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

According to Insomniac, Sony Japan is paying more attention to western audience

Sony Japan never really made it their business to listen to its western branch concerning PS3 issues, but now, according to Insomniac senior community manager James Stevenson, they're getting it together.

"The challenge has always been that the [PS3] operating system (XMB) has always been developed in Japan, and at first it didn't seem like it reacted to U.S and European markets," he told CVG. "But now it seems like there's a far better feedback loop in place, which I think was the biggest issue."

"The example that stands out was when they did the update to the look of the XMB - version 3.0 I think. They boxed out everyone's names and it became really clunky-looking and the community started complaining," Stevenson continued. "I feel like that feedback really made it over to Japan, and that's something they're trying to get addressed.

"Two years ago, or a year-and-a-half ago, I don't feel like there was that kind of response. I now really think that the development group that's working on PSN is really to the community more, and listening to development feedback. So that's a good thing in the long term and that was the biggest thing I'm glad to see has been fixed."

Lengthy piece of chatter there, happy his happy though. Get the vibe through the link.

10/29/09 Ernice Gilbert

According to MS, PS3 will be back in 3rd place after surge

When the redesigned PS3 Slim launched, it was and has been the number 1 selling console, but according to Microsoft, that surge will be short-lived and soon, Sony's black box will be begging for your attention in third place. I tell you, these execs at MS sure know how to stir up strife.

According to NPD, the PS3 sold close to 500,000 thousands units in September, with Nintendo selling 462,800 and Microsoft at third with 362,600 Xbox 360 units sold. Here's Xbox spokesman David Dennis:

"We feel great about our numbers, and we expect Sony to have a great month." We expect it to be short-term and we expect them to be back down to third place soon like they've always been," David said.

According to him, the Xbox 360 is the only console showing growth this year. May be true, the growth part at least, not too sure about the PS3 slipping back into third place, but what's with all the bragging? We love the Xbox 360 and all but.....

Anyways, read the full thing here.

10/26/09 Ernice Gilbert

Japanese Retail Employee: Xbox 360 has been abandoned

Since the Xbox 360 was released in Japan, the the journey has been a rocky one to say the least. For some reason, the Japanese never gravitated to Microsoft's console like some thought they would. Even after four long years, only 1.1 million units have been sold. It's a tough outlook for the Xbox 360 in Japan and recently a Japanese game shop employee echoed that same sentiment on his personal blog.

"I think the greatest problem is there's little software," the employee said.

"This year, the eagerly anticipated titles are Final Fantasy 13 on the PS3 and for the Wii it's Super Mario Bros. and Zelda, and nothing much on the 360."

The the game shop employee went on outlaying the grim reality that awaits the Xbox 360 in the land of the rising sun, and concluded his post with rather harsh words concerning the situation.

"It might be very hard to change the flow and direction of a country, I feel like Japan has already abandoned [the Xbox 360]".

Tough assessment to say the least, Microsoft must revise their strategy if they hope to be relevant in Japan, before said assessment takes hold.

10/13/09 Ernice Gilbert

Nintendo fears a PS3 comeback, slashes price of Wii from $249 to $199 plus free $25 gift card

If you thought the games console war has been abating in recent months, think again. With the newly redesigned PS3, Sony has drawn the line; they're ready for battle, and in just three weeks since its release, the PS3 slim has gone on to sell over 1 million units. Nintendo on the other hand has seen a sharp decline in sales for its flagship console the Wii, with PS3 outselling it three times over in Japan, and by a very wide margin in the US & UK. So how does Nintendo respond? By slashing the price of the Wii from $249 to $199 plus upon purchase, a free gift card worth $25 is added to sweeten the deal.

And by the look of things, it's working out. Nintendo is now dominating amazon's best sellers list, sending everything else down while it shot for the top. Question is, will sales keep up this momentum and hold Nintendo ahead of the bunch, or is this just a temporary jump? Since it launched in 2006, the Wii has been a runaway success for Nintendo, leaving Sony and Microsoft to duke it out while they took the highroad. But now, it seems fortunes are turning. If Sony can keep this level of sales consistent, its feasible to see the PS3 back to the top of the fray in 2012, something Nintendo wants to avoid by all means.

Microsoft has had two price cuts in one month of its own for the Xbox 360 Elite, now retailing at the affordable price of $249 with a special mail in rebate of $50 until October 5, then it'll be back to the regular new price of $299. Confusing eh? Look at it this way, Microsoft wants to put an Xbox 360 in your hands, plus as the Redmond company stated at the start of this generation, their goal is to beat Sony. And the war continues.

09/29/09 Ernice Gilbert