The 360 really does live solely on the NA market, and has tremendous sales over there.

madskillz said: Jandre02 said: madskillz said: Not really. The launch numbers don't take into account the 360's hardware drought which was at least 6 months after launch in the U.S. With the exception of the Wii, you can't sell what's not on the shelves. And 2 weeks after launch, though Sony didn't believe it, and offered folks what $1,000 to find one on shelves - HA HA! Yeah, the PS3 is selling better, but fact of the matter is - the PS3 has been readily available 2 weeks after launch. The 360 hasn't been readily available. And one other thing - my friend who wanted a 60gb PS3 with BC settled for a 40gb PS3. He said he wanted a BR player and it was a PS, so why not? I'll keep you posted if he or his son actually buy games for it, because they'll have to buy games or just download demos off PSN. What I found the funniest is - he was asking me why it was called Blu Ray in the first place. So you think that the people who wanted a 360 during the "drought" didn't get around to buying one the whole next year? Or even the next year. Thats funny. You're a funny person. I wanted a 360 and called around for months (and I wasn't alone - trust me). And to Mr. Turd, folks still want a Wii and can't find one. Consider yourself fortunate if you get one - there are several on this board who want a Wii and can't find one. The PS3 being readily available vs. the 360 and Wii droughts is laughable. Yes, some folks bought a PS3 and the numbers are up, but the lack of 360s and Wiis proves one thing - while the wealth of PS3s proves something else.

You've missed the point.  By the end of the first year, the 360's hardware shortage was gone.  In fact, it was gone within a couple of months.  Since there was no hardware shortage at this point, it's safe to assume that everyone who wanted one had one.  Since we're talking about sales figures that go beyond the point there was no shortage of hardware, the shortage is irrelevent.

Not so hard to grasp. 

madskillz said: Jandre02 said: madskillz said: Not really. The launch numbers don't take into account the 360's hardware drought which was at least 6 months after launch in the U.S. With the exception of the Wii, you can't sell what's not on the shelves. And 2 weeks after launch, though Sony didn't believe it, and offered folks what $1,000 to find one on shelves - HA HA! Yeah, the PS3 is selling better, but fact of the matter is - the PS3 has been readily available 2 weeks after launch. The 360 hasn't been readily available. And one other thing - my friend who wanted a 60gb PS3 with BC settled for a 40gb PS3. He said he wanted a BR player and it was a PS, so why not? I'll keep you posted if he or his son actually buy games for it, because they'll have to buy games or just download demos off PSN. What I found the funniest is - he was asking me why it was called Blu Ray in the first place. So you think that the people who wanted a 360 during the "drought" didn't get around to buying one the whole next year? Or even the next year. Thats funny. You're a funny person. I wanted a 360 and called around for months (and I wasn't alone - trust me). And to Mr. Turd, folks still want a Wii and can't find one. Consider yourself fortunate if you get one - there are several on this board who want a Wii and can't find one. The PS3 being readily available vs. the 360 and Wii droughts is laughable. Yes, some folks bought a PS3 and the numbers are up, but the lack of 360s and Wiis proves one thing - while the wealth of PS3s proves something else.

That one company can produce units at a better rate?  That "drought" of 360s you speak of was over in March.  Not six months after launch and Jandre02 was point on.  If the people that wanted a 360 during it's "drought" would have bought one in March/April/May when it was freely available.  If you think the 360 is in a drought  now, you really need to get to the stores more often.  I was at Best Buy the other day and they had pallets of them still in the center isle.

If sony NEVER wants to even come close to making a profit then they will cut price, they will also seen as a desperate company by having 3 price cuts in 1.5 years, which is unheard of. 360 can nail the ps3 when its price is cut by 200 bucks and 360 by 50 at most. If however 360 gets a nice huge pricecut and ps3 doesnt we may see the tables turn easy

Its not surprising since playstation is bigger worldwide and since they have an actual chance in Japan.

I don't get this either.  This really DOES show "fanboyism" or bias.  The PS3 sold more during the equivalent time period.  Period.  Price cuts, earthquakes, whatever, DON'T MATTER!  Doesn't matter as to why it sold more and doesn't matter as to why it DIDN'T outsell the Wii for that matter.

What I DO find more impressive is the fact that it DID outperform the 360 during the equivalent time period DESPITE facing a lot of negative press and having a distinct pricing disadvantage, besides the normal console start up issues of a dearth of games.  That shows SOMETHING about it's sales, regardless.

The other thing I find funny is, when all these products aren't being launched together and are competing against each other, why do they have to equal each others sales numbers?  It's like comparing the 2006 Chrysler Voyager's sales against the 2007 Toyota Sequoia.  With over a year separating releases...sure they're competing, but going head to head with units sold life to date is just plain STOOPID. :)  The only way to really compare the unit sales is to either go through their WHOLE LIFECYCLE at the end of it, or compare over the same period from availability.  Crowing that the 2006 model has sold a whole lot more than the 2007 is just dumb unless it's qualified in those terms.  Yet, fanboys do it with their consoles all the time!

Also, now I hear that the Xbox with about 25 million sold in 4 years was a disappointment and not a success?  Ok, maybe compared to that freaky beast that was the PS2 and it's 100 million PLUS that have been sold, but the Xbox was NOT a failure.  It had a good, healthy library.  Now, even if a console "only" sells 20-30 million in a four year period, it's going to have a good library and it will be healthy.  Obviously 100 million or more is a great thing, but that can't be counted on, and it certainly shouldn't be seen as the norm. 

 I do think that if anything, it does look like the Wii may attain that type of success.  I think the Xbox 360 and PS3 will top out anywhere from 30-60 million a piece.  I don't think that will be a "failure" for either company although it may not be the "threepeat" for Sony or the numbers MS would WISH for.  Still, each will have strong library's, a large by any standard user base, and a solid foundation to build their next platform for.

 The only question in my mind that still has to be answered definitively, is if Sony's PS2 user base will migrate or not, at least in a majority.  Human nature is to go with what you know and that DOES give Sony the advantage as they look to convert that massive PS2 user base to the PS3 like they did in going from PS1 to PS2.  The challenge for Sony is in making the platform attractive enough to those users.  There's a good percentage of those users that have come on board during the past couple of years with the PS2 being around or less than $200.  So price is obviously a large factor for a not extremely small segment of the market. 

So, the question is, can Sony reduce the price of the PS3 over time and fast enough to capture a good percentage of their former users?  I think that $400 is not a BAD price level, but it isn't great.  If the PS3 was $200 today, it would be game over, but it's not.  I think as Sony and IF Sony is able to reach $350-$300 and lower, but really starting at $350, they have a better chance to capture a good chunk of their former PS2 user base.  If they're not able to do that at all, or not in a reasonable time frame, then they stand to lose that user base more completely.  Time will tell.  However, it's clear that Sony, while not succeeding wildly so far like the PS2 did, is by no means "failing" with their current product and has at least a great bit of potential. 

MS looks poised to at least better the success of the original Xbox with the 360 by a good degree.  The question with them is if MS is going to cut their current user base off at the knees after 4 years like they did with the Xbox.  If so, I think that stands to hurt them with the consumer market.  I don't think that's an action they can afford to repeat this soon.  I think people took it once, but twice.....would be irritated with and it could cost them.  The 360 is good enough to last for longer than 4 years in any case, at least the models with hard drives in them. 

As for Nintendo, the question is just how long the "Wii-mania" will last.  It could keep going and end up eclipsing the PS2, or it could fade.  Again, time will tell.  Nintendo has definitely shown the magic of the right price point and unique functionality however, and also that graphics alone don't matter so much at least to a lot of the market.  We'll see how far that goes.