GamePro: Tug-o-War: Xbox 360 barely outsells PS3 in August

GamePro: It's back and forth between Microsoft and Sony, while Nintendo trumps both with more Wii sales than Xbox 360 and PS3 combined.

Xbox 360 won the latest round in the monthly battle with PlayStation 3 hardware sales, according to figures released by NPD today. Of course, both figures--195k for Xbox 360 and 185k sold of PS3--pale to the nearly half a million Wii consoles Nintendo moved.

[Crapbox360]

BECAUSE THE 360 IS A CRAP SYSTEM. :-)

[Dannagar]

I don't even see it as Xbox 360 vs. PS3 anymore. Xbox 360 has moved on to take on Wii. All of Microsofts marketing show's little indication that they are trying to take on PS3. Why challenge Number 3 when you can take on number 1?

[play_b3yond]

"Why challenge number 3 when you can take on number 1".
Good laugh bubbles for you. Can you tell me how the hell xbox is gonna challenge #1. Their ass getting kicked by the ps3 right now and they will be kicked even harder next year. Can you name a few exclusives xbox has to offer next year. I mean real exclusives, not the ones coming to PC as well.

[Drealmcc0y]

If sales equal quality, then wii must be the best system ever made then, and completly own the 360 and the PS3.
Cry about that fanboys

[TheMART]

ass kicked by the PS3?

By what? Those 250k systems it sold more in the first half year of 2008? That won't make a difference really on a more then 5 mln. headstart the 360 has.

For sure when August the 360 outsold the PS3 even without the latest pricecut. Even better, in August it was already known the pricecut is coming so one would expect that people would wait to buy the 360 when the pricecut would be effective. And STILL it sold more then the PS3.

Wait untill September sales data is known. PS3 will get its ass kicked so hard.

[Dannagar]

@play_b3yond

Microsoft didn't announce this years games last year because they didn't want to draw attention away from the games at hand (Halo 3, Mass Effect, BioShock, etc.). Ninja Gaiden II, Gears of War 2, Viva Pinata: TIP, Banjo 3 were all announced this same year.

As far as next year goes, I only know of Halo Wars, Ninja Blade, Velvet Assassin, Champions Online, Star Ocean: The Last Hope, Alan Wake, Blue Dragon 2 (on a list for 2009), Mass Effect 2 (on a list for 2009), Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Conviction (on a list for 2009)and maybe Cry On. I'm sure Microsoft has plans for next year. I hardly think now would be the time to announce them.

As far as Xbox 360 getting "Their ass getting kicked by the ps3 right now." Yes, for the first time since it's launch in America, following the release of Metal Gear Solid 4 (the biggest PS3 game to date), PS3 out sold Xbox 360 for a 2 month period and I'm really happy for Sony. It's been a ruff ride for them in America. I do commend Sony for closing the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 in Europe. However I see Microsoft targeting the Wii Market now.

[play_b3yond]

Xbox had a 8 Million lead at the end of 2007. Now it's only 5 million. Don't you call that getting kicked in the a$$. Now imagine how bad 360 will lose next year. From the end of 2007 until now PS3 only had a few exclusives and reduced the lead 360 had by 3 million. Next year PS3 will have a lot more AAA titles than this year and the 360 has nothing yet to offer. Don't you think it is going to be even worst next year.

Edit:
In the last news I heard about Alan Awake, the producers said that they changed the name of the game to Alan Sleep. It might not even be out until the end of 2010. Mass Effect 2 is coming to PC as well and Splinter Cell is pushed into 2010. Blue Dragon 1 didn't do as everyone expected it, but we have to wait and see how it turns out. Velvet Assassin is also coming to the PC and Star Ocean: The Last Hope is not a 100% exclusive to the 360. It might also come out for PS3. Halo Wars I wouldn't really call it a strong exclusive like Halo because if you want to play Strategy games you would have a pc and if you have a pc you would have lots of strategy games to play you wouldn't even have time for Halo Wars.

Com'on this is not the time to run out of bubbles....NOOOOOOOOOOOO.

[Drealmcc0y]

Play beyond
The only reason PS3 sells, is because it has playstation written on the side

[Dannagar]

@play_b3yond

There's no denying that Playstation 3 closed the gap in Europe and has 2 million more systems in Japan. No one is denying that Playstation 3 out sold Xbox 360 in America for 2 months. Even with that, Xbox 360 is still the second best selling Next Generation system World Wide (behind Wii). It still has a higher attachment rate than PS3 in addition to Larger software sales. It has more exclusives and more software than PS3. Plus it's now at a mass marketable price point.

Hey, I'm going to be buying Little Big Planet and WipeOut HD this year for PS3. Cheers, go play your Playstation 3. It's my only day off and I have some games to finish.

[Sir_Ken_Kutaragi]

;-D ;-D ;-D ;-D
;-D ;-D ;-D ;-D
;-D ;-D ;-D ;-D
;-D ;-D ;-D ;-D
Barely!!! SO TRUE!!! ;-D

Can't believe people still buy the xBox 360 which is just a out of date POS P.C in a Box??? ;-D

[SeanScythe]

I still don't get Wii? Am I the only one that doesn't see any attraction to it. I mean at most I would only want a few select games. I'm not trying to talk bad about it I mean it has done outstanding, but I don't know why? I guess it's cheaper and compared to the PS3 and 360 parents see that as a selling point. But after you get the accessorys to play with friends and certain games you just spent nearly as much for the system it's self.

Props to Nintendo but....I just don't see the attraction.

[HighDefinition]

Being out for longer, being cheaper, supposably having more games, and this stat being from your "home" country. Beating the PS3 by 10K @ this point, isn`t really gonna be a celebration for MS. I`m excited to see September`s numbers. Should be interesting. Either way, expect more DRAMA than The Hills.

[HighDefinition]

I`m NOT joking. EVERYONE I know besides 1 person, has SOLD their WII.....and he`s 50 and doesn`t play it.

@raptors

Agree 100%

[Raptors]

Honestly...its just not for me. I have nothing against it, but personally its too "simple" for me. Im an AV techie and I love the options that the ps3 and 360 offer me.

[plain rice]

I've been starting to play my Wii again. Let me tell you, the only game you'll ever need is WiiSports. :)

[ShinMaster]

Which means PS3 DID outsell Xbox 360, period.

[zethos56]

So?

[remanutd55]

nintendo just need to bring more zelda games and they will have my money, zelda twilight princess was the main reason why i bought a wii and it was well worth it, i hope they bring another zelda soon cuz i havent really played my wii that much after zelda, a couple of mario strikers matches and mario kart wii and thats about it, but i knew it was gonna be this way (sonys machine getting most of my playtime cuz sony has almost all the games i want to play)

[Gr81]

About the PS3 also, not a whole lot of compelling games for a much higher price tag. Or the 360 with a severe lack of variety and hardware issues. What I'm saying is to each is own.

[Raoh]

look at it this way.. i no longer have my wii and am thinking about getting on line at the nintendo store in manhattan new york for one soon. again..

the holidays are coming.. no one wants to sit around and watch some hard core gamers play gears or metal gear solid..

even the casual games are a bit complicated for many people........

----

but on the wii, at my girlfriends brothers house at a family get together.. the parents of all the people there, mine, hers, her inlaws, etc played wii sports and a few other titles that day.. so much so that the elders were like little kids and had to be reprimanded for not setting an example to the kids when it comes to sharing...

at which point each parent vowed to get a wii... (getting one for my mom, when she says she is getting something it means she wants me to get her one LOL )

the wii is a great family system. and you dont need to really buy many games. all the only extra investment is an extra controller and stacks of batteries or rechargeable ones..

thats why the arcade 360 at $199 is a fail.. without a wiimote and wii sports its just a cheap 360

[play_b3yond]

My prediction for the end of 2009
Wii = 45 million
PS3 = 30 million
360 = 26 million (being a little kind towards xbox)

Xbox might not even get there. You know, they might decide to release xbox 720 next year and finish the 360's lifespam. MS always has a trick up their sleaves.
N4G writes: MS today announounced a new xbox 360 exclusive coming out in January 1 2009."
All the xboxt's get excited and do everything they did for Too Human and Infinite Undiscovery, jumb up and down on their bed and rub it into ps3 fanboys. Then on January 1 they all go to their local store to buy the 360 exclusive and you find out MS had changed their mind and decided to make another consol and sell it on that day. MS is tricky guys.

[power of Green]

You're stupid, the 360 is close to that now lol. Figures a moron called Playbeyond would find a story like this that has a header worded this way, does it make you feel good?

Trying to bait people to heat this rubbish up.

[Eddy Gordo]

Deleted comment

[play_b3yond]

I know it is close to that number but let's face it. Who is gonna buy xbox after Gears of War 2 comes out? Answer is no one. Who would want to pass on Killzone 2, God of War 3, Kingdom Hearts 3, Grand Turismo 5, FF Versus 13, M.A.G and many other titles capable of being AAA and buy a 360 which doesn't have any AAA exclusive on it's way in 2009.

[power of Green]

What the 360 "barely" pulled off in AUG, doesn't matter anymore.

Sounds like a fanboy remark "barely" (before the price drop lol).

[play_b3yond]

Yes "barely" and for those who don't know what it means:

Merriam Webster Dictionary
1 : in a meager manner : plainly <a barely furnished room>
2 : scarcely , hardly <barely enough money for lunch>

[power of Green]

I didn't ask you what it meant my point was: A fanatical PS3 supporter comforts himself with the wording chosen by this media outlet. lol

PS3 got beat when it was supposedly picking up and the 360 was supposedly dying.

LOL at your attempt to fight due to your frustrations.

Like I said I'll sit back and laugh when next months numbers come in when thinking about how you're trying to comfort yourself.

It is a classic move to post news with suggestive messages in them that fits one's agenda(extremist) then scramble to post fanatical posts in the gamer or openzone trying to set the tone for conversation .

[Skip_Bayless]

Regardless of price drop every system this fall and winter except maybe the DS will have supply issues. Sony is smart because even with the current price of the system they cannot make enough. That is why a price drop is pointless in the holidays. Good strategy is dropping the price in the spring or summer to move hardware during the slow season. Last year there were weeks or months where PSP, PS3, 360 and Wii were soldout. Microsoft made the dumb move here unless they didn't think they would sell out at the currect price.

[play_b3yond]

And I'm going to wait until the end of the year and laugh when PS3 outsells xbox.

[thereapersson]

"I didn't ask you what it meant my point was: A fanatical PS3 supporter comforts himself with the wording chosen by this media outlet. lol"

Oh the irony, considering you're a fanatical 360 supporter. But it's okay, because in your eyes you're always right, eh?

BTW, I see you finally decided to post evidence in your avatar of the moneyhats Microsoft is sending your way for defending your console so valiantly on a meaningless website. Congrats!

[outlawlife]

360 is following the typical sales pattern for it length of time of availability, i don't understand why people make such a big deal

it already eclipsed the original xbox sales numbers, it already surpassed the expectation MS put on it to begin with so it is nothing but a success

MS is riding out the next year or two readying up for the new console in 2010-2011

people try to make it seem like 360 is failing because the sales have slowed, the reason the sales have slowed is because it has succeeded

[HighDefinition]

Companies don`t set out to sell 30 million consoles.

Your comment "wreaks" of stupidity.

EDIT: Are people disagreeing implying companies DO set out to sell 30 million consoles? PS2 sold 120+ Million, 30 million is NOT a win.

[omegaheat]

Hey man, I appreciate it when guys can talk real things and support their favorite console in a reasonable and un-biased manner. But don't make the rest of us look bad by making ridiculous comments like that. Either you're a fanboy of the PS3 trying to use your comment as a way of exemplifying/implying that Xbox360 fans are brain-less or you're just really naive and don't mind making up $h!t that's not true. So do you really believe that because the Xbox360 has sold close to 21 million units, Microsoft has claimed success even though the first Xbox sold close to 30 million worldwide. If I had a needle to pop some of those bubbles that you have, I'd leave you with only one.

[lwhatee]

PS3 sold 15 m at the end of July
the gap will close by the end of this year
x360 will do just as good as the old xbox BUT NOT better

PS3 will do what ps2 did. accept it and move on

[HighDefinition]

That`s great you feel that way, it really is.....But sadly, I don`t care. His comment was ridiculous and you just made a whole sh!tload of assumtions about a person you don`t know.

BTW about the bubbles, it looks like people already popped yours down to Four, hopefully it hits Three.

[zethos56]

The PS3 will not do PS2 numbers. People forget how many casuals bought PS2's. Also, the 360 will most definitely do better than the original Xbox. The 360 has more games than just Halo this time around.

[outlawlife]

everybody clearly missed the point i was making

from a business standpoint the 360 has already accomplished what it set out to do...make a profit

as long as that continues then microsoft won't be concerned

it has nothing to do with fanboyism or system preference it is how the business works, and actually the minute the 360 turn a profit with was deemed a success...doesn't matter if it sell 5 million or 30 million, as long as there is money in a companies pockets it is a success

unless the 360 sales tank completely then microsoft isn't caring, and honestly the sales aren't going to stop especially with a price drop, big hitting games in the next couple months and holidays they will put up more than solid numbers

and if it is "ridiculous" for a company to set out to turn a profit then every company is ridiculous

as it stands now if the xbox follows the same sales curve that it is projected to then by the end of its life it will sell approximately 80 million units making it(as it stands now)the 5th best selling console of all time, there was actually an article about it on here a few days ago analyzing the sales figures of the 360

and if you knew the sales numbers for past consoles 20 million in less than 3 years is most definitely a win

the PS2 is in a league of its own sales wise, the chances of seeing ps2 sales numbers in a games console ever again are extremely slim, the ps3 won't do it, the 360 won't do it, not even the mighty wii will do it so don't kid yourself

and the word you were looking for wasn't "wreaks"...it was "reeks"
before you call someone stupid you should at least check your word usage

[HighDefinition]

You gotta LOVE English!!!!

[TheMART]

360 outsold the PS3 in August.

But the price drop in USA takes effect in September.

So lets wait to the end of this month to see how the PS3 got slaughtered

[pwnsause]

and the PS3 outsold the 360 worldwide so whats your point?

[ThatCanadianGuy]

LOL! look at mart!! lmao!!

On a big power trip because 360 barely outsold PS3 for the first time all year.

AFTER NOT ONE..BUT TWO PRICE CUTS!!!

Bravo 360 fanboy,bravo.

[cemelc]

Yeah let us check this: the xbox with price drops and everthing is in position 56 in amazon " http://www.amazon.com/gp/be...

And PS3 is in number 6, go figure.

Edit:@power of Green : care to check the worldwide sales Ps3 keeps outselling the Xbox 360.

By the way the 360 sell like 10k more(US), thats not even a considerable number.

And NPD doesnt add the amazon numbers to this(the sad true)

[thereapersson]

But when there are all these articles about the PS3 and their games that have a lot of positive vibe in them, they are nowhere to be found.

[power of Green]

Obviously that is the way people like to shop for PS3 lol as if comparing a product with less versions of itself and a product that has many version of itself is a logical way of comparing the success of something. lol(If there was only one 360 obviously it's rank would be different, I'll go by NPD not Amazon lol)

Amazon showed PS3 always ahead in AUG, go figure.

EDIT: @cemelc... PS3 got beat lol, how do you know the 360 has been being beat worldwide?(LOL Let me guess VGC)

I don't understand your Amazon point, when all I was saying is, you bringing up was nonesense.

Trying to use a Amazon as an gage for a consumer trend is nonsense(PS3 ranks #3 at Seven Eleven)

[juuken]

Cheap doesn't always mean better.

[power of Black]

@MART

The problem is some of you think USA is the whole world.

LOLOLOLOLOLOLOLOL

@Green

Hey Green why a convenient store??

xD xD xD xD

[Crapbox360]

THE PS3 WILL DESTROY THE 360 THIS YEAR.
YOUR DAYS ARE NUMBERED BOT.

[NewSchoolGamer]

how much the PS3 needs to sell worldwide more than the xbox360 to catch up and beat it. I'm not being a fanboy I honestly just want to know.

[lwhatee]

x360 is around 19m worldwide
PS3 will eventually catch up to x360 by the end of this year

[nieto]

i don't understand how people like outlawlife have so many bubbles with stupid comments like this. seriously this site it's crazy. most times i see a good comment it comes from guys that have few bubbles. why?

[Aclay]

One thing that I've noticed is that every time the Xbox 360 has managed to outsell the PS3 this year in the U.S., it only managed to outsell the PS3 by a very small margin. There was even one month (I think it was April) when the 360 only outsold the PS3 by just 900 units.

At the previous $279 price point that the 360 was at this entire year, you would think the 360 would be selling much more than the PS3 but it hasn't. With the PS3 being at $399 and $499 this year in the U.S. and outselling the 360 5 months this year is phenomenal because it's a big change from last year.

The PS3 outselling the 360 2:1 in June whenever MGS4 dropped is just an indication of the potential the PS3 has to sell when big games are bundled with the system and when big highly anticipated exclusives hit the PS3.

As for September's NPD, I think that sales for the PS3 and 360 might even be less than August's NPD because of the impact on Gas Prices by Hurricane Ike... but who knows, maybe console sales wont be affected at all.

[Nathaniel_Drake]

That's weird that people don't see that when there is a major hit like the price drop it outsells the PS3 by only a slight margin, this year the pattern was like that, last year no price drop was needed, it seems it will take price drops to outsell the PS3 if you are going by the pattern of this year, its very interesting to see the unit sale rate when the rpg's for PS3 come out and the FPS and TPS hit this fall and go against each other, oh yeah not to mention the Dark Knight

[omegaheat]

Personally, I don't give a damn about how many consoles the Wii keeps selling. Numbers are great for console sales and console sales are supposed to exmeplify software sales at some point. But when you talk about the Wii, third party developers get left out in the cold and overshadowed by Nintendo's own franchises. It's not because the third party developers don't support the console or don't put in any effort, it's because Nintendo shot themselves in the foot when they decided that casual gaming was more important than hardcore gaming or what ever other terminology fits better for the latter. If these developers don't make any money developing for the Wii, then they have to make money on the other two major consoles. How is it possible that a console with an installed base of almost thirty million, sell only 100+ thousand copies of a game as reknown as Madden. Nintendo is happy just selling a console that resembles more of a super Plug-n-Play than an actual videogame console full of diverse games. I really hope that developers see the sell of Madden as a clear sign that only Nintendo makes money off of the Wii and casual gaming and hardcore gaming can co-exist on one console. Nintendo could send the industry into that slump that we experienced during the days of the Atari 2600's fall. Does anyone remember that?

[Gr81]

Who actually agreed with this ridiculously out of touch with reality post?

[TrooGamer]

Remember only the US counts...people always forget that Europe PS3 is constantly outselling the 360 an Japan that difference already clears the US deficit.

I have both systems and enjoy them both but please remamber the US is not the whole games industry.

Does anyone know why Europe doesnt have a official sales tracker?

[wooferine]

It's probably the same reason that European releases of games sometimes occur after the Japan/U.S. releases. Europe is comprised of many countries, with different languages/currencies, etc. so game localization takes time.

I'm sure it's a large effort to get the data for the U.S. and Japanese markets which are each comprised of one country per market. Imagine the difficulties of collecting similar data from multiple countries....

[chanto23]

the reason the 360 was selling a lot at the beginning was because of the RROD---> yeap i just said that. People bought up to 4 or 5 360's...i personally had to buy 3 of them. But since last year the RROD hasn't been an issue anymore and people don't have to buy another 360 because the last one they got is still working. So i don't think is a price issue for M$, the people that wanted a 360 already has one...

[GameOn]

Do those people who bought 3 or 4 360's also get 3 or 4 copies of the game because something isn't adding up.

[chanto23]

but 360 owners just buy a lot of games while the PS3 people are a little more "picky"

[air1]

NA isnt the world but its the bigest market. how do you ppl know that the ps3 has been winning world sales?

[juuken]

http://www.n4g.com/industry...

Now read.

[power of Black]

If you had brains, you would know the PS3 owns the 360 in most parts of Europe. Oh, Japan too.

[Narutone66]

Maybe because Xbox is out of stock?
http://kotaku.com/5048777/m...

[clrlite]

The media always forgets to make it apparrent that these are only north american figures. World wide figures will tell a different story

[remanutd55]

you speak the truth, worldwide sales indicate another story but then again microsoft strong market is north america

[tk]

So the XB360 barely pulls ahead in the US for a month after massive price drop and it is now "going after the Wii"? How stupid can you get? It is trying to - and barely staying ahead of the PS2 and only after price drops overtake the PS3 for a brief period. It is struggling at best at the moment... not going after the Wii. That is marketing spin.

The PS3 migh catch up with the Wii, and only because it will be on the market 3-5 years longer than the Wii. Face it kids... we did not see the Wii coming and taking this gen like it did.

[PimpHandStrong]

man some ppl are just so lost

The Xbox sold 26 MILLION units in 4 years! They cut it off and launched a 360. I
The 360 has sold 20+ MILLION in close to 3 years!

PS3 is on pace to sell 32-35 MILLION in 4 years! When the PS3 hits the 299 price point it will blow the doors open and make that 35 MILLION in 3 years!

do you follow

fact is

The 360 is on a bit faster pace for a 4 year mark but it wont be much over 26 MILLION

Thats why the 360 will be replaced around the time it gets close to 30 MILLION and Xbox 720 will luanch with Halo 4......IMO 3rd time will be the charm and they will have a system that is eqaul to what the PS3 is.....blueray drive is a sure bet

[Sena Kobayashi]

I dont care if it outsold the console by 1 2 3 or 1million , deal is it got outsold. When PS3 outsold X360 nobody brings News about it Outsolding the 360 by a litle.

[GameOn]

outsolding? Is that a new word?

[Poirot9]

"When PS3 outsold X360 nobody brings News about it Outsolding the 360 by a litle."

Yikes. The phonics monkey must be spinning around in his grave.

Anyways, back on topic:
I don't really know what to believe here. On the surface, it seems like the 360 beat the PS3 by a not completely inconsequential 10,000 units during the month of August. But now there are people crying left and right about how the NPD discounts bundle sales, which would be a HUGE deal if true. Like we're talking almost DOUBLE PS3 sales huge here. But I've also heard other people say that the NPD only discounts the SOFTWARE sales in bundles and that hardware IS counted.

So I don't know what to believe here. Anybody know the truth?

[Zulwarn]

it doesn't matter whether the 360 outsold bs3 by 1 unit or 1 trillion

bottom line is: the BS3 lost (like ALWAYS)

THE END.

[juuken]

FAIL.

The PS3 outsold the 360 worldwide and continued to do so. :)

The 360 only had a minor victory in August because Sony was replacing the 40gb SKU's.

The PS3 still outsold the 360 for five months.

[Narutone66]

http://kotaku.com/5048777/m...

[Zulwarn]

NPD!

bottom line is: the BS3 LOST!

THE END!

[juuken]

By 10,000 units?

Oh wow...it's about *damn* time the 360 outsold the PS3 because the PS3 was whooping it's ass for FIVE FREAKIN' MONTHS!

The PS3 still outsold the 360 worldwide.

Poor Zulwarn and his temper tantrums. Continue flapping in the wind dear.

The end of the XBox 360 is at hand. :P

[rebirthofcaos]

and as yahze said the 360 pisses itself and die.

edit: why he said that at zero puntuation XD

[PimpHandStrong]

360 didnt out sell anyone

NPD dont even count bundles or major retailers like Target and others

[Narutone66]

Xbox must be really in short supply.
http://kotaku.com/5048777/m...

[DARKTRINITYxxx]

Price cut for the XBOX360. Well you no what they say you pay a cheap price for a cheap item. Nuff sed.

[chewmystink]

is why people still have such faith in a product as faulty as the Xbox 360.
Honestly what other product has ever been manufactured in which people just don't mind about the failure rate and the return for repair rate. What part of returning an item for the 3rd time or more don't consumers understand is not in anyway shape or form acceptable.
And I don't care if Microsoft extended warranty to 3 years or you think it doesn't happen as much as it used to.
Original XBOX was a great product the XBOX 360 is a lemon in my book, hope the smart consumer stops funding Microsoft by purchasing the 360.
Price drop away but you couldn't give me one for free!

[felidae]

Wii bitte?

[redsnake]

the 360 came out a year earlier so of cource its sold more than the ps3. but this is just america in every other part of the world ps3 is outselling the 360 about 2:1.

[air1]

so then why dont you ppl talk about that on a thread that is on world sales? this here are npd numbers so lets stick that. juuken its about time the 360 won? did you forget that the 360 won all 12 months here in NA in 07? it didnt win 1, 3, or 5 it won 12