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Is The PlayStation 3 Now #2 In Total Worldwide Sales?

Ben-Dutka 81 Comments

For just a moment, consider the numbers.

Recently, a Sony financial report stated that 3.7 million PlayStation 3 units had been sold worldwide in the second fiscal quarter of 2011.

That brings the global total to 55.5 million units . Last month, Microsoft said they had shipped 57.6 million units of the Xbox 360 worldwide. Now, Sony counts its number as "sales" but it's tough to determine if they're referring to the actual sell-through number or the sell-in (shipment) statistic. As you can see, Microsoft counts the shipped numbers.

Therefore, even if we assume the worst and say Sony's 55.5 million is a shipped number, we have to consider a few factors: firstly, there's no doubt that the 360 has had terrible reliability in the past, thereby resulting in a whole lot of sales to the same consumer (I don't know anyone who hasn't gone through at least three 360s since 2005). The sales number doesn't change, of course, but in terms of new customers , it seems obvious that the PS3 has seen more.

Also, have we all forgotten that the 360 launched a full year before the PS3? Even if both are shipped numbers, that's 57.6 million 360s shipped in 6 years, while it's 55.5 million PS3s shipped in 5 years . Therefore, if we remove the first 360 year where it had no competition, the PS3 has indeed sold more in head-to-head competition. Interesting stats, no?

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BioWare: Not Much More To Find In Current Consoles

Ben-Dutka 26 Comments

As the years drag on, everyone wants to know if the current consoles have been maxed out in terms of power.

More developers are saying they've tapped into most of what the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 has to offer, and that now includes BioWare. In speaking to NowGamer , BioWare Edmonton GM Aaryn Flynn said:

"In terms of actual horsepower, I think we’re pretty maxed out. I don’t think there’s much more to find."

The good news is that designers no longer have to concern themselves with finding more power, and they can work on the stuff that really matters (gameplay, narrative, etc.). So when it comes to an epic production like Mass Effect 3 , BioWare is able to work on platforms with which they're familiar and focus on expanding the franchise in artistic directions. Added Flynn:

"That said though, I think what is nice is what that gives you is an incredibly stable platform that lets you iterate on things like gameplay and iterate on things like story and things you can do that way now because you’re not worrying about the underlying technology changing from under you. That’s been one of the nice things for us in Mass Effect 3. Relying on that stable hardware that you know and have learned very well for the past five or seven years."

Yeah, it has been that long. The next generation of consoles is on the way, folks. Count on it.

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Sony: 360 Leads But We Have Better Software Growth

Ben-Dutka 73 Comments

Although the competition has the hardware lead, Sony says Microsoft can't boast better software growth.

In speaking to IndustryGamers , Sony public relations boss Rob Dyer first admitted to better sales of Microsoft's machine (1.6 360s sold for every 1 PS3 sold), but when it comes to which version of a game to purchase, he says consumers go for the PS3 version due to superior content. He gave the example of Mortal Kombat (the PS3 version boasted Kratos) and the upcoming Battlefield 3 , which fits on one Blu-Ray disc (the 360 version needs two DVDs). Added Dyer:

"Although Microsoft has a 1.6 to 1 index ratio against us [on hardware], we outsold them on Mortal Kombat nearly at a one to one. So that is due in large part to the exclusive content that you're getting on disc. You'll see that happening on almost every case where we've had a game that they've supported with on disc content or with exclusive DLC."

Dyer cited other examples of multiplatform titles that performed better on the PS3 thanks to extra content packed onto the disc, and that includes Medal of Honor , L.A. Noire , and NBA 2K11 . He also indicated Portal 2 's performance, which was assisted by Steam integration and a free copy of the PC version. As for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and the timed DLC in favor of Microsoft:

"They're going to be a month exclusive… But they're not running any higher than what the index ratio is – they're right at 1.6. In spite of all the millions that Microsoft has spent on that relationship with Activision, people aren't voting to buy a 360 version of that over and above a PS3 version, given the installed base."

The 360 still holds a significant sales lead in North America but when counting global sales, the gap has shrunk to almost nothing due to strong PS3 sales in Europe and the almost non-existent status of the 360 in Japan. But as always, software is most important, as Dyer tries to tell us.

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Microsoft Worried About Games Looking Better On PS3

John-Shepard 66 Comments

Last week, Sony's Rob Dyer said Microsoft is "protecting inferior technology," which is why their content submission and release policy seems so restrictive.

But analysts aren't surprised at said policy and one actually gave an intriguing explanation: David Cole of DFC Intelligence told IndustryGamers that a manufacturer must "protect its edge as aggressively as possible." Translation?

"My take is that video game console manufacturers have always been closed systems and there is a tendency for the manufacturer to protect its edge as aggressively as possible. Both Sony and Nintendo have taken aggressive policies to protect their market lead against would be up-and-comers. In the case of the Xbox 360 it is an older system and clearly there are concerns about content looking better on the PS3."

Oh, he didn't go there , did he? Microsoft fans will be absolutely furious. EEDAR analyst Jesse Divnich agreed that Sony has the right to express such concerns, but at the same time, he doesn't blame Microsoft for having those policies. Said Divnich:

"These types of policies are very much the norm with content distributors (and physical retailers). Microsoft is the current leader in HD game distribution, so it is only natural that we would see the market leader implement policies that continue to give themselves a competitive advantage."

It's an interesting conundrum and one can make many assumptions. But we won't elaborate further; we'll let our readers do it. They're good at it. 😉

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Why Can’t Microsoft Fans Correctly Assess Sales Figures?

Ben-Dutka 191 Comments

It's starting to get tired. It really, really is.

For most of the generation, Microsoft and Xbox 360 fans have continued to point to sales figures to prove their favorite system's superiority. Of course, they use those sales to imply the quality of software is better, especially when comparing those numbers to sales of PlayStation 3 exclusive titles.

And then you get ridiculous headlines that continue to push the absurdity of the situation. Nothing is taken into account besides the numbers themselves. Nothing. 360 fans will crow about the 11 million in sales for Halo 3 in comparison to the 2 million for Killzone 3 . …really? We're comparing the established, insanely loyal Halo fans to Killzone ? And it doesn't matter that Halo is the AAA exclusive for Microsoft? I suppose it also doesn't matter that the 360 fan base has always preferred shooters to just about anything else?

And when it comes to hardware figures, nobody has ever once considered the number of systems that have died and been replaced by the same consumer. As of now, the PS3 isn't far behind the 360 in terms of worldwide sales, but given the catastrophic failure rate for the 360 during its first four years of existence, the sales numbers are obviously skewed. How many new consumers are there? Do you know anyone that hasn't had a 360 die on them? Hell, I don't know anyone who hasn't had at least two die. This is hardly a difficult observation to make.

But getting back to the software, let's say one final thing- considering the 360 doesn't really have much in the way of exclusives, especially in comparison to the PS3, is it any real surprise to see 360 exclusives sell? They rarely even exist so yeah, I'd jump on an exclusive when it shows up, too. I'm getting Gears of War 3 …is there some other 360 exclusive this year that I'm missing? Is there even one ? So because Gears 3 sells more than Killzone 3 , Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception , inFamous 2 , and LittleBigPlanet 2 , that somehow means the 360 has superior software?

Okay, sure. Guess you don't have much else to crow about these days.

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EA: No Pressing Need For A New Console Generation

Ben-Dutka 25 Comments

Sony won't release a new PlayStation console until developers have had their fill of the PS3, and one game producer says the machine has plenty of life left.

In speaking to Eurogamer , EA Europe boss Jens Uwe Intat said both the PS3 and Xbox 360 will be around "for quite some time." He added that the recent PS3 price drop "should hopefully get some acceleration for the Christmas business." For now, the bottom line is that EA still sees solid software sales for all existing platforms, so there's no reason to panic and insist on new hardware. Said Uwe Intat:

"All I can say is we do see healthy sales of hardware. We do see healthy sales of software into those existing hardware platforms. It's the first-parties you have to discuss with when A, they think they can afford to come out with a new platform, but even more important, B, when they think a new platform will really offer something meaningful to the consumer.

The existing generation of consoles is actually technologically very advanced. They're still very capable machines. It's their call."

We've often said we're happy with the PS3 and a PS4 would just be plain inconvenient at this point. Most designers agree that the PS3 isn't tapped out, and we're interested to see what more can be done…

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