I was curious about something... so I just did some quick looking courtesy of vgchartz' Chartz-Hardware Tables...

I would assume most of you here are well aware of these figures, but I would bet that if you asked the average person, they'd have a much different idea of what company is selling the most consoles.  Often, Sony is portrayed as "struggling" in news reports and perhaps that makes for dramatic news, but what about reality?

Here's a look at some numbers of how the big three console makers have compared to eachother starting since the Wii and the PS3 entered the market.  (Consoles only here... hand-helds not included). 

Take a look at this, and tell me what you think:

Worldwide Sales Since Wii/PS3 Launches (data from week ending 11/25/06 through 3/8/08)
PS3 / PS2         -  24,624,543
Wii / Gamecube  -  22,945,559
Xbox 360 / Xbox -  11,970,443


Now, is it somehow not fair to give Sony credit for continuing its success with the PS2 even when they have a new high-end machine available?  None of the other companies have done this. 

Is Sony's strategy of brand loyalty and a long-lifespan of consoles somehow something that should be ignored?  We know that the Wii is a phenomenal seller and it is getting its due credit.  But isn't it legitimate to look at the fact that Sony is targeting buyers by having two viable consoles available?  And by doing this they're actually selling the most total consoles. 

I don't know... I thought this was something to discuss...

I was curious about something... so I just did some quick looking courtesy of vgchartz' Chartz-Hardware Tables...

I would assume most of you here are well aware of these figures, but I would bet that if you asked the average person, they'd have a much different idea of what company is selling the most consoles. Often, Sony is portrayed as "struggling" in news reports and perhaps that makes for dramatic news, but what about reality?

Here's a look at some numbers of how the big three console makers have compared to eachother starting since the Wii and the PS3 entered the market. (Consoles only here... hand-helds not included).

Take a look at this, and tell me what you think:

Worldwide Sales Since Wii/PS3 Launches (data from week ending 11/25/06 through 3/8/08)
PS3 / PS2 - 24,624,543
Wii / Gamecube - 22,945,559
Xbox 360 / Xbox - 11,970,443


Now, is it somehow not fair to give Sony credit for continuing its success with the PS2 even when they have a new high-end machine available? None of the other companies have done this.

Is Sony's strategy of brand loyalty and a long-lifespan of consoles somehow something that should be ignored? We know that the Wii is a phenomenal seller and it is getting its due credit. But isn't it legitimate to look at the fact that Sony is targeting buyers by having two viable consoles available? And by doing this they're actually selling the most total consoles.

I don't know... I thought this was something to discuss...

^^

You guys... That's my whole point here.

No one forced Nintendo or MS not to continue to support their past great systems. Maybe they realized those systems couldn't last? I don't know the reasons for stopping the support.

But Sony DID choose to support the PS2... and apparently the public does too.

The Sony brand offers two option for having a console in your home... Obviously that will split its console sales between the two options to some degree.

Is it fair NOT to include the PS2?

To be fair the Gamecube has been discontinued so it's basically the Wii going up against both the PS2 and PS3 in your first set of numbers and almost outselling both of them combined even though the Wii has been experiencing shortages since it was launched.

If you think Sony is still dominant I guess from a certain point of view it is (not including handhelds) but wouldn't it make sense to include PSP and DS sales as well since you're already looking at more than one system from each manufacturer?

In my opinion it is because I think $100 and $300+ are very different markets, and not in direct competition.