this moment.

[omi25p]

The tortoise and the Hare?

The Origins of the 360:

The Original xbox struggled against the most popular console ever the PS2.

Then with a small fanbase from the OX the 360 launched less than a year before the MIGHTY PS3. Then it had a huge issue with rrod, But still its popularity rose. Now the ps3 which should have absolutely destroyed the 360 sales wise has just caught up to the xbox.

Plus the 360 had pretty much no sales in japan one of the biggest gaming country's in the world and yet is still in 1st place for most sold and some how the 360 is in last place this gen?

No the 360 won this generation. Just by how popular it has become this generation. DEAL WITH IT.

(i also own a ps3 and think its great, but from a sales point of view the 360 has destroyed everything this generation)

@dragonknight

i didn't mean highest number of sales i meant with the smallest fan base to the largest. The Wii sold the most but it had a huge fan base and it was different.

Look at the WII U, it shows that people aren't interested in it any more. I very much doubt that will happen to the 720 and PS4

[DragonKnight]

Wii?

[chukamachine]

Market share means nothing from another gen.

The wii u won't have the sales the wii did.

360, a year+ earlier. $500 million advertising, goodie bags to developers. Rockstar being one of them.

The advertising in usa has been extreme for the 360 and the reason why it has it's grip. Ninty does the same thing in Japan.

When the PS3 came out, the wii came out.

PS3 had comp from all sides.

The only thing the 360 has brought this gen is crosschat.

[Urusernamesucks]

@DragonKnight Lol ,ok...How many generations old is nintendo?
How old is Playstation?
And How old is Xbox?

Yet im amazed that it holds more than 2/3 the wii sales and has surpased the plastation even though it highly succeeded in japs.

[mr_kubrick]

do me a favour and dont post anymore. save your time searching the net for "m$ is shitz"-articles and go and play your amazing exclusives. thank you.

[ArmrdChaos]

Surely there has to be a Wonderbook title just your speed that can keep your interest. I'm getting tired of burning out scroll wheels on my mice getting through posts like yours....trying way to hard....get some air.

[WeAreLegion]

Wonderbook is fun. Try it some time.

[Gildarts]

I havent been really Active on this site for sites long time commenting on from time to time like I'm doing.right now. Reading through all the comments I can see that the community has matured quite a bit, you are a remnant of what we once were blinded by foolish fanboyish behavior. Neglecting the opposing consoles good side and making the console you favor look like it's made by the gods. Just pathetic.

[Lvl_up_gamer]

It's amazing that the 360 has managed to sell so much in such a shot period and all doing so by keeping the price high with only 2 price cuts while adding new features into each new iteration of the 360 and NOT having to strip feature after feature until you have nothing but a bare bones console finally priced to target the late adopters.

Way to go MS.

[sak500]

You guys have only been waiting this gen. First we started hearing this B$ back in 2006, we'll wait for GT5, Unchartered, heavenly sword, kz2 etc etc. Some others turned out to be vaporware some delayed for years. Come on you guys are only good for opening your mouths, when your highly anticipated top of the list games finally gets released it's sales are pathetic.

Dont forget most of the initial sales of ps3 had been as bluray player hence lack of games sales on exclusives. And if you bring out RROD, MS made it under warranty for upto 3 years so there were not that many sales attributed to it, unlike ylod which started showing up right after 1 year mark so it wasnt covered under warranty.

[mcnablejr]

XBOX LIVE , nuff said.

[TongkatAli]

Cut the BS guys. We are all gamers, stop making what we love look even more nerdy and pathetic.

[joshuatobi]

and to be real the only reason 360 games sell so high is because there isnt much games coming out for it first party wise microsoft rather other companies spend their money and risks while they enjoy just profit without investing in first party games which will hurt them next gen. they havent established any credible first party new IP's since the dinosaurs roamed the earth

[JeffGUNZ]

You do know that the most played games on both PSN and 360 are COD, which is multiplat. You're argument makes no sense. 360 just appeals to more people this generation then the OX did.

[joshuatobi]

the 360 has less of a lineup thus consolidating those sales to just acouple of games unlike the ps3 which sales are more widespread because they offer more content trust me i know my 360 collects dust because i dont see any use for it. i might just trade it in

[JeffGUNZ]

Another terrible argument. The 360 has Halo 4 which launched pretty close to COD. They also have Gears, which are two powerhouses this generation. Also, look at all the excellent multiplat games that have come this year. All you're doing is bashing the 360 yet you can't even do that right. If the PS3 line up is so amazing and vast, why does COD continue to DOMINATE PSN? Exclusive argument is so pathetic it's just laughable. I'd much rather play COD then a majority of exclusives on both PS3 and 360. Just because it's an "exclusive", doesn't mean it's a AAA game. If the PS3 exclusives were so great then please explain rationally how COD BO2 and MW3 still remain atop of the PSN network?!

[guitarded77]

Must every sales article turn into a pissing match? I for one want both MS and Sony to succeed, so I have more games to play, and options when playing multi-console titles. Crazy to think people can't just be gamers. Atari, Nintendo, Sega, Turbo-Graphics, Neo Geo, Sony, MS, etc... I've owned and played and have had great experiences on all. The only time sales numbers have bothered me is when a console doesn't sell enough to last, making support go away and the console dies. As a gamer, I wouldn't want to see that happen to either MS or Sony. Both great machines, with great games. More consoles sold means more talented people working, and more games for me to play.

[DeFFeR]

You've been here since 2009 and you're just realizing this?

Every damn time... it's part of the reason I don't come here as much anymore - every comment section is prone to become a war of words between console fanboys.

I lost two bubbles the day I changed my Avatar... from Nathan Drake to Master Chief... figured it was time to find a better gaming news resource.

[guitarded77]

I know... I'm not naive. I comment wasn't one of shock, but more of a chastising remark to the same people arguing the same useless argument, with the same lame ass bullet points.

I've been accused of being a Sony fanboy, a MS fanboy and a Nintendo fanboy all in the same day on this site. Anytime you either support a decision/product from one company, or are the least bit critical of a company, you get pigeonholed as something.

All that said, n4g is still my favorite gaming community. I've made a lot of friends here, and have had some good conversation and laughs. Not everyone is a total douche, just a few. I don't even mind the trolls; they make me laugh... I just don't care for the fanatical fanboys that aren't even gamers. I can't respect someone who is obsessive about brand loyalty, and fails to be critical when need be. It is us... the ones who game heavily which drive the industry forward. If we are not critical at times, the industry remains stagnant, and companies think they can just spoon feed us the same old broken ____.

Just keep adding to the discussions with honest thoughts, the regulars and mods will see your comments as relative and an asset to the community, and you'll have your bubble count up before you know it. I've been down to 2 bubbles before, for cussing.

[ArmrdChaos]

Better stop making sense or you'll see the torches and pitchforks come out. =)

[Phil32]

So you don't care what happens to Nintendo going by your post if you only don't want anything to happen to MS or Sony?

No. Just kidding. ;)

This site is full of rubbish users. They don't care about the future of the industry and it doing well. They care more about their most hated companies failing despite how bad it would be for the industry in general-- y'know, the one we're supposed to love?

Absolutely despicable.

[Chuk5]

I know there n4g is a mostly sony community but damn, there's a level of bias here that's just unreasoanble. Just yesterday people were talking about how the PS3 managed to sell 7 million units in less than 2 months, and how the 360 failed in third place and all that.

Might I remind you of a few things:

-If the PS3 is second place on the US NPD, then there is just no way it could have come out ahead of the 360 worldwide. The US is not the be all and end all market, but it's easily the biggest and Sony would had to have outsold the 360 there in order to equal out and then pass MS

-The PS2 was almost unrealistically dominant going into 7th gen at 100 million in 2005. That's less time and more units sold than the 360 and ps3 sold now. I have nothing against Sony and the fact that they managed to spin that $600 doom cloud is impressive, but the PS2 DESTROYED last gen so to fall back behind and see microsoft and Nintendo gain marketshare and them loose that lead is significant.

-Sony didn't send out any PR releases, which only goes to confirm that the IDC numbers are a forecast, not fact.

[mr_kubrick]

the fun part is, that sony- and microsoft-executives laugh hard at all the kids trolling so hard. sony vaio with windows? sony phones with windows?

these kids in here really think that a console made out of plastic is the world. i hope they all get girlfriends soon.

[Christopher]

I'll let the rest set, but I'll remark on this part of your comment:

***-If the PS3 is second place on the US NPD, then there is just no way it could have come out ahead of the 360 worldwide.***

So, you believe that the U.S. is a larger percentage than the rest of the world. So much so that there is no way that 360s would sell poorly and PS3s very well outside of it so as to put the PS3 equal to or ahead of the 360 even though only three months ago they were a little more than 1 million apart from each one based on official numbers.

[BanBrother]

Cgoodno

Sony only just announced a couple months ago that they reached 70 million. You honestly think 77 million is correct? Even the 76 million 360's sold is incorrect. Both are shipped numbers.

From a fanboys perspective, the PS3 won ( it has outsold the 360, apparently). From a business perspective, Sony got pussy-whipped tbh. How could you go from 100m sold vs 25m sold (last gen ps2 vs xbox) and now it is a 70 million split??

Disagree all you want, but I can assure you Sony is not going to walk away from this gen and think it was some resounding victory. The 360 was the black horse. Can't wait till next gen mandatory fanboy shit throwing contest.

[Christopher]

***Sony only just announced a couple months ago that they reached 70 million. ****

Yes, a couple of months ago. Or, as I like to call it, June.

***You honestly think 77 million is correct?***

I think it's possible.

***How could you go from 100m sold vs 25m sold (last gen ps2 vs xbox) and now it is a 70 million split?? ****

Basic business: when you are doing really well, others will come in and take a piece of your pie.

***Disagree all you want, but I can assure you Sony is not going to walk away from this gen and think it was some resounding victory.***

No one is. Not sure what the point of this statement is as I was replying to a statement that "there is no way the PS3 could come out ahead of the 360".

***The 360 was the black horse. Can't wait till next gen mandatory fanboy shit throwing contest.***

I hope you see what you did there.

[sak500]

@cgoodno

In june? In dec last year ken in an interview said they sold little over 70 mil ps3 units. You'd think if it was over 75 he would have said little over 75 in that interview instead of 70 mil? And now suddenly the shipped out units have 4~5 mil units jump in a month.

[Cupid_Viper_3]

@BanBrother
"From a fanboys perspective, the PS3 won ( it has outsold the 360, apparently). From a business perspective, Sony got pussy-whipped tbh. How could you go from 100m sold vs 25m sold (last gen ps2 vs xbox) and now it is a 70 million split?? "

It's as if you're implying that the PS3 is not going to reach it's 100 million units milestone.

I don't normally like to involve and comment on these types of articles but I'll answer your question.

The answer is simple really, The market underwent an expansion and also stiffer competition. Between the GameCube and the PS2 and Xbox from last gen, you had a pool of about 150 to 200 million gamers. For this Gen though, looking at all 3 consoles, they've already reached an estimated 250 millions units, and the both the ps and the 360 are still selling well.

So I'm assuming that in your head, you're still dealing with the same market pool from last gen, where there's only 150 million gamers and Sony and MS split them. That's not the case.

Secondly, The PS3 debuted not only as the most expansive console ever, but also at twice the price of the PS2, but also faced an economy in decline, the worst since the great depression.

Thirdly, The PS3 launched 1 year (1.5 years in some cases) after the 360.

And let's not forget the amazing amount of bad publicity the PS3 faced in the American Media, and despite all of this, the PS3 still manage to sell at a faster rate then 360 year after year, to the point where it has now surpassed it worlwide. And you're saying that it has been pussy-whipped?

You know if I'm not the fastest man in the world, but I am an athlete. So if Ussain Bolt decided to race me, and told me to start 20 meters ahead of him while he carries a 100 pound weight with him and jumping over hurdles, and he somehow manages to catch up with me before we cross the finish line? I'd be pretty pretty embarrassed to be honest. But that's just me.

[InMyOpinion]

No wonder this site is what it is when even the moderators like cgoodno are Sony fanboys.

That also explains why so many troll comments in here haven't gotten deleted yet.

[vega275]

@ cgoodno

"Yes, a couple of months ago. Or, as I like to call it, June"

Sad that you would think november 16th is june when sony announced the ps3 reached 70 million. here is the proof

http://www.joystiq.com/2012...

so please explain to us how sony was able to move 7 million units within a month and a half. when japan sold 200k units and 360 sold outsold it by more than double for december.

i know people keep saying sony owns EU. but I'm pretty sure we would have heard sony was able to move that many there in just a month.

@InMyOpinion

"No wonder this site is what it is when even the moderators like cgoodno are Sony fanboys"

and sony fanboy's keep saying N4G isn't a sonyfanboy site lol

[Hingle_Mcringleberry]

Yikes! So much trolling. Hehehe. Why can't we just get along? Why are people so emotional about sales?

[Hicken]

Maybe because PS3 fans have been hounded all generation by 360 owners? Hell, when I first started working for GameStop, our customer base- at our store, mind you- was 360-centric. You were lame if you didn't have a 360, and wasting your money if you had a PS3.

There has been no "getting along" because it was never desired by 360 fans(like yourself). And now, as all the excuses made for why the PS3 sucked are overturned, PS3 fans are having their day.

... not that it's being made easy, since 360 fans are desperately doing whatever they can to ignore it all. From no games at all, to no exclusives, to no high-selling exclusives, to better multiplats, to console sales, the target has continually shifted; funny how that works, isn't it?

Oh, and to Belking, who said "Ok this is for that special fanboy(u know who you are) who says MS and sony never report sold numbers. Still don't believe it?" I'm pretty sure that these are NPD's number's not Microsoft's. MICROSOFT still only reports SHIPPED numbers; that does not bar them from reporting on SOLD numbers. Nice try, though.

[Rainstorm81]

Short term memories......that's all that can explain t

[Jek_Porkins]

Very impressive numbers, a little shocked that the Wii U didn't really do as well as expected. I bought a Wii U and am enjoying it very much. I also bought two Xbox 360s consoles as Christmas gifts, so I'm guessing I'm not the only one with that idea. Pretty much all month long you could pick up a 4 gig 360 for $99-$149, which is a steal.

Microsoft has done what nobody thought they could do at the beginning of this generation, and that is capture the North American market. I'm really looking forward to closing out the Xbox 360 on a high note, and kicking off the 720 with a high note as well. It's going to be a great year!

[josephayal]

woaaa 1.4 million Only On XBOX 360

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Those are indeed strong impressive numbers for a console going on 7yrs. So congrats to MS on doing really well in the US.

Now for those that are screaming U.S. is not the World and Sony passed MS for shipped consoles per IDC's report. Yes the U.S. is not the world but this is a report about North America so its relevant to discuss the North American performance. We can talk World Wide in World Wide Reports/News threads. Speaking of World Wide, the IDC report while a legit report hasn't been validated/confirmed by the companies themselves in terms of shipped units so while it certainly looks like Sony passed up MS in shipped World Wide units (per the report) it would be nice to have confirmation before we all go screaming around the room.

[mochachino]

The both sold around 70 mill, that's a "Win Win" for MS and a "Win" for Sony.

I'd love to see how much actual profit they made from this gen though.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

If you aware of the accurate sold through numbers then you already know that Microsoft just widened the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 by a fairly significant margain.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Nice numbers congratulations MS, nice numbers. Ignore everything else and wait for MS's official word.

[Platinum_k]

Cool... Now How much PS3 Sold???

[DiRtY]

625k according to NPD
210k for PS Vita.

[solidt12]

According to reports, PS3 stands at about 77 million.

[Clarence]

Good numbers. I'm sure that the PS3 numbers are high as well. I'm guessing 900k-1m

[SDF Repellent]

"The company announced that the Xbox 360 sold 1.4 million consoles in the US last month. That’s twice the amount of the second place console."

In the Microsoft press release, it totally states that Microsoft sold DOUBLE the amount of the second place selling console for the month in December; which means, Sony is less than 700k. Total X360 domination in the US.

[MadMen]

MS owwnneedd

[Funky_Homosapien]

How can you even figure you can eff bill gates, kazuo hirai?

[iistuii]

Why Sony fanatics jump on these posts is beyond me. Does it really matter to them. I've said it before, if the PS3 was that superior, everyone would rush to buy one & to part ex their Xbox for one the moment they came out. So the year headstart would have absolutely nothing to do with it, but they didn't, & for some unknown reason it upsets them. Lets just say in N4G's gaga land everyone sold their Xbox & bought a PS3, what would they then have to moan about then.
On topic, congrats Microsoft, from Sony/Nintendo domination last gen, they have completely changed the game, year start or not..

IISTUII 360
iistuii PSN
iistuii Steam

[Captain Tuttle]

Ahh, NPD's and time for my monthly allotment of schadenfreude.

Crazy numbers by Microsoft, US is truly MS land.

[Kos-Mos]

What is wrong with this site? Where`s the bloody freedom of speech. People are flagged for trolling for stating their opinions. Horrible n4g, horrible.

[Droid Control]

Xbox 360... so OLD... (SHUDDERS)

[solidt12]

I'm on my 5th Xbox 360 and 2nd PS3. I am no rocket scientist but something tells me that most of the console sells in December are not first time console purchases. Great numbers but at this point we just keep repurchasing something old. We are ready for the next gen but Sony and Microsoft have been milking this cow as long as they can to make as much profit as possible. The games have been great so I can't complain too much but we should of had the PS4 and Xbox 720 in 2012 along with the Wii U.

[JeffGUNZ]

What the hell are you doing to your systems that you're on 5th xbox and 2nd ps3? Take care of your stuff man. I had my original 360 for 4 years until I bought the slim just to have it. Seems to me that it's user error on your end.

[givemeshelter]

Good grief..YOU PEOPLE still crying about console sales for these outdated systems this late in their console lives?
Are you all shareholders? What do you care?
What you should care about is Microsoft and Nintendo finally gave Sony competition this generation to the point of taking away 30%+ market share away from them. Which is a GREAT thing for consumers. More competition translates to more choice and more games.
Why can't "gamers" and I use that term in jest for people that hold consoles sales so highly...see this?

[sdplisken]

both consoles are virtually tied right now in sales giving sony the win

now factor in:
-ps3 insane 600 launch price tag
-xbox one year head start, year and a half in europe
-millions of inflated sales due to RROD
-ps3 WORLDWIDE has been outselling xbox since the slim

ps3 has sold more units in less time than microsoft and with a higher PRICE TAG (ps3 is actually cheaper than xbox if you factor in the live fee that adds up over the years)

2013 will drive ps3 sales even further past xbox with exclusives galore

ps3 will overtake the wii eventually, mark my words
sony actually supports their products even after a new system has launched

[Max-Zorin]

Lmao at some of these comments. This gen is truly the worst of the worst. Most of the fans of the PS3 and 360 have nothing but hate in their hearts. You say you prefer PS3, 360, or Wii, people call you out of your name and make fun of you.