s the console war over already? There was me thinking it was just warming up, with sales of the Wii showing signs of slowing and the Xbox 360 and PS3 still battling it out for second place. Not according to Microsoft which, in the States at least, thinks it’s job done.
The Wii is currently leading the pack in all three major territories (those being Japan, America, and Europe - sorry Australia and the rest). Which means it has a healthy lead of around 20 million consoles over its current nearest rival, the Xbox 360. Can it be beaten? Probably not, but I won’t give up hope until the fat lady starts belting out a tune.
The numbers (VGChartz) are more interesting if you look at the Xbox 360 vs the PS3 and take each territory separately.
In Japan the PS3 is way ahead, as would be expected, having sold three times as many as the Xbox 360. In the U.S. the roles are reversed and sales of the Xbox 360 are over double those of the PS3. Which leaves Europe where the two are virtually head-to-head. Depending on which side you believe one or the other is around a million ahead.
Microsoft thinks it has second place sewn up in the States and is now focussing most of its attention on trying to beat Sony in Europe. According to Now Gamer, Microsoft’s European VP for interactive entertainment, Chris Lewis, told 360 magazine:
[Microsoft has] done the job we need to in North America.
He then spoke a little about why Microsoft has struggled more in Europe than the U.S., blaming the fact that every country on the continent needs a different approach to marketing.
It’s a very textured region. You’ve got places like the UK and the Nordic countries…where we’ve been able to apply our more North American approach to those markets with genuine success.
In the sunnier parts of Europe we did have relatively less success up until the last 12 months where I think we have better understood the need to go to those markets with more appropriate content.
Microsoft is right to be confident in the States, where the Xbox brand is strong, We’re still only in the early-to-middle stages of this generation and a lot can happen from here on in.
Being based in Europe (the UK), I’m just hoping there’s a price cutting bonanza between Microsoft and Sony as they both fight to take second place. You never know, if prices come down and the Wii trends down then one of them could even snatch first right from under Nintendo’s nose.
