Microsoft says console sales only part of the equation
News | March 14, 2008 2:30 pm
By Mudkip
From games.net
Let the spin begin
Are hardware sales all that matter in the so-called console war? Microsoft would have you think that, no, there's much more to it than that. What really matters, they say, is you, the gamer.
And so it went in the run up and run down of yesterday's NPD "big reveal" -- Nintendo won out handily with both the DS and Wii, while Microsoft pulled out all the stops, including a call for leniency due to hardware shortages they contend caused the Xbox 360 to fall roughly 16,000 units behind rival PS3 for the second time in as many months.
So it's a simple question then: Are you not entertained?
One Microsoft rep who wrote the GamePro tip line thinks you are, and put it thusly: "What makes a winning platform? It's more than console sales. It's about consoles + content + community."
Is it a valid point? Here are the facts: five of the top 10 software titles for February were Xbox 360 titles. Sony sold more hardware, boosted in part by the Blu-Ray victory, but only one PS3 title, Devil May Cry 4, made the list. That title was bested by number one seller Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360 version).
According to NPD, the Xbox 360 sold $184 million in games, with PS3 selling $97 million and Wii $130 million. In February, Xbox 360 accounted for $159 million of all third party game sales.
Point to Micosoft on that front, but consider that the Xbox 360 has a large head start. With Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet and user-driven Home arriving this year (at least a beta, anyway), the numbers could just as easily be switched come next February. In the end, as it has always been, software sells the console and ultimately determines the victor, and Sony has incessantly pitched the idea that the PS3 is a slow starting, 10-year system.
It's a tough call ... is it about you the gamer or hardware sales -- or a mix of both? Xbox Live is still Microsoft's 10 million users-strong ace in the hole, so there's that edge to consider too.
Maybe a few aspiring GamePro readers can weigh in with some advice of their own on the topic. Wait, "maybe"? Who are we kidding -- definitely.
Let the spin begin
Are hardware sales all that matter in the so-called console war? Microsoft would have you think that, no, there's much more to it than that. What really matters, they say, is you, the gamer.
And so it went in the run up and run down of yesterday's NPD "big reveal" -- Nintendo won out handily with both the DS and Wii, while Microsoft pulled out all the stops, including a call for leniency due to hardware shortages they contend caused the Xbox 360 to fall roughly 16,000 units behind rival PS3 for the second time in as many months.
So it's a simple question then: Are you not entertained?
One Microsoft rep who wrote the GamePro tip line thinks you are, and put it thusly: "What makes a winning platform? It's more than console sales. It's about consoles + content + community."
Is it a valid point? Here are the facts: five of the top 10 software titles for February were Xbox 360 titles. Sony sold more hardware, boosted in part by the Blu-Ray victory, but only one PS3 title, Devil May Cry 4, made the list. That title was bested by number one seller Call of Duty 4 (Xbox 360 version).
According to NPD, the Xbox 360 sold $184 million in games, with PS3 selling $97 million and Wii $130 million. In February, Xbox 360 accounted for $159 million of all third party game sales.
Point to Micosoft on that front, but consider that the Xbox 360 has a large head start. With Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet and user-driven Home arriving this year (at least a beta, anyway), the numbers could just as easily be switched come next February. In the end, as it has always been, software sells the console and ultimately determines the victor, and Sony has incessantly pitched the idea that the PS3 is a slow starting, 10-year system.
It's a tough call ... is it about you the gamer or hardware sales -- or a mix of both? Xbox Live is still Microsoft's 10 million users-strong ace in the hole, so there's that edge to consider too.
Maybe a few aspiring GamePro readers can weigh in with some advice of their own on the topic. Wait, "maybe"? Who are we kidding -- definitely.
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