450°

Why Console Sales Figures Prove Nothing

IGN had an opinion piece recently about PS3 console sales possibly overtaking the Xbox 360's next year. But, does it matter when console figures are horribly distorted anyway?

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NukaCola4532d ago

Sales are sales and each system sold is money for the companies.

What is the issue is the software sales ratio. If console X sells 10mil, and console Y sells 8mil but both sell 1 million of Game A: Then who is buying more? The larger ratio of software sales goes to the system with less bought.

What if Console A sells 5 mil but 2 mil gets replaced. Then it sells 7 million on record although only 5 mil have it. Same as if Console B sells 3 mil but the gamers trade in 1 mil for another system, now Console B has only 2 mil gamers but 3 mil in sales.

Yes I am tlaking about Xbox and PS3 sales. Who has purchased more than 1 Xbox? I have. I know many who have back when the warranty was still developing. I know many who have upgraded to the slimmer 360 now. So are there really 15mil gamers in America? Or only 9 with 5 mil replaced or upgraded? Same with PS3 Slims? Who knows?

In the end sales are sales. Sold to shops/stores versus consumers, it doesn't matter there.

I think determining software sales is the best way to see how gamers are going. Systems get replaced up graded.

Look at the PSN IDs and Gamer Tags, the PS+ and GOLD LIVE accounts. That is where you get good figures from.

But best no worry about things like that. Ever gamer should basically own all 3 consoles buy now. 3x Christmas birthdays, jobs, etc. Raging over sales takes away from why we all are here, to game and chitty chat about gaming.

*back to skyrim homies!*

Sharingan_no_Kakashi4532d ago

Well I was gonna reply but it seems you've pretty much taken care of it.. =^/

ForROME4532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

Agreed - its attachment rate of consoles and software along with Online DLC sales etc.

The sales war is old - esp in the grand scheme; if a console sales more in 10yrs than another console however it was outsold 7 out of the 10yrs; its not relevant because the war ended at 7 and next gen began at the following year.

Thats like saying "Dreamcast" out sold PS2 (lol would never happen bare with me) because it went back on sale this yr and in 5 more years will sale more than PS2; but that gen in terms of all players being competitive at the same time ended yrs ago.

I personally think the future is not the consoles at all; like PCs hardware will become less important and software will take over entirely both in UI \ Online and Games

This is where software companies will have an edge and hardware will be less of a profit.

And certainly world wide sales have always been a joke; when SONY whooped Nintendo in the US, did Japan care they still bought nintendo.

When SONY whooped Xbox in Japan; did Xbox care in NA; no.

It is relevant to your region past that who cares what is winning else where as long as the install base passed 12mil then it will get cross platform content.

Its all ~ Relative

blumatt4532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

Something that kind of nullifies some sales are system failures. Those are unaccounted for and make up a lot of the early 360s (RROD) and at least a small percentage of PS3 systems (YLOD). I myself got the YLOD on my early model 40GB PS3 phat. I could really care less about sales though.

I care about games, and Sony seems to be the best lately at delivering that. There's been over 10 or so exclusives this year from Sony for the PS3. And several coming next year with more to announce.

@ForROME
Well, all I know is, that I will be buying consoles until they stop offering them. Services like OnLive just don't work for me. It sucks to not have the physical copies or at the very least have digital copies locally stored on the harddrive.

DasBunker4532d ago

now that the PS3 is closing on xbox suddenly sales dont matter anymore LMAO after years of boasting how the xbox was teh bestezt 4 all da zales...

BattleAxe4532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

Console sales figures were more important to people like the author of the article when the PS3 was struggling, but now that its got the superior lineup of games and the best features that are driving its growth to the point that its about to overtake the 360, Xbox friendly journalists no longer care to talk about sales figures. I hope Sony has a massive celebration when they surpass the 360 in sales, but of course Microsoft will release their next console as soon as possible just so they can say that they've won this generation(despite the one year head start lol)

blumatt4532d ago

Yeah, it's sad, really. Bias can be a bitch sometimes. I truly hope the PS4 and Xbox 720 both release in the same holiday season so that that "console war" can start at the same time and then we could truly see which brand holds more relevance in gaming.

There would be people fighting like crazy. Little kids screaming at each other "Xbox is better!! No PlayStation is better!! ...." bahahaha Would make for some interesting Christmas headline stories. People would probably get shot. lol

BattleAxe4532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

^^^

Here are some interesting brand loyalty videos:

Video #1
http://www.youtube.com/watc...

Video #2
http://www.ebaumsworld.com/...

gamingdroid4532d ago

It's just people that love their Xbox 360. Nothing wrong with that!

If it isn't an Xbox 360, it would be something else.

P_Bomb4532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

[QUOTE]...if a console sales more in 10yrs than another console however it was outsold 7 out of the 10yrs; its not relevant because the war ended at 7 and next gen began at the following year.[/QUOTE]

I'd wager that most folk know or care nothing about these wars and their 'rules'. They just buy what they want. If veteran consoles are still strong enough to be on store shelves and have new games being released for them, then they're relevant. One company bowing out early doesn't cease&desist game development or sales for the others'.

Example: God of War 2. One of the PS2's crown jewels, yet it released in 2007, 4-5 months after the PS3 launched in 2006. Well after the 360 in 2005. Does it not count towards the PS2's legacy in sales or otherwise just because it released during the PS3/360 era?

ApplEaglElephant4532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

Discussions are discussions, but people with fanboy bias spew out most distorted truth.

I even heard from a fanboy that he prefer less games.

I mean really? So instead of having A, B, C game to choose from, you rather have A game only?
Desperate fanboys comes with most ridiculous defense and it ceases to be a discussion from there.

gamingdroid4531d ago (Edited 4531d ago )

Ah, you again! Didn't I block your one bubble account?

I said, I would prefer D over A, B or C where D isn't A, B or C. Is that hard to get or should I go slower?

+ Show (8) more repliesLast reply 4531d ago
bozebo4532d ago

"each system sold is money for the companies"
Not really, only in the latter half of the generation usually.

But yeah well said.

Persistantthug4532d ago

But yeah....RAZOR BLADE BUSINESS MODEL.

Those who don't know what that is, they should google or Wiki it.

RAZOR BLADE BUSINESS MODEL is also the reason a successful full video game consoles can never be digital distribution ONLY....but that's for a different topic.

GarandShooter4532d ago

No, it is money. It may not be profit, but it is certainly money. Cash flow from sales is very important early in the life cycle of a console.

ATi_Elite4532d ago

cause the companies lose so much money on R&D and then selling them below cost that the companies barely break even on console sales except for Nintendo who made cash day 1 on a low tech Wii.

Software sales is where the money is at. I'm sure Ninty, Sony and MS just want to sell a certain amount of games every month for a steady flow of guaranteed revenue.

the amount of consoles sold DOES NOT equal the amount of gamers using them. The Air Force bought like 3k PS3 for some test and a lot of people use the PS3 just for a Blu-ray player.

a lot of 360 owners are on their 3rd or 4th 360. I know people with a well working fat 360 who bought a slim just to have one. i'm sure some PS3 fans have done the same.

it would be nice to know the ACTIVE number of each console that gets used for gaming a certain amount of hours a week.

like if used 15 hours a week for gaming it would count as active and then tally those numbers up as......... sold units vs. active units.

Focus4532d ago

Allow me to throw an unpopular monkey wrench into the works here.
I know the subject is not a favourite here on N4G, mostly because its SONY's weak point this gen, but since this is a sales article it is relevant. PS2 totally massacred GameCube in terms of console sales right?? But did you know Nintendo made alot more profit than SONY last gen? I kid you not.
Don't believe me? Here you go: http://i1217.photobucket.co...
As you can clearly see, PS2's massive console sales did in fact not translate into any financial lead.
Also from the chart you can see that since the 360 launched, it has experienced 2 fiscal years of loss and 4 fiscal years of profit.
Since ps3 launched, it has enjoyed 4 fiscal years of loss and 1 fiscal year of profit. And the ps3 has been outselling the 360 for how many years now?? Now tell me again that console sales matter. . .ps, my flamesuit is at the cleaners so please guys, be gentle.

Biggest4532d ago

Awesome graph. I like how it's all true and stuff! Totally true!

mcstorm4531d ago

I agree with you here. The biggest difference this gen over the others is people are buying more than one of he same console as they offer more than just games. I have 2 360s and 2 ps3s as i use playtv and skyplayer on my 360 in my bedroom.

Sales of both consoles are very good and so are the games. The 3rd party games not have many differenve between them on both consoles.

To me this gen has proved thete is room for 3 companys to be in the same market and to me this is good as all 3 are going in different directions to the other with what there consoles can do and be used for so to me was are all winners.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4531d ago
Dante1124532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

Lol, I like how for the past six years been it's "Sales, sales, sales, "X" console is better "Y" console because it has more sales." from certain gamers and journalists (totally excluding the Wii...oops "Z" console). Now that the PS3 might outsell the 360 it's "Who cares, market shares", "Too late", and hypocritically now "Sales don't matter". Gotta love this gen.

Edit: I agree with you Nuka.

NegativeCreep4274532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

If the Playstation 3 doesn't have a strong hold or have the lead in a particular category, that category is the de facto measure of success.

First it was games at the beginning of this gen. Now that the PS3 dominates that category, the gaming media and all the fanboys on its payroll care little to nothing for games.

The de facto morphed into sales. Now that the Playstation 3 is poised to take that trophy and earn the lead, are we now coincidentally seeing a lack of support for that notion?

So where do they go from here? Cross-Game Chat? Ah Yes, Cross-Game Chat is what makes a console a success. Yes I'm sure.

DasBunker4532d ago

my thoughts as well.. haha posted it before reading these...

gaming journalism is a joke... and a lot of people still support this BS, seems like they even enjoy it.. cant be taken cereally

ginsunuva4532d ago

I know! No one ever acknowledges how the ps3 has a dozen times as many great games as the 360.

k-dillinger4532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

@NegativeCreep427

somebody give this man a Standing ovation couldn't have said it better myself.

MultiConsoleGamer4532d ago

IGN is completely whored out. Their opinions mean nothing.

NPD sales figures only represent %60 of the US market. All that arguing over sales figures is for nothing.

tiffac0084532d ago (Edited 4532d ago )

Not to mention the European sales data doesn't even cover the whole of Europe. Japan is the only sales data that seems to be represented for Asia.

We don't even know if Africa, the Middle East and South America are even properly represented in those sales data.

The only thing that Sales Figure proves is how inaccurate SOLD data is.

BUT!

Sales figure does prove one thing.

It shows: "How healthy the console industry is"

DragonKnight4532d ago

Of course. Console sales mean nothing when the PS3 is poising to take the lead. But when the 360 was like 8 million units ahead, then they mean something right?

*sigh* Double standards.

peeps4532d ago

True about re-buying consoles. I've had 3 ps3's and 3 xbox 360's.... end of the day though does it really matter?

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260°

Microsoft Seemingly Closes Bethesda France

As part of its plans to cut 1,900 jobs, Microsoft has reportedly shut down operations at Bethesda France, letting go roughly 15 people

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insider-gaming.com
Hereandthere12h ago

Microsoft should have left them stay 3rd party

GamerRN10h ago

If they are let go, they can be whatever they want. They ARE 3rd party now... 🤦

Barlos7h ago

Yeah, they're also jobless.

GamerRN34m ago

They can form a company if they want, they are just as jobless as if "Microsoft had left them as 3rd party".

peppeaccardo2h ago

"MIcrosoft leaves Bethesda do what they know how to do best" ... close! Oh the irony ....
(Citation from a week old article)

PassNextquestion12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

Bethesda France was made up of roughly 15 people... they couldn't of being doing much

Bethesda France mainly did publishing and marketing within the region

blacktiger10h ago

that's a shame for you to say that, i'm sure Elite loves hearing what you just said.

Profchaos12h ago(Edited 12h ago)

Bethesda France focused on publishing and marketing in the region. And 15 people lost their jobs as part of the closure.

I wonder if this is part of Microsoft's strategy to abandoned physical media or possibly gamepass advertising makes their roles redundant you don't need to market a game as hard when the majority of players get the game as part of a sub which already promoted upcoming games

Tacoboto11h ago

It's France too, there's a high likelihood only 1-2 people on the team even had an Xbox.

Profchaos11h ago

Possibly guven all the leaks we know the Xbox brand is really struggling in the region.

Yi-Long8h ago

Well, if your consoles and games are barely found in any stores any more, of course you're gonna struggle finding consumers ...

XiNatsuDragnel10h ago

Tbh Microsoft I think Bethesda being 3rd party same with Activision would probably more competitive than thus scenario imo

Profchaos9h ago(Edited 9h ago)

I think it would have been better for all parties really especially gamers

TheColbertinator10h ago

The recently purchased Activision French offices might take over all the licensing and marketing for Microsoft in France from now on.

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80°

Nintendo's Massacre Of The 3DS And Wii U Is Finally Complete, Regrettably

Hanzala from eXputer: "The cruel hammer of Nintendo has fallen. Farewell, 3DS and Wii U, you surely brightened my life and many others; you won't be forgotten."

280°

Xbox's Preservation Step Sets A Much-Needed Example, Especially For Nintendo

Hanzla from eXputer inquires: "If Xbox can care about preserving its games and legacy, what exactly is wrong with Nintendo, trying to kill game preservation single-handedly?"

purple10111d ago

Ahh yes the good old game preservation of saving all your games to a removable hhd on the Xbox 360, taking it round your mates house, setting up multiple tvs to
Be met with “save data corrupted, please re download”

Or how about removing 360 games
From the store
, download them now or else, and, better hope to god that save data doesn’t corrupt, or it’s lost for ever

Nice one ☝️

Zeref11d ago

It's better than what Nintendo and Playstation is doing. It might not be perfect but at least they are TRYING. Unlike the others.

DarXyde10d ago

Trying? Take off the blinders for a moment, mate.

1. A failure to preserve games is just that: a failure to preserve games. Don't try to sugarcoat it: NO ONE is doing it properly. Better than awful is nothing to write home about.

2. At the time of this comment, isn't it the case that you need an internet connection to play Xbox games even if you buy physical discs that are hardly in circulation anymore? I don't have a Series X and I can't verify, but I think that is correct. I'm fairly certain you can at least play PS5 games at version 1.0 (not much of a win really when many games require day one patches). I think Microsoft's all digital, licensing approach is by far more aggressive than anyone else's. They really try to push you to game pass where you lose your entire library by umm.... Skipping a month of payments.

I don't think anyone is doing it right whatsoever. Don't get me started on Nintendo, who goes after anyone looking to preserve their games better than they ever would with extreme litigation.

Don't be a simp for any of these companies. Get it together.

PhillyDonJawn10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

@DarX never speak on Xbox again. You lost all credibility with your internet connection comment. Smh you have 0 clue and misinformed yet speaking on something you don't no squat about.

Einhander197210d ago

What has Sony done exactly? You guys keep deflecting to Sony but I am not actually seeing any results, and ai am certain nothing that you can come up with even comes close to what Microsoft has done and what they have tried and failed to do, like tie all your disks to your account on xbone.

Microsoft removed their whole indie section when they moved to the xbone because they were going to only allow games on the service that came from a publisher, id@xbox started after xbone launched and it only exists because Sony embraced indie and Microsoft was forced to cancel their plans and reverse course.

And every single game that was part of games for windows live including disk games (I have gta 4 on disk that won't work) so hundreds of games that use that DRM no longer work unless the company themselves patched it out which of course very few did.

MrBaskerville10d ago

Not trying. Tried. they killed of the backcomp program years ago. They set something up again, but sounds like it's more of an attempt to save the current library on whatever they are planning next. With luck they save everything and more, but let's see. I could see them killing off parts of the OG xbox and 360 libraries. Can't imagine that they would allow us to play Forza 5-7 in the future.

With that said, I do like what they've done and really wish they could have done more.

shinoff218310d ago

Zeref

So killing off physical media is trying what exactly. Ms don't really give a fk if you think they do your kidding yourself.

Profchaos10d ago

They are not trying this team is established for forward compatability the team is. It interested in preserving Xbox or 360 games.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
isarai11d ago

Is that why Hellblade 2 is digital only?

Zeref11d ago

Just because it's digital only doesn't mean you can't preserve it. Just put it on an external and you have the exact same functionality of what a disc does.

MrNinosan11d ago

Guess you're trolling, but if you actually think that's how it works, I'd recommend buying some braincells.

mkis00710d ago (Edited 10d ago )

Volitile vs nonvolitile data. A disc will not corrupt either. A drive can be corrupted.

Einhander197211d ago

This is just a scammy PR move to distract from the fact they are going digital only and trying to push streaming and subscriptions only.

No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft.

Without discs there is no preservation, preservation can't be done by the rights holders it can only be done by the consumers, anything else is a lie.

11d ago Replies(3)
Einhander197211d ago

Anyone remember xblig which Microsoft removed their whole 360 indie section removing hundreds of games from people?

11d ago
11d ago
Zeref11d ago

Do you know you can put your games on an external and preserve them that way? There are no benefits to discs. ZERO. Idk why some of you are still obsessed with them.

DarXyde10d ago

Because games like Persona 5 exist. It's STILL V1.00. On Playstation, that's a win because 1.00 is installed on the disc—no need to download anything.

If a game does not require any updates, it's all on the disc.

Extremely low bar in the modern era, of course. It's not much of a win by any stretch.

But for now, physical media does have a purpose, at least on Playstation.

Einhander197210d ago

That is factually not how game licensing works, try plugging your hard drive into someone else xbox, It's not going to work, and it won't work if the licensing servers ever go down.

Einhander197210d ago

Anyone remember games for windows live.

I have around a dozen games, some on Steam itself that will not work because Microsoft shut off the licensing servers.

BehindTheRows10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

I do. I STILL have games (Gears of War being the big one) I cannot access because Games for Windows LIVE is total garbage and no one has held Microsoft accountable.

Zeref10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership.

Chevalier10d ago

"You don't have an Xbox apparently. Because you can 100 percent plug in your external and play games from it on any Xbox console lol. You just have to be logged in to prove ownership."

Damn how many times do people got to explain your idiocy to you? You can take a copy of Persona 5 like someone used as an example and play that game on ANY console WITHOUT logging in which means I can lend the game to a friend without internet and they can play my game. Can you lend your hard drive to anyone without logging in for them to play? NOPE. That is a huge difference and if you think otherwise then sorry you're an idiot.

Tacoboto10d ago

"No gaming company has pushed harder to remove ownership than Microsoft."

Ubisoft is literally erasing games people bought from their libraries... My PS1-3 discs are useless on modern hardware. Nintendo's re-published and resold almost their entire Wii U library, and the eShop is completely dead with no BC mechanism in the Switch software. Microsoft publishes everything they make today day one on Steam and Xbox/Windows. Sony only brings to PC the titles they think you might want some years later and Nintendo won't even design a functional long-lasting joystick.

You're absolutely trolling and not serious if you think Microsoft today is the worst offender.

shinoff218310d ago

Yay steam

Not everyone fks with computers though. The disc is still the best way as a console player. Period.

Tacoboto10d ago

How do Sony and Nintendo feel about these discs from 2001-2013?

Don't be stupid, you know Xbox is the best at this today.

+ Show (3) more repliesLast reply 10d ago
Hofstaderman11d ago

Nobody wants this. Sales or the lack of it in the case of XBOX is very telling. I wonder how the adorably all digital series X will fare. Adorably dismal perhaps?

crazyCoconuts10d ago

Only time will tell, but for from someone like me suspecting that Xbox is trying to gracefully exit the console market, that "forward compatibility" team is trying to get Xbox games playing on Windows PCs. I mean, it's nice that they're not planning on exiting with a "enjoy your games while the hardware still works" message, so that's nice. They still have a brand to protect via Microsoft so probably feel obligated to have a better exit strategy.

Xeofate10d ago (Edited 10d ago )

That is not their plan, their plan is to transfer users accounts to the cloud.

Phil Spencer himself said as much a few months back, plans could have changed but I think people are reading way too much into one statement where Phil said he would allow Epic on xbox because he wants to be able to sell xbox games directly on other platforms. Aka, instead of selling Sea of Thives through PSN he wants to have an xbox store to sell his games on PlayStation without giving PlayStation any money.

Again, it's extremely unlikely that Phil plans to put PC on xbox and licensing would prevent them from just giving out other publishers games purchased on xbox copies of thier games on PC, Microsoft does not own their games.

crazyCoconuts9d ago

The thing that doesn't align with the cloud strategy is the giving up on exclusives. You'd still need strong exclusives for cloud streaming - it's still a "platform" , just with a lower upfront hardware investment. I feel like they've learned what PS learned with PSNow long ago. We're not ready to stream games and it's only gonna lose them money to try at this point

FinalFantasyFanatic10d ago

I would love that, I'd buy up some of the Xbox games if they could run on PC, like the Rare Replay, Lost Odyssey and Dead or Alive Ultimate, probably a pipe dream though.

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