When the PS3 originally launched, consumers and journalists around the world were throwing in the towel and already saying their farewells to Sony’s high priced console. Now, as we reach the last years of the PS3’s time in the limelight, the Daily Reaction crew of Seb and Dan discuss how the market has changed for Sony, and just what this could mean for their future in the next generation of console wars.
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It wasn't suppose to change anything. What does it mean though? A whole lot. Such as the less advertised PlayStation brand still has the bigger worldwide presence and Sony is in a very good position for next gen launching a successor to a console that overtook it's closest rival in sales despite being higher priced.
The advertisement element really can't be overlooked.
I remember trying (unsuccessfully) to convince my younger brother (who was 17 at the time and should have known better) that Modern Warfare 3 was on the PS3 because from all of the advertisements he had seen it seemed as though it was exclusive to the 360.
I imagine that there are a lot people as stupid as my brother who might have bought a 360 because they think games are exclusive to the 360 when they are not.
(My brother figured out it wasn't exclusive when I bought it for his birthday on the PS3).
1. It showed just how powerful the Sony brand is by outselling the 360, which had a one year head start and a 7 million console lead.
2. Having the PS3 release one year after the 360 allowed Sony to continue to sell the PS2 at a high level for an additional year, helping the PS2 to become the best selling home console of all time.
3. Allowed Sony to release the best possible console they could have ever hoped for. We were treated to stunning games like Uncharted, God of War 3 and Killzone 2 that could simply not be matched on the 360.
The technology in this console also helped the Blu-Ray disc format to proliferate the market in a huge way. The PS3 was ultimately what helped Sony to win the HD format war, which makes the PS3 a far bigger success for Sony than it would appear on the surface.
You make good points but you are also leaving out a few bits.
While the ps3 seemed like its direct competition is the 360 you are forgetting that it was also feeling competition from its sibling...the ps2.
Every sale of a ps2 was a loss of a sale for the ps3. Sony won a sale either way but they would obviously like to sell the more expensive unit.
MS really only had their 360 to market (unless you want to add in windows) but sony had to choose which one they wanted to really promote. Had they gone full speed behind the ps3, it could have been different...maybe even sooner and more inline with the sales trends of their previous systems.
MS did take this generation more seriously than the last. They deserve some big props, even from the sony only fans.
But let's be honest, the goalpost has once again been moved like it always has been when the PS3 achieves another milestone. There is no doubt that the general atmosphere was against the PS3. People wanted the big guy to fail. First it was "I bought my console to play games, not movies. Hurr hurr". But that vanished when HD-DVD came out. Then once HD-DVD failed, it sprang up for a bit, then faded again once Netflix streaming came out. Then, it was "PS3 has no games! Look at all these games!" But then PS3 titles began to flow like a river. Then, it was "360 games have higher review scores. Metacritic! Metacritic! When will PS3 have good games?" But then games like LittleBigPlanet and MGS4 began taking some of the highest review scores in the industry. Then it was "multiplats are horrible on PS3! Look at all my multiplats and timed-exclusive DLC!" But then, multiplat games (with a few exceptions) became pretty identical on both systems, and everyone shut up about it. It pretty much went downhill from there, but sales have been the last shouting point for fanboys to cling to for years and years.
But of course, now sales don't matter, do they?
Let’s not forget that every negative Sony article was met with the "media is biased" which is still used to this day. Claims of IGN and CNet were said to be both owned by MS. We were always told to never follow VGCHartz because it always and for odd reason only undertracked PS3 and it was supposedly ran by a 360 fanboy. Of course this was later forgiven in some articles when the ps3 is in the lead and not the 360.
Then we had "The Cell is all powerful" or “Games can’t run on 360 because of the Blu-Ray”. Let’s not mention when certain games sold more than others, then all of a sudden "But is it GOTY?? “ Then when 360 scored some exclusive DLC it was "MS paid for it!" But when Sony had exclusive DLC it was "Take that 360". And let's not forget how every year since the PS3 came out would finally be the year the PS3 outsold 360.
Everyone claims they don’t play sales but whenever NPD or VGChartz or any article hits N4G you can bet it’ll be a heated topic and most discussed on this site.
I really don't care who is above who anyways, as long as they are doing well enough to keep making great games
Get prepared folks, you thought doom and gloom articles one after another about Sony were bad...it's going to get worse now because we'll now have sites trying to dumb down Sony's victory and make it seem like the whole thing is stupid...even though for years people have praised MS for it.
For Microsoft to at least triple their install base is fantastic news for them, while SONY losing a third of their's is bad news.
At this point it doesn't matter if the PS3 sells 90 million and the Xbox 360 only sells 80 million. The real loser of this gen is the PS3. This is how its always been and as the article states, nothing has changed.
Last gen the xbox was 2nd place and now it will end up last this gen.
Sony was never going to be able to dominate this gen like with the PS2 as MS with their deep pockets and lessons learned from last gen would always pose a huge threat. Then offcourse the success of the wii which no one saw coming.
The numbers do matter a lot to shareholders and gaming business partners. It shows that Sony's strategy works and yield profits for them in the long run.
Sony's goal as was with previous gens was to put out a platform that can sell over the years hence their 10 year plan. It is why Sony is the only platform holder that have sold 100 million consoles back to back. With the rate the PS3 is going it will reach the 100 million mark especially when it drops down to 199 in price.
Of the 3 current consoles only the PS3 was built to last more than 10 years and now we are seeing that strategy come to fruition. Gamers are happy with their investment with long term support, devs/publishers are happy with the mature platform which allows them to dev/publish games for cheap and reap the benefits for it's prolong life-cycle. Everyone wins.
If we put everything into perspective MS is still less successful than Sony in the console space. Sony dominated right out of the gate over the console gaming behemoth that was Nintendo after the 16 bit era.
So after stumbling in their first try and then doing well in their second try but still relegated to last this gen. I wouldn't say MS have done very well.
MS got to at least become first in a gen or even crack the 100 million mark before we can safely say they have done great. Only Sony have done this feat not once but twice.
It took 6yrs for the PS3 to finally surpass the 360 even though it dominated the last 2 generations.
Yes the numbers do matter to shareholders. The 360 has managed to sell 70mil+ in only 2 of big 3 regions. It has been dead in Japan for years. Hopefully MS can correct their failings in Japan, even though I thought MS really tried to succeed in there. You are talking about 3x the numbers from their first generation console. The PS3 was finally able to catch up even though it sold healthy numbers in all 3 regions.
I'm not sure what you meant about the PS3 being the only one built to last 10yrs. The 360 is on its 7th yr and it sold 1.4mil consoles in just December according to MS/NPD in NA. Dude that's for 1 month. Devs/publishers are happy about both platforms. Last I checked 360 multis sell roughly the same as their PS3 counterpart.
Who won is just how you want view it. The 360 sold 3 times the original xbox and was #1 in total sales for close to 7yrs and now they're in 3rd. The PS3 is #2 now, but is barely half of what the PS2 sold and sales will slow down soon with the release of the next gen consoles.
The only reason the ps3 took 6 years is cause the xbox360 had a year head start in NA and a year and a half head start in EU... its been consistently outselling xbox360 worldwide since its inception.
"Who won is just how you want view it"
No who won, is who won... and Sony starting late this gen have just moved into second place and will take first in the upcoming years from the wii and are also poised to become Sony's third 100 million seller (No other company has ever made a console thats sold 100 mill, let alone three back to back.)
Compared to last gen the PS3 did horrible. It took 6 years to outdo the competition despite previously outselling them 6-1. For a successor product to lose nearly 50% of its market share is disastrous, indicative of Sony's current financial situation.
On the other hand the X360 equaled, or nearly equaled, the once mighty Sony in the console wars. Where the Playstation brand is trending downwards, the Xbox brand is growing stronger.
You just proved what Root just said. That the Xbox fanboy denial would be strong.
Listen to NeverEnding1989
"At this point it doesn't matter if the PS3 sells 90 million and the Xbox 360 only sells 80 million. The real loser of this gen is the PS3. This is how its always been and as the article states, nothing has changed."
And Testerg35
" Who won is just how you want view it. The 360 sold 3 times the original xbox and was #1 in total sales for close to 7yrs and now they're in 3rd. The PS3 is #2 now, but is barely half of what the PS2 sold and sales will slow down soon with the release of the next gen consoles"
And Alderny
"Compared to last gen the PS3 did horrible. It took 6 years to outdo the competition despite previously outselling them 6-1. For a successor product to lose nearly 50% of its market share is disastrous, indicative of Sony's current financial situation. Who won is just how you want view it"
It's as if they're in a completely different world, a bubble so to speak. lol
What do you mean by "who won is just how you want to to view it?" That is priceless comment right there.
Where's the logic in that? So if I sell 100 million consoles and only 10 million of those are in the US and my competition sells 50 million consoles all in the US, they win because the US is the only market that matters. Am I understanding this point correctly? Ridiculous.
I've pointed this out I don't know how many times in the past, for being a "playstation" website, I'm often floored by just how overwhelming negative their edititorials can be in regard to the PS3. It happens with playstation lifestyle all the time. I'm not talking about negative news, news is news, don't get me wrong. I'm talking about obviously negative slant and bias against the PS3 like this one suggesting "Doesn't matter who sells more consoles, only who sells more in the US."
Even all this ridiculous talk of the "botched launch". It's called Google. For christ's sake, do your homework. The PS3 launch easily outpaced the 360's launch and was on par with the PS2's launch despite the high price point up until the recession kicked, something the PS2 never had to contend with. You look at the first 2 years the 360 was out and compare it to the first 2 years for the PS3, and the PS3 is miles in front, yet was the 360 launch "botched"? Was the PS2 launch "botched"?
I'm so sick of these sites rewriting history. Just because you repeat the same lie over and over, it doesn't simply become true. Don't they have an editor?
I find it funny that for years the fact that 360 had more total sales was brought up in nearly every conversation concerning the two. Yet as soon as the PS3 gets ahead it doesn't matter :/
But that's precisely the point. With a head start of 7 million units, the 360 could have been outsold every year by 1 million units. Trend analysis is the important statistic, not overall volume to date. :o)
"Or you can look at it like this...[cropped] "
Made up nonsense on your part.
"kayoss, but the 360 has sold more in total numbers for almost 7 years."
It's amazing what you can do with statistics, but it's normally those that are not comfortable with the real figure that need to "look at it in a different way".
Nintendo
Microsoft
Sony
This was the final holiday battle for this gen and it looks close but MS came out on top again. This e-3 they will be all smiles. Xbox 360 has done well this gen almost quadrupling the first xbox sales while the ps3 sold well but nothing close to the ps2 sales and vita continues to struggle to gain ground on the 3ds. As next gen heats up its gonna be an exciting time.
@Dk286k and others You guys are committing the same mistake that has you swallowing your words now, it's inevitable that when Sony releases it's official numbers it will do nothing but confirm what was announced today. Xbox360 sold 1.4 million during the holidays in the U.S? Great, now let's see where it faired in the rest of the world. You guys are building a proverbial straw house. Give it a rest, The PS3 has won.
It's a fact? Really?
Please post a link to the official MS & Sony numbers that you're basing your statement on, because all I've seen is an unofficial report that even Sony hasn't commented on.
You better hope micro releases b4 sony because it wont even be closd. Even with psn sabotage and greedy rrod tactics by micro ps3 still surpassed it wow!!!
Kudos Sony
And That's combined, that's very impressive. Sony hasn't released any numbers yet but going off by those numbers you can form a opinion on who's leading what.
Sony released shipped numbers MS released actual sales.
you are really really grasping at straws now this is getting silly, just own up admit the truth and get on with gaming you herp.
Its a big thng bcus ps3 was supposedly doomed, xbox had more than a year lead, sold extra xbox s because rrod fiasco and was cheaper yet doomed Sony caught up? Damn thts a major feat. You see dummies in the what counts is ww numbers.. Had ps3 came out the same time and same cost it would have sold even more and had a crazy leas.
Also Congrats to Sony they handled the psn hack well and loyalists stuck through and still sold more systems. If after tht debilitating psn hack and nuclear plnt catastrophe ppl dnt find it amazing Ps3 over took micro you ppl have to real trolls.
BTW, MS extendted the warranty to 3yrs.
If the PS3 came out with same cost as the 360, then it wouldn't have been the same PS3. And if the PS3 was released the same time that the 360 did, then it would have cost more, but I don't think you really understand the logic.
Im on an android device and it sometimes does that so there is nothing to fix. When on a mobile device i type for speed and could care less for diction and syntax on this site. I laugh at all you pseudo professors when i know my level of education is higher than probably 98 percent of this site lol.
Secondly testerg35 they extended their warranty to three years whipty doo whats your point? That was after the major class action lawsuits in like 20 different states lol They didn't do it out of the kindness of their hearts and by that time it was years later and they had fattened their pockets with all the rrod replacement consoles ppl bought because initially the warranty was one year.
Alot of you come on here to respond to comments thinking your witty, but end up responding with arguments that hold no merit and have nothing to do with the conversation at hand. Please explain to me why MS extending the warranty years later is relevant? The damage was already done and thousands upon thousands had to buy new xbox's so whats your point?
School is very important for many of you, as well as reading comprehension which i think you lack.
We all knew that the PS3 will eventually sell the units Sony were looking for which is irrelevant to gamers like me.
We also knew that Sony will have quality exclusives and 3rd parties as was expected which is the most important thing.
Sony will most likely sell another 23 million to reach the 100 million mark they always strive for once they reduce the price of the PS3 to $199.
In saying this though i have been quite disappointed with this gens Japanese offerings. The western devs have done pretty well but my usual Japansese stable have been disappointment after dissapointment. Its not a great console gaming gen without any great japanese games. The only exception is MGS4 which ironically is the best game this gen for me. Compare the japansese offerings this gens to RE4, MGS3, FF10, DMC3 last gen it has been quite disapointing. I am hoping for the best next gen.
this is the last report from MS
""The company shipped 1.7 million units during the quarter, which is also down from the 2.3 million it shipped last year.
MS blames the declines in part to the release of Gears of War 3 in fiscal Q1 2012, with "no comparable major releases" this year.
It also says that the dip in revenues was "offset in part by higher Xbox LIVE revenue".""
http://www.computerandvideo...
get over your self
Got the following in this order
1) PS3 basically a month after launch
2) Xbox much later in thegame (before the slim model came out)
3) The Red Will
I got rid of them in reverse order and kept the Ps3.... sorry I got the full spectrum of games including the PC... and the xbox and wii did not cut it.
I'm sure the xbox fan's are now gonna say.... oh it doesn't matter anymore because the generation is "ending"
Sorry but it has not , ther are still games coming out on the ps3 (exclusive content)
I've heard it all
1) ps3 has no games
2) HDMI is not needed
3) Hard drive is not needed
4) RROD is not a big deal
5) xbox gamers by more games and they are more hardcore
etc etc
The crap articles and so called console war has got to stop.
I don't remember the Gamecube and Xbox fanbase being this hostile towards PS2 back in the days. I bet you guys loved your PS2's what happened ?
Honestly if Sony held exclusivity rights to games like GTA and FF as well as COD like they've done in the previous gen then the ps3 would have outsold the 360 even at 500 dollars. I mean MGS4 proved that for 3 straight months, and that was just one ip.
But, in the end people build you up and people will bring you down; thats the catch of success.
Now, some will suggest this milestone doesnt matter anymore; and while that may appear to be the case. Its mainly the case here in the u.s where MS has dominated and influence a lot of people and business partners. Elsewhere, this will probably be seen as the Playstation brand being strong as it always has been.
I believe that while most major publishers will move on to next gen, smaller ones will migrate to the ps3 as it gets cheaper and support it as long as Sony does. Its all about profits, and i am sure Sony is gonna want to ride this thing for as long as it can, so in theory yes it does matter.
Microsoft overcame RROD and gained marketshare. Not to mention they are the leaders in North America and certain territories like the UK. Sony overcame a poor launch because of an overpriced console, difficulty in development, and launching a year later to make the PS3 a success but in the process lost marketshare. And nobody mentions the Wii and what it accomplished by running away with the marketshare lead and being profitable from day one.
Bottom line is that all 3 consoles were successful and I'm glad I decided to own all 3 instead of continuing to be a fanboy this generation. Be a gamer not a hater.
this is total numbers meaning that PS3 has sold more consoles to stored than 360...across all those years
I figured the PS3 would eventually overtake the 360 because the 360 has virtually no presence in Japan and the PS3 is more popular in Europe.
But the fact that the 360 was even able to sell as many consoles as they did, overtake the US marketplace, and function without the Japanese marketplace is impressive too.
Again. Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo all deserve to be applauded for thier efforts this generation.
This was on IDC's website.
And I personally think this E3 will be nothing but top notch exclusive games for the PS3 and Vita.Now that Sony have an million console lead after an year late release shows the power of the PS brand.Now its time for the glory days of the PS2 when it comes variety of games.PS3 still have time for The Gateway,8 days,Agent,TLG,Syphon Filter,GTA:San Andreas 2,Demon Souls 2,and Heavenly Swords 2.If 6 of 8 of the titles are shown at E3 13.What will the haters say then?
Case in point: ps2 JUST now stopped being made almost 13 years after it launched.
No other console can claim that with lifetime sales over 150 mil.
As the old ps1 saying in the 90's went, "Never underestimate the power of PlayStation".
Last time I checked the 360 had the highest game attach ratio of all 3 consoles this generation. So your attempt to downplay the LTD sales of the 360 fell short.
A sale is a sale regardless of reason. How many people are "multiple" owners of PS3's or 360's? I know I have purchased 3ea PS3's, 3ea 360's, and 1ea Wii during this generation.
Nice try, though.
What does attach rate have to do with LTD sales? Nothing. So why bring it up?
If anything, you're now attempting to downplay Sony's achievements by using pointless statistics, yourself. A sale IS a sale; just so happens that some sales are more legitimate than others, wouldn't you agree?
No, of course not.
If there are so many duplicate consoles purchased then why does the 360 have such a high game attach ratio? Could it possibly be because the 360 has the most active owners of the 3 consoles from this generation? Kind of hard to accomplish if so much of their install base owns more than one 360.
In terms of sales it really doesn´t matter at this point that the PS3 sold more than the 360 because at the moment the difference is so small (and has been for a while now) that devs wont take it into consideration. What matters is both of them did well enough to earn heavy third party support so we have plenty to play on them. The only worry that i have is for the Wii U because at the moment it appears that it is going to pull another Wii and will probably end up having very weak 3rd party support while the PS4 and 720 will take the majority of it.
And frankly I don't believe THESE rumors anymore than I did the last four times "Sony in 2nd" was being tossed around by lame fansites. Not that I much care either way, but Sony fans have a reputation for shooting their mouths off and then being let down by real numbers and trying to fill any gap with magic Europe numbers from basically nowhere.
Nintendo came back with the Wii after 2 generations of playing catch-up.
MS came back with the 360 after their lackluster initial entry in the market with the Xbox.
and now Sony came back after the dismal start of the PS3.
And best of all, all this comebacks happened this generation. Never has this industry has been healthy as it is now.
@hadouken007
That's just fine. I think it would even be better for Sony if they come out humble with all of this.
Now it means nothing. Hilarious. It's one of the buggiest comebacks this gen. Deal with it haters!
What means nothing is the 360 selling more in the states. You can't claim your the best when only sell more in 1 country and get trampled everywhere else.
What it means is M$ needs to do something next gen because Europe and Japan will play a big part. We all know those areas belong to Sony, and I think the PS4 will get back to the top here in the states as well.