To Some People- I think yall are missing the points I was trying to make. And I think this comes from you not reading the entire article, which is really quite disturbing.
In whole, I state that there isn't much you can derive out of the January 2008 NPD charts, as so many other variables could make everything meaningless. If you read my conclusion you'd understand this.
But the previous bulk of the article, mainly for PS3 and 360, was trying to catch an early trend. We all know that somewhere in a sales cycle you'll start to notice trends starting to change. I was using this odd month of sales to see if that change was happening this month. This is why I clearly stated that my ideas on PS3 and 360 are my opinion and simple theories as to why these sales happened. And I gave pretty damn good reasoning.
But it's not to be taken as the final word. It's just my thoughts on what could be happening. Is the 360 a failing brand in America? Who knows. I think its starting to fade out, and has ever since the Wii released. We've seen a similar trend in Europe/Other regions where 360 dominated, and then soon Wii overtook it of course, followed shortly but slowly after the PS3 as well. I think the UK is a great example of this. This month could be proposing a similar start to that trend. Do I know if it'll happen? Who knows. But we will completely find out as more NPD month sales data come out. Hell as I said I could be completely wrong. But the point of this analysis was not to try to make a "safe" explanation for the sales, but put out a couple of plausible theories.
As for the cover up 360 shortages, once again I don't know if its true or not. MS says there are shortages, but there are no other sources that even confirm this. None of the retailers seem to be having this problem. Hell after Christmas, I had no problem buying my 360, with numerous left at the store to spare. Like everyone else in this forum, the first thinig we heard of a 360 shortages was after these NPD numbers were released and MS said there was. And that's the truth.
Now once again I could turn up wrong and there is a shortage in America for 360. So what does it change anything.
As for PS3 starting to eat away at the 360 in America, once again I don't know if this is 100% true. It could be possible. Remember PS3 did over a year gain an increased weekly average. Now I gave a theory on how it could be a fluke, which I really think it, but even if that fluke is confirmed, PS3 is still at higher levels than it was last year. And I know PS3 isn't chipping away at Wii's userbase so that only leaves us at one option.
But the disclaimer is there. It's my analysis of the situation. I gave you my opinions, my theories, and my ideas. I didn't give you the future, cause I can't do that. I only gave you my thoughts on the future. And then ultimately told you that, all of it could be meaningless anyways as its only one month. To all getting pissy or freaking out, remember its important to read everything, ESPECIALLY THE CONCLUSION, and not just respond when something pisses you off.
