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Big three weigh in on February sales

By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpotPosted Mar 20, 2009 5:09 pm PT

Nintendo and Sony tout recession resistance; Microsoft unconcerned with Street Fighter IV sales breakdown, expects 360 Final Fantasy XIII to outsell PS3 edition.

Earlier today, GameSpot reported on the lessons that analysts gleaned from February's NPD sales figures. Now the big three console makers are contributing their own interpretations of the data. Nintendo and Sony in particular fell in lockstep with analysts, who noted the industry's ongoing sales strengths despite the economic downturn.

Nearly 850,000 gamers flocked to Street Fighter IV and Dan's curiously soggy dragon punch of doom.

"During tough economic times, people tend to stay home, taking 'staycations,'" a Nintendo representative told GameSpot, suggesting how the economy is playing to the company's strengths. "They enjoy experiences that everyone in the family can do together. Wii and Nintendo DS continue to offer the best video game experiences at the most affordable prices. We are seeing significant consumer response to our value proposition."

A Sony representative echoed that sentiment, noting, "If you take a look at the video game category, it tends to be resilient to economic changes. I think we're seeing very similar resilience in our internal data as well."

Sony senior vice president of marketing Peter Dille also released a statement regarding the numbers, hailing PS3 exclusive Killzone 2 for its fifth-place sales finish for the month, despite being released just two days before the end of the reporting period.

"We have no doubt this game will deliver a next-gen experience and will be responsible for driving hardware sales throughout the year," Dille said.

As for nonexclusives, a Microsoft representative commented on sales of Capcom's Street Fighter IV, which sold only marginally better on the Xbox 360 than the PS3 (446,000 sold compared to 403,000 sold).

"We're happy with the performance of Street Fighter IV on Xbox 360," the representative said. "It follows in the steps of franchises like Grand Theft Auto and Madden NFL which have historically been associated with PlayStation, that are now selling better on our platform."

The representative added that Microsoft expects entries in other formerly Sony-exclusive series such as Resident Evil 5 and Final Fantasy XIII to also sell better on the Xbox 360 than the PS3.

383 Comments

  • WolfGrey

    Posted Sep 14, 2009 10:51 am PT

    FF sell better on the 360? on crack much? its a originally sony based franchise in the mainstream FF games since FF7.not gonna change so no chance 360 out sellin. thats just out right arrogant. had to say it though a very old post haha

  • GamerEternal

    Posted May 22, 2009 11:54 pm PT

    God, you people are frigging retarded. Who cares what system you own and who cares which is better??? Do you ever even stop to think for half a second that what you're willing to argue about is completely and totally ****ing pointless?? All that matters is that you have a system you're happy with with. Personally I love my 360, owned a Wii but sold it because there was'nt much coming out in 2007 after Mario Kart. Now the Wii has a much stronger lineup and I would'nt mind getting another one because I miss SSBB and MP3 and TP. Every system is worth buying, they all have good games. Stop being so damned loyal, do you think Sony or Microsoft or even Nintendo really gives a crap about you. NOOOO!!! They just care about making money. So shut-up about the one thing that matters the least in this world and play your system and enjoy it. For crying out loud, we live in a fallen world, in the absolute darkest of times and you're ready to cut each other's heads off over what a ****ing game console. A game console. Games are supposed to be fun and stop saying fanboy it is degrading. You don't hear me calling you a n****r or a f****t or a c**t. Unless, you are a kid, fanboy is a term that we as a whole need to stop calling each other. Do you ever stop to think about how degrading that word is???

  • notorious98

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 12:13 pm PT

    I think what we can get from this article are the massive steps toward evening out the battle between Sony and Microsoft. The Microsoft rep said that they continue to expect former Sony exclusives to sell better on XBox. The problem is that a year ago, the XBox would have been selling close to double the number of games over Playstation. Not only that, but Sony has every right to tout Killzone 2's sales. Two days before reporting and it's number 5 for the month? That just shows the leaps and bounds that PS3 has made in the last year. So, you XBox fanboys keep touting your machine as great. I'll continue to play the majority of the same games as you, with essentially the same graphics. Then I'll switch my system over and watch some nice hi definition Blu-Ray movies.

  • jemoedr

    Posted Apr 22, 2009 10:45 am PT

    Believe what you want to mat, i am going to enjoy seeing i will have much better graphics, and more stuff in my version then you have with your Xbox, if you're not suffering from a RRoD xD

    Ohw and look out that it doesn't kill your game lol.

    Also in overall, the Xbox may have more games (microsoft pays ridiculously much for exclusives, the bad losers) But the exclusives on the PS3 are much better imo

  • mat1775

    Posted Apr 21, 2009 5:09 pm PT

    It's commen sense, duhhhh more ownder = more sales doesn't take a degree to know that

  • Princess_Rectum

    Posted Apr 19, 2009 7:00 pm PT

    Whoa, so you mean to tell me that since Xbox 360 has more owners than PS3, that means the 360 version will sell more!? Get outta here!

    ~_~

  • mat1775

    Posted Apr 8, 2009 6:30 am PT

    anny xbox game*

  • mat1775

    Posted Apr 8, 2009 6:29 am PT

    well final fantasy 10 probebly has better graphics than the xbox

  • gros__bill

    Posted Apr 3, 2009 6:02 am PT

    Had you saw the comparison made by gamespot?? I'm not really convince that the ps3 is really that better.... And as it go for now, it isn't worth the extra bucks you have to pay. If you talk about the ps3 xbox360 "competition" talk about the red ring or the optical reading problem of the 360, but not the graphic that are not better on the ps3

  • odoyle420

    Posted Mar 31, 2009 4:38 am PT

    frazzle00 you really think that a game that has been in development for 4-5 as a ps3 exclusive which everyone agrees has better graphics when made right will have worse graphics than the 360 version which is being made in two years at the very most. Also name a good square enix game on the 360. Yes, I am aware that square has not made any for the ps3 as of yet but that is because they are taking their time to make the games so they will be good and not rushed.

  • frazzle00

    Posted Mar 27, 2009 11:42 pm PT

    @Demonkillua

    Not according to most gaming sites. In terms of multi-platform titles, the Xbox 360 versions usually outperform their PS3 counterparts. Considering that Ken Kutaragi has claimed that the PS3 is significantly more capable than the 360, if I were a Sony fanboy like mat1775 I would be embarrassed and annoyed.

    @mat1775

    Dude go back to school. Learn to communicate properly. Spend less time playing games and educate yourself. At the moment the only thing you are succeeding in doing is embarrassing yourself.

  • mat1775

    Posted Mar 27, 2009 3:11 pm PT

    THERE'S TO MANY XBOX OWNERS, GET A PS3 You'll see the difference of graphics

  • Demonkillua

    Posted Mar 26, 2009 7:29 am PT

    System wars.... to, or to not participate.

    Xbox 360 has more games. they're are easier to make for the 360 compared to the PS3. If you want to compare at grapics, PS3 wins there buy just a tiny bit. On the other hand the PS3 takes a little longer to load the games. With the PS3 games, they are able to hold more memory and so can have longer games with less disk. (Games like MGS4 would be two disk on the 360).
    Overall I see the fight over what system is better pointless, because both have there ups and downs. "The representative added that Microsoft expects entries in other formerly Sony-exclusive series such as Resident Evil 5 and Final Fantasy XIII to also sell better on the Xbox 360 than the PS3." - On this matter, the 360's earlier release has probably much to do with it, and is most likely true.

  • HenNut

    Posted Mar 26, 2009 3:16 am PT

    Correction SalarianChemist,
    Final Fantasy Versus XIII is not going to be released on the 360, only Final Fantasy XIII is.

  • 10679

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 10:04 pm PT

    The best FF game is FFVIII.

  • dannyatkinson

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 8:09 pm PT

    Well Personally if FFXIII is like FFXII I won't buy it on ANY console.
    God that game sux.

  • 10679

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 5:25 pm PT

    @mat1775
    "Look at metal gear solid 4 dumb ass" actually you are wrong and gobbo00 is right. the native resoultion for mgs4 is not 1080p but 768p. therefore the mgs4 doesn't run on full 1080p resolution.

  • SquareEnixFan13

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 5:12 pm PT

    *2000 years into the future* "The system wars continue over the holonet, where there are heavy debates going between the likes of Frazzle00, mat1775, and countless others, there is no end in site, when will this end!? This is Square reporting, thank you, GameSpot."

  • mat1775

    Posted Mar 25, 2009 7:36 am PT

    Look at metal gear solid 4 dumb ass

  • 10679

    Posted Mar 24, 2009 8:10 pm PT

    @ SquareEnixFan13
    lol

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