By using this site, you agree to our Privacy Policy and our Terms of Use. Close
Zkuq on 31 March 2009
Edit Thread
Cypher1980 said:
Zkuq said:
gergroy said:
Worldwide Sony is doing fine and probably doesn't need to do a price drop. However, they are sucking in America, which is the biggest market and the ones that all the developers and publishers mostly push for. Being so far behind in America is what is killing Sony, and unfortunatly, with the dollar as it is, it is probably the hardest territory to drop the price. Yet, if they don't drop soon, they risk losing crucial 3rd party support, at least in the American territory.

Publishers don't care about a console's sales; they care about its active userbase that buys their games.

 

I think Yes and No there.

A consoles sales are important in attracting third party devs. Just look at the Dev's who have Wii games in development compared to two years ago.

An active userbase is reflected in games sales. This IMO is Sony's downfall. Sales on their console for big titles seem somewhat lacklustre.

Take New IP's

Gears of War - Released 12 months after console launch with 6 million Xbox's SOLD - LTD sales 5.68 mill

Little Big Planet - Released 18 months after console launch with 12 million PS3's SOLD - LTD sales 2.11 mill

 

Take established IP's

Halo 3 - Released 22 months after console launch with 12 million Xbox's SOLD - LTD 9 mill

MGS4 - Released 15 months after console launch with 14 million PS3's SOLD - LTD 3.89 mill

You're right, but only to some extent. Surely sales are a working indicator, however they're only a very rough one.

By the way, your examples are terrible. It seems that PS3 has a more diverse userbase, resulting in different kinds of games sold. Also, as far as I know, Gears of War was one of the first high-profile releases on the whole console which means that it had less competition. Halo on the other hand is a very broadly appealing game in the US. It's... It's huge. It's not a usual game in any sense. You know, a bit like Dragon Quest in Japan. MGS4 had a rather niche market compared to many other hit games, and not without a reason. Anyway, the main difference is in the userbases.