Microsoft has just announced that its Xbox 360 console sold 750,000 units during the week of Black Friday in the US. By comparison, Nintendo's brand-new Wii U console sold 400,000 units during its launch week. Microsoft also said that Halo 4 "exceeded expectations with impressive sales the week of Black Friday."
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You could see how Microsoft set themselves up for a good holiday every since E3.
It's not fair to compare the sales to Wii-U because everyone knew all along that the Wii-U would essentially sell out of it's shipment throughout the holiday.
The Halo 4 sales they got this go-around also attribute to the fact that this was the first time in a really long time they had Halo release a title of this caliber in November.
Evil
What's there to be bitter about. As long as both are doing well, there's nothing to complain about.
360 had a really good line-up this year, PlayStation not so much so the 360 was likely to outsell the PS3 by a larger margin than normal in the US (although we don't know the actual PS3 numbers yet).
But 2013 will be an exceptional year for PlayStation with the line-up they have, as well as, a price drop for the console most likely down to:
12GB - $169
250GB - $199
500GB - $249
And with the line-up they have Sony and the PS3 will be sitting pretty next holiday.
But that makes me wonder if those games are coming out early 2013 since the PS4 is rumored to be hitting shelves next holiday, or is the PS4 being pushed back to early 2014 (as far as rumors go)?
I agree with you that it does not matters as long as both are doing well but many people these days consider PS3 a failure just because it is a couple of million units behind XBOX360. They do not consider it a healthy competition. Playstation has been my console of choice for a long time and I do not want it to to perform poorly and exit the industry as a result.
Ive stuck wheels on mine.
EDIT
Here it is:
http://oxforddictionaries.c...
"It's not fair to compare the sales to Wii-U because everyone knew all along that the Wii-U would essentially sell out of it's shipment throughout the holiday. "
Except Wii-I did NOT sell out. yesterday i went into walmart and they were stocked with the basic set only. and today i went into bestbuy and they were stocked with both basic and deluxe editions. i don't think they sold all that well. and the anecdotal evidense of people being able to walk in and get it on launch day. and the line ups that were about 12 people strong. add to that the negative press about the day one patch, no instantly clear benefit over current gen, and it;s selling on sites like ebay for the same cost as retail means there isn't really a pent up demand for it.
Hadn't heard or really checked into it. I guess we are all assuming it sold out in most places.
There is a definately difference in how the launches felt. It was absolutely bezerk when the Wii dropped.
Reggie feels good though..he's in rare form right now..lol
I can't call it..but I can't see many of them sitting around as Xmas gets closer
Evil
In itself the PS3 isn't a failure.
The failure lies in what could've been in opposition to what it is, today.
It's like Sony looked at everything they did right with the PS2, and then didn't do that.
This is why I like the 360: I like it's interface. It's easy to find your friends and jump in their games, or send invites or whatever.
I also prefer the controller. To me, it's the most comfortable.
At this point, I'm more vested in the 360 than PS3 so even though I own both, I tend to buy the 360 versions of multi-plat games to earn achievements and play with friends.
It's just a personal preference. Last gen, I preferred PS2 over Xbox hands down. This gen was the opposite for me. We'll see what next gen brings!
Just like how Xbox 360 went out of stock on launch
and same with ps3 on launch.
My word, the launch sales are awesome, and people are still waitlisted and wating for them deluxe models.
comparing black friday sales numbers of an Established System to one that just launched is the greatest way to come up with a solid conclusion that will predict the future of a console.
That is one week!!!
@Abash:
Don't be worried about the Wii U yet. It is too early to tell when Nintendo has shortages. They can't sell more even if the demand is much higher. It remains to be seen what Wii U will do going forward in the next 6-12 months.
@CalvinKlein
"I hope VITA sold alot too."
I am pretty sure you got thumbs down for that.
OLD CONSOLE. You couldn't sound like more of a fanboy if you tried. The PS3 is old too and why is hard to believe that these OLD consoles still have tons of life. What's their competition....wii-u? GTFOH. Do you not see the lineup in 2013? Metal Gear, Last of Us, God of War, Beyond Two Souls, and GTA5 have something to say about OLD consoles
Still a good number of units sold. Good job MS.
Eurdito knows whats up.
Still drawing in those casuals.
Nice try though
it even sold more than the Wii launch week back in 2006.
I really don't see this console fading away anytime soon.
side note...
all I want for xmas is one more bubble, I lost them all during the PSN hacking thing. I am not a troll or fanboy, I've contributed to the community, just one bubble.
+ 1 bubble.
Vita LT in the U.S is 600k.
Xbox is an impressive beast man, it should clear 40m sales in the U.S Alone this year...
What a monster, MS has Americas Locked, if they can get Europe next Gen they will crush competition.
It should not be that hard, European market is very casual, they just need something original to make it sell like Wii over here, the market here doesnt care about their Brand, most of my Hardcore gaming friends who have a Ps3 already want a 360 because the best online and the best competitive games, they moved to League of Legends and are just waint for Xbox 3.
Xbox 3 will be massive, prepare yourself, Microsoft usually get it right at 3rd attempt. this should be no different.
i think its a safe bet to say amongst real gamers, both sony and ms did a pretty damn good job this gen and we all are very much anticipating their next consoles
So now the competition is about who is making a bigger ditch to climb out of? Well I guess Sony did win in that competition.
Out of a bigger ditch? they were just coming off the all time best selling console ever after dominating 2 gens. The only hole they were in was the one they're own mouths dug. I think the 360 out did the PS3 this gen, but it made Sony get back to what made them great, thats good for all of us.
I have 3 Xbox friends that are waiting patiently for the PS4 to be announced so they can jump ship as soon as possible. I've also got another friend who's thinking about changing too. If anything i think Microsoft should be worrying about Sony's attack on the American market because next gen they will be coming with a huge amount of leverage wanting to claim back those who originally switched from PS2 to xbox.
Edit below: Good memory. 3 years I did do a piece for my site looking at the 360's declining sales numbers which Microsoft was able to turn around. Before I sold the domain I believe out of the hundreds of articles posted on the site during it's operation I had about just about 4 opinion pieces that could have been construed as negative. Two looking at the 360's slowing sales back then as well as two pieces where I was sceptical regarding Kinect's appeal (something I admitted time and time again I was dead wrong about. MS hit it out of the park with Kinect.) - (Oh, and I see you found the one about MS's CES gaffe. 5 articles.)
At the same time that 360 sales were slumping, MS claimed "What I can tell you is we remain confident that Xbox 360 will not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation." Clearly they were not able to pull this off back then as they've been handily outsold overall by the PS3 since they've been available head to head.
I stand by each of those articles. Back then the 360 was in decline which was obvious to anyone watching the sales. They did lie at CES which was revealed when they issued their earnings report shortly after their "over 66 million users" claim, they did cut back their build orders, although now we know it was due to the Xbox slim gearing up, and as I stated, the Xbox did require Kinect to help broaden it's base, which to my surprise it did.
As is the internet way the headlines of these 4 articles was designed to provoke, but the content of the articles was based on solid facts or clearly stated opinion based on rational arguments. I have to agree, flamebait headlines make me cringe which makes me hypocritical, I suppose. I hate ads in mobile games too, but I utilize them in the games my company releases because they're a necessary evil when generating income from free versions of our software.
I've never hid the fact that I thought the 360 was a fantastic console with a tremendous library of games. It's why even after 4 consoles I still own one, which many might think makes me a bit crazy. I'm quite pleased to see MS was able to turn the 360's slide around. I think Microsoft has done an excellent job with the product after a shaky start and more than a few ups and downs along the way.
i even remember the xbox logo in a toilet title picture...
http://n4g.com/news/416137/...
http://n4g.com/news/921809/...
http://n4g.com/news/602869/...
http://n4g.com/news/570158/...
360 is doomed and so is xbox live gold. lmao.
" Strong words for the man behind a console clearly in decline. " lolz.....
We'll have to see.
Of course this didn't include me because I am still too broke to even afford a good deal.
Here's hoping that the WiiU and the upcoming consoles breaths some new life and excitement in the video game industry which is feeling a little stale as of late.
@Darkride
It's funny that you have all those submitted stories and you even stand by the stories of MS's 360 being in decline but you didn't do the same for the beginning of the PS3 and it's troubles out the gate (or did you?) and you can't do the same with the troubles the Vita is now facing.
You even posted a pic of the 360 logo in the toilet and yet you claim to be unbias and not want to fan the fires of the imaginary console war. You spout the same negativity in those articles and in some recent posts that you claim to hate in other articles and from journalists. So please don't "suppose" yourself as to being hypocritical because this is what I and many others have been telling you for a very long time.
Anyways it is good to see that you can congratulate and be fair in at least some posts even if the 360/Wii isn't your console of choice.
Edit: Hang on, you justify your doom and gloom articles (you even have a blog here on n4g with an exploding zeplin as the title picture) on the fact that the data then supported them but many of your comments now decry doom articles about the VITA even though the current vita data clearly supports them?? Hypocrite much bro?
You did the EXACT same thing to the 360 then that the media is doing now to the VITA and you have the gall to complain? WOW.
Don't worry his true colors will come out. They always do.
People remember what he was like.
Evil
Still...750,000 sold on the console's 8th black friday is pretty impressive.
Heck we don't have anymore of the $199.99 PS3's anymore, we have some of the ones of 360 left over and the MW3/Star Wars ones.
I'm not doubting your story or experience, just that if what you say is true across the board then that means that Sony would have sold just as many or more consoles. Don't know if that will end up being the case, this article didn't care to mention those sales, and only compared it to the Wii U, which was apparently sold out at most retailers.
It sold more than the WiiU launch
Has SONY posted numbers, I would like to see those as well, they might have both beat WiiU launch numbers.
But this destroys any hope for ninny I'd think. Wiiu potential sales is mightily hurt by this I'd think.
Well according to this site more people are "suckered into MS little game and are getting "ripped off."
People, the masses won't pay for something they don't like, or want. So the masses WANT Xbox and they WANT to pay for gold that's there decision. There's no need to belittle peoples intelligence bying saying "suckered" and "scammed", "ripped Off."
Either way, glad to see an old dino like 360 still selling great.
It doesn't. It benefits them the consumer not a website with a pretend war with troll written articles that pop up every second.
Because those articles aren't true they never will be. Its just to feed the console fanboys that's it. The world still spins the Xbox and LIve Subscribtions sold well.
True people won't pay for something they don't want to, but if they want to play online with the 360 they do have to pay. It's up to the individual to decide if they think it's worth it, and if they think it's worth it then it shouldn't matter to any of us.
On top of that...who WANTS to pay for anything. If we could get everything free we would. Don't believe me...go work in food service and see how much people WANT to pay for stuff.
I would love to know the PS3 numbers as they also had some great bundles going for Black Friday. I am sure they put up some good sales as well.
and MS marketing is just top notch
expect X720 to be a beast