Pachter projects March sales surge

Wedbush Morgan's headline-grabbing analyst believes Nintendo has lifted US Wii constraints, PS3 has bested X360 sales, Smash Bros. Brawl and Vegas 2 led industry to 47 percent software sales spike.

Last week, Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian predicted gaming software sales had grown by a heady 35 percent in March, defying the US' current period of reduced economic activity that former Federal Reserve chief Alan Greenspan has called a recession. According to Sebastian, consumers were drawn out of their spending cocoons by new releases such as Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2, and Army of Two, strong catalog sales of Call of Duty 4 and Rock Band, and improving PlayStation 3 sales.

Today, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter issued his predictions for the five-week period of March, concurring in large part with Sebastian but predicting a far more bullish take for the month. According to Pachter, software sales rocketed 47 percent in March to $850 million, with current-generation titles contributing $705 million and the remaining $145 million coming from legacy systems.

Unsurprisingly, Pachter named Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Ubisoft's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 as sales leaders for March, selling through 2 million and 600,000 units respectively. EA's controversial Army of Two also performed well at retail in its first month, Pachter believes, selling 300,000 units. Take-Two's two debuts--MLB 2K8 and Bully: Scholarship Edition--performed similarly well, with each selling respective 250,000 and 100,000 copies. In all, Pachter thinks 20 different titles sold more than 100,000 units in March, up from 16 during the same period of time last year.

Pachter also took a stab at hardware figures for the month, saying Nintendo's Wii would far-and-away be the console sales leader with 700,000 units. If that number seems disproportional to February's 432,000 units, Pachter says it is because Nintendo has decided to ship to the US its "fair share."

"Since April 2007, Nintendo has manufactured 1.8 million Wiis per month, implying that US share should be somewhere between 720,000 to 900,000 units per month (40 to 50 percent of total units produced). We believe that Nintendo has diverted a significant portion of its available supply to Europe since April, as the weakening dollar has made US sales less profitable for the company. However, we believe that European supply has caught up with demand, and think that the company likely shipped the US its 'fair share' in the month of March, particularly in light of Nintendo's need to support the launch of Super Smash Brothers Brawl."

As for the Wii's competitors, Pachter believes Sony's PlayStation 3 continues to make gains on the Xbox 360, outselling Microsoft's console 365,000 units to 310,000. On the handheld front, Pachter predicts yet another big month for the Nintendo DS, with the ubiquitous portable logging another 700,000 systems sold. Pachter also foresees Sony's PlayStation Portable as also having had a strong month, selling 300,000 units.

138 Comments

  • teknicz

    Posted Apr 17, 2008 4:23 pm PT

    Wow people care about how many thumbs down's they get? What difference does it make? Online pride?

  • Trintyofme

    Posted Apr 17, 2008 8:12 am PT

    haha people just don’t get it.. I like the 360 sure its got ups and downs but so does the PS3 I got one too.. but I know that its a preference, I don’t believe that either system is really better then another I think that they are better for the people that like them. There will always be the people that like Sony over Microsoft and vice versa I loved my PS2 never was in to Xbox until I got one then I liked that still I didn’t think OMG I must hate anyone who likes Sony that’s stupid, you like what you like its like saying if you like pasta over Chinese you are a fan boy to Italian umm no you just like pasta just get over it its called OPINIONS! o·pin·ion o·pin·ion [ə pínnyən]
    (plural o·pin·ions) n 1. personal view: the view somebody takes about an issue, especially when it is based solely on personal judgment In my opinion it's all a waste of time.

  • goldeneye_basic

    Posted Apr 16, 2008 11:21 am PT

    Darkride, do you honestly believe that your posts are not biased? You religiously defend the PS3 (look at how many posts you've made) and yet you say anyone that is pro Xbox 360 is a fanboy while acting like you are neutral. I agree with mysterylobster. You thought he was kidding because he said he liked Halo3. I'm pretty sure millions of people like that game. Gamespot gave it a 9.5. Anyone that goes into a forum to bash a game of that stature is just trolling. Just because a game is not for everyone doesn't mean a lot of other people don't like it.

  • mysterylobster

    Posted Apr 16, 2008 6:57 am PT

    darkride, it has nothing to do with fanboys. You and others get thumbs down due to your constant negativity, like when you suggested I must be joking because of my enthusiasm for a game which has gained almost universal acclaim.

  • darkride66

    Posted Apr 16, 2008 5:46 am PT

    @ the_real_VIP. Yep. No love around these parts for those that actually want to look at numbers and discuss what the game and console sales actually mean. Generally, if you've not 100% pro Xbox360, or your comments can even be construed as anything but "360 rulz", expect to get thumbs downed around these here parts. It's sad really. I remember what this site used to be like. You always had a few fanboys, but this gen it's almost become a religion.

  • the_real_VIP

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 11:56 pm PT

    Man, those comments' rating should be removed: some people have totally wrong info in their comments and they get lots of thumbs up because of fanboyism, but others have the correct info and gets thumbs down so much their comment is hidden.

  • K-Grogg

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 6:37 pm PT

    Lookin' good.

  • mysterylobster

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 2:09 pm PT

    "Is Michael Pachter on Gamespot's payroll? He gets a little too much attention from this site."

    He seems to be the primary source in many of Tom Magrino's articles. I think it's a case of lazy reporting.

  • pezus posted Apr 15, 2008 1:48 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    pezus

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 1:48 pm PT (hide)

    @Makaatsu
    Maybe the difference in Game sales is because of user base difference?

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 1:45 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 1:45 pm PT (hide)

    @ Makaatsu. I'll keep this short. I used the hardware table on vgcharts, plugged in the 4 weeks of Dec and selected Total (for worldwide sales). That's where my numbers come from. Anyone doesn't believe me, and why on earth would I lie, can easily go and verify this. MS is in last place this quarter. Recent mulitconsole titles such as DMC4 and Burnout are selling almost as good if not better on the PS3. This is a recent trend, but a trend none the less. You dismissing this based on past sales data doesn't change this fact. Hopefully for the 360's sake MS is taking notice and not just burying their head in the sand like you're implying they should do. I really can't understand your motivation in spinning this info. What does it matter to you that the PS3 has pulled ahead of MS? The Wii's still far in front and knowing the PS3 is doing better doesn't hurt my enjoyment of 360 titles anymore than the 360 leading thus far hampered my enjoyment of RFOM, or Uncharted, or Warhawk.

  • Makaatsu

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 1:31 pm PT

    @Darkride
    Those numbers i just linked were from vgchartz......
    So your numbers must have come from a different source because the numbers i just showed you were from there AND fthe NA part were backed up by NPD hence the link.

    And again i am neutral and speaking from an analysts point of view i don't think Microsoft will be worried by being 3rd for as long as this generation remains. They were ahead of the PS3 for 13 of the PS3's 16 months (if this month the PS3 comes ahead of the 360 ofc)

    The numbers that they are ahead by are by only 100k max a month as i keep mentioning. Those numbers will DECREASE as the months go by meaning that if even the 360 failed to sell one single console for a month they wouldn't sell 100k to catch up. It's what happens with all technology.

    Microsoft won't be concerned because they have the one thing going strong that they specialise in and that is software. You know as well as i'm sure everyone else does the $$$ is made by selling games. And right now the PS3 isn't even on the same page when it comes to game sales. For the month of march if you add up the figures for WORLDWIDE sales you get PS3 - 4.572m games sold
    360 - 6.511m games sold
    That is almost 50% more games sold on the 360.

    So i don't think Microsoft would be worried at all. I think it confirms what i said all along that the reason the PS3 sales appear to be better is because people who already own a 360 are buying one for various reasons. But selling a console is one thing, getting those people to buy games for that console is something totaly different and Sony should be more concerned about the fact that 2m gap is widening each month.

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 1:01 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 1:01 pm PT (hide)

    @ Makaatsu. Hey, don't tell me I'm wrong, I'm just taking what vgchartz shows for worldwide sales, and it sure isn't 2:1 for the 360. I didn't count them myself. Your numbers could just as easily be incorrect. You say 80000 to the 360 side, vgchartz says 80000 for the PS3 side. It's pretty close either way. End of the day, the 360 loses this quarter. How many months do they have to come in last before MS starts to get concerned? 4 months? 6 months of last place? I'm also sick of you throwing around that fanboy label. I'm a huge fan of the 360, and of the PS3. Just because I'm not blind to sales trends (3 months=Trend) doesn't mean I'm a PS3 fanboy, only that I can read. How many times do I have to repeat, I could care less if people think one console is better than the others. I don't get caught up in that nonsense, and console preference is going to differ from person to person. The only person looking to make this fanboy flame bait appears to be you.

  • Makaatsu

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 12:43 pm PT

    @Loucetios & Darkride

    Dear oh dear, see the difference is you guys are fanboys trying hard to come across neutrual. So because of that you dismiss facts and exchange them for your opinion. But okay lets look at it shall we...
    Dec 2007 figures. 360 sells - 1.26 million PS3 sells - 797k
    That is almost 2-1 sales....
    http://uk.gamespot.com/news/6184847.html

    Now to "the rest of the world and Japan"
    December 2007 sales
    PS3 - 1.05m
    360 - 668k

    Now combined Dec 2007 numbers = Ps3 = 1.847m
    360 = 1.928m

    So both of you are wrong that the PS3 sold more then 360 worldwide for that month.....

    As for the Japan comment you are right Loucetios 360 is doing major poor and selling like 2k a week! But so is the PS3 on home soil it is selling only 10k a week, that is only 8k more a week...

    So as i said in my initial post before you both went commando fanboy on us the 360 has had it's day in terms of shiffting more consoles then the PS3, that is expected. But the PS3 gains are slowing and that means it will take a very long time to catch up. At it's current rate it would take over 5 years to do so. So does that mean the PS3 is great because it has sold more per month? Clearly you would like us to think so!

  • puppiemaster

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 12:32 pm PT

    Love all my consoles, might even buy a new game for my PS3 this year, but it wont be MGS, I just don't like those types of games.

    Still playing my 360 (COD4) the most, then my Wii (GH3,Mario Kart, Mario Galaxy) and then my PS3 (GTA Vice City), glad I have 60Gig, would just be a paper weight otherwise.

  • Phazevariance

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 11:28 am PT

    Halo is hardly the best series IMO but I sitll love my 360 more than any of the other consoles I won or have owned. Yeah, I'll miss out on a few PS3 titles most likely, the exclusives anyways, but that's ok, because i'm happy with the exclusives the 360 has to offer. I"m freakin pumped for NG2!! Summer time can't get here fast enough!!

  • _JPH_

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 10:51 am PT

    @ loucetios:

    Halo 3 is not on the top 10 best review games list on gamespot? After gamespot changed its review system to be rounded to 0.5, no game earned a 10/10, so the highest score is 9.5. The orange box earned 9.5, crysis too, along with other few games. Halo 3 is one of the best FPS shooters in the world, and it has one of the best entertaining features in a video game. And about the FF games, I was one of the biggest FF fans ever. i finished each FF at least 3 times. But after FF 10, the game kinda lost its touch. I mean look at FF 12. What a joke. And FF7? Please, the game is too much overrated. They just make the story much more complex every time an FF 7 is released.

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 10:09 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 10:09 am PT (hide)

    mysterylobster. I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound condescending. I didn't think you actually believed that, but clearly you thoroughly enjoyed Halo 3. As for the reviews, I believe Legend of Zelda - OOT was the best reviewed game of all time, until Super Mario Galaxy game took that crown. A quick check of metacritic shows a number of titles rated higher than Halo 3, including LOZ: Twilight, Super Smash, Orange Box, Bioshock, the first Halo, RE:4 among others. I liked Halo3, finished it twice, but the online didn't do anything for me. I found it much the same as Halo 2, and always found the weapons too cartoony for my liking. The first Halo is still my favorite. I'm glad you enjoyed it, though.
    Update: I just re-read your post. I thought you said the best reviewed game. You're right. The reviewers and fans sure liked it.

  • thekey posted Apr 15, 2008 9:56 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    thekey

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:56 am PT (hide)

    PS3 is going to come out the winner in the end. It will still be here in 2012 The Wii is a sinking ship thats staying afloat because of all the consoles it's selling but, WHERE'S THESE PHENOMINAL GAMES SALES AT? The Wii has the power od well the gamecube. The Wii sucks I don't care what you all say. The Xbox360 has games but systems that don't last more than a year and half. PS3 the winner hands down!

  • mysterylobster

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:49 am PT

    Um, no. Halo 3 is one of the best-reviewed games of all time. This site, for example, gave it a 9.5. It's commonly held to be the greatest online experience of all time, and the conclusion to the epic storyline of the Halo saga. Its greatness cannot be denied.

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 9:47 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:47 am PT (hide)

    mysterylobster. I assume you're trying to be funny.

  • mysterylobster

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:44 am PT

    "give me a few exclusives that are only on the 360"

    Halo 3 is the best game in the history of history. Also, there's Forza 2 (more fun, more advanced than any other console racer) and Lost Odyssey, the best example of the Japanese RPG yet released.

  • godzillavskong

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:38 am PT

    "Money is like sixth sense and you can't make use of the other five without it." Somersat Maugham.

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 9:38 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:38 am PT (hide)

    HardcoreBunni. The Wii is the undisputed sales leader. You won't find me hiding that fact. Good for Nintendo. I think it's been a long time coming since they were on top. I have my personal preference with regards to which console gets the most play at home, but I wouldn't argue the 360 is better than the PS3 or the other way around. I 100% believe it depends on the individual consumer. @ Autoyclus. If you come up with another source other than vgchartz, I'd love to compare them. vgchartz seems to sync up with NPD numbers, UK sales charts and Famitsu, as well as to the offical ship numbers from all 3 console makers. There're differences at times but they've never been huge.

  • Serious posted Apr 15, 2008 9:37 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Serious

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:37 am PT (hide)

    Now PS3 is starting to get those 100+ million PS2 hold outs. Most were waiting for a price cut (done) and more games (done) before they upgraded to PS3. Its the same for the Xbox hold outs. the original Xbox sold 24 mil copies. the 360 only 18 mil so far. their hold outs are due to the red ring of death scare, bitter that that xbox was abandoned after only 5 years. While neither system has convinced its consumer base to upgrade. The Wii on the other hand is within reach of the game cube numbers. with the gamecube selling 21.17 mill and the Wii currently at 21.12 million. I believe this is why Nintendo is slow with production of the Wii. They are worried that they are about to top off and see sells slow down. As for the comment by others that no more good games after July wil cause a slow down. What about Resistance 2, Little big planet or the Final Fantasy series? God of War 3, Killzone 2 need I go on. Face it Sony is pushing out some of their best games thus far this year. And with firmware upgrades making the internal system better every few weeks we can only expect greater things in 2008.

  • Hvac0120

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:35 am PT

    Is Michael Pachter on Gamespot's payroll? He gets a little too much attention from this site.

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 9:27 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:27 am PT (hide)

    Autolycus. Economists would differ with you, government spending 100% helps the economy. We're seeing that in the emerging markets right now as well, government spending on infrastructure is employing people and raising GDP's all over South America, India and China. Don't discount this effect in the US. I know, I know. Spending yourself to a better economy. Sounds sketchy but it drives growth.

  • Loucetios posted Apr 15, 2008 9:26 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Loucetios

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:26 am PT (hide)

    HardcoreBunni

    and why is it better? because of exclusives? give me a few exclusives that are only on the 360, that does not mean games on the pc as well (i own bioshock on my pc and will get mass effect when that is released)

  • Proust posted Apr 15, 2008 9:25 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Proust

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:25 am PT (hide)

    vgchartz has been overtracking the 360 for sometime now. They need to fess up and adjust their equations. The PS3 has beat the 360 in every major country for every week in 2008. My guess is that when MGS4 comes out in June, we may see some direct week by week sales competition between the PS3 and Wii. As for PS3 future games, no company has seen more hits and has more studios than Sony. I can't wait for the follow up from the Ico group.

  • HardcoreBunni

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:24 am PT

    darkride66:
    The wii and the ps3 came out at roughly the same time right? What's the difference between the wii sales and the ps3 sales? What, sorry...I can't hear you? That's what I thought... XD
    And by the way: the 360 IS beter than the PS3 as a games console.

  • Autolycus

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:22 am PT

    Darkside, as a general rule that I follow, a source is not valid until it has the same results of a separate study. Do you have anything reliable besides vgchartz? i could host my own site that says anything i want it to say and site some sources.

  • godzillavskong posted Apr 15, 2008 9:22 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    godzillavskong

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:22 am PT (hide)

    @darkride66, Well put. If I didn't already own a 360 I might have bought a PS3 by now. I still plan on getting one, especially with Blu-ray becoming the sole next-gen DVD format, but for me, most games on the PS3 I can get on the 360 and thats why I'm waiting for their big exclusives. If you don't own either a 360 or a PS3 then I say buy both.

  • Autolycus

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:15 am PT

    darkside, the u.s. government is getting that money, that we spend, from China, and the middle east, so the government spending doesnt help anyone...

  • Loucetios posted Apr 15, 2008 9:14 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    Loucetios

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 9:14 am PT (hide)

    Makaatsu

    ummm hate to break this to u, but the Ps3 in Europe anyway is selling better than the ps2 did, so how is it not doing well worldwide? and to ur previous post, and to bring up vgchartz, in America the ps3 is not selling much over the 360 but in Europe its a constant 30k+ and in japan the 360 can barely pull off 2k units in a week!

  • olthof

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 8:47 am PT

    yay! fanboy wars lol

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 8:44 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 8:44 am PT (hide)

    Makaatsu said " If both consoles were released on the same day there would still have been more 360's sold "
    You see, that's where you're wrong. Go to vgchartz, click "charts". Go to hardware from launch and it's clear that when you line up the respective launches, the PS3 is selling better than the 360 since each of their launches. That's what you refuse to comprehend. As for your Dec numbers, that's why I don't take you seriously. There was no 2-1 sales for the 360 over Christmas. Worldwide the PS3 outsold the 360 this last Christmas season, and since Dec 1 to last week has moved almost one million consoles more than the 360 worldwide. I'm not interested in getting into a little console war with you, or arguing about one system's superiority over the other. I'm just debating sales and why their happening, and until you're willing to accept the reality of these sales numbers it's really hard to take anything you say seriously.

  • Makaatsu

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 8:27 am PT

    @Darkride

    No the point is only 3 months ago at xmas the 360 was selling 2m and the PS3 was selling 700k. That 2-1 ratio is huge difference and it went on for best part of a year.
    The PS3 is doing much better now but that isn't down to the console having some new great games or some great new features or even media praise. It's down to the fact 20m 360's have already been bought and after 3 years their peak is over so month to month sales will drop off until xmas 2008 when the next batch of 360 exclusives are out (Gears2/Fable2/Ninja Gaiden/Left4Dead etc..) after that the sales will then return to what they are now which is decreasing.

    So the PS3 will reach it's peak around July time, this is when it's exclusive games are released. After that it's sales will continue to decrease again. Point being the days of selling 2m in a month for either console are well and truely over. The PS3 is nearing it's 2nd Bday and th 360 is nearing it's 3rd. The only thing that could spur on PS3 sales well into next year is games but around xmas time they don't have much to offer, where as the 360 will have but even that won't re-ignite their console sales. The 360 has reached it's peak and will slowely reach it's average of sales a month which right now it's doing. The PS3 is first not because of how well it's doing but because the competition is older. If both consoles were released on the same day there would still have been more 360's sold simply because for only 2 months since it's been released has the PS3 beat the 360 in sales. And normally it's the newer system that has a period of selling more.
    So now is the time for both companies to think about why they were 2nd and 3rd and not 1st, the success of the Wii is largley forgotten by people on here. The honeymoon period for all consoles is over, the only way now is down for all of them.

  • Fondness

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 8:27 am PT

    Interesting.

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 8:09 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 8:09 am PT (hide)

    godzillavskong said "but I believe if Sony came out with a stronger lineup of games, then the PS3s would have sold."
    You see, you're coming at this from the point of a 360 owner. There is no reason to switch if you already own a 360. However, if you don't already have a 360, the PS3 has an excellent lineup of mulitconsole games. If you don't buy a single PS3 exclusive title there are still huge games to own on the PS3 and many overlook this on these forums. If you only want one console, the PS3 not only gives you the divx and Blu-ray functionality, but most of the best titles available are on the PS3 as well as the 360, and you don't have to pay extra every month to enjoy 100% of the games as the developers intended. That's pretty compelling to potential buyers.

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 8:02 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 8:02 am PT (hide)

    @ Autolycus. The PS3 launch certainly had it's bad press but really was about par with the 360's launch, in terms of sales and launch titles. I think more was expected of the PS3 though. I've always measured the PS3's success vs what the 360 did because that was really the only frame of reference for this gen, and they both did the same from launch. I agree with you, though. Sony did seem to listen to what people were saying and we some some features added, more coming, and a cheaper console that no doubt has helped them. As for the economy, don't forget that the weaker dollar has been doing wonders for your exports (which has evened out the impact of the housing crisis on GDP) and the US gov spending shows no signs of slowing, and this helps the overall economy. Corp profits and household income is at historic highs as well. As far as recessions go, this is shaping up to be a baby compared to 2000-2001. Some economists are still predicting a soft landing. Don't confuse analysts with the media. The media wants you to read and generally isn't accountable for their stories. Analysts are professionals who are paid and employed based on how they do during economic downturns like this. Lieing just to boost investor confidence will bury them, and institutions and advisors notice these things and remember these things, even if the public doesn't, because we have to answer to the public on our decisions. Analysts are paid to be right and they value their jobs. Your recession, if it happens, won't have anything to do with money in people's pockets and everything to do with an overheated economy that had to cool sometime and banks that should have used some common sense in their lending practices. Sorry bout the length of the post.

  • godzillavskong

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 7:49 am PT

    I know people are debating that the reason the PS3 sales have increased is because of the price drop and maybe with the Blu-ray victory, but I believe if Sony came out with a stronger lineup of games, then the PS3s would have sold no matter the price. I own a 360 and want a PS3 but I'm still waiting for that "must have" title to be released. My point is that if the PS3 had a few killer games on it right now, I would go buy it even for 499.00. I guess we'll see when MGS4 comes out, then we wil probably see PS3s fly off the shelves.

  • vicsrealms

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 7:40 am PT

    March will be nothing compared to the release of GTA4 in April. The only thing that sucks is that I have to wait 13day, 14 hours, 19 minutes, 56s.55s..54s..53s....aaaahaahhhhhH!!!!!

    ~mischievous grin~

  • Autolycus

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 7:25 am PT

    darkride66 - on the Analyst side I would normally agree with you. But here( in the u.s.) our dollar is tanking, investments are plumetting, gas prices and price of living is going up by 15-20% and the salary increases for the past 10 years has barely hit 3% on average..... see the problem? Because these businesses didnt pay their people well, on a massive scale, less and less people have more money to spend, on a massive scale, which is a very high factor in creating a recession. So no, I don't trust analyst in a recession.

  • Autolycus

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 7:18 am PT

    Darkside - I think the steady sales, if not increase for the PS3 is that their system changes kept getting better. If you bought their first system you were only lucky in the fact that it had backwards compatibility. The titles werent really available (Besides eilderscrolls) and the exclusives werent must haves.



    Don't forget to take into account that the PS3 launch was a disaster. Besides the price, their wasn't any reason to own one (here in the u.s. anyways). People were trying to flip them on e-bay and even that failed @ the launch. People in general were skeptical of why this system was so expensive when it didnt really have more more to offer on the GAMING (blu-ray still isnt really needed, despite the uncompressed everything on MGS4).



    Sony was actually smart enough to catch it's errors and fix them, thats why, as they changed things, their sales increased. Also becareful of news sources. That would be like telling me to get reliable political news from Fox...

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 7:13 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 7:13 am PT (hide)

    Autolycus said "you'll be seeing a lot of analyst say positive things to try and get people to invest in companies. Most of it wont be true, but if you give bad news in these times, people will pull their investments."
    Don't think too highly of analysts, eh? This makes no sense. If things are bad, analysts tell you to go defensive, or stand firm and wait out bad market cycles. They don't just start blowing sunshine for the sake of keeping people happy, and you know why, because then they'd be fired and no one would ever listen to them. Analysts aren't right all the time, but the notion that they would lie to keep people invested isn't true in practice. All markets move in cycles, and knowing where to position yourself during these cycles is key. If things look bad, most don't hesitate to say get the hell out, for now.

  • hotdork70minus1

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 7:05 am PT

    3 good games coming out this year isn't enough. PS3 still isn't worth it and I could care less about blue ray. 360 has too many good games to pass up.

  • darkride66 posted Apr 15, 2008 6:52 am PT (does not meet display criteria. login to show)

    darkride66

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 6:52 am PT (hide)

    @ Autolycus. I've gone out of my way to state this isn't a PS3 vs 360 superiority contest, it's not and I don't intend it that way. This is just a frank discussion of console sales. Yes, the PS3 did drop it's price, but that's not the point where the sales diverged from the 360's sales, and the PS3 is still the more expensive system. Before the price drop the PS3 sold almost exactly as the 360 did from their respective launches. Also, the point where the PS3 and Wii became available isn't even a blip on the 360's sales charts. The availability of the new consoles did slow the 360's sales, but why is the PS3 selling better under these circumstances then the 360 is? Have a look at the chart for "hardware from launch" on vgchartz and let me know what you think. After the 360's second Christmas, sales growth started to flatline for the 360, but when you compare the PS3's growth, it's hardly slowed down worldwide since the end of it's second Christmas season. Once again, I don't want this to end up a fanboy war, I like both systems, I'm just wondering what's different that is driving this surge in PS3 sales relative to the 360 during the same time frame from their launch.

  • Autolycus

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 6:26 am PT

    darkride66 - not hard to figure out what sony did. They dropped the price. Plain and simple people arent willing to adopt a $500+ dollar technology. Sure the wealthier ones are, but as a whole (which is what sells systems) $500 was too high. On top of the $400 price tag, the end user also gets a possible future medium(im still thinking blu-ray will be dead in the air within 3 years, which means it wasnt successful).



    As for MS, not hard to figure that out either, The Wii AND the PS3 are available. They aren't the only fish in the sea anymore so of course their sales (to retailers) are going to drop.



    What you are trying to state, doesnt actually state anything other then the obvious. Find a better reason to try and swindle people into believing that the ps3 is superior, because its not. It has its postives and negatives just like the 360 and plain and simple, if PS3 didnt have blu-ray the sales would be drastically different.

  • Autolycus

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 6:21 am PT

    you'll be seeing a lot of analyst say positive things to try and get people to invest in companies. Most of it wont be true, but if you give bad news in these times, people will pull their investments from it. So from here out anything an analyst said is scewed to help business and possibly hurt the investing parties.

  • aBathingApe_

    Posted Apr 15, 2008 6:10 am PT

    Pfft. PS3. I have all three and to be honest, I hate waiting for games on the PS3. As far as 360 goes there are tons of games to play right now. So why anyone would want to waste time buying a PS3, besides the Blu-Ray god only knows. MGS4 should be quality though ;o

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