According to reports, the PS3 managed to shave another 1.4 million in a span of six months this year. Its undeniable, the PS3 has been selling at a faster rate than the Xbox 360 since launch. However, it did take Sony almost four years to squash Microsoft’s one year or eight million unit lead.
Although you could argue that only Sony with its Playstation legacy could have survived the market with a console launch priced at $600. Even now I find it amazing that the PS3 is able to sell toe-to-toe with the Xbox 360, which also comes in a dirt cheap $200 configuration. You could probably attribute this to the slew of loyal Playstation brand fans accumulated over its 15 year lifespan.
According to Industry Gamer, DFC Intelligence Analyst, David Cole stated that the Xbox 360 lacked diversity as it focuses too much on shooters. Cole also indicated that Microsoft should have focused more on Europe, which is pretty much Sony-land at this point.
We have been forecasting for the past 3 years that the PS3 would catch up to the 360 by 2011. I think the big issue is that the 360 has been primarily the platform for FPS games and has lacked the diversity to appeal to a broader international market…mainly Japan and Europe where Sony is very strong. The Xbox 360 was just much stronger in North America than it was globally. The main issue I think is Sony (and also Nintendo) being so strong in Europe and Japan. I think in terms of doing things differently they should probably have focused more on Europe and just given up on Japan. They would have had a better chance in Europe.
Despite Microsoft’s attempt to go completely casual with the Kinect, Cole doesn’t believe it will help much. He stated, "Going forward I don’t know if there is much they can do. They will try with the Kinect but I don’t see that working. I think the PS3 will soon pass the 360 for good.
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