A look back at the first 6 months of Next Gen Console Sales

[GavinMannion]

http://www.lazygamer.co.za/xbox-360/...s-6-months-in/

Someone put together a nice chart depicting the first 6 months of all the major console sales in America...

Naturally the Wii is dominating again but what is suprising is that the Xbox 360 and PS3 have both been beaten out by the original Xbox and Gamecube...

It is also interesting to see that the PS3 is really not very far behind the Xbox 360 in retrospect.... However once Gears came out the Xbox 360 ran off into the sunset... The PS3 needs a killer titles before christmas to counter the Gears and Halo effect otherwise it could find itself in deep trouble.

[Toxin]

They're also gonna need something to counter Halo3 coming out in September.

[GavinMannion]

The PS3 needs a killer titles before christmas to counter the Gears and Halo effect otherwise it could find itself in deep trouble.

They're also gonna need something to counter Halo3 coming out in September.

Judging from the response the Beta is receiving Halo 3 could win this xmas for the Xbox..... The fanbase of that game is incredible....

[doobiwan]

Hold up a sec, just remember that the 360 was supply constrained for the first 5 months of it's life. By comparison, there's 2 million PS3's gathering dust on shelves.

[GavinMannion]

Hold up a sec, just remember that the 360 was supply constrained for the first 5 months of it's life. By comparison, there's 2 million PS3's gathering dust on shelves.

I left that out intentionally just for you... Couldn't let you go through a whole day without any Sony bashing

[Toxin]

Judging from the response the Beta is receiving Halo 3 could win this xmas for the Xbox..... The fanbase of that game is incredible....

Oops, speed reading FTL......

But yeah, this will be the deciding factor for the 360 this year. On a side note, are there any predictions on when the 360 price drop is gonna happen. I need to make sure I've saved enough money for a premium, Halo3, GoW, Crackdown and a VGA HD cable...... actually now that I think about it...... damn.

[GavinMannion]

The price drop is *rumoured* for November....

Halo 3 gets released in September (26th) and I expect them to give it until about mid November and then drop the price by $100 if the PS3 is not catching up yet or $150 if it is...

If Microsoft are brave they could virtually take out the PS3 this christmas.... Again all a rumour

[useless]

And not only think of Halo 3. Prior to it we will receive Mass Effect, Bioshock, Alan Wake & Forza 2 to keep us happy. Thats only the big names amongst the lesses known titles out there like Prince of Persia XBLA.

[doobiwan]

Lol What can I say, I'm a bit predictable sometimes

On the price drop, I imagine MS will hold off for as long as possible. They have a single goal in mind now and you can see it in everything they do, and that's to make the Xbox business unit profitable this year. It's very important for them, it'll finally justify them having gotten into the console business in the first place.

I imagine we won't see a cut till after the release of Halo 3. The conspiracy theorist in me says not this year. What we will see, is huge bundling this Xmas, because the box will have the fat, as the new 65nm chips will be out, and Sony just can't afford a cut. The release of home server will also make the core a lot more attractive. So I imagine we may see a price cut around Feb next year - just before the financial year end to move more units into the market.

That's provided Sony doesn't cut their prices this year which they may have to. Although I doubt whether they will. I imagine they're banking on some interesting content to stir interest. They're already soaking up at least $300 per unit and at a loss, to drop the price would be a very dangerous risk, but possibly the only thing that can really save the PS3.

( . . . and before the Sony fans go mad, by that I mean their plans for world domination. I don't think sony are going to get knocked out this round, far from it.)

[GavinMannion]

M$ do want to make a profit this year but according to the internet rumours they are currently making about $100 per unit, by the time the 65nm chips are released they will be making $150 profit per unit, this allows for a $100 price drop and they still make a profit. That price drop before xmas will spark huge sales especially in the US as the core will now be very cheap so grannies can pick them up for grankids...

if Sony does drop it's price then M$ should still be able to afford a $150 drop without going into the negatives.... They are in a very comfortable position right now but things can change quickly.

[doobiwan]

Yes and no. Your logic is 100%, but the $100 profit is a bit of a misnomer. The numbers we get from the component breakdown includes components and assembly. There's a lot of additional things to consider - shipping, duties and taxes, wholesale and retail margins as well as sales and support. If you read what the likes of Iwata or Kim Shane say about the costs it reflects that.

So while I imagine they're covering costs at the moment, it's probably a bit more neutral than making a profit.

But back to what you said, an Xmas price cut would be great, it'd definitely help them more against the Wii which is probably where they need to be focusing their attention rather than solely on the PS3. But Peter Moore is a very astute and wise character. I'm sure he has a plan.

Conspiracy theory 2: IPTV will push 360 demand for Xmas - from CES they always said the IPTV update would be included in the "fall 07" (re Q3) I imagine it'll be bundled along with services and contracts in many countries. I'm hoping it's going to be the 360's D-day They hit Europe in one big movie wave - launch IPTV and XBLVM all in one go.

[rsachoc]

M$ do want to make a profit this year but according to the internet rumours they are currently making about $100 per unit, by the time the 65nm chips are released they will be making $150 profit per unit, this allows for a $100 price drop and they still make a profit. That price drop before xmas will spark huge sales especially in the US as the core will now be very cheap so grannies can pick them up for grankids...

if Sony does drop it's price then M$ should still be able to afford a $150 drop without going into the negatives.... They are in a very comfortable position right now but things can change quickly.

Any idea when we are gonna see the new 65nm chips? I am holding out for these as the current 360's are way too loud for my liking.

[useless]

Loud? I was suprised at how loud a PS3 can get when watching a BR movie. Was watching Casino Royale over the weekend and the fans kicked in after a while which in turn deafened the X360 standing next to it.

My perception of loudness in regards to the PS3 has reached new heights.

[doobiwan]

65nm chips are due out in the second half of the year as far as I know. And useless is right. In a noisy IC I could hear a PS3 from 30m away!

[rsachoc]

Hehe, well, my living room is a haven of silence, so even the slighest noise deters me. I want to use the 360 as a media centre and want silence dammnit!

Looks like there will be no PS3 in my future if its louder than the 360.