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Grampy on 10 December 2008
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Blappo said:
Grampy said:

I thought it might be a local fluke so I called a friend that works at a Costco a city at the other end of the state and he reported the same thing. I did and there it was. He said his manager was at a recent sales conference where it was being seriously discussed whether sale of the PS justified the floor space. 

This is anedotal evidence and should be taken with a grain of salt since the PS3 still moved 383K consoles last week.  However, as PS2 sales drop off and its floor space is reallocated to the newer consoles the PS3 is going to be on the bottom of the list.  This will hurt Sony's revenue generated by software.

OT: I think the Nintendo's success is amazing and should be commented on.  However, it should have been expected.  Last year they put up crazy numbers that fluctuated wildly since they could not keep up with demand.  This year with the increased production and stockpiles they can show how large demand is for their consoles.

I am shocked by the sales of the X360 and their YOY growth.  Their price cuts immediately boosted sales but no where near the levels seen over the holiday season.

 

I agree its anecdotal but I picked Costco because of its business model. Game stores, BestBuy, Walmart and Target will always have floor space for all consoles whether they are selling well or not. The amount and prominence may change but you'll always be able to walk in and buy a PS3. I've seen similar sales patterns at these places but I know that as long as the PS3 is produced, it will always have a presence.

Costco, Sam's Club and outlets  like that do not carry everything. They carry only items that justify floor space. They know revenue for every square foot of the store and anything that doesn't sell well will not be carried at all. They carry one model washing machine for example. They carry only selected brands of food and cleaning products. They will not feel obligated to maintain a complete selection of consoles. For instance there was no sign of any hardware or software for the PS2 this year. The PS3 could lose its floor space completely. That would hurt.