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[kswiston]

Well, they are listed as 'notable releases' so they don't necessarily tribe to attribute the changes to these games, but yes you can argue which games were responsible and up to what degree.

They just randomly selected titles though. Fallout New Vegas outsold Medal of Honor, and was just 30k units shy of NBA2k11, yet it isn't listed for Oct 2010. Most of the declining months don't have any big releases listed.

Pretty graphic, but not really a convincing analysis

 

[The Praiseworthy]

PS3 outselling the other consoles seems right... the price tag and the excellent games are doing their magic with it.

But these PSV number are, mmmmm.... SONY need to step up ASAP.

 

[Kazerei]

I gotta say I'm surprised that PS3 is #1 worldwide in HW sales given the buzz around 360.

PS3 was leading worldwide for most of last year, but 360 pulled ahead in the holiday season. It seems the buzz around 360 (and Kinect) only exists in US and UK.

 

[Saty]

They just randomly selected titles though. Fallout New Vegas outsold Medal of Honor, and was just 30k units shy of NBA2k11, yet it isn't listed for Oct 2010. Most of the declining months don't have any big releases listed.

Pretty graphic, but not really a convincing analysis

That's because they point they are trying to make is that the big games are what responsible for the surges. These games can't be a reason why those months did worse YOY.

 

[Celine]

That chart seems to cherry pick. There are quite a few months on there that saw huge launches, but still an overall decline. Also, the games that they attribute to the bumps are not even consistent in size. I don't remember Portal 2 setting the world on fire sales-wise. Skyrim is not listed despite having a larger launch than almost everything on there other than the COD games and Halo 3.

If there is one thing pretty clear from that graph is that 2008 Wii (and to a lessen extent DS) explosion (Nintendo made available enough stocks) drove software adoption.

 

[grimshawish]

PS3 outselling the other consoles seems right... the price tag and the excellent games are doing their magic with it.

But these PSV number are, mmmmm.... SONY need to step up ASAP.

Not great when Sony's best territory are shrugging at their new device.
I think the PSP is remembered as is its 'short term worth' quite frankly.

The adverts didn't help, they said there were games on there...that weren't (as in showed things that looked great and promised a lot but weren't backed up in shops!)

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I gotta say I'm surprised that PS3 is #1 worldwide in HW sales given the buzz around 360.

Japan makes up the difference. WW userbase numbers only matter when discussing certain games. Not every unit sold is a potential customer. For instance for EA selling Madden Japanese sales mean nothing but to Sega selling a new Sonic, every machine around the world is a potential customer. So it is all in context. And as an example like last year, most sales are made in Q4 when it comes to gaming.

 

[Barkley's Justice]

WHAT DOES IT ALL MEEEEAN??!

 

[bigtroyjon]

That's because they point they are trying to make is that the big games are what responsible for the surges. These games can't be a reason why those months did worse YOY.

That's the reason why it's bad analysis. You can't say hits are the only reason for yoy growth months and then ignore the months when even bigger hits result in yoy declines.

They are using data that fits the narrative and ignoring the data that doesn't fit. It's nothing more than a pretty graph with no substance.

Edit-It basically comes down to them looking at growth months and then simply listing big games from those months. Need to do percentage of overall market sales in order for it to mean anything.

 

[jvm]

I know I'm biased, but I kind of feel like that graphic is an expanded version of what I discussed in my column a few weeks ago.
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...l_become_an_entirely_hits_driven_industry.php

Every one of those growth months [since February 2009] included the launch of a hit game. September 2009 included Halo 3: ODST and The Beatles: Rock Band. Then God of War III, Pokemon SoulSilver/HeartGold, and Final Fantasy XIII launched in March 2010. Both Red Dead Redemption and Super Mario Galaxy 2 pushed May 2010 into a growth month. Fallout: New Vegas, NBA 2K11, and Medal of Honor topped a list of million sellers in October 2010. The rest of the list is predictably full of titles you've heard of, and likely even played.

So, yes, the growth months have had extraordinary release slates, particularly for games that are part of established franchises that have historically sold well. These games are not only popular, but are often promoted more than untested games, creating a feedback loop that helps propel the big games further.

However, sometimes there are big games released and things go the other way. March's sales are just such an example, I believe. The top 10, as shown in the table below, contains several new releases with licenses that ought to help push the industry higher, not lower: Mass Effect, Resident Evil, SSX, Street Fighter, Tekken, and Mario.

Their chart even covers precisely the same period of data.

 

[bigtroyjon]

Good article JVM, hadn't read it before.

As an aside, I don't think I've ever agreed with a single thing an analyst from Piper Jaffray has said about the video game industry. If all the casual gamers have left, how in the hell has the industry not crashed? There were loads of casual gamers playing in the early 2000's and unless I'm mistaken we are still far above those levels.

 

[jvm]

Good article JVM, hadn't read it before.

As an aside, I don't think I've ever agreed with a single thing an analyst from Piper Jaffray has said about the video game industry. If all the casual gamers have left, how in the hell has the industry not crashed? There were loads of casual gamers playing in the early 2000's and unless I'm mistaken we are still far above those levels.

Thanks, bigtroyjon.

I think the PJC folks are doing fine. They see a lot of potential in places like EA and Zynga that are focusing on social and digital, and I think they're right that that's where we will see a decent amount of growth in the coming years. To the extent that they are focused on that, I can understand their particular perspective on the current retail market.

Doesn't mean it's perfect, mind you, but that's where they're coming from.

(I just realized, typing out your nick, that I've always read it as bigjoytron. Oops.)

 

[NavNucST3]

How.? when 360 has gone down more..

2011 vs 12 and using these gaf numbers

Wii sales down ~35.7% WW YoY
360 down ~14.4%
PS3 down ~7.3%

Moreover PS3 also has a chance of a price cut. I dont think if PS4 is going to launch next holiday season than PS3 is going to stay $250 till next holidays.. but it all depends how much profit margin they are enjoying right now on Vita & PS3.

I'll say what I said for last years thread, "why deal in percentages when we can simply go with numbers?"

I think a PS3 price-cut would simply get them to flat with 2011 mostly because I envision another $50 and equivalent in EU but the response in the US and Japan being tepid, however, much greater appeal in EU. I think the biggest determining factor as to whether the 360 can repeat last years greater sell-through is if there are any PS3 system sellers launching this year in Japan, if there are then I don't think the 360 can replicate, unless it has a price-cut.

For greater 360 sell-through I think Microsoft may want to extend their US retailer offers well into December this year given last years December performance. As far as the largest region goes, I think a $50 360 price-cut skews much better for 360 even when competing with an also $50 reduced PS3.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

I'll say what I said for last years thread, "why deal in percentages when we can simply go with numbers?"

I think a PS3 price-cut would simply get them to flat with 2011 mostly because I envision another $50 and equivalent in EU but the response in the US and Japan being tepid, however, much greater appeal in EU. I think the biggest determining factor as to whether the 360 can repeat last years greater sell-through is if there are any PS3 system sellers launching this year in Japan, if there are then I don't think the 360 can replicate, unless it has a price-cut.

For greater 360 sell-through I think Microsoft may want to extend their US retailer offers well into December this year given last years December performance. As far as the largest region goes, I think a $50 360 price-cut skews much better for 360 even when competing with an also $50 reduced PS3.

I really think we see a 360 price cut this year. It has been almost 4 years since the last drop.

 

[James Sawyer Ford]

We'll probably see a price cut from 360 and PS3 this year.

All in all, I expect sales to be slightly down, maybe flat, for both even taking into account the price cut.

 

[SuperSonic1305]

Nearly 6 years later and PS3 still hasn't hit $199 officially. Crazyness. You could get a 360, albeit gimped, for 199 the past few years.

 

[Mpl90]

Looking to the European Hardware Graph, I've started wondering...

The heck happened to 360 in Week 5? Why did it obtain to outperform PS3 in FFXIII-2's release week? XD

Another thing is: it seems 3DS had some problems after the big Holidays it had, selling even less than Wii by some thousands, but at Week 6 it started selling at least on par with 360, and in the last weeks considered ( especially 13 ), it wasn't so distant from PS3, which is undoubtly the market leader in Europe right now. Could it be a good sign for the next future ( I mean, Q2 )?

 

[Insane Metal]

Time for a new generation of consoles, maybe?

 

[NavNucST3]

Time for a new generation of consoles, maybe?

Don't we currently have a new generation of handhelds? Do you consider their hardware and software numbers good, middling, or bad? GAF notwithstanding, I'm not sure there are a sufficient number of people sitting on the sidelines awaiting a new console generation. I'm pretty pessimistic on the marketplace, I don't even think the best selling handheld in the current generation will match the worst selling handheld of the prior gen. Naturally, it may not show in the numbers for another year or year and a half though (well, Vita is certainly making the belief easier but I felt this way pre-Vita).

 

[shinra-bansho]

Hmm, went back for a look at Nintendo's chart for 2010.

The PSP by my count only moved 0.24M units in weeks 1-13.

So while it's down this year by 70K units, it's up significantly on two years ago.

It had a price reduction in the interim, but I'm somewhat surprised it's maintaining reasonably well given the launch of new competition in the 3DS, lack of new major software and launch of its successor.

 

[Parmenides]

First Half - 2012 (US,EU,JP,AU)

PS3 - 4 million

EU+AU ~ 2.0

US ~ 1.38 (NPD)

JP ~ 0.63 (MC)


360 - 3 million

US ~ 1.72 (NPD)

EU+AU ~ 1.25

JP ~ 0.04 (MC)

IHS Screen Digest (BBC)

According to data from IHS, Sony sold four million PS3s in the first half of 2012 across Europe, the US, Australia and Japan, while Microsoft sold three million Xbox 360s.

PS3 outsells competitors in Australia in first half of 2012

Citing official NPD Group Australia data, Sony said the PS3 came in at number one in the console sales position in the first half of 2012. The publisher also stated that the PS3 was the only games console in the Australian market to achieve double digit unit sales growth year-on-year over the same period.

In addition, Sony said its PlayStation hardware family--including the PS3, PSP, and the PlayStation Vita--combined accounted made up 43 percent of hardware sales in the Australian market for the first six months of 2012.

PS3 outsold its competitors in Australia during 2011

NPD figures show the PlayStation outsold the Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii in Australia during 2011, with around 400,000 consoles sold representing sales growth of 25 per cent compared to 2010.The console can now be found in around 1.5 million Australian homes.

Wii console now has an installed base of 2.4 million consoles

 

[Opus Angelorum]

Sony said its PlayStation hardware family...

Been a while since we've heard that. No PSP/PSVita numbers?

 

[iamshadowlark]

No Wii numbers? Or do they not even matter?

 

[Napalm_Frank]

PS3 hitting its stride.

 

[Man]

PS3 hitting its stride.

Hasn't it been best selling console worldwide for about 3 years now?

 

[specialguy]

Umm, I find Europe numbers rather dubious without a decent source.

Hasn't it been best selling console worldwide for about 3 years now?

I dont think it shipped the most last year (360 did). Though it was probably basically a tie.

 

[metalslimer]

First Half - 2012 (US,EU,JP,AU)



IHS Screen Digest (BBC)


PS3 outsells competitors in Australia in first half of 2012


PS3 outsold its competitors in Australia during 2011

Um hmm

 

[Canis lupus]

I dont think it shipped the most last year (360 did). Though it was probably basically a tie.

It did according to both Sony's and MS' FY.

 

[Sickboy007]

Found some interesting data on the Italian market (for 2011), these are official numbers from the national games industry association:

The numbers in the first slide are market value in millions of euro, not units sold:

A total of 2.173.000 consoles were sold in the year 2011, 60,7% home consoles, 29,7% handheld.

 

[specialguy]

It did according to both Sony's and MS' FY.

but not calender 2011. just checked it 360 shipped more.




for these 1st half 12 numbers, typical sales trend anyway is ps3 wins slower parts of the year, 360 does better in holidays (where usa sales start to overwhelm japan's).

so it's not surprising though i still find the source a tad flimsy.

 

[Hammer24]

Umm, I find Europe numbers rather dubious without a decent source.

The numbers are rather meaningless anyway, with the bulk of sales coming up in November/December.
Wait for the next round of fiscal reports to see how much were shipped.

 

[specialguy]

The numbers are rather meaningless anyway, with the bulk of sales coming up in November/December.
Wait for the next round of fiscal reports to see how much were shipped.

too bad sony now lumps ps2 and ps3 together. i was actually pretty crushed about that, which just shows i really need a life.

 

[Road]

Since Jan 2010 (shipped):

PS3 - 30.4m*
360 - 29.5m
Wii - 29.1m
DS - 26.9m
3DS - 19.0m
PSP - 17.2m
PS2 - 12.2m*
Vita - 2.2m

*missing Apr-Jun 2012.

/Parmenides

too bad sony now lumps ps2 and ps3 together. i was actually pretty crushed about that, which just shows i really need a life.

Vita ruins everything. At least I can laugh at its expense.

 

[Hammer24]

too bad sony now lumps ps2 and ps3 together. i was actually pretty crushed about that, which just shows i really need a life.

Yeah, I felt like that when I saw the PSP+Vita combination.

 

[allan-bh]

Nintendo stopped revealing sales graphs?

 

[mocolostrocolos]

Sonyland is gonna land.

 

[Mileena]

Good to see the PS3 in the lead this year. Year of the PS3.

 

[jvm]

Nintendo stopped revealing sales graphs?

As was pointed out to me previously, they don't do it for 1Q results.

 

[Augemitbutter]

nice numbers. japan is so red.

As was pointed out to me previously, they don't do it for 1Q results.

any explanation?

 

[OldJadedGamer]

but not calender 2011. just checked it 360 shipped more.

for these 1st half 12 numbers, typical sales trend anyway is ps3 wins slower parts of the year, 360 does better in holidays (where usa sales start to overwhelm japan's).

so it's not surprising though i still find the source a tad flimsy.

Yeah, the bulk of sales in the US is done in the holidays.

 

[Saiyar]

nice numbers. japan is so red.



any explanation?

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/110729/index.html

Since the first fiscal quarter has limited importance within the annual business of game companies, it does not make much sense for me to make a detailed presentation on the business in that quarter, so I have not made such preparations for today.

They don't think Q1 is very important business wise.

 

[Foshy]

Needs a crapload more than that. It cannot continue for the rest of this year like this. Sony better have a plan B.

End of the year is looking decent games-wise with AC, CoD, P4G, LBP, NFS, PS All-Stars amongst other smaller titles. Certainly better than the summer drought.

 

[specialguy]

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/ir/en/library/events/110729/index.html



They don't think Q1 is very important business wise.

But they do for Q2 and 3? odd...

 

[Graphics Horse]

Q3 is Christmas.

 

[iamshadowlark]

but not calender 2011. just checked it 360 shipped more.




for these 1st half 12 numbers, typical sales trend anyway is ps3 wins slower parts of the year, 360 does better in holidays (where usa sales start to overwhelm japan's).

so it's not surprising though i still find the source a tad flimsy.

Uh where did you get calendar numbers? No company releases those.

Edit I think I see.

 

[Durante]

Do the software numbers in the OP exclude PC? Otherwise I can't imagine it not showing at all, at least in the German top 20.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

There is also a factor of a 360 price drop this year.

 

[pharmboy044]

There is also a factor of a 360 price drop this year.

Are we really expecting a price drop for the 360? PS3 hasn't changed it's price, I see no reason for the 360 to have a price drop.

 

[jvm]

Are we really expecting a price drop for the 360? PS3 hasn't changed it's price, I see no reason for the 360 to have a price drop.

Only evidence so far is that the Xbox 360 4GB + Kinect dropped to $250 at Wal-mart on the day of the Wii U announcements.

 

[OldJadedGamer]

Are we really expecting a price drop for the 360? PS3 hasn't changed it's price, I see no reason for the 360 to have a price drop.

Hasn't dropped in over 4 years and they are competing with WiiU this Xmas so we'll see. Sony needed to drop their price and who knows, they may still. They still have the 12gig option to sell in the US.