How the PlayStation 3 Won the Current-Gen Console War

Gi - There’s no denying it was a slow start for Sony‘s PlayStation 3 console. The console launched over a year after Microsoft‘s Xbox 360, it was way more expensive than its competition and it was in short supply at launch. However, those early adopters knew they were onto something very good, and for many it was the home console of choice.

[Jadedz]

From a financial standpoint; it's the Wii. The PS360 are more supported 3rd party-wise, but Nintendo made bank with the Wii on day one.

[-Mezzo-]

Financial standpoint: 'WGAF'
--------------

I really enjoyed my countless hours with PS3.

[Jadedz]

''How the PlayStation 3 Won the Current-Gen Console War''

Based on ''gamer appreciation?'' Back in the day, winning a ''console generation'' was measured by ''how many units a console sold,'' that's why the PS2 is considered the ''greatest system of all time.''

I'm not belittling the PS3 in any way - just calling out the ''moving goalpost'' article I'm commenting on.

[andrewer]

As I enjoyed my countless hours with Wii. What I'm trying to say is, for me, this argument - your own opinion, experiences and fun - is a real argument for the best console, not sales or graphics or power or whatever. I don't care if a console sold more, if everybody around me have and like it, what matters is my own opinion, and that's why its impossible to have a "winner" console...ever.

[GamersRulz]

To be honest, Sony achieved one hell of accomplishment this gen, I mean no company can face all those hurdles and survive.

-Higher price throughout the generation.
-Difficult to program for console.
-Competition has a year and half head start.
-Continuous bashing from the media.
-Being hacked mid-gen.
-BD diod problems reduced launch units from 2 million to 400k only.

Despite all that they were able to sell as many units (even slightly more) than Xbox360 in a shorter time frame!. This can tell you volumes about Playstation brand strength. Job well done Sony

[BattleAxe]

The PS3 easily won this generation hands down, and the only people who don't think so, never owned one.

Best Hardware Technology: PS3 (Bluetooth, Blu-Ray and The cell Processor)
Best Multimedia Functions: PS3
Best Controller Configuration: PS3 (DS3)
Best New IPs: PS3
Best Game Selection: PS3
Best Award system: PS3 Trophies
Best First Party Studios: PS3
Best Graphics: PS3
Best Online Subscription Service: PS3 (PS+)
Most Players in Multiplayer Games: PS3 (M.A.G.- 256 Player Battles, Resistence: Fall of Man - 40 Player Battles and Resistance 2 - 60 Player Battles

Looks to me like the PS3 won by a landslide.

[dedicatedtogamers]

Depends on what "win the console war" means. Wii not only sold the most, it also set the most trends that other companies followed. I still think the two handhelds are the true winners last gen (yeah, I know the title is "console war"). Consoles had it easy: they were mostly just competing against one another. The DS and PSP were fighting one another as well as the surging smartphone/tablet market, yet the PSP sold 80 million and the DS sold 150+ million, and each system had so many must-play games.

When it comes to quality titles, Sony and Microsoft were fighting tooth and nail for years but after Kinect came out Microsoft just sort of stopped trying to gain/retain hardcore gamers, so in that sense the PS3 "won" due to forfeiture. If Microsoft had put more effort into the 360 in its latter years, it would still be a hot debate which console "won", but at this point it's pretty clear that the PS3 will coast to victory as we move into the next generation. And I don't mean that in a good way. It would have been better if Microsoft tried to put up a better fight.

[SixZeroFour]

@battleaxe - why are you trying to pass off opinion as fact?

best hardware - it was so good that they decided to continue with it on to next gen....oh wait
best controller - this is and always will be preference
best award system - how do you even evaluate this?
best online service - this is all opinion and preference (considering you chose to use ps+ and not psn in general, you are talking about more than just the online portion of the online service)
most players in a multiplayer game - this doesnt mean anything other than design choice (how many players online in one game on the 360 version of defiance?)

[Kevin ButIer]

I love the PS3, but saying that it actually won the current gen... just no.

Gamers won in terms of general improvements all around the consoles service. MS and Nintendo enlarged the pie and took a piece from Sony. Sony wasn't dominant to actually be declared the winner. Its amazing how much popularity MS and Nintendo won in this gen.I think Sony set the basis for an amazing PS4 launch.

[SolidStoner]

you know why PS3 won??

because my FAT old 60 gig PS3 is still going hard! and its waiting for its big brother arrival with full power and great games (even those who got delayed sadly) but you have to respect the big brother!! :)

[Amsterdamsters]

This is in regards to BattleAxe's comment. I've owned all the systems (including PS3), and I in no way agree with your point that the PS3 won this generation. I can't even begin to figure out why you think it did. As far as I'm concerned, all the systems did great, but the winner would be the Wii. It sold more, it brought more people into gaming etc... The PS3 sold the least, and many of those were mainly for a Blu Ray movie player. So, you spin what you said....The Wii won this generation and the only people who wouldn't think so don't own one.

[BullyMangler]

its not about the sales, its about the >> content << not sales. >>>games<<.

I have a ps3, and with a controller like that, the ps3 wins nothing . . ps3 got's GREAT exclusives, AMAZING ONES, but which Video Games GAMEPLAY from SONY or MICROSOFT is MORE IMPACTING and MEMORABLE than Metroid Other M for wiener wii? (: :) :) (:

odd because not even the gameplay and camera angles in God of War 3 can dethrone Metroid Other M Gameplay Mechanics. < Fact . . and that is what matters most in Gaming Land, the GamePlay .

Nintendo wins this last generation of gaming before wiiU with the wussy wii?.. . we don't know just yet, as ps3 and X-box 360 still got a few more tries if that's what they want to call it, a competition. Or is it too late for Microsoft and Sony ? Oculus Rift vr set??

[InMyOpinion]

Sony lost a lot of market share this gen compared to last with the PS2. Nintendo and especially MS gained market share this gen.

I guess that makes the PS3 the winner.

It must have been Sony's plan to go from outselling everyone last gen to being neck and neck with the 360 this gen. Makes perfect sense from a business standpoint.

[Pope_Kaz_Hirai_II]

@ jadedz No it wasnt the wii because most people who bought the wii bought 1 maybe 2 games ,it missed out on SO MUCH SOFTWARE SALES I cant believe hardware sales covered the money they missed out on from having hardly no worthy software plus pretty much no online infrastructure, it had no I buy 2 games a month gamers as they were on ps3/360 and it was probably the most traded in console in history, one of the only things it had going for it was it was cheap but it had no 3rd party support at all and was easily nintendos worst ever home console and was pretty much the first console I never bought (played a bit of smash bros and that was it) it did not deserve the sales it has imho and btw I have nothing really against nintendo just I hated the wii with a passion.

Imo the ps3 is a worthy mention due to games like mgs4, infamous1+2, uncharted 1+2+3, heavy rain , demon souls, valkyrie chronicles and so on
Conclusion IT HAD GREAT GAMES.

[Jadedz]

Though if you look at the top selling games of this gen, you'll notice a lot Wii titles atop the list. The Wii also has a couple of the highest rated games of this generation.

[SIANSLOW]

Mario kart sold more than all those games combined, heavy rain sold about 1 million copies, you give an opinion of a console you played 1 game on and then state bullshit facts, ps3 and Xbox owners don't buy games unless they are used or cheap, how many studios have Sony closed because nobody buys their games

[cee773]

@sianslow

Heavy rain sold over 5 million lol it broke a million in sales 1 month after release and yeah Ninty's first party sold millions we get it but what about third party that's the difference everybody eats on playstation first,second and third party

[Ezz2013]

well, i know which console was the best for me
this gen.....it was PS3

but sure others will have different opinions

[ILive]

I second that, brotha, I second that. It was the reason I enjoyed gaming again.

[JamieL]

I agree with "but sure others will have different opinions", I actually play my 360 more, to which I can thank Sony for anyway. I was waiting for the PS3, and never even considered getting a 360, until the infamous (no pun intended) E3 when they dropped the $599.00 USD, along with the "people will get 2 jobs" comment. That is why I went ahead and got the 360 and I am so glad I did. I did eventually get a PS3, and Wii as well, but Sony is why I even tried the 360 out.

[irepbtown]

I was a bit late... a year late this gen (UK release was March, 2007), however I payed £400 (With a couple of games & controller) for my 80GB fat PS3 (still going strong) which was very expensive. However I don't regret it the slightest bit. Every year Sony bombard us with new exclusives and I thank them for it.

2008-2013; I know I'll be getting PS4 day one.

[insomnium2]

So Jamie went with the "you know things break"-console eh?

For me it was all about the games and Sony has that in spades.

[JamieL]

@ insomnium2
Yep I sure did, and while you were playing Resistance over and over again at the start of this gen I had a whole lot to play, and by the time Sony got out of its slump I had the PS3 too, so I haven't missed any games at all, unlike you PS3 groupies that would take Sony any way Sony wanted to put it on you. Don't come in here and try to act like you're better than somebody because you have a different preference of Gaming machine. I did have a couple of RROD's too, but I sent it in on their dime and got it back on their dime, yes it was frustrating, but not as frustrating as breaking down and paying $599 getting YLOD and being told I have to pay for it. I know you don't like my views I could tell when you PM'ed me and then blocked like a little bi$&h, but if you don't like me that much why do you pop up in most my post? Get a life man.

[evilunklebud]

Jadedz n4g.... that happens here.

I enjoyed all three!

[scofios]

What did you expect its a Playstation after all.

[Mounce]

'Winning' a console war has nothing to do with financial success.

It's how much it won the hearts of the Gamer.

PS3 struggled, it was expensive, it had a rough time adjusting with a bigger crowd and larger competition. However, the praise that is being sung is that even after all of its original hardship it still ended up being the console of Actual choice.

When I say console of choice I mean especially since it surpassed 360 sales when it had a year head-start. PS3 gained a great library as PS1 and PS2 did in its own way. 360 also ontop of 'Sales' counted sales through however-many hundreds of thousands or millions of consoles that died and were re-purchases or replacements. Wii can barely count because Non-Gamers bought Wii, elderly-homes and nursing homes bought Wii for health-exercises that was unrelated to Gaming as a whole. Wii if anything showed that Nintendo was slowly losing grasp of the hardcore market that they HAD catered with ever since the NES, SNES, N64, and even Gamecube, being the final console for the Actual Gamer. That and Nintendos handhelds have at least strived for Gamers in mind and I will refuse to believe 3DS was made for Gamers, it launched with 50% of its 'Wow-factor-features' being Gimmicks of 3D just as Dualshock 3 for PS3 was mostly a gimmick of 'SixAxis', but at the very least it was a controller-strictly-Gimmick, not as if 50% of the PS3 was a gimmick or 50% of the Vita is a gimmick, Vitas' only 'Gimmick' is really the backpanel.

Either way, to me? PC-PS3 'Won' this generation entirely. Owners of a PC that can play most of this generations titles and those who owned a PS3 definitely got a majority of what this generation offered. I myself getting a 360 for ONLY.....Only Lost Odyssey, I'm quite happy :D

[tonywood]

Decent point....however, your missing an important point:
Wii cost vs both the ps3 and 360.

Wii cost was $199 and later, $149.....the other consoles sold for much more. 90plus mil at this price isn't the same as 75plus million for the others. Also...the other platforms sold expensive games with dlc. (Including bigger and more blockbusters)

And although I'm not sure about the 360....ps3 will sell about 3-5 more million more. (Last of us still coming out this summer) Wii did well though, all consoles made money.

[WiiUsauce]

the Wii was 250 when it first came out and it stayed 250 for a very long time. The reason why Nintendo made the most money even though the 360 was 400 dollars and the PS3 was 600 dollars was because the Wii was dirt cheap to manufacture. Wii's hardware is only slightly better than the original Xbox's hardware and by 2006 the parts inside a Wii were cheap to make, so that meant a shitload of profit for Nintendo.

Also, because the Wii couldn't do a big budget game with state of the art graphics, it also meant that development costs for games was also much cheaper and that also allowed for more risks to be taken. So Nintendo was saving money on all ends + their virtual console digital distribution (selling you games they've already sold you before, minus the cost of packaging and retail).

Nintendo never sold the Wii at a loss and it made them profit from day one. Sony sold their PS3 at a loss and hoped to make it up in software sales and they lost billions of dollars, because of that. I'm not sure if Microsoft did the same or not, but even then, they have millions of Xbox live gold subscribers anyway, so they're banking a ton from that alone.

Sony made the least amount of money this gen. Fact.

[ajax17]

Screw the financial standpoint!!! From the creative standpont Sony won, no doubt.

[NastyLeftHook0]

well ps3 has the highest rated hd exclusive

sold more than the xbox360

has more exclusives

free online
bluray

[Dmagic]

gt5 says sit down lil guy

[JamieL]

@ Dmagic
It may say "hi", but only out of respect to halo 3 for selling more. Your wrong Halo 3 smoked GT5 too.

[MEsoJD]

The wii was a success from a short term perspecitve and console sales, but was a failure for 3rd party(most). The ps360 had the longterm in mind and are still selling and have software support today. The wii is basically dead now.

[Tsar4ever01]

I'm a proud playstation 3 owner too, but hey, to the guy at gamingillustrated who made this artical. Do us all a solid. JUST SHUT THE HELL UP! And knock off these pointless post just to get hits! PS3 has NOT won this gen. Wii won the sales, X360 owns the popularity and PS3 just....stood it's ground, in fact, running DAMN strong, even caught up close to X360's sales.

Neither wii nor xbox were able to bump PS3 out this generation like the ps2 bumped out the dreamcast and defeated xbox 1 in sales & popularity during the gen before this one.

What the hell is this guy talking about? Is he such a fanboy that he just refuses to acknowledge the obvious truth?

[Anon1974]

"There’s no denying it was a slow start for Sony‘s PlayStation 3 console."

No denying? How about looking at the actual sales data from Sony's official reports? I'll never understand how this myth started. For almost 2 years the PS3 sold nearly on par with what we saw from the PS2 in it's first two years despite the PS3's high price point.

The PS3 was happily moving PS2 type numbers until the recession and market crash hit in 2008, and that's when, if you're directly comparing sales figures, the sales charts from the PS3 and PS2 diverge, towards the end of their second year. When you compare the PS3's launch to the 360, again, the PS3 sold more consoles even with the high cost of the unit.

And yet, over and over the media has been force feeding us this myth of the PS3's "slow" launch. Slow compared to what? The Wii, which was half the price? I just don't get where this "slow PS3 launch" notion came from, because it sure wasn't the PS3's actual sales figures.

[Maddens Raiders]

The Games.

/thread

[brich233]

lol at the ps3 fanboys in denial. Although Wii sold more consoles, which company made more money? Microsoft has made a ton of money on xbox live, i think more then Sony and nintendo combined.

[MYSTERIO360]

Sony may not have ''won''financi ally this gen compared to the competition but they did manage to win over gamers trust and favoritism, more so then their nearest competitor.

[Eck0]

wii won for most systems sold.. but between 360 and ps3.. think about how many people had to buy 2 or 3 or 4 360s because they got RROD.. so i would say ps3 sold more than 360 if u count how many 360s are still functional..

[Pope_Kaz_Hirai_II]

I think the ps3 and 360 will outsell the wii eventually, but I dont think a winner of a console gen should be just about hardware sales, it should be everything each console had to offer to gamers with games being the number 1 differenciater .
@jadedz Yes it had a few high selling games but I wouldnt exacly count wii-fit as that debatable wether its actually a game and it came bundled with pretty much every casual that bought the wii, for every wii game that sold well (which were mostly the odd 1st party game) the ps3/360 had ten games 1st party/3rd party to sell well.

[tonywood]

Lol...
We all know the Wii U won't outsell either the ps3 or 360. (Let alone the next gen platforms.)

[pop-voxuli]

Slow and steady thats how.

[DEATHxTHExKIDx]

Terms of sales wii. Gaming experience PS3. lol even tho I mostly play 360 cause most of my friends play it cause voice chat halo,gears,etc. PSN FOR sure has better offers/deals with PS+ than XBl. And does have more exclusives.

Ill admit tho I buy all my 3rd party games for 360. MY PS3 is for exclusives and blu ray player. That said PS3/360 combo worked for me this gen. So ill probably go with PS4/720 combo next gen.

[KEEPNITREAL]

I agree with you %100 percent , but I also own a 3ds,ps vita, Wii and Wii-U. Starting to play less on the computer though, most my friends and cousins have the x360 cause of party chat,Halo,gears and call of duty. I wish more of my peeps played Battlefield 3 ,Killzone and Resistance multiplayer cause I like those games alot. Hopefully next gen they pick up the ps4 also cause the new Killzone looks badass ! Glad to see you're picking up both systems instead of being a fanboy !

[MysticStrummer]

Depends on who you ask and how they define winning.

[Jyndal]

OUYA FTW!!!

[Godmars290]

In terms of a "War" this gen was a stalemate.

A broken and dirty mess of a stalemate.

[Software_Lover]

I would agree

[panbit86]

PS3 (as all Sony consoles do) has many years ahead of it while the Wii is long gone... It's a marathon not a sprint! Also it had to overcome huge difficulties like a high price, difficult software development, the hack etc even a freakin' TSUNAMI for crying out loud! But still managed to have the BEST exclusive game library of all three and a second place in the "race" without depending on RRODed or hackable consoles... *cough*360*cough*...

[ApocalypseShadow]

if you look at sales, then you might have to give it up to Nintendo or Microsoft as they most likely made the most money this generation.

but, if you look at it from a gamers point of you, Sony clearly won the race.they gave gamers the most bang for the buck for less money.some might say Sony offered free online to try to come up with a counter solution to xbl.but Sony Always offered it.ps2 did,PSP did,ps3 did,PS vita does,ps4 will.that is not gouging the gamer,that is taking care of the gamer and giving back.

again, Sony offered more to the gamer by giving back. When you purchase PlayStation Plus, Sony was still giving back to the gamer by offering free games and discounts.you might have to continue paying to play them but it still does not discount the gesture by Sony.

also, when PSN went down, what did Sony do?why they offered free games. even for those individuals that may not have been online, they still were offered free games. don't see that coming from other companies do you?

what about multiple systems? Sony allow you to download digital content to multiple systems without penalty. It was only win some gamers got greedy, that they had to cut it down to a reasonable level.

and this is just a small piece off with Sony offered.if you were a launch system owner,you were given the best console, the most bang for the buck and Sony took a $200 hit .did you see that happening with other companies? nope.when you build all that you need inside the product, you don't have to offer $100 wifi adapters.

and lastly, when you as a console manufacture increase the amount of developers to make games for your system, give them the freedom to do so,making sure that that is pretty much the best game that they could make and win awards for it,that is the type of company that should win any generation.

[punisher99]

"How the PlayStation 3 Won the Current-Gen Console War"

Personally I dont compare the Wii to the PS3 or 360 because its not the same class of console. The wii is a casual machine where as the PS3 and 360 is for the hardcore crowd. PS3 vs 360. I say the PS3 is currently winning because it has sold more units worldwide in a shorter amount of time vs. the 360. And it has more high rated exclusive games.

[_-EDMIX-_]

Sony's choice to stay away from 3rd party exclusives is what won them this gen BIG time. Focusing that money on first party studios is what got them new IP after new IP.

Another thing that won them this gen was a standerd system as suppose to (one with HDD, one without HDD) this made it a lot easier for people to just say "PS3" not PS3 with this or PS3 with that. Zero confusion. Though I own a 60gb sku, my hdd is a 500gb. That being said pretty much most PS3's out are pretty much the same.

I think MS business plan in terms of "arcade uniuts" was a great idea business wise (not so much development wise) if 100% don't own it, it pretty much won't get supported by many developers.

On the surface a 360 sounded cheaper, add in Wifi, add in a HDD, add in XBL to actually play online and add in that it didn't have a bluray player and you'll soon see its actually more then a PS3 easy.

Though Sony had some hurrdles in the beginning with PS3, those launch troubles pretty much mean nothing compared to the rest of the actual generation. Year after year PS3 was coming in with exclusive after exclusive after exlusive and just when you thought it was over PSN Plus is giving free games, just when you thought this was it, they release a slew of new IP's LITERALLY months before PS4's release..

How do you win a gen, easy by making new IP's and exclusives year after year after year EVEN LEADING UP TO YOUR NEXT SYSTEM! To say PS3 won this gen is a no brainer, where is Nintendo's support for Wii online or even games? MS releasing a big 360 game this year? Where is THEIR new ips? So...why should I own a 360 or Wii when nieither Nintendo or MS even care to support it anylonger?

I own a PS3 and will still use it YEARS after PS4's launch because Sony is still making games and new IP's on it.

You win a gen by having a lot of exclusive games, period. There really isn't a way around it. PS3's will keep selling WAY past 360's and Wii. At this point, I'll own a 720 or Wii U before I waste time with a 360 or a Wii.

[panbit86]

Nothing but the TRUTH! Bravo!

[ApocalypseShadow]

Great post.

[Nathaniel_Drake]

Yeah staying away from the 3rd party exclusives not only set them up this gen but next gen. Sony knew 1st party games was going to be at a premium this gen and in the future

[Sarobi]

It's all about the games.

[FlunkinMonkey]

Well executed points.. Waiting to hear some form of defence against these points... But don't think it's coming, only stealth disagrees.

[Why o why]

Almost every game of the year was on playstation this gen baring mass effect I think. It may have been released prior to the ps3s launch. Thats saying something and a number of them were by 1st party devs...Cant be spun negatively

[stonecold3]

I picked ps3 on first 1st day when it came out this machine beast and still games are coming out cant wait for ps4 as well.

[GamerzElite]

Really!

[MadMen]

I hate to say it, but the Wii won this gen, they kicked the $hit out of Xbox my fav system, and the PS3.

PS3 lost a HUGE amount of Market Share

Xbox got smoked on hardware RROD debacle

Safe to say, only the Wii made it out unscaved and with lots of cash.

[WalterWJR]

I started of this gen with a 360, after getting over the call of duty, halo and gears fest I moved back to Sony. I don't know why I ever left considering my love for the ps2.

[TheRealHeisenberg]

Come on already! Everybody knows all things PS must be the winz for there to be any chance at peace.

Edit: ^^^Hello son. All will be fine soon enough.

It is me son. Tell Skyler I said hello (sure she still hates me) and take care of your sister.

[WalterWJR]

Dad, is that you again?

[Erimgard]

This really comes down to opinion, seeing as it didn't win in terms of consoles sold or profits generated. PS3's a great system, but there's no definitive "winner" of this generation.

[ghostgaming]

Argument could be made for any of the 3 systems

Wii - has the most console sales

Xbox360 - great north american support and a much stronger position this generation when compared to last generation

PS3 - Best first party collection, solid sales especially considering the late start, highest price point - it has really closed strong the last 2 or so years

So essentially, they all have some points they could use as a success bullet

[Jek_Porkins]

Haven't we always gauged the winner by simple sales numbers? I mean I think the PS3 was a great console, but the Wii obviously won the sales war.

If we were going by the things in the article, the original Xbox would be considered the winner, which would just be silly.

[Prophet-Gamer]

The PS2 sold a lot of it's units after the PS3 came out and with a good price drop I think the PS3 still has a good amount of life left. It will definitely reach 100 million just like the other Playstation consoles

[SoapShoes]

Pfft the original Xbox had nothing on the Dreamcast and I'm not even talking about the other systems.

[_QQ_]

I don't see how it could win anything, Wii sold the most and "best console" is an opinion.

[IIZANGETSUII]

No, it's not. Damn this articles, such a waste of time

[Dan_scruggs]

The Wii won. Check your numbers. Mario Kart Wii alone sold 35 million copies. That's Uncharted 1, 2, 3 and God of War 1,2,3 combined. Mario Galaxy sold 7 million. Brawl sold 11 million. New Super Mario Bros Wii sold 26 million. Wii sports Resort sold 31 million. Wii Fit sold 22 million. All first party titles. Nintendo Wii games had staggering sales. Hell Nintendo isn't even supporting the Wii anymore and the PS3 may never reach it number of units sold and it definitely won't reach it's software sales. And even if it does it won't matter. Nintendo had already won the race and went home. It will be one lonely crossing of the finish line for the PS3.

Nintendo raked in huge sales and profits while the competitors lost billion upon billions of dollars. Say what you will but numbers don't lie.

PS4 will be a fine system with many great games just like the PS3 was but to declare it the winner of the generation is just flat out wrong.

[Prophet-Gamer]

By you're logic, Wii Fit is one of the greatest games ever. I bet you'd rather play that than Halo or Uncharted.

[SIANSLOW]

He stated facts not opinion, Wii won, yes halo and uncharted are better than Wii fit but winning US determined by sales and not preference

[Dan_scruggs]

What's better is subjective. What won is fact with numbers to support it.

[josephayal]

Wow Nothing can stop sony

[NewZealander]

how does 70+ mill ps3 sales and 70+ mill 360 sales = a ps3 win I would say That both consoles did and are still doing really well with the only winner being the gamers with choice and competition.

[punisher99]

Because the PS3 did those numbers in 6 years where as it took the 360 7 years.

[strickers]

Plus 4 extra months in EU and much of the world. This 1 year lead time applies to US/Japan . We had to wait 16 months. I bought 360 at launch
I couldn't wait for ps3. I also owned a Wii. Ps4 only next Gen. The other 2 were not really needed.

[refocusedman]

I have a very hard time saying that the PS3 has won the console war. If you look at it from a shear numbers perspective then it maybe possible to say the the PS3 won but, from a less narrow perspective sony has lost a large number of US consumers to the 360. The USA used to be dominated by sony and now they consistently sell less than their primary competition. The truth is that sony has lost this generation and not because they sold less than the 360 but, because they didnt stop or slow down the the 360s penetration rate.

[punisher99]

The USA does not = the world. Thus far the PS3 has sold more worldwide vs. the 360 has. They lost some U.S. consumers sure, but still managed to outsell their main competitor even while giving them a 1 year headstart.

[refocusedman]

Im very aware that the USA does not = the world but is remains one of the largest regions for console sales and its the primary reason that the 360 has done so well this generation. Sony has managed in large part to outsell the 360 at least 40:1 on a weekly basis in japan which is one of the main reasons that it has caught up and possibly passed the 360 in world wide sales. So although they have managed to outsell their main competitor after giving them a 1 year headstart, the fact is that the loss of US consumers and the accompanied software attach rate hurts. And if you dont believe me look at quality titles such as resistance 3 and starhawk, both quality titles.

[punisher99]

And also. We have to wait and see what happens once the PS4 and next xbox comes out. Lets see if the PS3 or the 360 can continue to sell after their successor has been released because thats also gonna play a key role.

[Loki86]

Nintendo and Microsoft are the big winners for two reasons. They not only closed the gap between last gen and this gen they surpassed Sony's efforts in stride, MS sold over 40 mil more consoles this gen and the Wii exceeded everyone's expectations. Sony also posted the biggest losses per quarter and was easily disappointing out of the gate. They got much better towards the end, but not enough to make enough for losses and piss poor start.

[SonyPS4]

Well I did lose interest in this 7th video games generation until I purchased my 80GB (2USB) PS3 and now own 64 titles for it, not even including my digital purchases/PS+ giveaways. Not playing the stupid fanboy game because all systems have their ups and downs, but for me the PS3 covers my gaming desires and has everything I wanted in a console.

I am an holder of the opinion that all consoles are equally successful this generation, each one of them for different reasons.

[Dj7FairyTail]

What does PS3 got on
Super Mario Galaxy
Super Smash Bros. Brawl
Zelda Skyward Sword
Xenoblade Chronicles
The Last Story
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Sin & Punishment 2 Star Successor
Metroid Prime 3 Corruption

from First Party Standpoint.

[Loki86]

Xenoblade was definitely a top 5 game of this gen!

[punisher99]

Uncharted 1
Uncharted 2 (2009 Spike Tv game Of The Year)
Uncharted 3
Resistance 1 and 2
Motorstorm
inFAMOUS 1 & 2
Heavenly Sword
Warhawk
Killzone 2 & 3
Heavy Rain
God Of war 3
God of War Ascension
Gran Turismo 5
Little big Planet 1 and 2
Twisted Metal
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns Of The Patriots (yeah I know its not 1st party but its still an exclusive anyway)

[Dj7FairyTail]

Twisted Metal
Gran Turismo 5
Starhawk
Resistance 1 and 2
Motorstorm
Little big Planet 1 and 2

don't make me laugh.

U listed like 3 or 2 games each franchises to have more than what I listed LOL

[ThePsychoGamer]

Well to be fair, The Last Story isn't a first party game either.

[OmniSlashPT]

1 word.
2 hours.
100s of awards.

Journey.

[dantendo]

I love nintendo with all my heart, but how can you seriously compare the mario, zelda, donkey kong franchises against new innovative franchises of this generation? Nintendo has played the same card for nearly 30 years.. First party titles are the only thing that sold the wii, gamecube, N64... The last nintendo console with decent 3rd party support was the super nintendo..

[gamer42]

decent? snes had awesome 3rd party support!

[fabiani]

with so much talk the ps4 has the whole industry.

[MultiConsoleGamer]

It didn't win in terms of sales. And it didn't win in terms of profitability. In that regard its actually the least profitable gaming deviance in history. And it damn near destroyed its patent company.

It could only win in terms of content, and since reviews are unreliable, winning in that particular area is just a matter of opinion.

[Truth]

Casual gamers vs hardcore gamers is like a 10 to 1 advantage, so while the Wii sold more overall it's kind of unfair to compare those numbers to the PS3 or 360 IMO. Sony had greater first party, unique games and sold as many units in less time than it's main competition. So I think overall you'd have to give the win to the PS3... Especially since it came in as an underdog. However, it's all perspective as most people will give their favorite console the win on their personal likes and dislikes. Gamers really won this gen, and I hope it continues next gen.

[horndog]

A small miracle the writer says?? Lol!! Lets not talk about the massive market share sony had last gen dominating in NA, EUROPE and Asia and every corner of the world and how it lost all that thanks to MS and Nintendo. Its more miraculous to me how those two companies who couldnt hold a candle last gen to the ps2 came to dominate and take over the market sony once dominated without the need of bluray, emotion engine, cell chip and the need for "a second job". What did sony win this gen ??

@ TRUTH

sony came in as an underdog from last gen?? You werent gaming back then I take it. Sony came in this gen as the undisputed champ but it did so bad that it looked like it was the under dod understandebly.

[prettyboy12]

yea... what ever keeps you happy dude!!ill admit sonys own ego cost them a lot but its more of a slap in the face to ms because they couldnt keep there lead.my god just imagine if next gen they launch at the same time,sony is going to slaughter ms and nin isnt even a factor right now with the wii-u.point is they learned there lesson PERIOD!!!

[givemeshelter]

From a business standpoint, Sony lost. There is no spinning of this. They created a system for all gamer's however, financial wise they lost. How do you "win" when a company loses close to 40% of the market-share they enjoyed for two console generations AND loses the biggest gaming market they held for that same time period: North America? Most companies that do this have their entire senior staff fired and the company restructured (which Sony has been going through major financial restructure since the late 1990's right up until this very day)
The big winners this generation was Nintendo and Microsoft regardless what the N4G community wants to say (and this community makes up less then .001% of gamers worldwide if not less) because it was Sony's generation to WIN or LOSE...They were the favorites to repeat their success like the PS1, and PS2. This never happened and instead they lost 40%+ market-share to two of their rivals that hardly were a blip on the map last generation. That is not good from ANY business standpoint.

Lets put this into BUSINESS CONCEPT... Because this is a BUSINESS and not a charity. This is the real world:

preetyby12...if you owned a company selling X brand Widgets for 20 years, and a company came on the scene to challenge your company selling this product in which you dominated for the past 20 years and in just 12+ years that challenging company took away 40% of your market-share selling Y Brand widgets. Would you say your company won.... Companies that lose that much market-share to their competition when they dominated the market before are not considered winners. Only on N4G would someone consider that winning...Or maybe Charlie Sheen....

[Y_5150]

For me, the PS3 will eventually win by sales thus it being the winner. But currently the Wii has, it's time is over but what impact it made on gaming,it was mainstream, maximum popularity compared to the other 2. It died down but it made it's mark.

Here's a fact though: The PS3 has made the best comeback during this generation!

[nintendoland]

I have never played ps3. I think only bad thing about it is controller. I have pc controller exactly the same and it feels like shit. My left thumb hurts when I try to reach left analog stick. I just can't use it. If ps3 had better controller, I maybe would have bought it but now it's too late. Next-gen already started

[Y_5150]

Is that the only thing stopping you?! Silly reason if you ask me...

[mayberry]

Very true. There are ps3 controllers exactly like the 360's on the market. Stop hating

[Zizi]

PS3 won because of its exclusivity. I know that X360 has its exclusivity, but when we talk about 'quality', the PS3 exclusives are far better than its rival. Many exclusive games on PS3 have been critically acclaimed by the critics.

[o-Sunny-o]

PS3 won for me since looks like my Xbox 360 collecting dust. My Wii U is even a dust magnet.

[givemeshelter]

Traditionally "winning" a console war generation was determined by how many units of said console sold overall. It's been like this since the Atari 2600 vs. The Intellivison to this day. This article is just spinning the same old argument and trying to change how this has been viewed since 1979. Nice try though.

[violents]

I don't care what the reason is, all I know is ever since I was 11 when someone sat me in front of a playstation with a game called "loaded" I believe, I was hooked on the playstation brand. Call me a fanboy if you want but I never really cared for Nintendo's family friendly vibe and I don't like MS business ethics so I chose to not support that company.(I even use pirated versions of windows or Linux if I can)

It's been PS since day one for me and they haven't let me down yet. Keep the good stuff coming sony, and I will stay a faithful customer for life.

Love my playstation.

[McGamer]

LOL, nice attempt at trolling but PS3 most certainly did not beat the 360 in sales alone.

[Marugo]

Never knew the war has already ended

[extermin8or]

Well if you are going sales (although if everyone was selling at a massive loss the entire time this means sweet f all) then the wii won-but seeing as everyone sort of omits the way from these sorts of discussions (and I can understand why tbh-id didn't get half the multi platform game the other two got.
Now in terms of sale per time then the ps3 did beat the 360 worldwide, however the usa market belonged to Microsft however through their adventure :p

[stage88]

Ps3 won because of the games.

[Orionsangel]

First of all I own all three systems and I'm a PC gamer. So I have no stake in this and I like all the systems. I'm just gonna tell you what I observed over the last 6 years. In terms of relevance. The Xbox 360 won. Just follow hardcore and pro-gamers. They chose 360 as the cool system to own. It was the system to play Call of Duty on. It's the console used at pro-gamer tournaments.

Then there was getting Achievements. Which became a phenomenon. So much so that Sony and Steam had to copy it. When they compare most multi-platform console games. The game that usually looks better and wins is on the 360. These are just facts. You can just feel what the trending system is and it's not PS3. The way PSN is set up. It has an outdated feel to it. It feels like a party is going on at XBL and PSN feels like like Library. Haven't you ever noticed that people stream 360 games online more the PS3 games?

Bring on the Dislikes, but you know I'm right.

[iistuii]

Stop it, you can't talk sense on here....

[Adolph Fitler]

Sony has been winning the console wars since there inception into the marketplace with PSone.
They have had the cutting edge hardware, that is complimented with some of the best, most diverse, artistic, aesthetically beautiful, FUN, FUN, & FUN games since there 1st machine launched & gave us such awesome titles as Medal Of Honor (the 1st 2 don't even compare to the latter crap), Medievil (Please Sony, make a new one, using the same dev. team), Crash Bandicoot, Metal Gear Solid, Final Fantasy 7, Gran Turismo, Soul Edge (later Calibre on DC, but the virtually ignored Soul Edge was the original & THE BEST), Driver, Wipeout, Tomb Raider, Syphon Filter (please Sony, make a PS4 sequel worthy of name), Time Crisis, Point Blank (Still the 2 best lightgun games of all time, closely followed by Duck Hunt), Resident Evil 1&2, Destruction Derby, Tekken, Jo Jo's Bizzare Ad, Rival Schools (Please Capcom, PS4 sequel), Nightmare Creatures, Abe's Odysee & Exodus, Rage Racer, Ridge Racer, Rapid Racer, Jet Moto, Twisted Metal, Burning Road, MotorHead, Moto Racer 1&2, & the fact is, that there are so many AAA+ quality games on this list, that I've forgotten, that in a perfect videogame world I would be shot for ignorance....I mean, the LOOONG list of PS1 AAA & then AA quality titles worth your playtime, was ridiculous & unheard of for a home console. Never before did we have so much choice in high quality quantities of games. It was like a machine that brandished the weapon of Sega, Nintendo & pc's catalogue of games, all on the one little grey box,...& that is the gods honest truth, as I cannot explain it any other way.
The PS2 then came along & solidified that fact & the truth is, that anyone with a brain knew that Sony could not dominate this heavily for too many more gens, especially with MS now being in Sony's position, as the new kid on the block. But, even with MS's disposable income, Sony's next machine, in the PS3, did the same thing that it had done best for this gen as well... And that was offer the better alternative, for alternative's to the shooter & racer genre. Whereas 360 was flooded with those particular genres, the PS3 just has more to offer, & really did from day one.

[Adolph Fitler]

I mean, as someone already mentioned on here, Resistance & it's 40 player, prefect, lagless online multiplayer......this was a launch game for Christ sake (& 1 that deserves far more praise than it got, as the single player is still one of my favorites, for a shooter & the online was 2nd to none), then for arcade racing thrills there was Motorstorm, still to this day, THE BEST arcade racer this generation (that title formelly held by Burnout, last gen, but they messed it up with Paradise, by going all open world). Now, these 2 aforementioned titles make me a hypocrite, as they are from the very 2 genres that I said were 360's only strengths......but, remember, these were launch titles, that were aimed at the hardcore types in Resistances case (it also catered to casuals, with it's easy, butter smooth, arcade controls & gameplay, then MS was made in the reverse of that, in that it was the signature, overly pretty, visually impressive, beautiful to look at game that was made to hook the casuals 1st & foremost, & would also attract many of the hardcore crowd, with it's sinister gameplay. Both these games are kickass, & still hold up in what they were trying to achieve today (in that Resistance is still an awesome hardcore shooter, & MS is still very pretty & arcade FUN & chaotic in gameplay approach).
So, with the 2 typically expected genres covered as PS3 launch titles, then PS3 began building up, one of the best gaming catalogues of all time, with Heavenly Sword (which may have been another awesome launch game), GOW3 & Ascention, Killzone 2&3, GT5, Unchartered 1-3, MGS4, Ratchet: TOD&ACIT, infamous 1&2, Twisted Metal, Warhawk, Starhawk, Sly Cooper, & the masses that I have also forgotten, as well as unreleased sure fire hits like The Last Of Us, & the handful of others that are due in the next few months, just before the imminent release of the (already purchased by me) PS4.
I have no doubts that PS3 won this gen for me, as the literally 100's of PS3 games in my cabinets attest to. Never have I been more intimidated by a machines masses of unfinished titles in my collection.

[hano]

That's just Sony propoganda. Sony came out the biggest loser this generation. They lost so much market share.

Even Nintendo raised themselves from the GC days to a good place.

I think the biggest winner was Microsoft, they moved from a no-player to a serious contender and got a massive share.

However They do seem to be blindly thrashing and out of touch the upcoming generation and stopped doing what made them gain such a market share.

[socks]

People on this site downvote all logic if it pisses them off. Console War = Sales War unless you dumb kids want to change what it means.

I hate the Wii (love Xenoblade) but as of the start of next-gen the Wii has the numbers. In a couple years PS3 will probably pass the Wii by and win the console war.

Either way, a stupid article. The PS3 is bound to win eventually, but really, currently it is losing.

[mamotte]

I dont get why fans ore so obsessed with this "war". From my point of view, the two great winners were Nintendo and Sony; maybe Nintendo a little more. now, I wont get in a discussion about sales and value: I'll talk about games. I own both consoles, and I can assure you each have strong points and weak points. PS3 is a great console for the "lone" gamer, I dont say it doesnt have great online or social features, and I know great online games can be found there. So, PS3 is great for single player. Problem is, I'm old, 27 and growing, and I grew with the n64. We all know that console is a blast for multiplayer, and yes, I have countless hours playing Smash, Mario Kart, Conker... and I still group with groups of friends to play games. That's where the Wii shines. You just cant beat the Wii for local multiplayer, even if it's a silly game like Wario Ware or Just Dance, it's pure damn fun. Another kind of fun, if you get what I mean. Also, it has great single player games; they're not as shiny and polished as PS3, but still are great.

Everyone have different tastes, different game habits, and, why not? Different friends. Now, why cant everyone just enjoy what they like in peace, is out of my mind.

Sorry about the wall of text and poor english.

[ceed911]

How do you win something by being down 16 million sales in North America to Xbox and the Wii even more...

/facepalm

[jacksons98]

Because one region doesn't make a system. And not everyone wants to play Halo or COD over and over and over

[ceed911]

North America = roughly 50% of the market

If there is one REGION you don't want to be losing, its the one where the most consoles are sold.

Guess who is in last?

[mrbojingles]

In every sense it didn't. Didn't make Sony much money, finished third (maybe second next year) in worldwide sales, so no, it didn't win it. It did very, very well tho

[one2thr]

"I fought the war... I FOUGHT THE WAR, BUT THE WAR WON'T STOP!!!... For the love of God"...

Off topic, but I really like that song now...

Thanks Sony

[sdplisken]

PS3 and soon PS4 FTW

[MonopolyRSV]

Wii wasn't part of this generation, straight up.

[YoloSwag]

I'm tired of these joke articles on n4g. Bring the real news please!

[Condemnedman]

Another sony suck job article lol how about an article that goes along the line how to dominate a gen then get cocky and lose most of it with stupid ideas?

[Welcome2Die]

I think Ps3 won because of the quality of their games. 10 years from now I still see myself playing all the great exclusives again!

[younghavok]

Nintendo lost last gen badly, they had the poorest selling console out of the big 3. To come back and dominate as they have is insane. They were the underdog and they prevailed. For all the good games Sony had as exclusives, Nintendo did as well.

Mario Galaxy
Mario Galaxy 2
Mario Kart
Mario Strikers
Super Paper Mario
Smash Bros Brawl
Wii Sports
Wii Sports Resort
Battalion Wars 2
Red Steel 2
Fatal Frame 4
Xenoblade
The Last Story
Arc Rise Fantasia
Zak and Wiki
Fire Emblem
Zelda Skyward Sword
Sonic Colors
No More Heroes 2
Donkey Kong Country Returns
Metroid Prime Trilogy

And majority of those sold in the millions. All quality games, all diverse titles. And hell even in terms of software sales, sony is still losing to microsoft, whose still losing to Nintendo. Sony made a great console and some great games but the only concrete thing to measure is sales numbers, where the Wii wins. The rest is just opinion and preference.