Erik rants. Today: "The PS3 is not the N64!"

[HappySqurriel]

Diomedes1976 said: Well ,I also expected the PS3 to do better in Japan .I was expecting some 45-50K all the weeks .But things can improve ,as Gundam Mussou shows once the software starts rolling it will do well . But ,just to put the European data in perspective ..... Microsoft announced that they had sold 1.3 million consoles in Europe end september 2006 ,and 1.7 end november .Sony will launch with at least one million on launch day ,probably more ...and it will sell everything in days if its not in the same launching day .PS3 surpassing the X360 isnt a question of years but months .To add some nuances you have to consider the european market in two differente parts ;UK and continental Europe .Uk makes for some 35% of the European market as it is the older and more developed videogame market with the most hardcore gamers ,early adopters and also casual gamers .In UK the X360 is doing quite well ,not overwhelming anyone but managing good numbers ...still its sales for 2006 were below the PS2 ,the DS and the PSP ....so it was four out of four for the year .In continental Europa things are much worse ,with the X360 struggling in most markets and in some with ridicule numbers .In continental Europe the X360 has been selling like crap consistently .In the Christmas period Gears of War and an aggresive marketing campaign by Microsoft ,plus the delay of the PS3 and the Wii shortages ,did a lot in X360 favour and it improved its numbers ...but it still ranked below the DS ,PS2 ,PSP and Wii in that order being 5 out of 5 consoles competing .In Uk the X360 can keep its position for some months from the PS3 ,but in continental Europe it will be a question of one or two months until the PS3 displaces the X360 .The Xbox brand just hasnt got a good reputation here;Microsoft is seeing as some monopolistic company condemned by our justice several times ,and the machine is seen as some PC by many and even the gamers consider its technical problems ,lack of retrocompatibility and the failure of the Xbox (good numbers but surpassed by a great margin by the PS2 and only 3 years in the market here ) as reasons not to buy the machine .

Well, I think it is a little early to say that "Gundam Mussou shows once the software starts rolling it will do well" being that Gundam Mussou did not perform all that well and we don't know what long term effects the game had (if any). Now, one question is whether the XBox 360 has been performing poorly in Europe because Europeans dislike Microsoft and the XBox or whether the higher price has kept many consumers away ... Remember the XBox initially launched at 479€ and (after massive outrage) dropped its price to 299€ because of how few people bought the system immediately. The PS3 will be launched at €599.