This forum has been home to a vast array of sales theories over the years. Some of which have fallen out of favor, or are for the most part thought to have been utterly debunked as irrational and nonsensical. Usually when the numbers illustrate the complete error of the logic. Be it price cuts do not matter, or a single game will turn the generation around for someone. Usually with the contrary theory becoming scripture. I want to discuss one of these theories that I see rearing its head in another form, and with rumors abounding about a price cut in the near term it stands a good chance for resurrection. To me the only question is do we still consider it to have some validity, and are there enough in the closet theorists to prop the theory back up into common discussion.

Over a year ago you know back in the dark ages. Before Microsoft enjoyed the fruits of a price cut, and the economy tanked. There was a theory ascribing serious brand loyalty in Europe for the Playstation brand. The name alone being enough to secure the PS3 dominance over the 360 in Europe. Well in this time frame that logic has seemingly faltered. For ten solid months Microsoft has bested Sony every week, and at one time the 360 outsold the PS3 by over eighty thousand units. The ultimate result being that the 360 now has a 500,000 unit lead in Europe, and in others which also includes other Europe I presume the 360 enjoys a 1.7 million unit lead. 

For the longest time this theory seemingly enjoyed correctness for many due to sales figures supporting the conclusion. In fact for a year solid before the roles reversed the PS3 consistently outsold the 360. This brings to mind many possibilities. Perhaps the PS3 maxed out its brand name with early adopters. Perhaps price conciousness is all that matters. Perhaps the brand isn't worth as much as some thought. Anyway none of this is really up for debate anymore. Since nobody talks up the brands power in Europe.

However it could become a topic of discussion again in a couple months given there may be a price cut on the PS3 in Europe. So I ask are there any members left that ascribe to this theory, and if so to what degree. Do you still consider it a major factor as you once did, or are you viewing it is a minor component. Do you think the brand is healthy or do you consider it damaged goods. Further more do you consider that the Xbox brand has gained strength. Definitely want to read some European perspective on all this. For the longest time we were told the Playstation brand was utterly synonmous with gaming in Europe.

Are we due to for another bout of the brand defense. To be honest I always viewed the entire argument as defensive, and the last ray of light. When it came to PS3 sales boosting. With Sony unable to gain ground in North America, and Japan being excruciatingly weak. A default dominance in Europe was an outright necessity. In fact it was such a leveraged concept that almost every theory that invoked a PS3 victory demanded that the console enjoy supremely larger console sales then the 360. The mental image being that of a ammo dump just waiting for a spark be it a certain game, or just reaching the right price.

Does anyone still believe this. Does anyone think this is the parity that the console war debate has been craving for over nine months. Without Europe the PS3 cannot overcome the 360, and no Japan cannot stem the tide. Less then twenty percent cannot overcome eighty percent of the global market. For no other reason then it cannot generate long term momentum. Anyway if the roles can do a complete turnabout. Then certainly the theory itself can go from dead to spritely and alive.

What are your thoughts?

I don't think the "Europe = Playstation" logic has faltered at all.

The 360 is just enjoying the benefits of a pricecut.

I mean, PS3 is still very competitive vs. the 360 in France, Germany, Spain, Italy, etc, to the extent that some weeks it even outsells its rival, despite the retail difference.

It's just not a level playing field atm. Once the PS3 has had a pricecut in Europe, I expect the brand power to shine through.

Edit: It's 'role' rather than 'roll'... although I'd like to see 'Rol' being reversed. :p

I don't think it was ever a strict Europe = Playstation Brand effect we were seeing. I lean more in favor of Europe = Brands that were associated with Playstation in the past. Brands which no small number of have seen (or will see) 360 releases.

Certainly the brand has weakened, but with sales being this close with the 360 this much cheaper

A large factor is the UK, 25-30% of EU sales, where the Xbox is so much cheaper, the Arcade is the same price as the PSP 3000. In some countries in Europe proper the PS3 is still winning

So yes the PS brand still has a very large role to play, I think the burden of the price is too much to overcome

@Munkeh111

You make an interesting point. So I did some number crunching to see the attach rate of consoles in general for France 9.5%, Germany 5.7%, Spain 7.5%, Italy 5%, and the United Kingdom which is a whopping 18.7%. Given they have similar population sizes its plain to see that the UK is the only market that really matters within the region.

Further more it is another theory entirely that the Xbox is the stronger brand in the UK. So how much do we assume that it is the price that is a deciding factor. Perhaps the 360 would still have stronger sales even if there wasn't a massive price differential.

Anyway if the attach rates per population are any indication the Playstation brand is nowhere approaching anything like a commodity. In fact console buying seems more of an exception then approaching a common practice. That almost makes you think this entire notion of a gaming brand having wide popularity is a myth.

Oh and before anyone asks I used cumulative sales charts from this site, and Wikipedia excerpts of a nations estimated population. So that is where the figures come from.

Well with 10m PS2s sold in the UK, that is 1/6 people in the UK owning one and a similar number of DS gamers in the country, so it certainly is quite widespread

I certainly think the Xbox brand has gained more traction. With 3.6m sales, out of 12m in others the UK represents more than the typical figure of 25%. But I think price is a major factor, the Xbox is now above Wii in terms of weekly sales. The PS3 being 2x as expensive has half the sales. I assume there was more penetration of the original Xbox, but I think the price is the main factor. The price cut will help show the strength of the PS brand. But at the moment they are worst 3 selling consoles

I would say that for a lot of people the default brand is still Playstation. The performance of the PS3 seems to be a strong indicator of this. It seems to me a lot of people who enter into the store have that one brand in mind and the difference in price is the only thing causing a lot of people to even consider the Xbox 360. Theres also the factor that a lot of the killer apps for the 360 are much stronger in the U.S. than in Europe which doesn't help.

The fact that the Xbox 360 is cheaper than the PS3 doesn't help all the time. Quite a lot of the time people will get what they want, rather than what is cheaper. They will buy Coke because its familiar even though they know that generic cola for half the price tastes the same to them. If the roles were reversed and the Xbox 360 was called 'Playstation 3' is there any doubt that the console would have performed significantly better? Afterall the PS1/PS2 sold 200M between them.

Well 240m or so actually...

Okay, I know that, but it is nicer if it is twice as expensive and sells half as much. It is just easier, I am sorry for my lack of precision

However, the cheapest Xbox 360 is less than half the price of the cheapest PS3 in the UK. M$ has pursued a very aggressive price policy, just compare the price differences in the US and EU to the UK

Look at the price difference. Then look at the sales difference. If anything, MS should be troubled by their inability to hold a huge lead over their main rival with such a high price difference.