Valve

How come only Sony release dates mutter?

IF we discount the xbox release date then the same has to go for ps 2, it doesnt make sense unless your only objective is to make Sony win.

I have to ask since you cant grasp normal discussions and absorb facts are you mentally disfunctional when it comes to understanding things?

LOL. Are u getting paid to write crap??? We are TALKING about this GEN. Get it through ur mentally disfuntional head. This gen the PS3 is last. If were counting PS2 u might as well count every other system ever released.

Illogical as neither matters at all at this point.

Consider this, the gap at PS3 launch was 5.5 million yet now the gap is over 8 million.  That means that the X360 has sold almost 3 million more ocnsoles than the PS3 since the PS3 launched.   That matters more than some arbitrary factor like aligned launches.

Nor does the PS2 install base matter at this poitn because it is a largely inactive userbase.   Of the 140 million units shipped, only a small percentage of it is still addressable.

Those 3 million extra consoles sold could be because of people needing to buy their 360 again after their 3 year warranty expired and also due to the cheap arcade console.

@stewroids : no, that would be too simple.

And while the 360 price cut basically saved the console with the install based gap quickly coming back to zero at that time and the 360 selling much more than the PS3 after the cut, please be aware that the incoming PS3 price cut won't change anything in the sales too.

Price cuts work only for Microsoft.

Could be but it's pure speculation.  We don't know how many replacement units were a matter of retail purhcases or MS refurbished units.  Nor does it matter how many were the Arcade model, that is still and X360 last I saw.

I do remember people saying the same thing about the PS2 and its growing install base.  I personally know many people who have owned many units and even recall Capcom publicly calling them out for "planned obsolescence" meaning they designed the PS2 to mechanically fail with the intent of getting buyers to rebuy a unit.

How can you say everybody is happy about the PS3 when you obviously know what Kotick has said?

As for Sony doing well...

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/sony-hopefully-last-year-is-as-bad-as-it-gets

Sony: "Hopefully last year is as bad as it gets"

Kath Brice 10:12 (BST)
09/07/2009

Sony Computer Entertainment president Jack Tretton has described fiscal 2008 as stormy, saying the period was a very challenging one for selling high-end, future technology.

While the company met its hardware sales targets for the year, Tretton told Fast Company it had been a tough year but that people are getting the message that the PlayStation 3 offers value for money.

(More at the link)

What Sony needs right now is some serious marketing, I feel that they could really promote some of their upcoming exclusives, like GOW3, Uncharted and GT5 in a way that would attract customers to them. Look how MS promoted Halo and look where that's got them, or look how Nintendo promotes Mario and Zelda games, it's been working out for them. Sony seriously needs to get their act together in terms of marketing. I feel they are being kind of arrogant after the success they have had with the previous two generations and are assuming that the value of what people get for $399 will attract customer. WAKE UP! People would much rather spend $199 or $299, especially since big games like COD, GTA, and Fallout 3 can be found on both consoles. Sony should stop dignifying themselves by using the PS3's specs and features and should shift gears by proving to the customers that their console is special because of the exclusive titles like Uncharted. They did that with MGS and promoted that as the reason to own a PS3 and that helped them out a lot. MGS4 was a system seller for Sony. They need to use one of their big first party exclusives as a system seller by marketing the hell out of it and bundling the console with it at a cheap price.

Sony's only hope is a price cut.

And I think that a price cut will explode the PS3 back up.