Final Prediction for PS3 and Xbox 360 Total Lifetime Sales.

[greenmedic88]

It all depends on how well the PS3 is pushed through minor international markets; essentially the same ones that were still buying PS2s when the PS3 had already been established as the platform to buy in major markets based upon software support. This has been a strategy for Sony for the PS1 and PS2, which went hand in hand with distributing their hardware to as many global markets as possible over the product life cycle and unless it's simply not possible to produce PS3 hardware at a small profit per unit under the $200 mark, I see no reason why the PS3 would be cut from production prematurely.

The PS3 stands to be the poor, cheaper cousin to the PS4 for years to come in that respect and will likely continue to be a home for lower budget titles, even as the halo titles and franchises shift exclusively to the PS4.

As for how that will effect final sales tallies after production ceases, there are a lot of "ifs" involved. What will be the lowest cost at which SCE can sell PS3s profitably? Will that price and the value the software support of that time frame allow the PS3 to be sold in the minor global markets that continued to generate residual sales for the PS2 and PS1? If so, the PS3 shouldn't have trouble breaking 100m units over the lifetime of the product cycle. If not, and it simply isn't possible to sell PS3s profitably in smaller markets at prices well under current asking prices, probably not.

XB360 is a different situation completely. It's not sold in as many markets, MS' previous business model for the XB was to kill production and kill support shortly after the introduction of the successor, although this was due largely in part to contractor disputes with Nvidia regarding the production of the XB GPU in addition to being a loss generating product. The XB360 has neither problem going for it. However, unlike SCE, there are no indications that MS will continue to expand sales by adding distribution to additional minor global markets, or that there is much of a commitment for extended support for the platform following the launch of the XB1 (E3 keynote will be a decent tell regarding the future of the XB360). Who knows how long the XB360 will continue to see scaled down ports of the latest games on the XB1. Had the XB1 had more successful initial sales that were in line with original expectations, that may well have accelerated the drop in support to the XB360. Instead, there are still quite a few XB360 users who aren't planning on buying an XB1 anytime soon, and if MS wants to keep them in the fold and as XBL Gold subscribers, they would do well to continue to support the platform until they can transition those customers to an XB1 once the price and catalog of titles hits a desired cost/value ratio.