EA bets PS3 will best Xbox 360 sales in 2008

Hold onto your lunch, we're looking at quite the turnaround in fortunes for the PS3 if EA's sales predictions for 2008 hold true. With a hot new SKU on the shelves, an unlikely Halo killer, strong market share in Europe and that profitability milestone crossed, the PS3 is looking at its best shot at greatness since it landed. At least EA and Sony seem to think so. Sony has been naturally bullish about its latest "10 year life cycle" console, but now EA is jumping on board, predicting the box will sell between 9.5 million and 11.5 million units this year, compared to 6 million to 8 million for Microsoft's Xbox 360. Most of that margin is expected to be found in Europe, to the tune of 5 million or so over the 360. Of course, there's one more factor here: EA predicts between 12 million and 14 million in Wii sales -- better luck next time, guys.

[Via Joystiq]

[Matt @ Feb 4th 2008 11:51AM]

Its a bit odd to call CoD4 a Halo killer in this context, as the game is cross-platform.

*Shrugs* I don't care for predictions. We'll see for ourselves. Besides, doesn't affact my life tbh, haha.

[brendon @ Feb 4th 2008 12:03PM]

I think they're reffereing the the one week in January when CoD4 beat Halo3 in gametime on xbox live.

PS3 might sell more consoles only because people who're going to buy a 360 already have.

I have a wii and a 360 but not a PS3 only because there aren't any great games out for PS3 yet. (at least none that are PS3 exclusive)

[maty @ Feb 4th 2008 12:06PM]

Aye. I just find it odd that in a PS3 supporting post that they use a cross-platform game and stats as ammunition? I'll wait for a 10 million+ selling PS3 exclusive before I'm convinced, haha.

(Personally I can't stand Halo =]).

[dj-kenpo @ Feb 4th 2008 12:51PM]

brendan, ps3 will sell more but most likely mostly due to the fact it has blue ray and blueray is now winning. so it seems more cost effective to buy a ps3 rather than stand alone player.

it has LESS to due with xbox vs ps3, and MORE to do with hd dvd vs blue ray. EA prob knows this and just wants to look uber smart.

In other news, I predict the sun will rise tomorrow.

[Cal @ Feb 4th 2008 1:00PM]

All that matters to me is that the 360 has great games out at the moment, and plenty more to come, I might consider a PS3 when it has some worthwhile games and an online service that can rival Xbox Live.

[Garst @ Feb 4th 2008 1:57PM]

It's more likely that it will more console because the system is going to be forced down consumers' throats for 10 years. Is anyone starting to think Sony says it sells its systems for 10 years because its development team can not come up with its own ideas that will sell systems?

[Daniel @ Feb 17th 2008 9:39PM]

@Garst: Uhhhh, no. It's because Sony are going to be selling it for 10 years! If you look at Sony, they have an overlap between consoles for a little while until the new console reaches a mainstream price point and has an surge in uptake (such as what Sony and EA are anticipating for 2008).

On the other hand, Microsoft release new console, old console gets dropped instantly. At least in New Zealand, as soon as the XB360 was out, you could no longer buy Xbox accessories or games, and it had only been out for three years. Then you get customers who are annoyed that they shelled out for a console with such an extremely short lifespan.

[aguiluz @ Feb 4th 2008 7:04PM]

Backwards Compatibility FTW.

[maveric101 @ Feb 4th 2008 10:40PM]

@ dj-kenpo

theres nothing stopping MS from dropping HD-DVD and releasing a blue-ray add-on for the 360.

and after watching the Super Bowl, i'm not so sure the sun will rise tommorow...

[Gremlin @ Feb 4th 2008 11:51AM]

Boom!

[Ellianth @ Feb 4th 2008 12:05PM]

Soon your comment will take it's rightful place among the "i for one welcome..." comments.

[simon @ Feb 4th 2008 1:49PM]

I for one welcome our Boom overlords

[Flashpoint @ Feb 4th 2008 11:52AM]

I'm sure the PS3 will outsell Xbox360 in 2008.

#1 The Xbox360's market penetration is already above average - most people into these video game consoles already purchased a 360 and have been either waiting for the Dual Shock 3, or just saving money to afford the new $400 PS3.

#2 Metal Gear Solid 4 will sell systems

#3 People who recently bought an HDTV will want a low cost Blu Ray solution as suppossed to the OUTGOING HDDVD format which you'd have to buy a $179 Xbox360 addon to use.

#4 The Bush Tax Rebate will ensure people who've worked have extra cash to shell out on a device this expensive (while also ensuring America's budget deficit rises $3 Trillion.

[Ty @ Feb 4th 2008 11:55AM]

Blu-Ray is the biggest reason why I'm getting one over a 360.

[Reid @ Feb 4th 2008 12:58PM]

I think you nailed it. I have a 1080p TV and had already bought a 360 Elite because it was the game console I wanted. I'm no MS fan, but who cares-- it works great and had the games I wanted. It also doubles as a media center for me, pulling video off of my Mac to play on the TV.

However, I've always been in the BluRay camp but avoided buying a next-gen player until they were sub-$500, and a winner was apparent. Now I'll be picking up a BluRay player sometime soon, and, surprise surprise, the PS3 suddenly looks really attractive. Who wouldn't want a free game console with their BluRay movie player?

The 360's early lead is just that. Almost everyone who wants a next-gen console has already bought one, and they seem to have broken towards the 360. Most of the remaining purchases will be second consoles, and the PS3 will clean up with its BluRay player -- which will also tilt the game for those people who haven't bought a console yet.

[insertAlias @ Feb 4th 2008 1:26PM]

Hell, I just bought one as a second console, mainly because of it's Blu-Ray drive. But I don't think you're right about the "people who want one already have one" argument. Lots of people don't even have an HDTV yet. The initial boom is long past, but these consoles have years to keep on selling strongly.

[LiQuiD_FuSioN @ Feb 4th 2008 4:15PM]

If Microsoft had installed HD-DVD players in their 360s, then it'd be a slightly different story. (Take that for what you will)

This makes the PS3 a little more valuable when you take into account its Blu-Ray functionality. But, to those who are saying "I'm buying the PS3 mainly to watch movies.." is fine, yes, however, it also bothers me a bit. Are those people going to at least play the games and use its other media capabilities too? After all, it's pretty powerful and can do other things. Just curious.

[teej @ Feb 4th 2008 4:19PM]

btw- microsoft is releasing an hd-dvd/blu-ray drive later this year for xbox add-on. so, don't buy a PS3 solely for a blu-ray player (and for the fact that Sony uses PS3's to skew Blu-ray statistics).

[insertAlias @ Feb 4th 2008 4:32PM]

@LiQuiD_FuSioN
I use it for gaming and movies. I said mainly Blu-Ray because I have a lot of favorite games for my 360. But I am increasingly impressed by the whole console overall. I have already transfered my music and movies over to it, and I have tried out Ubuntu on it. I have a few games for it, but nothing great yet...

[billobob @ Feb 4th 2008 5:44PM]

"The 360's early lead is just that. Almost everyone who wants a next-gen console has already bought one."

This isn't true at all. If anything, the PS2 should've shown you that consoles can have lives right up until the point at which their replacement comes out

[Nocturnal @ Feb 10th 2008 5:58PM]

Yes it will, BUT Metal Gear Solid 4 will be out for Xbox 360 as well.

[xBeRx @ Feb 4th 2008 11:53AM]

You mean beat?

And I doubti t.

[Justin @ Feb 4th 2008 1:47PM]

"Best" is the correct term.

[z3r0D @ Feb 4th 2008 3:53PM]

...

No.

[xBeRx @ Feb 4th 2008 11:55AM]

Or you mean Bet?

[Flashpoint @ Feb 4th 2008 12:38PM]

...for me, Blu Ray was the ONLY reason

[Flashpoint @ Feb 4th 2008 11:55AM]

As for "HALO KILLER"... Halo3 wasn't really that good of a game... CALL OF DUTY 4 was a HALO Killer. I haven't touched Halo3 (or looked in its direction) since I got CoD4.

The Halo series has been paling since the groundbreaking original. CoD has only been getting better. Not to mention the fact that a SLEW of FPS were released in November (or around it)

Bioshock
Soldier of Fortune Payback
Time Shift
CoD4
Crysis, etc,etc

[jamma @ Feb 4th 2008 1:49PM]

You forgot the Orange Box, which is awesome, and playable on average (not stupidly expensive) PCs

[Carbonize @ Feb 4th 2008 3:57PM]

Soldier of Fortune Payback sucked. Halo 3 was a lot of hype (Halo 3 - Finish the hype!). Orange box rocks ("You will be missed"), Timeshift has a lot of promise. Crysis is just ridiculous as few people actually have a system that can play it. Bioshock wasn't as good as everyone said.

[Ireland @ Feb 4th 2008 11:55AM]

It's certainly agree that PS3 will outsell the 360 this year. The haters will always have their doubts. When Little Big Planet gets released in September, just try and stop me buying a PS3. Especially if that new exterior design comes by then.

[Ireland @ Feb 4th 2008 11:57AM]

Atrocious grammar or not, I know I'll be understood by some.

[Billy Gun @ Feb 4th 2008 11:56AM]

Hope MS don't let this heppen. Just reduce the xbox 360 price. U$ 230, 280 and 350 (arcade, Pro and Elite-Big).

[Ireland @ Feb 4th 2008 12:01PM]

What's this hoping business?

Agreeing fine, disagreeing fine - but hoping? That's merely fanboyism.

[Jerry @ Feb 4th 2008 12:42PM]

What is this "agreeing or disagreeing" business? Sounds like a bunch of bandwagon fanboyism for those without enough intelligence to formulate their own opinion.

[Notung @ Feb 4th 2008 12:48PM]

He hopes you keep your idea of stucking to a PS3 offer when a childish game comes out, while he'd been months/years fragging people like me online for pure pleasure... sorry you will not be around, hitting you repeteadly with a RPG has to be fracking fantastic.

Because, you know, we gaming bastards like the real deal (in his case, a cheaper one for each room of the house)

Let people be, gentleman. Fanboys or not.

[tom @ Feb 4th 2008 12:03PM]

As Sony is winning the HD format war, extra features and improving the gaming line-up, PS3 seems to be a better buy than xbox360.

[Pip @ Feb 4th 2008 12:07PM]

It will be if Sony can just edge it a bit cheaper. $399 is definitely in range for the die hards who love gaming, but still out of reach of the masses who made the PS2 so popular.

[sracer @ Feb 4th 2008 2:23PM]

The PS3 certainly does seem like a better value. Built-in Wifi, built-in rechargeable battery, and a harddrive that is not only user-replaceable but capable of putting user music, videos, and images on. In contrast, Microsoft only allows you to put on their harddrive (it isn't really yours) what they decide to allow you to put on it. And right now that is marketplace content, and ripping audio CDs.

The PS3 makes a better multimedia hub than the 360 at this point in time.

[Zeus.:God @ Feb 4th 2008 4:20PM]

I don't see where you get the "better multimedia hub" bit. Other than the high def format, the 360 does everything as well as or (in most, if not all cases) better than the PS3. Hard drive space isn't an issue when you can simply stream music, movies, pictures and more from network memory or a PC.

The only "media" issue that would concern hard drive space is downloadable movies and such, but then again, I don't see that the PS3 has that.

Both are great consoles, but your statement is flawed.

[SteveMB @ Feb 4th 2008 6:49PM]

I think the better console is the one that does it's main purpose. TO PLAY GAMES. And the 360 has the best games, hands down.

[phenom13 @ Apr 1st 2008 12:42PM]

The thing a lot of people miss is when someone compares Xbox360 to a PS3 is that OUT OF THE BOX the PS3 does offer more. Someone made the comment about how you can stream it from local servers or PC. Well unless all of that come out of the box it's not relevant to the comparison. Not everyone (believe it or not) has there own network or PC. So the storage question has to be asked. And what are you all going to do when Microsoft starts making their games downloadable? I mean MGS4 is around 50GB I hope you have a big drive. Since that's what Microsoft said is the future of the 360 DLG's. Oh and as far as having Blu-ray player for it last I heard talks fell through and Microsoft won't support Blu-Ray. Both systems have awesome games but personally I've never been a Microsoft backer. Cause they will nickel and dime you to death.

[jeeesus @ Feb 4th 2008 12:37PM]

i for one welcome our xbox 360 beating ps3 overlords.

[ogvor @ Feb 4th 2008 12:05PM]

As much of a 360 fanboy as I am, I wouldn't be suprised if the PS3 narrows the sales gap a lot this year (though probably not by this much). With Halo 3 out of the way, the 360 doesn't have the exclusives it did in 2007, while Sony has MGS4, Grand Turismo, and Potential Final Fantasy. I'd probably get a PS3 should the price fall by anoth $50 - $100. Still, Microsoft could do something suprising like drop the 360's price the day GTA4 comes out. Would people buying a console for just that game really buy the one thats 100$ more?

[Pip @ Feb 4th 2008 12:10PM]

I'm not so sure, the line up for the 360 seems decent this year, it's just not really hyped up much because everyone is still reeling from 2007. They have Rez, Splinter Cell, Resident Evil, Gears 2, Halo Wars, Fable 2, Fallout 3, Ninja Gaiden 2, and obviously the Grand Theft Auto with a crap ton of extras.

[LaughingMan @ Feb 4th 2008 12:22PM]

Am I the only one who's just getting really tired of all of the same-old rehashed franchises? There's not a single game that either of you listed that's not a sequel in a long running game series.

Where are the new franchises?

[EJ @ Feb 4th 2008 12:43PM]

When you consider the cost of the Wifi kit, Xbox Live, the ongoing reliability issues, the expense of batteries for the wireless controllers, and the absence of Blu Ray, I think it would take far more than a $100 drop to bring the 360 in line with the PS3's basic value proposition.

[ogvor @ Feb 4th 2008 2:43PM]

Pip

Yes, it's true, as a hardcore gamer I'm excited about the 360's lineup, but remember how small a fraction of the market belongs to the really hardcore. Gran Turismo will sell a lot more copies than Ninja Gaiden 2. Also, Residenet Evil 5 and Fallout 3 aren't exsclusives, and I don't think many are buying the console for Rez (though I'm loving that game). The only thing I could see giving the 360 a huge sales boost is a price drop right along with GTA4, and if Gears of War 2 does in fact come out this year (which I doubt). Many people who buy only GTA4, maybe Halo 3 and Madden, will look at the two consoles and buy the cheaper one. It's as simple as that (and one of the reasons for the Wiis ridiculous success).

[Carbonize @ Feb 4th 2008 4:04PM]

@EJ - It costs £12 for the Play and charge pack for the 360's wireless controllers. As for the ongoing reliability issue, What ongoing issue? Had my 360 over a year and the only red lights I have seen is when I didn't plug my VGA cable in correctly. As for Blu-Ray I personally am not interested in HD discs yet. I was never one for buying DVDs anyway and the few HD films I have seen I have downloaded and streamed over my 360.

[Billy Gun @ Feb 4th 2008 12:07PM]

You are correct it is fanboyism. So what?

[Ireland @ Feb 4th 2008 12:15PM]

So grow up old man.