The only comment that I will add is that for whatever reason, PS3 software sales are somewhat unpredictable especially for 1st party games. I look at games like Heavenly Sword, Drakes, Rachet and Clank and think these should be mega sellers, and for whatever reason, they seem to struggle to sell well. Resistance 2 was going up against GoW and there were threads on how R2 was going to outsell GoW2 etc, etc, same with LBP. They have sold OK, but for whatever reason I was betting that they would be 1 million more sales than they currently are. The only games that seem to sell predicatable are games like GTA, CoD, etc. Perhaps its because these are well known franhises, perhaps these games appeal to a braoder market?
Games on Xbox seem to sell more predicatably. I suspected that GoW2 will sell close to GoW1 and by the end of the year, this will be the case. I am not surprized with CoD5, and it will get close to CoD4, etc, etc. I think that Halo Wars will be an easy 1 million seller, and likley hit 2 million. If this games gets the appeal of starcraft, with great balance, and great 3v3 multiplayer, I can see many PC RTS players who already have an Xbox pick up this game. Similarly when people are tired of playing the same old thing, and want to try something different, they may pick up this game especially if it is easy. In no way will this game appease the hard core RTS fans, but the much broader casual RTS fans will be in for a treat. 2 player campaign is going to be a huge hit. Word of mouth will sell another 1-2 million, and this game can achieve 4 million if Ensemble nails it. If the presentation is excellent, if gameplay is excellent, if the controlls are intuitive, this can be a breakthrough not only for Xbox, but also for PS3, as companies like Blizzard may actually consider the possibility of bringing their franchises to the consoles (It does not have to be starcraft, as they can make something new).
At the end, my prediction will be that the difference between KZ2 and Halo Wars will be less than most think, not because KZ2 will not sell well or be successful(I predict it will get in the mid 3 millions), but because Halo Wars has the upside of selling extremely well (minimum 2 million, max 4 million). It will appeal to a broader base of fans that want to try something different, it has the Halo franchise name on it (that will sell 1 million by itself, and if the story is great it could even sell another 1/2 million).
I love all FPS games, but I am getting almost 'burned out' with anything that is new. I will buy R6V3, GRAW3, Halo:ODST, CoD6 etc, but I am holding off buying KZ2 because I do not have the time to play anything new. Between GoW2, L4D, CoD5, and several older games that I am working on (TF2, GRAW2) I have no time for anything new, yet. I love the Halo story, and after reading all the books, I am getting Halo Wars because I want to experience the story even more, and I enjoy RTS games casually and I want to play something other than a FPS. There is some great satisfaction in building an army and just crushing your opponents. Some of the most fun I have had gaming was with Starcraft 3v3, and I was not even that good, but the balance was great.
At then end, is it not a great time for gamers, PS3 and Xbox alike?
