Sony's PlayStation 3 selling faster at release than Xbox 360?

We've seen oodles of showdowns (regarding sales or otherwise) between the current consoles, and it always seems that the financial numbers games prove the most interesting (or downright incorrect). While we'd already heard that the Xbox 360 didn't fare so well compared to its predecessor, now we're hearing that Microsoft's latest has actually lost the first-four-month battle to Sony's PlayStation 3 -- at least in America. According to a spokesperson from NPD, "figures show that the PS3 is selling slightly faster in the US than the Xbox 360 did at the same stage in its release," which comes after the somewhat disappointing (but unsurprising) European release. Unfortunately, the charts, graphs, and nitty gritty that never seems to follow such bold claims are expectedly missing in this instance as well, but we're sure a counter report of some kind isn't too far behind.

[Via GigaGamez]

[chris @ Mar 25th 2007 11:12PM]

Yes its possible then theirs the obvious reason the 360 at launch even 2-3 months later was still sold out, for months i recall the 360 on ebay for over 900$ seems quite explainable doesn't it?

[Jon @ Mar 25th 2007 11:21PM]

Unfortunately for Sony and the PS3...no one compares What is to what was. The Xbox 360 is currently outselling the PS3 by a huge margin (about 125,000 last month).

It doesn't make sense to compare the PS3 sales of today to the Xbox 360 sales of yesterday. Or the PS3 graphics of tommorrow...to the 360's graphics of today.

Heres food for thought:
IGN has compiled a list of the best games coming to PS3 and 360 this spring.

PS3 list: http://ps3.ign.com/articles/775/775334p1.html
Xbox 360 list: http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/775/775386p1.html

[chris @ Mar 26th 2007 11:08AM]

The PS3 has been much harder to get than the xBox 360. I just purchased one this weekend from Amazon. They still have them in stock if anyone's interested.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0009VXAM0?ie=UTF8&tag=christianande-20&linkCode=xm2&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B0009VXAM0

[Tomas @ Mar 25th 2007 11:26PM]

Perhaps they would sell more if it were cheaper. Oh wait, it's "cheap" already.

http://www.playfuls.com/news_06695_Sony_UK_Boss_Calls_the_US_a_Land_of_Cheap_People_to_Justify_PS3_Price.html

[Colin @ Mar 25th 2007 11:32PM]

According to Wiki (thus NPD) the Xbox 360 sold 1.01 million by end of Feb 2006 (3 months and a few days).

http://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Xbox_360&oldid=45008875#2006

For PS3 to end of Feb 2007 (so roughly same time period) these guys have the PS3 at 1.06 million ( http://www.dsrevolution.com/article.php?articleid=1524 )

Whatever...just make good games for both m'kay and make those that plunked down their cash happy.

[Xbox 360 @ Mar 25th 2007 11:35PM]

So the message here is that the PS3 is beating the Xbox360 in sales. Or rather, it would be if they hadn't been beaten to the punch by a year.

To quote Gates
"IM IN UR BUSINESS
STEALING UR MARKET SHARE"

If he didn't say that I'm sure he would've

[bob cobb @ Mar 25th 2007 11:42PM]

I think the only reason its sold more at release is because of the number that are available, as well as the amount of people who love the PS2. Everyone knows the ps2 was dominant in the last gen, so people will blindly buy the next gen PS just because its a playstation.

[Jeff @ Mar 25th 2007 11:43PM]

"now we're hearing that Microsoft's latest has actually lost the first-four-month battle to Sony's PlayStation 3 -- at least in America. "

Pretty much a given that it's true of Japan as well. In fact, with Japan taken into account, it's probably outselling the 360 worldwide *right now*. (It's outselling the 360 by about 120,000 units per month in Japan.)

"It doesn't make sense to compare the PS3 sales of today to the Xbox 360 sales of yesterday. "

Of course it does. The 360 has 18 months' worth of game library and brand recognition built up. It always takes time for the game library to catch up and for things to sort of shake themselves out. At this early stage, the *only* possible way to try to predict the two systems' future is by comparing their respective launches. (Though see above - the PS3's currently selling about 150,000 units per month in Japan, to the 360's 15,000. So I doubt it's really that far behind the 360 at all, even comparing current sales.)

Look at it this way. If the 360's sales are at a certain point now 18 months after launch, and the PS3 is doing better than the 360 did at launch, then it stands to reason that the PS3 will be doing better in 18 months than the 360 is now. The question then is how well will the 360 be doing by then? Do you really think its sales are going to rise much above where they are now?

[Jon @ Mar 26th 2007 12:11AM]

"The question then is how well will the 360 be doing by then? Do you really think its sales are going to rise much above where they are now?"

You tell me? When Halo 3 drops...you don't think there will be a bit of a spike in Sales this fall? Especially when the PS3 ain't got jack in comparison? Did you read the PS3 games list for Spring compared to the 360's? Do you realize all the good exclusives belong to Microsoft and even many 3rd party titles are seeing light of day first on the 360. Why is that relevant you may ask??? Because I'm under the impression that it's the Library of games and software that ultimately consumers will follow. The 360 has the best titles right now and for the near and distant future that will go unchallenged by the PS3.

So I really don't see a scenario where the sale of 360's will lessen...but rather increase. They haven't even had their first price drop yet for Petes sake. The PS3 on the other hand...if it weren't for the loyal Japanese market Sony would be totally screwed.

[SlappyMcTaint @ Mar 26th 2007 8:01PM]

Good Points, Jeff. Another point is that the 360 had NO next-gen competition when it was released either, so they had a huge base to tap into, whereas the PS3 is having a tougher go at it because of Wii60 competition.

The only reason I see the 360 selling more and more boxes is to replace all of the burnt out Red Lights of Death boxes.

[Castle @ Mar 26th 2007 12:03AM]

According to the NPD the PS3 has been selling faster the 360 at the same point in its lifetime; however, the Wii has them both beat. But the test for the PS3 is how it performs for the rest of the year.

[7of7 @ Mar 26th 2007 12:12AM]

The fact of the matter is that there are a ton of websites that churn out negative press about Sony because these websites have some sort of irrational hatred. Most of the negative press is either twisted facts or outright lies. It's the same thing that's happening to Vista and the very reason that companies should ignore the internet blogoterahedron if they know what's good for them. There are a few company that all the sheeple hate, Microsoft and Sony come to mind. There are a few companies that the sheeple love. Apple and Nintendo come to mind. The problem is that websites like to take the Slashdot approach to news and just churn out bullshit then rely on their brainwashed visitors to carry the message.

[MthdDirector @ Mar 26th 2007 12:16AM]

I wouldn't be surprised if this were true. There's a whole contingent of videophiles who had been waiting for the PS3. Just read the AV forums. That early adopter crowd will buy early, and buy hard, but they're an isolated group, and only a small fraction of the console's target demo. Are they still seriously waiting for games in 1080p? I wonder.

Once you've sold to the technophiles, how many "mainstream" gamers out there can afford the $599 price tag? The only reason the PS3 hasn't hit the brick wall, is because of Blu-Ray... so it's still not gaming which is driving sales.

What's going to happen to the PS3 when Blu-Ray players become affordable? Say, for instance, by the end of this year, you can buy a Blu-Ray player for $399 or $299? THAT's the brick wall for Sony. That's when they're hoping that they have enough PS3 *content* to support the high price. Because for many people cheaper Blu-Ray alternatives mean one less reason to buy.

[matthew House @ Mar 26th 2007 12:22AM]

I'm a Nintendo fanboy so I don't care what happens to either MS or Sony but, just based on what I've seen personally at stores, the 360 is much, much more popular than the PS3.

They are both, of course, getting hopelessly thrashed by the Wii.

[Evan @ Mar 26th 2007 12:25AM]

You cannot compare the first 4 months of PS3 sales to the first 4 months of 360 sales because they were launched at different times!

Historically, the first console to launch always has slow initial sales as consumers take a wait and see approach, and the last console to launch always has an artificial boost. The Nintendo64 outsold the original Playstation by a ratio of 3:1 in their respective first 4 months (2,130,750 verses 685,500) in North America, however the Playstation went on to outsell the Nintendo64 36 million to 20 million in North America. Even the orginal XBox outsold the PS2 in their first 4 months (1,949,500 verses 1,584,000), and the PS2 went on to crush the XBox 44 million to 16 million in North America. [numbers from vgcharts.org]

The PS3 outselling the 360 in their respective first 4 months is no different than the Nintendo64 and XBox outselling their competition in their first 4 months. It in no way predicts the winner.

[kingofwale @ Mar 26th 2007 12:26AM]

>What's going to happen to the PS3 when Blu-Ray players become affordable? Say, for instance, by the end of this year, you can buy a Blu-Ray player for $399 or $299?

if Blu-Ray tech is to fall by 4 folds, it will only imply that the cost of building a PS3 will also fall, Don't be surprise if Sony cuts down PS3 prices by the end of this year. Here's Gamespot's report.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6167725.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=newsfeatured&tag=featurednews;title;1


I think the whole posting implies. Sony is not doing AS bad as some of fanboys claims, and probably don't deserve some of the bashing they are getting.

[Aaron @ Mar 26th 2007 12:33AM]

I'm a little skeptical here. I remember it being hard to find the 360 for several months when it launched, but the PS3 seemed to be sitting on shelves much sooner. Maybe it's just me...

[iammeiam @ Mar 26th 2007 12:34AM]

Re: The PS3 selling 150K/mo in Japan to the 360s 15K

That's really, really incorrect. Between January 29th and March 18th, the PS3 sold roughly 180K consoles in Japan. In that same seven-week timeframe, the 360 sold about 30K. The PS3 having roughly six times the sales in that time is a huge difference, but it's nowhere near ten times as much.

Also, month-to-month comparisons between the 360 and the PS3 just don't work for a variety of reasons. 360s supply constraints lasted for a long time, depressing its sales, and the PS3 just launched in Europe, which may have a huge impact in its sales.

[ricanjoe @ Mar 26th 2007 12:41AM]

UMm.. stupid fanboys, any way, both great consoles exept the ps3 is better. NOW IF YOU JUST COULD AFFORD IT, This does'nt mean You can talk smack about it, GET A BETTER JOB sell drugs for all i care JUST DONT HATE

[jorge @ Mar 26th 2007 12:49AM]

Heh,
I read last week in the newspaper that the nintendo wii is outselling them both.
I'm not a fanboy by any means, but my cousin is. He tells me that everyday when he goes to target that he always sees a ps3 and an xbox 360, but never a nintendo wii.

[Anonymous @ Mar 26th 2007 12:51AM]

That report is bogus. The 360 was SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE in the US until MARCH of 2006. The PS3 didn't even sell out till January. Is this due to higher numbers of consoles shipped to market? Hell no. The PS3's are made alot slower than the 360 because of the shortage of the lasers used for Blu-Ray. The PS3 is sitting on shelves because almost noone can afford the damn thing.

The Xbox 360 is the CLEAR winner. The Wii is in another category completely (Proclaimed by Nintendo themselves) so I won't say the Wii is the 4 month sales winner. The PS3 is dead last, and Sony knows it better than anybody.

[John Branca @ Mar 26th 2007 1:19AM]

Yes apparently you never took grade 8 economics. Supply vs. Demand. Obviously the PS3 has more consoles in circulation.

[mooo @ Mar 26th 2007 12:55AM]

That's funny.

NPDs own Feburary sales figures show a sharp dropoff in PS3 sales (more than any analyst predicted), which means the hardcore market willing to buy at $600 has already been satisfied and it'll be a hard climb from here on out until they drop the price.

[ryan @ Mar 26th 2007 12:57AM]

Engadget ending every new article with a question mark and refusing to use a predicate?

[AKM74 @ Mar 26th 2007 12:59AM]

Comparison is not really fair. XBOX sell 1.01 million units when they were alone. There was not PS3 or wii around. No choice. And now… expensive PS3 outsell XBOX even when there is a 100 xbox’s lying around on Best Buy floor??? Interesting.
I was got my PS3 day after me so this “Paris xbox boat event” and I’m disappointed... It didn’t play my PAL DVD’s :_) everything else, I more the happy.
I bout FN round 3 , and there is First Person Mode in the game with bunch of other ESPN extras. It’s exclusive for PS3. So even crossplatform games still exclusive for Sony ???
I wander how 37 Gig GTA4 for PS3 will be different from 7 Gig GTA4 for Xbox 

[kingofwale @ Mar 26th 2007 1:09AM]

>That report is bogus. The 360 was SOLD OUT EVERYWHERE in the US until MARCH of 2006.


and Microsoft fanboys are always the first to call out Sony launch as one of the worst. I believe Sony is the only console company that limited their launch to just 3 countries in the beginning,

Horrible publicities they got

but they were able to satisify the demand in those countries withint 2 months. and now European launch is smooth.


Time to learn something Nintendo.

[John Branca @ Mar 26th 2007 1:19AM]

Even if some figures are off, the fact that it's this close, when Sony charges 200 dollars more (there weren't that many 20 gb versions out in circulation because Sony loses more money on those), is encouraging to say the least.

Why is the European launch disappointing? Most people preordered their consoles because of the huge supply.

I don't know why Engadget has to hate on the PS3, it's a great machine. :)

PS so is my 360.

[Player1 @ Mar 26th 2007 1:29AM]

It doesn't matter how many people buy the PS3 when they all have bad judgement. What does that prove?

[Jamie @ Mar 26th 2007 2:10AM]

It proves they have one gadget that you dont have. You dont have it because you cant afford it. They can afford it because they make more money than you. They make more money than you do because they made a great judgement and stayed in school. Deal with it.
I find it amusing how people are shocked that the PS3 is doing well, and scrambling to explain it off. Do you really think everyone buys into all these blog hate? There are actually people out there who think for themselves, know what they want, and go for it. Simple as that. Look past your set of friends... there are actually people that just appreciate a good product... who knew!

[Joel Purvis @ Mar 26th 2007 1:37AM]

Games sell consoles. I planned on buying both, but so far I haven't seen a single game for the PS3 that makes me want one. I bought a 360 to play Halo 2 in Hi def, & for Halo 3. I think their are a TON of gamers waiting for Halo 3 to launch before buying a 360. It's definitely a console selling title. PS3 owners bought it to play what? GTA? Are you freaking kidding me? The main thing driving PS3 sales right now is that it's a half priced Blu Ray player with a free game console thrown in that may somday have a game on it worth playing, & if you hook it up to scientific measuring equipment might be more pixels on the screen then the same game on the 360, albeit undetectable to the naked eye. When the PS3 puts out a game that even approaches the graphics of Gears of War, then maybe they can talk.

[samuraicommando @ Mar 26th 2007 1:41AM]

If you do not own a ps3 you do not know what you have been missing.

[Katie @ Mar 26th 2007 1:51AM]

I really Like the Xbox and Xbox will be popular for along time!

http://www.myspace.com/babyphatgolden

[Muu @ Mar 26th 2007 1:51AM]

of course it's going to outsell the 360 -- there was a huge number of people back then that were waiting for the PS3.

[ibelli @ Mar 26th 2007 2:12AM]

This is encouraging. But only that. There have been a bunch of good points made in this comment blog, but the most poignant being: "The PS3 had better have some serious software surprises up their sleeve, or else all that "first four months" crap will mean nothing. Developers are watching the sales tickers looking for that installed user-base. This news will be encouraging, but they need back it up with good software. Especially when Halo 3 drops.

[SmilingAssassin @ Mar 26th 2007 2:24AM]

No console has ever had good sales figures at $600 in history. No console has ever had good sales figures at $400 for that matter. The ps2 sold for shit when it was at it's original proce point. When the price dropped it started flying off the shelves. Which machine do honestly think is gonna sell for the price of a Wii first. When either one of these consoles hit that mark they will scram off the shelves. It may be weird to think about but the 360 is already a year and a half into a six year life cycle. By the time Sony catches up MS will be ready to start talking Nexy Gen all over again and Sony will still be reeling from the first two years of incurred debt from the PS3. Nintendo throughout this entire cycle is simpky filling a war chest full of money and working on the next gimmick that has already been selling at a mall kiosk for two years. (I still love my Ping Pong game from two years ago that is exactly like a Wii.)

[James @ Mar 26th 2007 2:57AM]

"PS3 sucks" you tell me
"Xbox is the best" you sell me
stop selling, I own the xbox already
What do you think I am, crazy?
I am a gamer, I own all three
the 360, the wii, and yes, the PS3
and while you may hate the ps3 all day
that is one game experience you cant speak of today
Keep spending your time PS3 dissing
I will be enjoying the consoles that you have plus the one you are missing
You may read Engadget, and Joystig too
and believe they hate the PS3 like you do
but guess what? The joke is on you
Cus your favorite blogsite, they have the PS3 too!

[Mike @ Mar 26th 2007 3:04AM]

You have to factor in that a good chunk of those sales (probably not much but enough to balance a "slight lead") are non-gamers looking to get a Blu-Ray player cheaper than the insanely overpriced (intentionally so) standalone models. That "attach rate" the PR windbags are always yapping about is what matters. It signifies the pairing of a game(s) with the console.

The article doesn't have additional data to support the sales in a gaming sense, as opposed to a home theater sense, so this is basically small caliber ammo for Sony fanboys.

[BigD @ Mar 26th 2007 4:54AM]

If the irrational hate is against Microsoft and Sony, then why isn't the XBox 360 getting the same hate?

[Andy @ Mar 26th 2007 5:30AM]

Does it matter if PS3 does better in the first 4 months? 360 has been delivering next gen gaming to many more people for over a year now. While PS3 is talking about having games like GRAW/2, R6Vegas, FEAR, Oblivion 360 gamers have had all that and more. While Six-Axis is promoted as new technology and developers are being encouraged to find out how to use the thing Wii owners have had a much better motion control for some time on a system that is aimed at using it in most games. Playstation is a huge brandname and is bound to do well, but it's market share is going to be much less this time round and that in itself is a huge loss for Sony. Worse still the cost of including the blu-ray drive will mean that MS can make bigger profits from the 360 than Sony can from PS3 and can drop prices before them. If BluRay doesnt win the format war or worse still the adoption of any new format is less than expected over DVDs (with rapidly dropping prices for players and movies) or alternatives like HD movies on demand or IPTV, then the impact on Sony could be even worse. Sony's grip on exclusive titles is slipping with Capcom realising the potential of other formats creatively and financially. Why does any of this matter to gamers? Because gamers are the ones who benefit this time round - Sony has to work hard to maintain or increase its lead, MS will try and close the gap or even push ahead of Sony and Nintendo are opening up a hole in the market that could prove the most profitable of all. So next-gen gaming is in a healthy state, the rich tech-heads and fanboys buy PS3s, while the more discerning gamer buys a 360 or Wii or both and the uber-rich buy all 3 and a gaming-PC. Nobody is likely to be disapointed, but 4 or 5 years down the road MS and Nintendo are going to be in a much stronger position to go ahead with new consoles while Sony may have to prolong the life-span of the PS3 to justify its high development and production costs (cell/BluRay). Purely speculation but should Apple enter the market with an igame/iconsole/istation/ibox/iwii to go with your ipod,iphone,ipodtv,imac Sony might be the least capable of coping with the impact.

[JET @ Mar 26th 2007 7:21AM]

I've said this before and I'll say it again: 360 is just not selling well anywhere in the world. The just broke 5 million US sales in March and are have only sold 3.75m elsewhere (for a grand total of 8.38m). Coversely, Wii is already at 5.2m worldwide sales in four months.

PS3 was already at 1.8m before the European launch. I know the Euro launch was softer than [the media] expected, but that's to be expected with a very expensive console. But give it time - the library will grow and the price will drop.

Meanwhile, 360 looks like it will top out at 15m sales. That's too bad, because it really is a nice system. But the list of things MS did wrong (RROD, no HDMI, small HD, no built-in wireless, no mouse/keyboard control scheme, $50 LIVE, pricey proprietary peripherals, no internal HD-DVD, Elite) keeps growing.

JET

[dusty @ Mar 26th 2007 9:01AM]

Hmm. Even if this were true, it still does not count for the fact that the Xbox 360 was impossible to purchase, while PS3's are on every shelf. People can buy them, and do so on occassion, but its still true that most people simply don't want one.

[thesutex @ Mar 26th 2007 9:17AM]

I live on Norway, and every store that sells PS3 around here HAS them in stock.. that says allot.. When the x360 came out, it sold out instantly, and there were allot more xboxes sent here than there were ps3

[James @ Mar 26th 2007 11:32AM]

The non-referrer Amazon PS3 link: http://www.amazon.com/Sony-60gb-PlayStation-3-60GB/dp/B0009VXAM0/
Sorry, Chrisianande.

[MIkesOnline @ Mar 26th 2007 11:32AM]

http://nexgenwars.com/

[Heppie @ Mar 26th 2007 12:10PM]

here in the uk the ps3 isnt doing so well, go into any shop that sells ps3 and they will have them instock because they havent sold. The price is disgraceful £424.99 for a console without the ps2 chip, whereas th ps3 in america with the ps2 chip is £304.74. Sony must be mad thinking that they can get away with that, i cant wait to see the UK sales figures for the first few days.

[samuraicommando @ Mar 26th 2007 2:00PM]

Since when was having your product on the shelf a bad thing? Some of you are just retarded.

[Jay @ Mar 26th 2007 3:49PM]

Jeez, comparing the Wii to the PS3 and 360 is like comparing a Ford Fiesta to an Audi A6 and BMW 5-series.

By the way: Dame Barbara Cartland is the biggest-selling author in history. Guess that means she's a better writer than Shakespeare, right?

[hesby @ Mar 26th 2007 9:35PM]

Maybe we can simplify this whole argument a bit:

Do you like the games available for a particular system? Great- buy it.

Do you have stock in Microsoft or Xbox? worry about sales.

[Ipodfanboy @ Mar 27th 2007 1:08AM]

Everybody I know that plays and owns a ps3 was all hyped and happy that the ps3 was coming out, so on november 17th a few of my friends and collegues went to the atm yanked at 300 dollars and went all over NYC lookign for a ps3 but to thier demise the ps3 cost 600 bucks, yet again another case of mis informed casual gamers. Nearly 6 months later thier thinking about either getting a wii or an xbox360 or just stick with ps2 until ps3 drops down in price. They still can not stomach about the ps3 being 600 dollars. back to topic it it doesnt mean the ps3 is outsellign the xbox360 the artical just says the ps3 is doing beter then the xbxo360 after launch, but remember xbox has a huge hardcore following and of course there is goign to be massive shortages of xbox360 consoles. But look at a year later hardly nobody wants a ps3, the beiggest reason is the price. millions of gamers either have to choose a 360 and a wii and thats a hard choice for average mainstream gamers who arent big fans of nintendo or microsoft but love playstation only. Brand name is cool and its everything but brand name has to be on reasonably cheap. If the ps3 was 300 dollars the sixaxis controller would have killed the wiimote and ps3 hd graphics would have killed 360hd graphics but since the ps3 is 600 dollars, ps3 will never outsell the xbox360 or nintendo wii. Its going to be sega saturn neo geo and panasonic3do all over again. Only if kutagri said 300. But i love my wii60 how about u?

[paulhinch @ Mar 27th 2007 6:18AM]

Just for the XBOX & Wii fanboys out there....it appears that the PS3 has wiped the floor with all other console releases in the UK.

165,000 in the first weekend vs 105,000 for the Wii (just before Christmas) and 70,000 for the Xbox 360 (just before Christmas).

http://news.spong.com/article/12152?cb=185

Yep - appears to be a disaster for Sony....product left on the shelves, terrible.....or maybe they sorted the European supply chain out before launching (you heard that Nintendo and Microsoft?)