So I thought about posting this last week in a flamebait Friday type of post but since we had the public holiday and I feel this article is so important I didn’t.
Jeff Engel and Geoff Brooks have put together an article debating whether or not 2008 will be the year of the PS3 and they delve into some very interesting points. The articles quite long so I will paraphrase the points I found interesting here and you are more than welcome to click the link at the bottom for the original story…
PS3 sales surged 4% on the back of the Blu-Ray win, Xbox 360 sales surged 11% which can be seen as proof that the format war is obviously not mainstream yet.
The inclusion of the Blu-Ray player will not help the PS3 win mass market appeal as by the time Blu-Ray is standard the stand alone players will be much cheaper.
The PS3’s 4 main titles this year really are not the best system movers. While games like MGS4 and GT5 get huge critical acclaim the sales don’t really compete with the Halo’s of this world. For example Gears of War sold more than MGS3, MGS3: Subsistence and Killzone 1 combined and this is when there were over 100 million PS2’s in circulation compared to about 13 million Xbox 360’s. GTAIV is the PS3’s most exciting system mover and it is looking to land at a cheaper price on the 360 with that extra content…
The last and most interesting point however is that in the beginning it was said that you cannot win a console war if you don’t take Japan. Now the question is being asked “Can the 360 come second based purely on US sales”?… It may just do it and if the 360 makes inroads into Europe then the PS3 really is going to be flapping.
The sales of the Wii are still astonishing all round and I just cannot see them losing this generation.
Counting Rupees: The year of the PS3 – Joystiq
[Thanks to doobiwan for the tip]Last Updated: March 25, 2008
Fox1
March 25, 2008 at 12:01
Like I said before…
The 360 has 34 games that sold over a million and the PS3 has 8 games that sold over a million. Not even UT3’s timed exclusive helped the game break the 1 million.
Speaking of UT3… did you guys see the Master Chief and Marcus character mods for UT3 on the PS3.
http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/03/24/master-chief-locust-and-marcus-meet-ut3/
Jinja
March 25, 2008 at 12:31
*rolls eyes*
This is 1 articles opinion…
I have seen loads of articles stating the opposite.
Don’t feel like getting involved in the flame bait, so I will just post a few of them.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=32686
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=33151
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13506_1-9896719-17.html
Jinja’s last blog post..South Park Episodes Free
Jinja
March 25, 2008 at 12:42
a
Jinja’s last blog post..South Park Episodes Free
Jinja
March 25, 2008 at 12:44
*rolls eyes*
First article I’ve seen that actually backs the PS3, when large Publishing companies (EA) and research firms are backing the PS3.
Also, I read that both the UT3 developers and God of War developers are backing 2008 to be the year of the PS3.
(Tried posting the links to the articles but my post isn’t going through, so if you wish to read them go to GameIndustry website)
Jinja’s last blog post..South Park Episodes Free
Fox1
March 25, 2008 at 12:58
The Heavenly Sword developers are going to release their next title on the 360 and PS3.
http://www.joystiq.com/2008/03/19/heavenly-sword-dev-working-on-new-ip-for-360-ps3/
Banana hammock
March 25, 2008 at 14:01
I hope they put “aftertouch” in it, oh wait, that won’t work on the 360.
abe
March 25, 2008 at 14:13
Yawn, its all getting old gavin!
LazySAGamer
March 25, 2008 at 14:31
@Abe, The idea of posting this on Tuesday is that people will take into account the valid points put across.
It is universal knowledge that the majority of analysts think the PS3 will take this year but these well respected guys have good points that need to be considered.
Remember they do say the PS3 will beat the 360 in Europe, but the way it is going currently they cannot see the PS3 overtaking the 360 in total sales this year. They are 7 million units back and I have to agree with them in that regard.
The main battleground is Europe and if Microsoft can make it a tough fight then the PS3 may lost the war.
doobiwan
March 25, 2008 at 14:38
Sorry Banana, but we already had “after touch” last year in Burnout Revenge. Those analogue sticks are amazing things . . .
rofl at Abe & the fanboys. Hmm, you should start a band . . . 😉
doobiwan’s last blog post..Evil Genius Conspiracy Theory of the Day: For the homeless …
Jinja
March 25, 2008 at 14:41
And the year before that on the PS2 Burnout Takedown.
Jinja’s last blog post..South Park Episodes Free
Banana hammock
March 25, 2008 at 15:00
Sorry boys, if you haven’t done it with a SixAxis then you haven’t done it at all.
JimBob
March 25, 2008 at 15:55
Fox, the PS3 now has 10 games that have sold a million (GHIII and DMC4 are the latest) with at least two or three more on the verge, so you need to update your intelligence.
UT3 sold poorly on the PC as well as the PS3, and its failure can be laid squarely on the shoulders of Epic’s bad marketing of the title. It’s like saying the 360 is a flop because Viva Pinata sold five copies.
There’s a lot of dubious stuff in that Joystiq article – just one example is that they use the relatively low sales of MGs3 to dismiss the importance of MGS 4. Yet MGS2 achieved 7 million in sales, which is more than GeOW, and probably a more apt comparison to the potential impact of MGS4. Just one factual thing to nitpick on.
scotty777
March 25, 2008 at 16:27
we shall see, the fat lady has 8 more months to sing…
Undertakerza
March 25, 2008 at 16:47
Well the ps3 is busy changing the times,better “reliable” hardware,great looking exlusives coming out and home on its way.Not to mention BD profile 2 support.Ms will have to take a bakseat unfortunately this year….360 welcome to second gen 🙂
abe
March 25, 2008 at 16:58
Wayhay Undertaker, im shocked 😉
Lazy as it was already mentioned this is one article in a sea that is folwing the opposite direction, its clearly written by someone rooting for the box and the fact that the tip came from doobi somes it up!
You say that the article is strong cos it says the ps3 wont overtake the xbox this year, I say thats very possible but who said the war ends this year.
The main focus is rather that the ps3 will outsell the xbox this year in sales not as in total sales from launch.
doobiwan
March 25, 2008 at 17:38
Woot! You boys want some flags to wave or something?
Jim, just to nitpick, as the saying goes, you’re only as good as your last game. Also consider versions of MGS2 were released on 4 platforms – PS2, GC, Xbox and PC.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metal_Gear_Solid_2:_Sons_of_Liberty
I agree with Scotty (shock horror!) time will tell. Actually, GTA4 will tell 😉
doobiwan’s last blog post..Evil Genius Conspiracy Theory of the Day: For the homeless …
JimBob
March 25, 2008 at 18:35
MGS2 was never released on the Gamecube. PS2 sales of MGS2 and MGS2 Substance accounted for more than 6 million of the total sales, making the other platforms pretty much irrelevant. It’s widely expected that the Xbox version of MGS2 was an abject commercial failure. It’s also funny that people call MGS3 ‘a flop’ and a light-weight when it has sold more than four million copies on just one platform.
And maybe you’re only as good as your last game, but it’s by no means uncommon for the first new-gen entry in a franchise to sell better than subsequent sequels in the same generation – see also DMC1 vs DMC3, compared to DMC 4 which seems to be selling better than the third game even when only PS3 sales are taken into account. Gt3 vs Gt4 is another example.
JimBob
March 25, 2008 at 18:36
widely accepted, not expected…
doobiwan
March 26, 2008 at 00:13
That logic worked really well for Sonic.
Oh wait, he hasn’t sold well since the 90’s… 😉
doobiwan’s last blog post..Evil Genius Conspiracy Theory of the Day: For the homeless …
boredhousewife
March 26, 2008 at 08:49
I really don’t think any one game is going to be instrumental in either consoles future success. I think the continued success of the PS2 illustrates the importance of price in the current global economic climate. R6000 is lot of money to drop for what in essence is still a toy , and if you are a bachelor who spends a lot of time playing by/with himself then it is easily justified , but its a bit harder if you have a wife to convince and its also not something Joe Average is going to buy his teenage brat for Christmas. Granted we do live in the third world but even in Europe and America people are feeling the pinch of economic recession.
Jinja
March 26, 2008 at 09:24
My vote is: More talking about games, less talking about who’s penis has the most polygons.
Jinja’s last blog post..South Park Episodes Free
doobiwan
March 26, 2008 at 10:22
I agree, but it’s human nature.
With rugby/soccer, do you spend more time discussing a particular game, or more time discussing the league?
doobiwan’s last blog post..Evil Genius Conspiracy Theory of the Day: For the homeless …
Jinja
March 26, 2008 at 10:30
The ref!
Jinja’s last blog post..South Park Episodes Free
doobiwan
March 26, 2008 at 10:48
ROFL! naaaice 😉
doobiwan’s last blog post..Evil Genius Conspiracy Theory of the Day: For the homeless …