Aligning launch dates only makes sense if the overall demand for HD systems is constant for the time period. If it is not, then it is like one salesman boasting to another that he sold more ice cream in July than the other did in January.


However demand should go up for HD systems over the initial years after launch due to:

   1. HDTV ownership rates go up to take advantage of the new systems
   2. Games make better use of HD consoles to justify an upgrade
   3. More games become available for the next gen systems providing greater incentive
   4. Less new games support existing systems nudging gamers to upgrade
   5. Once all systems are out, those waiting for head-to-head comparisons can now buy
   6. Peer pressure increase as friends buy the next gen consoles

Basically more people overall wanted to buy an HD system, 360 or PS3 (ok Wii too), as time went by.


Finally, for the alignment to be predictive you have to assume that the 360 will start to decline a year sooner than the PS3, but the difference between the two systems isn’t great enough to justify that assertion. In the eyes of many, the Xbox 360 and PS3 are basically equivalent in quality.  The PS3 has slightly better graphics and a Blu Ray player while the 360 has better online play and lower price.


Other than current 360 owners eventually buying PS3s, it is hard to see what event would reduce 360 sales but leave the PS3 unaffected. Every price drop for the PS3 will be matched with a price drop for the Xbox. Both will share in the same 3rd party mega-selling games and each will have enough exclusive hits to tempt future buyers. Even when the next console comes around, the PS2 has shows that old hardware can still sell based on price and an expansive library of quality games.

I think that the truly funny thing is the assumption that by getting outsold worldwide every month since like September 2008, the PS3 is gaining momentum.

There is no need to spin this data. It's already been spun.  Ofcourse the 360 is doing good in America and the PS3 is doing poorly by comparison that's really not the issue at hand.  If consoles were only sold in America then this would be game set and match.   Since in Europe the PS3 is obliterating the 360 much in the same way the 360 dominates the PS3 in America.   The data will be a lot closer when we count all the console sales. 

Using only NPD data to prove a point about sales would be like using Japan Only data to prove a point.  It's biased and certainly doesn't tell the whole story.

Minor correction the last paragraph should be Wii best PS2 by 3 million not PS3. Wii of course kick PS3 butt to next week and back (beat it by about 13 millions from similar launch time).

Well USA is the biggest videogames market and NPD probably the most widely and historically track-able numbers.

So using NPD data only doesn't tell the whole story but using special 4D time warp dimension to align launch for PS3 and 360 is a complete picture? When 360 launch, there were huge shortage, people were still waiting for Sony system to be unveil (and may be the 5 Nintendo die hard were waiting for the Revolution aka Wii). The market condition was different and operate differently. My point is it's a silly comparison.

What PS3 SHOULD have done was doing the Wii numbers ie beat 360 by 5 -6 millions unit even with a year late launch. Because PS3 WAS suppose to be the system to get. I still recall going into GameStop and told by everyone that 360 would be discount to $100 when PS3 come out and basically would be this gen GameCube. How time has change , yes key word here is time.

What are you chatting about?!

The PS3 isn't "obliterating" the 360 in Europe at all, the 360 has more overall sales in E.U and is now selling more each and every week once again so it's actually the other way around, 360 has over a million more unit sales in the E.U (and growing) than the PS3 so how on earth do you work out that the PS3 is beating the 360 lol,

A few places like Germany and "others" have more PS3's than 360's sold but this is offset by the huge lead the 360 has in the UK (1.1 million) therefore giving the 360 the overall lead by over a million units in E.U,

Interesting fact - Even if you removed the 360's lead in the UK (1.1 Million) the 360 would STILL be beating the PS3 by around 350,000 units in Europe!

Europe Sales:

Xbox 360: 11.91 Million Units

PS3: 10.51 Million Units

1.4 Million Unit lead for Xbox 360

Tut tut Rpruett, you seem to have your sony glasses on again, take them off right now!

Try and spin that lol.....

One quick look at your post history shows you're just a massive xbox fanboy but what the hey i'll post this anyway. THIS IS A THREAD ABOUT ALIGNED LAUNCHES. In europe with aligned launches the ps3 has 8.9 million sales where as the xbox360 has just 4.3 million. The ps3 smashed the xbox360 which is what the other poster was referring to.

Aligning the European launches would put the PS3 even above the PS2, Sony EU kept saying it all the time. It's simply because this time around Sony had nearly 1 million PS3s ready to go on day one (600 000 sold in just two days).

LMAO! aligned launch this, aligned launch that, no one gives a crap when it is CLEAR for everyone to see which console has the LEAD in actual real time sales, the xbox 360 has an 8 million worldwide lead and 1.4 million lead in Europe, you can talk aligned launches all you want but it doesn't change the fact that the xbox 360 is ahead of the ps3 by over 8 million units, this is all that matters in the real world lol,

You really think developers and publishers give a monkeys about aligned launches? NO! all they care about is which console has the larger install base (360) to sell more software,

But if it makes you feel better then go ahead and pretend the ps3 is winning something, in the meantime we will be looking at the actual current sales figures, 8 million lead for 360 and growing, 360 outselling ps3 every week in Europe and in the U.S, the ps3 isn't even touching the gap, it's falling more and more behind, sony is deep in the sh*t, certain game stores reducing selling space for the ps3 (in the uk anyway), blu ray players now less than £99 (in the uk), weekly ps3 sales down and about to go below 50k in the U.S for the first time, ps3 year on year is down while 360 is up, only a price drop can save the ps3 which looks very unlikely to happen with sony in the current situation it's in, yeah, looks very rosy for them lol,

Really want me to go on?

P.S, you say you looked at my post history, well done! would you like a gold star for that? I own a 360, PS3 and Wii so hardly a 360 fanboy, just because I like and play my 360 the most that makes me a fanboy? okay then.......

Yes really you are a massive xbox fanboy and you continue to act like one, just because you say you own other consoles doesn't change that fact. This is a thread about aligned launches, if you want to talk about ltd sales then create your own thread and get out of this one, if you want to talk about the sales of just one region or the sales from 2009 then create your own thread and get out of this one, if you want to talk about current weekly sales then create your own thread and get out of this one. In short stop trolling this thread because it's just really sad and pathetic that you can't take the slightest bit of data that shows the ps3 is doing better then the xbox360 and because you are so insecure you have to try and play down these facts whilst harping on about any facts that show the 360 is doing well and then you add a bunch of hyperbole and baseless opinions that you try and pass off as facts.

SDF damage control?
I think this is a troll thread anyways, like:
http://www.sonydefenseforce.com/

If they were still around I would submit this thread as a news article

"ps3 winning the console war in the past"
But just look at it this way:

VGChartz Hardware data for the period 11th Nov 2006 to 18th Apr 2009:

With the launch sales just being icing on the cake.

EDIT: anyway, I'm not saying sony fans can't have hope.. Just know that it's a seriously hollow victory. Or less than even that.