If you Think PS3 Is Losing Steam, Wait Until The Christmas Rush

Slim sexy and not so costly is the best way to describe the PS3 these days. Just like a hot blonde in demand with every guy looking her way, Sony's flagship console is turning heads and flying off store shelves across continents with talks of a shortage hitting amidst the holiday rush. NPD numbers revealed that Xbox 360 sold more units that PS3 for the month of November, and now Journalists are running wild talking loosely saying 'PS3 has already lost its steam'. Well that's nonsense, there are a lot of reasons why the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 last month, but PS3 loosing steam is definitely not one of them. In fact the tables might just turn come Christmas; and their are many reasons to believe it will happen. Let's take a look at the possibilities.

The Banned - Just before Modern Warfare 2 came out, Microsoft went on a banning campaign that left over a million players play-less. But not for too long. Imagine the game you've been waiting on all year was finally being released and suddenly, you console got banned. What would you do? If you had the cash, you'd go out and pick up another ASAP right? That's exactly what many modded 360 owners did after their console was locked out of XBL. Might not have been the biggest factor, and yet it might have, but there's no doubt that those sales led to Microsoft selling more than usual Xbox 360s.

Modern Warfare 2/Xbox 360 bundle -

This exclusive deal included a custom Modern Warfare Xbox 360, 250 HDD, and the game all for the reasonable price of $400. That's a great deal in my shop. It's no wonder that of the over six million copies of Modern Warfare 2 that were sold, over 4 million of them was on the Xbox 360. Now those are astounding numbers. Again, this may not be the leading factor, and yet it might be, but definitely a contributing aspect to the escalated Xbox 360 hardware sales numbers.

Walmart's pre-Black Friday Deal: $99 Xbox 360 Arcade -

This one is self-explanatory. If I'm getting a console for less than $100, then there's no way I'd pass it up. Obviously tens of thousands of consumers felt the same way. Undeniably a contributing factor to the great sales numbers that bossman Aaron Greenberg described as the best November in sales of Xbox 360 ever.

But here's the thing, all the aforementioned won't repeat themselves in December. Most people who wanted a Modern Warfare 2/Xbox 360 bundle most likely already picked it up. And folks who were banned are now enjoying their newly purchased "clean" system. The only aspect that might be repeated is the $99 deal that they ran successfully.

The PS3's price remained at $299, and everyone who purchased a PS3 was doing so for the first time. Not because their system was modded, they were all new customers. Now some might argue saying Sony also offered up great bundles, but so did Microsoft outside of the Modern Warfare 2 package. So that situation is leveled out. But Sony's console sold well because of high demand generated from an amazing add campaign and the fact that apart from being a great game console, it's also an amazing Blu-ray player.

This Christmas, the PS3 will do better than it's ever done in history. And when that happens, all the journalists who are busy singing sad songs, will once again have to go back to their studios and right happy ones. I'll stick with my script: If you think PS3 is loosing steam, wait until the Christmas rush. Oh, you might need a new HDMI cord to get the best quality from your setup, deals are here.

12/12/09 Ernice Gilbert