Big In Europe? PS3's Race For Second Place
A week ago, I asked for some data to back up the commonly-held belief that "Europe is Sonyland" -- that is, the idea that PlayStation 3 is selling so well in parts of Europe as to render irrelevant the Xbox 360's lead in other countries.
No, we're not even talking about Wii at this point: This is about the furious race for second.
What did I get? Well, for the most part, a comments thread full of the usual system wars baloney. But a few people pointed me to where I might find some data on Europe sales.
The results? While PlayStation 3 is clearly outselling Xbox 360 on a month-by-month basis in European territories outside of the UK and Australia (which is generally lumped in with Europe from a business perspective), it's difficult to tell which will end up on top when all the dust has settled.
The numbers we have are below.
The numbers I'm reprinting here, mostly from a NeoGAF thread that a commenter pointed to, are mostly from GfK Group (actual motto: "the No. 5 market research organization worldwide"), reported in a scattershot manner in local media.
To facilitate actual useful comparison between these numbers, I'm using life-to-date sales numbers through the end of September 2007. In most cases, this is the most recent data we have. In cases where we have later data, I've pulled back and just presented the numbers through September.
U.S. (LTD) (NPD Group)
Wii: 4,955,400
360: 7,022,900
PS3: 2,105,500
Japan (Week ending September 30 / LTD) (Media Create)
Wii: 24,143 / 3,614,197
360: 5,215 / 415,491
PS3: 13,105 / 1,169,666
U.K. (LTD) (Screen Digest)
Wii: 1,190,000
360: 1,550,000
PS3: 450,000
Australia (Q3 / LTD) (GfK: Q1+Q2, Q3)
Wii: 61,027 / 167,565
360: 40,467 / 222,028
PS3: 27,533 / 82,261
Spain (LTD) (GfK)
Wii: 244,000
360: 149,000
PS3: 218,000
Germany (LTD) (GfK)
Wii: 361,000
360: 316,000
PS3: 135,000
Bonus: German numbers for October 2007
Wii: 28,000
360: 12,000
PS3: 37,000
Italy (LTD) (GfK)
Wii: 129,000
360: 267,000
PS3: 150,000
Okay, there are the numbers. So, what do we have? Besides a headache, I mean. Xbox 360 has a commanding lead in the U.S., but from what we know of Europe's sales, PlayStation 3 is catching up there. It's not at all there yet -- the only figures we have where PlayStation 3 has actually passed Xbox are in Germany and Spain -- but from what we can see of the monthly sales, it's making moves towards the front.
Calling anything beyond that just isn't possible given the limited amount of data that we have. But we know that the U.S. and European hardware markets are roughly equal, so: If everything goes perfectly, and if other European countries not included in this data set also swing for Sony, then eventually -- maybe in a year or two -- Sony's advantage in these countries, greatly aided by the 360's bottoming out in Japan, might get it over the top of the U.S., U.K., and Australia and take the silver medal. It's well within the realm of possibility.
But what then? Wii is still dominating everywhere; that point's not in contention. It's not as if the war over second place really means that much. Certainly it means more this generation insofar as the Wii has placed itself nearly outside the realm of hardcore gaming. There's still a big audience of people who want the best graphics humanly possible, and Wii isn't providing any competition with Xbox in that regard. So there's a serious chance for competition, there.
Ultimately, PlayStation 3's saving grace might just be the fact that Xbox hasn't come close to repeating in Europe or Japan (especially Japan!) the huge success that it has engineered for itself in the U.S. This could have a significant effect on where developers put their resources, if they know that for example an Xbox version of a game might sell best in the U.S. but they'll need a PlayStation 3 version for their investment to be as lucrative in Europe.
While things seem to be all over except the crying in the U.S. and Japan, Europe is the battlefield to watch in the coming months. Hopefully we'll receive better reports from the front, so I never have to do this again. I need a drink.
PS3 does have the software this year, but can they deliver instead of the delays.
