Well everyone - this is it. Absolute crunch time.

The PS3 has basically failed to pick up the sort of momentum it has needed to date - even with the 40Gig model & price cuts.

It is running out of "exclusives" (in the US anyway), with Rachet & Clank now getting close to "flunk" level (100k week#1, 40k week#2).

The 40Gig model has failed (as many suspected) to capture the imagination of the public.

Its now being outsold almost 3:1 by the DS, Wii & 360 (in the US), and being matched sales wise in Europe. Worse still - sales of 100k / week in Europe (2 weeks ago) spurred on by new bundles and price drops - have now halved to around the old figures of around 50k / week. 

Price cuts have been in effect for a couple of weeks in Japan - and while it has picked up sales in terms of overall % - the material gains have been minimal (7k-8k/ week).

...

This week sees the release of what could be its last chance to (really) stimulate sales in Japan - the latest Dynasty Warriors title. The history of the series has seen huge sales in the past (1m+), and its a title that should appeal on next-gen consoles. There is also a PS3 bundle launching with it (and the title is hitting the 360).

In the US, thanks to numerous delays (Haze, UT3, Prologue, Singstar, HOME, etc...) there is only one significant exclusive left - Uncharted. And although it looks promising, it doesn't seem to be the sort of title that can really ignite sales (given that its fairly derivative, and an original, unknown IP).

...

Furthermore - it is up against some pretty hefty competition this Xmas. The PS3 still remains the most expensive console, and with (arguably) the weakest current line up. Mass Effect, Mario Galaxy, RE:UC, WiiFit, Halo, Bioshock - all exclusive to other platforms.

This week (just ended) will see PS3 sales of around 130k (worldwide) - compared to 190k-200k (360) & 300k +(Wii).

Based on these figures, the PS3 will struggle to sell 2.5-3m worldwide this Xmas - let alone the 5.5-6m Sony want it to sell (to match their fiscal forecasts).

...

(NOTE - I am *not* saying the PS3 is dead. All this analysis related to THIS Xmas only. What happens next year at this stage is anyone's guess...) 

Yeah, the poor Ratchet sales and Hardware sales after the price drop confirmed for me that Sony don't have a chance this christmas

We'll see what they try for next year, imo they should focus just on making profits from their consoles/games... if they are going to lose, at least lose making money, like Nintendo did with the gamecube.

wow then you went a made a thead on it ps3 must be on your mind hard..

*In b4 'mods are biased' whinings*

I'll post my comment later

I agree with what you say.

I was a little shocked(?) to see the sales in the US this week, plus the sales of R&C in general.

Its a much better game than 140k sales over its opening fortnight (IMO). 

Ahh, how disenchanting.

Honestly, I find it kind of funny. Remember how low we used to set our standards? Most of the time, we'd be amazed if a PS3 game could get in the top 10 in Japan, let alone top 20.

The PS3 used to be outsold by the Game Boy Advance in America, and used to sell less than 10k a week in Japan unless a game just came out.

Ah well, the PS3 did have a big boost this week. The fact that the PS3s at the Best Buy I go to are still in a cage might have something to do with it.

Was there much R&C marketing done?

Wow things truly are not looking good for the ps3. I thought things would really take off with the 40 gig, then agian i didnt know the 40 gig was actually out, maybe alot of other consumers dont as well? I hate to say this but if the ps3 doesnt sell at least 2 million this holiday then i think its exclusives (mgs and ff13) will be headed to the other console or pc. Dont get me wrong, i want the ps3 to succeed and have its own share of exclusives but if things keep going as they are now it wont even catch the 360 by the end of this gen. Perhaps i have judged it too early but i think of alot of other sony fans are losing faith in the console as well.

I'm surprised the numbers aren't higher, my younger brother for example is a huge Playstation fan and was holding out buying a PS3 until the price dropped to what he thought was reasonable, apparently that was $399 as he bought one over the weekend.