inFAMOUS 2 might have been the top selling game last month in the US (other sources suggest otherwise) but regardless, the PS3 hasn’t had such a smooth ride in relation to the competition.
We no longer get confirmed hardware figures from NPD anymore, so there’s always an element of extrapolation and guesswork, but the usually reliable monthly thread over on NeoGAF suggests that the Xbox 360 has had a bumper month, although those numbers include units given away as part of a Windows 7 promotion.
Bear in mind that some of these figures aren’t exact, and in the case of the PS3 almost certainly the result of a little bit of reasoning, but here’s what’s currently out there:
- Xbox 360 – 507,000
- DS – 386,000
- PS3 – 276,000
- Wii – 273,000
- 3DS – 143,000
And as we suggested a while back, it looks like EA’s Shadows of the Damned did bomb. IGN’s news director Jim Reilly said sales were ‘pathetic’. Conversely, Zelda: OoT on the 3DS sold 283,000 copies, which is clearly something to be proud of on a machine that isn’t really taking hold.
However, sales of software are down 12% as a whole, with Pachter blaiming the Wii, which was responsible for 75% of the drop.
If Sony announce specific figures for the PS3, we’ll update this post.
iriihutoR48
I don’t really get why people still buy the Xbox 360 over the PS3 in America. It has to do with the Kinect and its success with the casual market.
I’m not trying to sound like a fanboy and I own all three current gen of consoles and I buy the games I like the most for all of them but seriously for this year:
The Last Guardian, Gran Turismo 5, Little Big Planet 2, Twisted Metal, Killzone 3, Resistance 3, Final Fantasy vs XIII (maybe), ICO/Shadow of the Colossus, Agent, Yakuza 4, Yakuza of the End Ni No Kuni, SOCOM 5, Ratchet & Clank All 4 One, Uncharted 3, Disgaia 4, Dead Space Extraction, Sorcery, Motorstorm Apocalypse, inFamous 2, Tales of Graces f, Tales of Xilia (maybe), Ar Tonelico Quoga, MLB 11 The Show, Hyperdimension Neptunia, White Knight Chronicles 2 and Agent (maybe)
versus Gears 3, Forza and Kinect.
iriihutoR48
I forgot the God of War PSP games HD, Sly 4 and Dust 514 and don’t know why I added Gran Turismo 5 released last year.
tritium
i’m with you, I try not to be a fanboy but xbox exclusives this year are few and far between.
R4U Eldave0
I own both consoles and I have to admit, in terms of exclusives I do find the 360 majorly lacking. The 360 has the better online service, absolutely no doubt of that, so I’m now adopting the approach of buying third party online games for the 360 and anything else for the PS3 :)
cam the man
I think most Americans buy the 360 because it’s American, same with the PS3 in Japan.
I have both a PS3 and 360, if a game is multi-format I always buy it for the PS3. In fact the last game I bought for the 360 was Forza 3. It must be 6 months or more since I last turned on the xbox.
The Doom
The country of origin has nothing to do with it (no one cared about the Wii being made in Japan and it outsold both globally). As someone said, Kinect has a lot to do with it, but also the marketing Microsoft pushed for the Kinect/Xbox. Now that I think about it, I’ve seen far more commericals for the Kinect than another other current system (and notice how the marketing is mainly for the Kinect, not the Xbox). Plus since the Kinect is aimed at the non-gamers, the Xbox is now appealing to the casual market. The PS3 may have been pumping out more (and arguably better) exclusives, but unless Kevin Bulter does almost the same amount of marketing for the PS3, the results won’t change.
There is a negative side to this however: because of the current appeal to the casual market, hardcore games like Gears of War 3 and Forza 4 aren’t likely to push a lot of units and will mainly be bought by fans.
bunimomike
Couldn’t disagree more. Company loyalty to home companies is massive in some regions. Japan is a ferociously loyal region for their own consoles. Microsoft would love to crack it open but still can’t. The Americas is proving a little more reasoned but still enjoy their own products. From MS to buying American cars, etc. They’re big fans of not giving too much business to Japan and features in their news quite often (as well as films, TV programmes, etc).
Thankfully, and it’s something I idly wish all regions would follow, is where we are in Europe with loyalty. There’s basically very little and we go for what we fancy and fulfils our needs/wants/etc.
teddym
It has everything to do with xbox being american.
Awayze
At The Doom, yes the country of origin has to do with it. Nobody considers Wii a competitor to the PS3 and 360, nobody! It’s a console on it’s own that had no competition but it’s sales are dropping as it has competition from Move and KInect.
Xbox is American, so Americans will buy it more regardless what it has. PS3 sells more in Japan because it’s Japanese.
xS7SxSNIPER
i don’t want to sound like a fanboy or anything but, people just like halo,gears,forza,blue dragon,Mass effect,Pgr,left for dead,Alan wake,fable, then the ps3 games do you have a xbox?
R4U Eldave0
“NPD Results Suggest Massive Xbox 360 Lead”
^ Ohnoes! The 360s huge power adapter was bad enough without it’s leads following suit! :O *gets coat*
enroene
The PS3 is the console of choice that’s all that matters,American will currently buy an XBOX over PS3 period.As long as Sony don’t have close up shop am good.
Reality Check
MEGA LOL “although those numbers include units given away as part of a Windows 7 promotion”
So its about 350,000 really then i bet? Come on SONY! Do a F-IN $199 PS3? ? ? :-/
Quinlank
So these figures are all guesswork nowadays? Renders them a tad useless, no?
I don’t doubt the American made console is the top seller in America or anything, but speculation on numbers based on a forum post on another site hardly seems worth an article.
retro_
The Americans are very pro USA so of course the 360 is going to sell well and why shouldn’t it. In Japan the opposite is true. I like to think that in the EU, the real war is raging with buyers buying with their heads as well as their hearts. I think it’s just about neck and neck which is amazing with shops like GAME giving the 360 more floor space and hiding the PS3 at the back. Just an observation.