XBox 360: Best-selling console of 2011 Worldwide

Sony’s earnings report, issued yesterday, puts the PlayStation 3 at 6.5 million units sold worldwide for the holiday quarter, topping the 5.6 million units registered by Nintendo’s Wii for the same period — but falling short of the 8.2 million Xbox 360 sales reported by Microsoft.

On a cumulative basis, Nintendo is still the king of the current console generation, with 95 million Wiis sold worldwide, compared with 66 million Xbox 360 for Microsoft and 62 million Ps3s for Sony.

[GraveLord]

Most-shipped would be the correct term.

Sales tracking sites show the PS3 ahead of 360 in consumer sales.

[Dark360]

Sales tracking sites show the PS3 ahead of 360 in consumer sales like Vgchartz...HAHAHAHAHAHA

[ApplEaglElephant]

And just barely too.

Also, by abandoning hardcore gamers.

fanboys will still celebrate though. LOL

@Evil
You get 1 or 2 core exclusives a year and you dont think MS is focusing on core like they used to.
MS also made core franchise into on rail kinect.
Halo aint even made by Bungie anymore. EPIC's main game is multiplat.

Lets be realz. MS left ya all for casuals and you fanboys are still defending them.

[Pain70]

@ApplEaglElephant I bought the PS3 solely to watch movies. Did Sony sell out making the PS3 because they added a HD video player like M$ did with Kinect? Come on now. What sells, sells. Congrats to all console owners. We all have great entertainment to enjoy. The thing that baffles me is that so many people are still buying these things. Doesnt everyone have one yet? The numbers always mess with my head. No way I could wait this long to own one of these machines.

[morganfell]

Only fan sites use calendar years. Manufacturers, including Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo use fiscal years and the fiscal year doesn't end until March 31, 2012.

[Nitrowolf2]

@ Pain70

Really? There is a huge difference between the two. Blu-ray is mandatory, games use it, and most of all it (films) doesn't interfere with what games are being produced.

Kinect is a standalone purchase and MS is pushing it like there is no tomorrow, all while barely and I mean barely catering to the hardcores other then with already existing IP's that get constantly released, which still isn't that many.

@ Morganfell

Ha true

[sikbeta]

It's being known since last CES12, did you guys didn't saw the conferences? Ballmer said it there, they didn't show much though and the Sony conference was awkward-funny :D

[ShinMaster]

And barely.

[Space_cancer]

Just wait till 2013

[MysticStrummer]

Let me guess... WW sales suddenly matter, when they haven't every other year? Congrats, Microsoft shareholders. You have Anonymous to thank, not Microsoft.

[EVILDEAD360]

At the end of the day, no matter how you spin it,the 360 outselling both the Wii and the PS3 in no small feat.

It's especially impressive when you factor in the fact that Japan sales are miniscule in comparison to the other big two.

I own all 3 consoles and bought over 20 games for the 360 alone.

I laugh hard at how non-core 360 gamers still keep trying to convince themselves that Microsoft abandoned hardcore when DAILY millions of 360 core gamers are still playing and supporting the core franchises they have supported from year ONE on the 360.

Here are the FACTs

The top 5 exclusive franchises are Halo, Gears,Mass Effect, Fable, and Forza.

In 2010 and 2011 we saw Halo Reach, Mass Effect 2(later multi), Fable 3, and Forza 4.

We also saw other franchises like Splinter Cell Conviction and Crackdown 2.

At the same time it is clear that Call of Duty has been a massive franchise for the 360 as it actually pushes console sales.

Games that once were 360 exclusives and are NOW multi-platform STILL are on the 360.

Elder Scrolls, Mass Effect,Bioshock etc are still Core games that 360 gamers have and will suport when new iterations arrive on the console. Skyrim is a huge example of it as the 360 has the games biggest fanbase.

So while the usual suspects keep fantasizing that Micrsoft just dropped ity's most important hardcore franchise for Kinect, in reality we see the results of this year's Gears of War 3..we see that Halo 4 has a 200-man team and a 3 year development time for the billion dollar franchise.

What we also see that while Micrsoft gets flack for releasing franchises like Dance Central, Kinectimals, and Fitness evolved..we now see Sony took notice and followed suit releasing Everybody Dance, EyePet and friends, and the upcoming Move fitness games.

Microsft successfully expanded it's audience, and garnered it's best year in history. But they didn't flinch on ensuring the core audience STILL played the biggest exclusive franchises the core install base love and support.

Evil

[Anon1974]

EvilDead said "Here are the FACTs: The top 5 exclusive franchises are Halo, Gears,Mass Effect, Fable, and Forza."

Seriously? The top exclusive franchises? Based on what? Mario games alone probably sell more than that entire list combined. And Mass Effect isn't even exclusive.

Microsoft had an amazing holiday quarter after sales had slowed and slumped after last year's holiday quarter. They've effectively broadened their appeal but still are a distant third place overall since they've had competition. Those are the facts. I love how some use this one quarter's boost to act like the 360 is suddenly the second coming for the game industry.

A little perspective is in order.

[Morpheuzpr]

I've said it before and I'll say it again MS is the worst thing that has happened to video games. You people think that Sony wouldn't have made so many great games this gen if they didn't have competition? Wrong, RFOM, Motorstorm, MGS4, Rachet & Clank, KZ2, GT5, Uncharted DF, GOW3 and probably others were in development prior to the PS3's release.

[360FTW2]

@Morpheuzpr - Now that was a dumb comment. Says a lot about how delusional people can be.

[specialguest]

Everyone just needs to accept the fact that the 360 dominated 2011, and move on. The competition's numbers are not even close.

[starchild]

I think some people make way too big of a deal about exclusives. Most of the games I find I like are multiplatform games. That is why I tend to play most of my games on the PC.

Console exclusives like Red Dead Redemption and Enslaved I tend to play on my 360.

Then there are the exclusives I like for both consoles...which to be honest are just a few here and there. Many PS3 exclusives just don't appeal to me that much...well, not to the point that I would get those exclusives instead of other multiplats that I am really looking forward to. I do really love Uncharted and God of War.

Some people act like every exclusive is amazing just because they are exclusives, but I think that mentality stems from brand loyalty and fanboyism more than anything.

If Microsoft, or Sony for that matter, would release more exclusives I would be all for it. But they have to be exclusives that interest me otherwise it personally wouldn't really mean much to me.

[Oner]

You want a REAL dose of reality? How's about this perspective ~

Sony (and Japan) had to deal with this in 2011

1. Earthquake
2. Tsunami
3. Radiation
4. PSN attack and shutdown

And they STILL managed to outsell the Wii while only being behind the 360 by 800k (give or take)...but yet (like Morganfell pointed out) its the Fiscal year that is more telling and proper. Hell even if it were to stay the same it goes to show how well Sony did under the circumstances.

[MariaHelFutura]

Congrats. Unfortunately to do this, they kinda screwed over their core audience. Hopefully, with all the $$$ they made they buy some NON Kinect related studios to proceed into the next-generation.

[EVILDEAD360]

'Unfortunately to do this, they kinda screwed over their core audience.'

False..

Not one single core game was effected by the release of Kinect ever.

In fact EVERY major 360 core exclusive have seen a release in 2010 AND 2011. Both are the years of Kinects release.

Core 360 played the biggest core 360 exclusives and the biggest multiplatforms. Halo Reach dominated in 2010 (and went on to sell 2 million more in 2011) and Gears of War 3 dominated 2011.

Microsoft simply made all of the right moves in the last two years that payed off with amazing results for in the twilight of this gaming gen.

But, like Nintendo and Sony have proven as past marketshare leaders, that you cant simply rely on past success to push you forward. It will still take alot more of those 'good moves' and a little luck for the 360 and ultimately the 720 to carry forward with this kind of success.

Look forward to seeing how it all pans out.

Evil

[MariaHelFutura]

@evil

Good response.

But, I believe MS out-advertised Sony and came out first (by a year) and that is the major contributor to their success this generation. I don't agree w/ you about Kinect though, Kinect has taken their focus off of new IPs and is redirecting the initial vision of what the 360 was intended to be. Like you, I'm excited to see the vision of all the consoles in next-gen. Because right now, I think MS wants to be casual, Nintendo wants to be hardcore and Sony is not sure what they want to be.

[NukaCola]

@Evil

Gears of War 3 was pushed back for the Kinect Marketing Campaign.

Mass Effect 3 was also delayed to pop up with Kinect features now.

Anyway. MS did a hell of a job in the US this year. I think Americans forgot the Wii and PS3 even existed. It was their strongest ground and they played it well.

[mugoldeneagle03]

Just because Maria said they screwed over their core audience doesn't mean he/she meant delaying games and shit like that.

What about exclusives? If Microsoft would have focused on 1-2 less Kinect games maybe we could have gotten another one, just one more.

Or better yet, why not give me a reason to want a Kinect. Like you said it's been 2 years, and there's still not one game worth owning for (imo).

So yeah, the Core audience (which like you said played the most games, usually shooters) had a somewhat off year with a bunch of sequels and exclusive DLC that hasn't come out yet. That I'll agree with, just like I'll agree that MS probably made WAY more money pushing Kienct than past years.

You get my point

[silvacrest]

they did the best they have ever done once they looked passed the core gamer, do you really think their focus will be them any time soon?

my guess is look forward to even more kinect titles because the multiplats are all the core gamer is gonna get

[EVILDEAD360]

LOL and the internet ducktales keep coming..

'Gears of War 3 was pushed back for the Kinect Marketing Campaign.'

Absolutely 100% false! Gears was originally planned from day one to release in around the end of the 1st quarter 2011.

Micrsoft wisely pushed the game back to the Fall Halo slot which gave the game the best chance of success. It worked.

Kinect releasing in November 2010 had zero effect on Gears.

'Mass Effect 3 was also delayed to pop up with Kinect features now.'

LMAO..so now we are going to pretend that Mass Effect 3 was going to release EARLIER than it's normal 2 year cycle and it was the Kinect voice implementation pushed it back INTO it's normal 2 year cyle.

LMFAO..how many more do you want to more fantasy Kinect delays do you want to make up.

'What about exclusives? If Microsoft would have focused on 1-2 less Kinect games maybe we could have gotten another one, just one more.'

Like I said before..last two years the ACTUAL hardcore 360 games got EVERY big exclsuive franchise from this gen. They also got Alan Wake.

Only fan kids pretend that Microsoft was somehow supposed to release Kinect successfully without at least developing a few games for it.

'Or better yet, why not give me a reason to want a Kinect. Like you said it's been 2 years, and there's still not one game worth owning for (imo).'

I said it was released in 2010. But it was November 2010. Kinect has been on the market for only a year and 3 months. Who cares if YOU never buy Kinect or there isnt one game for YOU. You don't represent the 18 million people qwho did. You arent the reason for the success of any of the Kinect franchises.

Which is why Micrsoft can have a headline like 'best console worldwide' Kinect, Xbox Live, the 360 'big' exclusives, and ALL those things that people pretend arent factors in the real world.

Believe me, it's not just advertising.

Evil

[mugoldeneagle03]

Because then to me I feel neglected, just like other "core" owners do too I'm sure. Am I saying every single hardcore 360 owner is pissed off, no. But did the PS3 have more & higher rated exclusives? Yes. so it does matter, to me, just like all those Kinect sales make you feel good too.

As for advertising, believe it or not it DOES work. Been working in retail for 4+ years now and you should see some of the people who I've sold Kinects to. And of course no one expects great games at launch, but this isn't launch anymore, so no more free passes

It's got nothing to do with "fan kids", sales, anything like that. There are just people who care for casual gaming and I'm not one of them.

[yesmynameissumo]

Love it or hate it, MS has done a hell of a job selling the 360. I think the same came be said for Sony and the PS3 too.

[SSKILLZ]

wait...WHAT !? Microsoft doing something nice
fore there audience??? i think i heard Major Nelson lol from the top of a mountain

[Denethor_II]

" Halo Reach dominated in 2010 (and went on to sell 2 million more in 2011) and Gears of War 3 dominated 2011."

So what you're saying is for 2010 all you had was one game, and for the following year all you had was one game.
I think you're sort strengthening the argument that MS has lost touch of it's foundation. I had so many exclusive games for my PS3 those years, I had to pick and choose because I couldn't afford them all. Can you believe that?

[360FTW2]

Why does it matter so much to you that MS only put out 1 or 2 exclusives last year. Here's what's funny to me, ONLY the PS3 fanboys are complaining about the lack of 360 exclusives. You guys wouldn't have bought the games if the 360 had 10 exclusives. And as a 360 gamer I know damn well you don't give a damn about me or what I get on my 360.

360 out sold the PS3 deal with it and stop being such babies, have you thought about it on a different front. Sony had more exclusives and sold less consoles. What does that tell you. Each company had their own strategies, MS went with Kinect and Sony went with MOVE and Exclusives however the 360 sold more consoles.

What else is there to complain about, if you want to whine about one of the companies perhaps you should be asking how Sony managed to let this happen. If MS out marketed Sony, that's Sony's fault not Microsofts.

Instead you're acting butt hurt and trying to downplay it and say MS had no exclusives. I have both consoles, and even with the PS3 exclusives, I bought more games for my 360. It appears that Sony has all but forgotten about MOVE.

Either way, all of these excuses and BS about the 360s lack of exclusives are just smoke and mirrors to make some of you babies feel better.

Quit being biotches and go play some games.

[skrug]

@EVILDEAD360

"Not one single core game was effected by the release of Kinect ever. "

Fable kinect?

[Cocozero]

Official numbers say otherwise.

[Frankfurt]

You have numbers more official than the ones from Sony and MS? Because those say the 360 is number 1.

[k-dillinger]

yea what they need to understand is micro and sonys fiscal year isn't ending at the same time sonys isnt ending until march 31 while micros did already so sony is at 14 milli as of Dec which gives them one more fiscal quarter which their ending year of 2011 is set to past projections if they are already at 14 and they project 15 so ill say 16 something give or take for 2011 and micro at 13 these ppl need to read between the lines and see that i cant believe noone noticed yet sony will outsell micro this year yet again micro is working at 4 quarters and sony is at 3 kinda early to celebrate

[PimpDaddy]

Microsoft said that the Xbox 360 would be the number one selling console for 2011 and they delivered.

They had their best year ever with the 360. They did it without a price drop. Without all these supposed "AAA" exclusives the Sony faithful brag about but don't buy. They did it without free online. They did it even when bundling Kinect and thus making their console the most expensive console on the market. They did it without the power of the Cell and Blu-Ray.

It's time people stopped hating and started congratulating.

[DragonKnight]

@PimpDaddy: Things one shouldn't be happy about...

"They did it without a price drop."

One should not be happy about that.

"Without all these supposed "AAA" exclusives the Sony faithful brag about but don't buy."

One should not be happy about this even more so. Also, one should learn the difference between flash sales and prolonged sales. Sony exclusives have legs, MS exclusives do not.

"They did it without free online."

One should be facepalming about that.

"They did it even when bundling Kinect and thus making their console the most expensive console on the market."

One should learn the sheep mentality of bundles, and understand that when people see things like "Get these 4 products for slightly more than that 1 product" they think "oh yay, a bargain" and buy it up.

"They did it without the power of the Cell and Blu-Ray."

One is stuck in 2006 and continues to use fanboy lingo.

"It's time people stopped hating and started congratulating."

One should learn that people do not congratulate those whose successes come at the cost of the happiness of the loyal base that built the foundation for said successes to exist. Why should people say "hey MS, you pretty much gave the middle finger to us core gamers that supported you until now and only released 2 core exclusives, but it's ok because you outsold Sony. Who cares that they pump out more of the kinds of games their userbase wants, we have cross game chat and love paying for it."

One might agree. But you won't.

[Wintersun616]

@PimpDaddy, tell me, do you play games or do you play sales? When it comes to games the PS3 dominated the Xbox 360 this year. And don't give me any of that "exclusives don't matter because we have multiplatform games", because we all know that those exclusives are what really differentiates these consoles apart. Your comment only makes sense if you're a MS shareholder or a total fanboy, which one are you?

[PimpDaddy]

Come on Dragon do better than that. My comment was meant to show that all these things that Sony faithful such as yourself tell us that makes the PS3 better and have more value did not matter in the end. Sony lost money on their games division the past 2 quarters after the price drop. They sold less consoles YOY than 2010. Microsoft had it;s most profitable quarter. Sold more consoles YOY than 2010 and had it's best year in terms of hardware sales ever. What is more significant is the 360 is now 6 years old and sales are increasing instead of the regular trend of decreasing...

My answer to both you and Wintersun is that even with the larger amount of exclusives you guys like to brag about 360 has a larger game attach ratio than PS3. They sell more games. The best selling games every year are multiplatform. Spin this however you want till you get dizzy. You can say Microsoft abandoned their core audience with Kinect. But the sales figures prove otherwise.

I own both a PS3 and 360. The only exclusive I bought this years was Gears of War 3. Everything else I bought was multiplatform and it was for my 360. I prefer XBL and the 360 controller. The only thing I bought for my PS3 was 2 Blu-Ray movies and used copies of Uncharted 2 and Killzone 2. These exclusives you brag about don't appeal to the masses of gamers outside of the Sony die hard faithful that hang out on websites like N4G. Sony exclusives don't appeal to me. Xbox 360 exclusives do. I happen to like COD. Guess I'm just a blind Microsoft sheep by your standards just because we don't share the same taste in games.

Before you call me a fanboy look in the mirror first. By you trying to form my opinion for myself by telling me what games I should want to play you are in fact acting like the biggest fanboy on this site. You play what you play and let me play what I play.

I laugh at these sales figures because it really does make the Sony faithful on this site look foolish with all their bragging points and lists of games. In the end the "less" valuable "less" powerful console with the "least" amount of exclusive games and "larger" cost to purchase console and play online just beat your console of choice in hardware. Software. Marketshare. and Profit for the year. nothing you can say, twist, manipulate, or otherwise complain about changes that.

[Wintersun616]

@PimpDaddy,

How does Xbox360 selling well mean they haven't abandoned 1st party support on hardcore titles? Good sales and 1st party support on hardcore games are not dependent on each other. You're the one spinning things in this case. First of all, it's only natural that multiplatform games sell more than exclusives because they have double the install base. Second, it is a myth that PS3 exclusives don't sell, all of them don't sell 3 million week one, but there's multiple franchises that have sold millions of games on PS3. Thirdly, as a gamer you shouldn't be so worried about sales, but the games.

I don't care about your personal taste in games, because it's none of my business. But you should stop being hypocritical and comparing yourself to everybody else. You are not the masses. If you don't like PS3 exclusives, that doesn't mean that other people can't like them either. And again that tired excuse that PS3 exclusives don't sell. The numbers are out there for everyone to look at, and while it's true that not all PS3 exclusives are selling in millions, but some of them do.

I'm not trying to form your opinion, I'm just telling how I see it and I see it as a biased MS fanboy. Your hypocrisy and cliche lies about PS3 games not selling and nobody caring about them and thinking that you equal the masses just proves you wrong. I'm not telling you what to play, but you shouldn't be spreading lies that nobody wants to play any game if it's exclusive to PS3.

And I laugh at these same MS fanboys who really think that their console of choice selling well somehow makes their gaming better. All you do is spin the numbers and even bring old cliches and lies to the table to make it look like things are in your favor.

[DragonKnight]

@PimpDaddy: Meh, not really trying to "try hard" lol. But anyway...

First paragraph: And my point is that it's suspicious that this comes to pass, and that you shouldn't be happy that MS is selling while screwing over the very people that made them capable of even taken the Kinect risk. You shouldn't be happy with MS' success based on how it happened. You're a gamer, not a stock holder.
And ironically, as you try and make Sony look bad by making it compete against its own numbers, it's only THIS YEAR that MS has beaten Sony WW, in about 5 years. When the PS3 was coming out and if it did anything better than the 360, MS faithfuls like you were quick to dismiss it as being a one time thing. Well, for years now the PS3 has outsold the 360 WW and now that ONE YEAR has been different look how quickly you revert to Past behaviors. Can you say that this will happen again?

Second Paragraph: Of course you'll have a better attach ratio with LESS games to sell. You have to exclude multiplats because they are on both systems and are NOT an indicator of the strength of either system. Looking strictly at exclusive games, Sony has dozens of franchises, MS has 4. Give people too many games to choose from, and they'll have to pick which ones to buy now and which to buy later. Give people 4 games to choose from a year, and of course it'll sell like mad. Basic math. Where was this attitude when the PS3 was about the multiplat games in its early years eh? Funny how things have changed.

Third paragraph: You are not the masses. It's your choice to ignore games in favor of the same ol same ol you get on the 360. If you look at the sales of PS3 games, you'll notice that they have legs. They don't do flash sales then burn out the next time a new game comes out. They consistently sell over a long period of time, but the MS generation would have you believing that if you don't sell at least 5 million in your first week you're a failure. WRONG! GT5 says hi, and it's still selling well.

Fourth Paragraph: I don't recall calling you a fanboy or telling you what you should be playing. I recall telling you that MS has screwed you over and you're loving it.

Final Paragraph: Wow, one year eh? Ok, when it does it for 5 years in a row, then come back and we'll talk. Until then, meh.

[360FTW2]

@Pimpdaddy - Very well said, and nice intellectual response to and ignorant group of counter arguments.

Bubbles up.

[ZippyZapper]

Excuses coming in 3..

I'm way late

[GribbleGrunger]

these are the exact words Balmer used:

'Xbox 360 has 66 million users worldwide'

an interesting choice of words.

[GribbleGrunger]

oh brother. never mind son, one day you'll understand why PS3 owners have been astonished at 360 owners. one Christmas and you think it's '...all gone away with pixie dust...' bless. of course i'm just a fanboy... what else could i be? well done MS, i say. it's quite a feat stretching a 3.5 million lead into a 4 million lead. it's not quite as astonishing as reducing an 8 million lead to a 4 million lead, but, eh, what the hell, gloat away.

[TheRealHeisenberg]

@ GG

You are what your comments say you are. One day you'll understand why real gamers have been astonished at "some" PS3 owners and "some" 360 owners.

@ Colwyn

Do you even care how you look right now?

[gamingdroid]

@GribbleGrunger

So now we are down to, Sony is ahead 4 years cumulative? MS pulled ahead 1.7-1.8 million in one quarter and they did it without Japan. Even the Europeans are now buying significantly more Xbox 360's.

MS did all that without a price drop, which the competition did. I said it before, MS' Xbox 360 had an increasing average selling price earlier this year suggesting demand was really strong. This comes as no surprise and I predicted this a while back.

If anything, MS still has their ace a price drop....

[SuperLupe]

I'll wait for intergalactic sales thank you.

The USA sales dont count and now I have decided nor do worldwide sales.

We need the solar system sales to see that PS3>360.

[iamgoatman]

But then we'll get "the 360 may be leading in the Milky Way, but the PS3 is outselling it universally."

[dredgewalker]

Actually the sales of the Wii, PS3 and 360 are horrible on other solar systems. They're just too primitive for alien consumers. Also the controllers aren't ergonomic for some aliens since they don't have hands :P

[nnotdead]

what about all the parallel universes? i heard that on Earth 3, the PS3 is already over 150 million sold.

[Tainted Gene]

@ supelupe
Best post I have ready in a looong time man. Good laughs.

[Colwyn]

Video game consoles main function is to?

***PLAY GAMES***

Within the past few years ive been waiting on quality titles for the xbox 360 which are majority of the time exclusive titles. i love gears , alan wake , halo reach and a few others but gears is my favourite. i literally waited for proper games for the xbox for months upon months chanting rubbish about the xbox 360 being the best because i hated the UI on the ps3 and that most of my friends had a 360. a few times my xbl gold account ran out while im waiting to play proper games or games of my liking but after a few times of waiting i realize that i can have fun on the ps3 and i dont need constant connection with my mates on the xbox because there isnt any party chat.

xbox 360 is a good system but logically speaking, the ps3 is way better in a lot of ways. i know some will say they like the xbox or wii or whatever which is fine but video game consoles are about games and there are so many exclusive proper games on the ps3 that a person will find a lot they like (IF THEY ARE GAMERS)on the ps3. i still like the xbox 360 but i realize that im wasting money on xbl when there are few games to play and older games from years ago dont interest me as much as newer games with better tech. i will play few games from the past library but its not often. im not a fangirl but i love love the exclusive titles on the consoles which have such higher quality than majority of the multiplatform titles.i dont need to buy every multiplatform games that are released and i know there are a few gems like majin and the forsaken kingdom but the facts still remains that exclusives are so much better majority of the time. i do wish that most games would be released for the pc instead with high spec requirements and look like bf3 or crysis but i guess its not possible. the thing about the xbox 360 though is that a precedent has been set because microsoft realize alot of people would be willing to pay 100quid a year for xbl and xbox 720 might usher in such a fee.

i dont want a chat station or sales station, I WANT A PlayStation

[EVILDEAD360]

Talk about winning the most 'off topic' rant of the year award.

[dark-hollow]

The main hobby of a gamer is

****PLAY GAMES****
so why don't you go play instead of commenting on topics you don't care about.

[GroundsKeeperJimbo]

The irony, it kills me...

[morkendo23]

how is it POOOSSIBLE MS have 66 million sales?? with only 2 or 3 games?? last 2 years.
this is FLAMEBAIT. im sure half of those sales came from banned or RROD sales.

[Rynx]

What exactly is everyone celebrating about again? Are they only reading the summary up here, or the entire article?

Because according to the article they are basing these results on THEIR own calculations, using the reports from ONLY the holiday season. The entire article is riddled with such phrases as "According to our data" and "According to data compiled by GeekWire" (the website where this article comes from)

Now correct me if I'm wrong but SONY has YET to give out their report for the entire year worldwide. Let's just wait until those come out and not jump the gun based on some websites calculations.

Even so if this website turns out to be accurate then according to this quote the 360 only beat out the PS3 by 800k, that's really something to gloat about? Hasn't the PS3 been beating out the 360 yearly by, at LEAST, over 2 mil?:

"The Xbox 360′s strong holiday quarter also put the Microsoft console ahead in worldwide sales globally for the full year of 2011, with 14.9 million units sold, compared with 14.1 million for the PS3 and 10.33 million for the Wii."

I can't believe nobody caught that. Let's just wait for the official yearly reports, shall we? It's around the corner anyway. Oh who am I kidding.

[GroundsKeeperJimbo]

The 1/4 that Sony hasn't reported is the current one, these are the holiday numbers and 2011 as a whole.

[Aloren]

"Even so if this website turns out to be accurate then according to this quote the 360 only beat out the PS3 by 800k, that's really something to gloat about? Hasn't the PS3 been beating out the 360 yearly by, at LEAST, over 2 mil?: "

Well, I think It did in 2009 when the slim came out, and that's all... I mean the gap is only 2 million smaller than it was back in november 06, so it's not like either of them has incredibly outperformed the other (well, except when the slim came out...).

[dark-hollow]

The world doesn't equal the world.

[Dread]

Lol

Best comment ever!

Good one dude

[Parapraxis]

blah

[JokesOnYou]

Great post EVIL.

Yes Morgan the fiscal year for Sony ends on March 31st, so does nintendo but microsofts ends on June 30 thats why just about everybody has used calendar year totals for equal comparison of yearly worldwide sales....its been that way for years now. In fact most on this site have touted the same reports in the past when referencing ps3 marginal worldwide sales lead over 360. Either way fiscal year or not both sales totals are from the same length of time......sometimes you just got to give credit where credit is due micro has built a strong brand, especially in America its become the most preferred console for online gaming, which I believe is what's really driving its current success.

[Caffo01]

@EVILDEAD360

"The top 5 exclusive franchises are Halo, Gears,Mass Effect, Fable, and Forza"

I have 2 questions for you

- How can this be a fact?

- how can you have 6 bubbles with these idiotic comments?

[cyborg6971]

The reason evil has so many bubbles is because the bubble system is broke. Before it changed to this lame ass format he had one bubble. I miss the open zone.

[Raoh]

So will xbox fans finally admit what we ps3 fans been saying all along that the ps3 has been beating the 360 all this time?

I'm just saying, the ps3 obviously has not been doing as bad as some claimed if the 360 is just now making this claim.

[finbars75]

Why would you disagree with GraceLord?it is true.They have always just went by what they shipped period.I could care less how many consoles they sold to a store I care more about the actual numbers that where sold to homes.Its very inaccurate numbers to go by.If Sony tracks sales only thats real numbers.If nintendo went by tracking sales as well I would give them props to.Xbox cleary didnt sell legit consoles to people if there just sitting on shelves in the back storage room of walmart.

[shinrock]

wow

[GraySnake]

this was bashed out all day yesterday...why do we need another copy of it?

[Stryfeno2]

Popcorn and beer time....this is going to be good.

[Silly gameAr]

So happy had to right an article about it. Certain numbers are suspect but we won't get into that.

[Why o why]

Well Done....

[Cocozero]

Oldest console selling the most and without a price cut too, amazing.

[Bundi]

And humble pie was had by all. . .Worldwide. nuff said.

[ZippyZapper]

The power of Xbox live with a dash of Kinect.

[MariaHelFutura]

Actually, I would think it would be reversed. The power of Kinect and a dash of XBL and exclusive games sounds more realistic to me.

[DiRtY]

mindblowing success when you think about the PS3 price cut and that the Xbox 360 has the same prices since 2008!

Now release Halo 4, cut the price for every SKU, cut the price of the standalone kinect sensor and you have another record year in 2012.

[DebateMaster]

PS3 price cut? The PS3 is still more expensive than the 360.

[PimpDaddy]

Yes and no. The 160GB PS3 is $249.00 in comparison to the 4GB 360 which is $199.00

But the 320GB PS3 that is bundled with Uncharted 3 is $299.00 in comparison to the 250GB 360 which is also $299.00 and is bundled with Halo Reach and Fable 3.

The fact of the matter is that Microsoft has only dropped the price $100.00 from it's original launch price points of $299.00/$399.00 and has been selling at the same price since 2008

Meanwhile Sony has had multiple price drops from the original launch price points of $499.00/$599.00 all the way down to the current $249.00/$299.00 price points we have now.

Both consoles sold well for the calender year of 2011. But Sony was down year over year while Microsoft was up year over year. What makes this so significant is Sony dropped their price to increase demand and actually sold less than the previous year. While Microsoft stayed at the same price and actually sold more than the previous year.

[gamingdroid]

MS did enormously well, both in the US and Europe since we all know Xbox 360s don't sell in Japan. The fact that they outsold Sony means they must have sold very weak in both the other two regions.

When MS said they were going to be the best selling console worldwide, I didn't think they would achieve it. However, if you keep tabs on the data, the signs was there. Xbox 360 had been increasing their average selling price, while Sony decreased... This was before the latest PS3 price cut.

Heck, in October Sony sold as many consoles as they did the October before, which did not have a price cut!

[Caffo01]

360 at its launch was priced 399 dollars without wi-fi and hdmi... now is 299 with them both...there has been only a price cut but there's a reason!

[cr33ping_death]

oh my god...the 360 sold how much??? and the PS3 sold how much??? wow!!! how much money does that mean for me??? oh wait thats right "WE" dont get any of it..... numbers that should mean very little to us makes this site the most hostile.

[Boon Tarkas]

BUBBLE FOR YOU

[Jaybronee]

Buying scenario....Mommy, I want to play video games!! Mom and Dad drive to store...Mom: wow, this fancy XBOX is so much cheaper than PS3! Dad: little Johnny will love it!

[Series_IIa]

mommy mommy, I want a console which all of the kids say has all of the exclusives and they all love and will buy buy all they seem to play is COD like the other console...

[TheRealHeisenberg]

Yep.

[PimpDaddy]

Crying Sony faithful scenario...

Sony Faithful: USA does not equal the world.

Fact: 360 outsold PS3 worldwide in 2011.

Sony faithful: Calender year doesn't count anymore since Microsoft sold more consoles. Now it's all about Fiscal year.

Fact: Sony dropped the price $50.00 on the PS3 and sold less YOY than 2010. Microsoft stayed that same price and sold more YOY.

Sony Faithful: 360 is cheaper than PS3. That's why it sold more.

Fact: The 360 has been the same price since 2008. They have only dropped $100.00 on each SKU since launch. Meanwhile the PS3 has cut it's price in half since launching and still hasn't surpassed the 360 in sales and in fact seems to be losing marketshare now.

Sony Faithful: But we have the exclusives, free online, Blu-Ray, and the Cell...

Fact: 360: 65.8 million consoles sold at the end of Calendar year 2011. PS3: 62 million consoles sold at the end of Calendar year 2011.

Sony Faith: USA does not equal the world.

Fact: USA does not equal the world but it is the largest region in videogame sales for both hardware and software. The Xbox 360 is so strong in the USA that it makes up for the lack of sales in Japan and negates any small advantage that Sony has in Europe.

[MrDead]

Just out of interest how many of those sales are in the U.S.?

[Boon Tarkas]

More importantly, how many of those sales came out of the Mountain Standard Time Zone?

[Noticeably_FAT]

Well there goes any chance Sony had at catching Microsoft this generation. From first to last in one short generation, I hope they learned their lessons and apply it towards the next generation.

The PS3 got a price cut and is actually $50 cheaper then the 250 gig XBox 360, so it's not about price at this point.

Also, I'd like to point out that it's pretty obvious America=world. If you win North America, you are sitting pretty.

I was convinced Microsoft would release a new console this year, but the way the Xbox 360 is selling, I think it's safe to say they will hold off at least another year.

Imagine when/if Microsoft does a price drop? a $150 4 gig or $250 250 gig would sell like hotcakes, also I'd expect a Kinect price drop, probably to $99, which will again push more of those. By the end of this year there could easily be 30 million Kinect's sold.

[Majin-vegeta]

*Well there goes any chance Sony had at catching Microsoft this generation.*

Ummm say what??As far as im concerned this generation is still going cuz i sure as hell haven't seen the PS4 or whateverbox from next gen.Or maybe your a phsychic who can see into the future o_O if so can you tell me the price and how they look??

[portal_2]

By the end of this year there could easily be 30 million Kinect's sold.

And as a gamer, you would be happy for this?

[ironmonkey]

doesnt everyone by now own both consoles?. kids still fightin over this?.

[kaveti6616]

Grown adults fight over this. Grown men with wives and children of their own fight over this.

The phenomenon is called BIRG (or BIRGing) which stands for Basking in Reflected Glory. They count themselves as part of a group, and vicariously enjoy in the successes of a group that in reality they are not part of. It's like football fans. When your favorite team wins, you say, "WE won!!!" But when your favorite team loses, you say, "THEY lost."

[Boon Tarkas]

Insightful and educational.

[X_GAMER_X]

Well done MS. You deserve it.

Considering the PS3 sells in 3 territories with More exclusives games while the Xbox sells in to territories with less exclusive games.

Exclusive games was never the root of success.

[Tito08]

Actually PS1 & PS2 are a lot more successful than 360, 360 isn't 100 million sold neither the PS3, & I doubt it'll ever happen!!!! Plus the article isn't accurate enough, So better to see official #s!!!!!

[portal_2]

But it's nice to have SOME variety right?

[maniacmayhem]

I still find it amazing that the Wii sold so much.
That my friends is the power of the casual market.

Congrats to the 360 and it'sgood to see that the rest of the consoles are selling well too. Can't wait for this years E3, I'm hoping it will be a banger. I know i'll be there....will you???

[DialgaMarine]

These sales figures are for the US. Of course the 360 sold better in the US, no shit. I'm pretty sure the last time Sony reported their 2011 sales numbers, it was around 15 million.

[OC_MurphysLaw]

Good on MS...and to be fair, good on Sony. Both showed very strong sales for 2011 especially when you consider both systems are as old as they are now.

[Khordchange]

The 3DS outsold the 360

[thehusbo]

Most shipped, but either way well done.

[gotgame1985]

you people need to stop Sony numbers are shipped as well they just say shipped that's what the retailers bought.

[dcortz2027]

It's cheaper than dirt. It would be sad if the PS3 outsold it!

[kreate]

I guess u cant beat the xbox360. Even in 2012, doesnt seem like much will change.

Kind of feel bad for sony cuz they sacrificed a lot this generation but whatever the excuse is... Consumer interest has shifted.

But xbox fanboys shouldnt run off too much with it cuz xbox360 is only slighty ahead. It didnt totally dominate.

If microsoft were to lead the industry, gamers should make their complaints known.

[FrigidDARKNESS]

Awesome job by MS in making the 360 the number one choice in the world for gaming and entertainment..

[cstyle]

Great job by MS... Looking good heading into next gen.

[mcstorm]

I agree with you here. Everyone said ms will finish dead last this gen yet they have managed to get them selfs on a equal foot hold with sony and nintendo. For everyone saying the have pushed the core aside for kinect is not quite true. The 360 was known as a core console and even though there were some good none core games like banjo vivi piñata ect they did not really push the console into a market for everyone.

So by bringing out kinect gave them a chance to reimage the 360 to be a everyone console and they have managed to do this. Yes they have shouted about kinect but this has worked as it has got the name out there.

Sony needed to do the same with move and they have not. The none core market dont look at technology in the way the core do.

But that said the game industry is different to other gens as more people are playing on consoles than ever and the none core market has become bigger than the core market.

Even though im not a fan of cod games iw got the game play right fpr both core and none core and this is why they sell so many of there games.

But that said why should we care about whos console is selling better than the other. As a gamer all we should care about is games and as long as sony microsoft and nintendo consoles keep giving us the amazing games they have done this gen we should all be happy.

[undisputed]

Can't argue with that. Well played. Let's see hiw long they can keep it up.

[YodaCracker]

The phantom disagrees are stronger than ever tonight!

[urwifeminder]

Wow the future looks dam strong then goodwork ms amazing.

[zu4G]

yeah, thanks to it's american consumers,in Europe and asia PS3 has biggest sales than 360.

[TheRealHeisenberg]

A sale is a sale no matter where it comes from. 360 outsold PS3 worldwide this time around. Just relax and keep playing games.

[taijutsu363]

Worldwide? Really?

Like I know US sure... Japan not really, in UK from many people on this site and friends list say they have more PS3s than Xboxs so it cant be there....and in 2011 Ps3 was leading in sales in Europe same thing for Asia. So how is it best selling WW?

Does Russia play games?

[iamgoatman]

"UK from many people on this site and friends list say they have more PS3s than Xboxs so it cant be there"

Actually the 360 sells better than the PS3 in the UK, I think it's MS' second strongest region after the US.

Don't always believe some numpty on the Internet, ESPECIALLY on this site (yes I do see the irony in this statement).

[Hyperbomb69]

best selling in the worst gen ever, it got a year head start and more sales due to RROD. It doesnt mean its the best console out there...

[KonaBro]

Cheering because the 360 sold 800k more for the year? I knew you guys were pretty idiotic but this is truly pathetic. I love how you never mention the other console in the group. You know, the one that ensured 360 will never have the top spot even after they released a faulty console first to try to get the drop on them?

[thebudgetgamer]

I've been playing video games for a lot longer than I care to admit.
This is the first time I have ever seen three consoles sell these kind of numbers while sharing shelf space.

[Silly gameAr]

Looking forward to a casual gaming future. (not really) Congrats though MS. Glad you guys could finally decide on how many units you sold.

[negroguy]

Grats for Microsoft. Still not enticed enough yet to buy a 360 but number 1 WW is an accomplishment.

[mechanicleman]

Im pretty sure paper plates sold more than glass plates this holiday season too.

[AngelicIceDiamond]

A console with no "Exclusives" is best selling in 2011. Exclusives or not the Xbox is a gaming console people on this site need to realize that.

[biRdy]

Hey its a feed the fanboy's article!
Just another day on N4G.

[theeg]

*source wiki

"According to a survey conducted by market watch firm Jon Peddie Research,[28] Nvidia shipped an estimated 33.00 million graphics chips in the first quarter of 2010, for a market share of 31.5%. AMD and Intel shipped an estimated 25.15 million units (24.0% market share) and an estimated 45.49 million units (43.5% market share) respectively. Nvidia's year-to-year growth was 41.9%.

In August 2011, Nvidia predicted the growth of its revenues would be 4% to 6%, instead of 4%, as analysts said."

PC IS KILLING everyone else!

[mechanicleman]

half of which are replaced consoles people are cheap and quality suffers because of it.

[Bzone24]

I'm sure it was just an oversight by you, but you forgot to post the source for your "half of which are replaced consoles" comment.

[IRetrouk]

I think he means the 54% failure rate of the original 360, u know, the Rrod, you know, the very publicized problems.

[ForROME]

xbox owned

[m23]

I doubt we'll be hearing about any new consoles anytime soon.

[izumo_lee]

Like the blog post that is waiting for approval that I wrote all I have to say is 'Congrats to Microsoft & their fan base'.

As a Sony fan boy to an extent it pains me to say that. However if there is one thing I have learned over the years I have been gaming, don't get to cocky Microsoft & your fan base. When you are at the top EVERYBODY will be gunning for you. Atari faced it & failed, Sega faced it & failed, Nintendo faced it & survived, Sony faced it this gen.

Now it will be Microsoft's turn to handle that pressure of being at the top.

*Yes i know the Wii is the top seller but many do not consider it to be a next gen system.

[Ps3-PCgamer]

Microsoft not only did good this year but this whole console cycle we seen the Xbox brand go from niche to household name. It was the PS2 of this generation even with the RROD and that whole mess. PS3 did good also but it didn't dominate as everyone thought it would.

The main Reason the 360 gained steam was Price. Its Like BMW vs. Chevy PS3 being BMW of course. Both do the exact same thing but to Consumers who don't game like Parents of most of the 12 and 13 year olds who own 360's why pay the extra money? The Kid is gonna be happy no matter what he gets and so the 360 seems like the most reasonable choice.

This doesn't apply to adult gamers who can spend there money on whatever console they please. I mean think about last generation again. PS2 was more popular and cheaper therefore it sold the most. This Generation 360 is more popular and cheaper therefore it sold the most. Its not rocket science its just common sense.

My only gripe with 360 is that they have hardly any in house developers. They make there profits from 3rd party which is understandable. If they get some more IP's they might be a lot more stable next cycle. I just hope Sony can pick up the slack this time because I Am a playstation fan to death. Always will be

[plato]

You know since the PS1 and PS2, Sony made most of its profits from 3rd party developers. You know this right?

MS also has 14-15 game development studios and Sony I think has 16 or 17. Not much of a difference.
The good thing for Sony is they use those studios more on core games. MS not so much.

Now at this point the only thing the PS3 does that the Xbox360 does not is Blu-Ray.
Other than that, tell us what other MAJOR gaming feature the PS3 does that the Xbox360 does not?

[Ps3-PCgamer]

Valid Information. But of those 14 or 15 microsoft studios only a handful of them make games worth mentioning. An,d Of course Playstation made the most profits from 3rd party in their early years.

PS1 and PS2 both had huge gaming catalogs and the majority were Third party games. Sounds like the 360 if you as me. Most of the same games are available for PS3 as well but they just sell better on 360. At least the big titles that move units like Call of Duty, and Madden football.

I'm a die hard Sony Fan but I'm also a realist. Xbox 360 might not have a huge lead in sales worldwide compared to Playstation but they shortened the gap compared to last generation. That makes them the winner if you ask me. The fact that the slowed down the beast that was set to dominate for another generation. Nintendo also put a dent in potential Playstation sales but I'm not gonna even touch on that.

All I'm trying to say is that no one stays on top forever. Doesn't mean they can't come back and regain the throne but someone is always gonna be gunning for your spot when your on top.

[C0MPUT3R]

I'll wait for fiscal year numbers.

[joeorc]

Microsoft: were number 1 world wide our 4th Quarter shipped numbers are astounding.

what do you mean Sony only is in their 3rd Quarter an their 4th Quarter shipped numbers are not yet known until the end of march 2012.

well just ignore that fact an say we won 2011 because sony's 4th Quarter shipped sold numbers would not count for 2011.

we of course ended ours before 2012 starts so we will get to count ours. yay an extra 3 months counted for our side to our shipped sold numbers over Sony.

lets call that a win!

true story people

but lets just ignore that fact OK..congratz MS for selling many Xbox360's an winning 2011.

[jetlian]

wrong MS is only on their 2nd quarter!! its 4th quarter of the year not their fiscal year. Get your facts right lol

[gcolley]

this has a lot to do with online movie piracy as much as anything else. Blu-ray just hasn't captured the market like dvd did for the PS2.

i'm happy all 3 are selling nicely in this lil' industry of ours. keeps the games coming.

[rhap]

Well, obviously 360 is going to sell more. There are tons of people who doesn't care for XBL and just want to play pirated copies of every game around for 2 bucks (or even less if you record them at home), while a PS3 pirated game costs much more.

I've a PS3 and I'm really happy with it.

[thawind]

Sales=Hardcore Fanboys play games ppl.

[_LarZen_]

Good thing there are so many good exclusive games for the X360......oh...my bad.

[plato]

On this site, this article will not go well as seen by most of the responses.

[Kos-Mos]

I didn`t buy one and I`m proud of it.

[Rhythmattic]

I did buy one, but I am proud of you.
XD

[Neko_Mega]

For it to be the best ww selling system, wouldn't it have to sale in Japan? Sorry but theirs something wrong with this, because Europe report PS3 was the best selling system their and Japan is pretty owned by the PS3.

So I fail to see how 360 has the best ww, best in the US. But that is about it.

[wolokowoh]

Congrats to Microsoft. Now can they please get Rare to make sequels to their old IPs already. Rare is being wasting on Kinect games and mediocre ones at that. Killer Instinct, Conker,Banjo-Kazooie, Viva Pinata, Perfect Dark, Kameo, etc. Pick one out of a hat but any one of them would be better than Kinect Sports.

[PS4OUR]

1 thing and 1 thing only continues to hamstring the PS3 and the playstation division and thats Marketing. When MS has something brewing they push and expose that product to high hell and back. Take KINECT. Its been showed off everywhere. Hell, its even been on Oprah. 1 simply cannot rely on word of mouth. It only gets you so far. Congrats on MS. They really deserve all the success and this coming from someone that hated MS but after 3 xbox360's they really made me realise what an amazing company they are in the games industry. I love Sony but they are dropping the ball the longer the gen goes on. Exclusives are great but their potential is wasted when they are not marketed correctly. If halo was to release next week you'd have it plastered all over tv, print media and radio. Sony can learn a thing or two from ms when it comes to exposure of your IP's. Congrats MS

[Brettman2008]

Microsoft will be ecstatic with Xbox 360 sales this generation. They have gained massive market share and have a lot of momentum leading into the next generation. I think the current 250GB console will soon get the 320GB hard drive as standard and that there will be a worldwide price cut later in the year as a lead in to Halo 4 (which will be huge). I wouldn't be surprised if the Xbox 360 2012 sales exceed 2011's.

[Dorwrath]

Do all you guys stay here and bitch all day over sales. Unless your a shareholder it means jack shit.

I'm throwing this out here, I know it's going to be a shock, but how about you go play some games.

[Brettman2008]

Dorwrath

Console sales do matter to gamers, without a decent sized console install base third party game developers will generally not be keen to release games on the system.

[Zephol]

The best console always wins!!

[jessupj]

I'd like to say congrats, but as a gamer I don't think it's deserved like a lot of people are saying here.

MS didn't win by releasing lots of awesome exclusives and dropping the price, they won by pushing connect and heavy saturated marketing.

As a gamer, it's quite disappointing to see how fiercely MS are defended by the fanboys when it's obvious MS have abandoned you and have moved on to that sweet casual apple pie.