Nextbox vs. PlayStation 4: Is the classic rivalry coming to an end?

In the video game industry as in many popular video games themselves, a fierce rivalry has taken center stage. Sony took a commanding early lead and its PlayStation and PlayStation 2 systems are both among best-selling video game consoles of all time at No.4 and No.1, respectively. Then the tide turned and Microsoft’s Xbox 360 edged out the PlayStation 3 in the current generation console wars, having recently posted its 27th consecutive month as the top-selling console in the U.S. But we may soon see this rivalry fade as the missions of Microsoft’s next-generation “Xbox Infinity” and Sony’s PlayStation 4 begin to diverge.

[loulou]

the rivalry will continue on blogs4fanboys for sure. as the loyal "soldiers" will continue their keyboard war for the love of these mega corps.

well on blogs4fanboys it is not even a war. because one army of fanboys dwarfs the others by so much, it is hardly worth them commenting

[CynicalKelly]

Sounds like N4G..

[Jaqen_Hghar]

Except PS3 has overtaken 360 unless PS2 somehow shot up to 3 million in the last fiscal year.

[Muerte2494]

Courtesy of NEOGAF
PS3 Unit Sales (Unit: Million)
Code:
HW (Ap-Jn) (Jl-Sp) (Oc-Dc) (Ja-Mr) FY LTD

FY06 - - (1.7) (1.8) 3.5 3.5

FY07 (0.7) (1.3) (4.9) (2.2) 9.1 12.6

FY08 (1.6) (2.4) (4.5) (1.6) 10.1 22.7

FY09 (1.1) (3.2) (6.5) (2.2) 13.0 35.7

FY10 (2.4) (3.5) (6.3) (2.1) 14.3 50.0

FY11 (1.8) (3.7) (6.5) (1.9) 13.9 63.9

FY12 2.8-PS2 3.5-PS2 6.8-PS2 3.4-PS2 16.5-PS2 80.4 - FY12 PS2

----------------------------- ------------------

Since people are now skeptical of PS3's hardware numbers. If you look @ Sony Q3 reports each year since 2009, you'll the trend of at least 6 million. Sony ps3 has been selling that since 2009 well before the infamous +ps2.

http://www.scei.co.jp/corpo...

You'll see that from NOv 16 '06 - Mar 31'12 PS3 sold 63.9 million.

Now add Sony Q1,Q2,Q3 (Apr 1st 2012 - December 31st, 2012)
63.9 + Q1(2.8) = 66.7
66.7 + Q2(3.5) = 70.2(Q2 ended Sept.31st) (report release Nov. 1st 2012)
Sony announces Nov.16 (6 year anniversary) ps3 70 million
"This morning Sony announced that cumulative sales of the PS3 reached 70 million worldwide as of 4th November 2012 - six years after it launched in November 2006."
http://www.eurogamer.net/ar...

70.2 + Q3(6.8) = 77.0 million at the end of 2012
IDC reported this Jan. 8th 2013
http://www.gamesindustry.bi...

Quote: "The report also highlights that just this past December, Sony's PS3 managed to surpass the number of Xbox 360s shipped worldwide (about 77 million vs. 76 million), despite the PS3 launching a year later."
Jack Tretton confirming 77 million
http://www.playstationlifes...

Sony officially passed Microsoft back in September 31st, 2012. Because that's when their Q2 ended. Even with all the evidence showing ps2 isn't added into the equation people still remain in denial.

77 + Q4(3.4) = 80.4 million PS3'S SOLD!!!!!!

PS3 is now at 80.4 million and xbox360 at 77.2 million.

Give me stealth disagrees all you like, facts are facts.

[loulou]

and who really cares after 7yrs???

[hennessey86]

Sony has only just started turning a profit again, how long have Microsoft been raking it in of the 360?.

[JP1369]

loulou
Anyone with a brain. The point is to sell as many units as you can over a lifetime. In this regard, Sony has won.
Hennesey
And what have they done with that money, besides spend it on exclusive DLC?

[Muerte2494]

It matters to Sony because Ps3 still has another 2 years 9 months before before it hits it's 10 year life cycle. Ps3 is about to go on sale in 3rd world countries. Sony still has yet to put the ps3 at the magical $199.99 price point. Ps3 will become Sony's 3rd home console to achieve 100 million sold.

Sony only needs to sell 1.8 million a quarter from here on out to reach 100 ps3 sold.

@Hennessey86,

Unlike xbox360, ps3 is showing and increase YOY from 13.9 million to 16.5 million. This make the most sense, since ps3 is still at $249.99.

The generation isn't over yet so how is it too little too late? Xbox 360 head a year head start in America and Japan (16 months Europe). They didn't cover RROD until mid 2007. At one point, Microsoft had the entire market to themselves. Even with all this, they still managed to get outsold worldwide by Nintendo and Sony.

You guys like to mention the ps2, but Sony didn't blow their lead that generation. They just kept dominating the competition.

Microsoft won't have alot of the advantages that they had this generation. This isn't a war anymore, it's going to be a slaughter. Microsoft needs to bring their focus back to games.

Sony has EU and JPN. Microsoft needs America to even stand a chance at coming out on top. If they don't succeed at this, then I don't ever see them being viable again.

[loulou]

jp1369.
"anyone with a brain" wtf are you talking about?

what you should have said was any fanboy! if you little kids are getting a bit of hardwood coz $ony has surpassed m$ or vice versa, then you need to get a grip. n4g is pathetic web-site, and the community gets worse daily.

muerte2494

"It matters to Sony because Ps3 still has another 2 years 9 months before before it hits it's 10 year life cycle. Ps3 is about to go on sale in 3rd world countries. Sony still has yet to put the ps3 at the magical $199.99 price point. Ps3 will become Sony's 3rd home console to achieve 100 million sold.

Sony only needs to sell 1.8 million a quarter from here on out to reach 100 ps3 sold"

question: do you work for $ony? are you going to get a bonus if they sell 100m? what you not! oh and you dont work for $ony, but you spent nearly 1hr researching stuff just to write some fanboy love letter on n4g...

sad

[SpinalRemains]

When one side wins both battles and the other lost both battles, there is no rivalry.

A rivalry by definition, is when there is an ongoing back and forth. Yankees/Redsox 2003-2008 etc....

SONY continually outselling the microsoft brand since its inception does not a rivalry make.

[Mario18]

If there is no rivalry, then why do fans of both sides slap each others back?

[TechnicianTed]

'SONY continually outselling the microsoft brand since its inception does not a rivalry make. '

Let's take a moment to reflect on what happened this gen.

Last gen the Xbox sold around 25 million consoles, while the PS2 has sold, to date, over 150 million.

This gen the Xbox has sold, from what I'm reading from the comments on this very article -

'PS3 is now at 80.4 million and xbox360 at 77.2 million. '

- 77.2 million units. And the Ps3 has sold just over 80 million units.

It's safe to say that the gap between the two has decreased quite rapidly, and they are very much in competition.

What can be observed is Sony has failed to make as much of an impact with the ps3 as the ps2 had. The ps2 sold over 100 million before 6 years had ended, the ps3 is still far from that goal.

On the other hand, MS have sold 3 times the amount their previous console sold, and the gen isn't over.

If you look at things reasonably, MS have made the biggest strides this gen.

It will be interesting to see how things progress with the next gen.

[zebramocha]

@tech some things that kinda proves spinal right,the ps3 is still more expensive than the 360,in the beginning its online wasn't comparable to Ms,there were quality port issues with third parties,it came out later and still sold better in lest time.

[TechnicianTed]

@zebramocha

Can you make your comment into something that makes sense?

Thanks.

[zebramocha]

@tech the positive and negatives, why the ps3 and xbox are not rivals,from their inception till now.

Ms past till present,pro's and con's
Has maintained a cheaper price in comparison to Sony,had a better online this gen,had better third party support,had or aquired high profile content for their system,lacks diversity and variety for exlusives,this one is my personal opinion but feel it's true,casual gamers are represented to much as they aren't consisted enough to launch a gaming console to.

Sony,higher price, a online not up to par with Ms in the beginning,quality issues with ports,I didn't factor in non gaming feature or omitted some stuff from Sony's list as it could be generalized as,they improved upon it to the point that it can be said Sony is at parity or Sony is doing better then Ms especially the last part.

[Muerte2494]

Zerbra is correct. If a guy start out with a 25 cents and makes three times as much, he only has 75 cents. Microsoft could only go up from 25 million worlwide.

A console's sales doesn't continue from where it's predecessor left off. It starts with a brand new slate, otherwise Wii U would still be considered dominating. The fact is Microsoft blew their lead trying to cater to the casual market. From November 25, 2005 until November 16, 2006, Microsoft had 100% market share. To end up with the least amount of market share out of all three, is an embarrassment. There is just no justifying it. PSN with the addition of Playstation plus surpasses anything Xbox LIVE is offering at the moment.

"What can be observed is Sony has failed to make as much of an impact with the ps3 as the ps2 had. The ps2 sold over 100 million before 6 years had ended, the ps3 is still far from that goal."

How can you say this when Sony had so many disadvantages then gen compared to Microsoft? The Playstation brand has proven how strong it is. Fact is ps3 will become Sony's 3rd console to pass 100 million in 10 years. Microsoft nor Ninetendo can say that.

If YOU look at it logically, when you're already at the bottom the only way to go is up. Unless you're Microsoft, who managed to go from first to last in ONE generation.

[Skips]

@Muerte2494

"Fact is ps3 will become Sony's 3rd console to pass 100 million in 10 years. Microsoft nor Ninetendo can say that."

Couldn't have said it better myself. lol

It may be true that Microsoft DID in fact triple their fan base. But that isn't something that just happened on it's own...

Fact is Microsoft practically had EVERY advantage you could've imagined back when the PS3 launched that in fact could've lead them to dominate this gen.

1. They had an ENTIRE YEAR on the market with no competition.

2. They were without a doubt the CHEAPEST of the two consoles. 360 being $399 and PS3 being $599. (Imagine Microsoft trying to sell a $599 console. LMFAO XD!)

3. PS3 was without a doubt WAY more complicated for developers to create games on, resulting in botched ports and immense backlash from devs and gamers alike.

4. The 360 without a doubt had a MUCH STRONGER lineup of exclusive games for the first two years.

The fact that Microsoft had ALL THESE ADVANTAGES but still managed to end up in last place REALLY speaks just how powerful PlayStation really is. lol

It will be quite amusing to see how the Xbox brand fares going head to head with the PlayStation brand without ANY of those advantages. Especially with them practically losing out on their core fan base trying to get at the casuals.

[josephayal]

There will always be people who try to ruin your day by putting down the console you choose to play games on, that's why many people attack me (in over 30+ game websites) or disagree strongly with my opinions

[M-M]

People attack you because:

1. You're a troll.

2. You never try to have any good input on your comments, it's a 4 word statement without a period 99.9% of the time.

3. You never try to add anything to a discussion that's going on.

4. You're a troll.

[Krosis]

The agree/disagree system really shows what demographic is dominent on this site. Such a silly system: let's limit the voice of the current minority. ..yeah good plan. Makes reading the comments pointless as any that have an opinion that differs from the majority are penalized for it. Keep the agree system, but only use "bubbles" for positive reasons. Reducing the number of times one can speak based soley on the fact their opinion differs from that of the majority is asinine. It advocates trolling and supresses opinion and variety--the very elements of interesting conversation.