PS3 global total snaps at 360's heels

By Robert Purchese Published 29 October, 2010

Sony's dogs Move faster than Microsoft's.

Global sales of PlayStation 3 aren't far off those of Xbox 360. And Sony is gaining on Microsoft.

The latest numbers (based on sales up to 30th September 2010) show the rival consoles only five million units apart: 39.2 million PlayStation 3s to 44.6 million Xbox 360s.

But globally PlayStation is selling faster: Sony recorded 3.5 million PS3 sales from the start of July to the end of September whereas Microsoft reported 2.8 million Xbox 360 sales.

PS3 launched a year after the Xbox 360 in the US, and even later in Europe. And while Microsoft may enjoy a current lead in the US hardware charts, on the other side of the world the PS3 reigns supreme - the Japanese barely register the Xbox 360.

The battle of this autumn's motion sensors Move (PS3) and Kinect (Xbox 360) may prove decisive. Sony's just-released money report said both PS3 hardware and software "benefited" from the mid-September (US, Europe) arrival of PlayStation Move. The numbers back this up: between January and March 2.2 million PlayStation 3 console were sold; between April and June 2.4 million were sold; and between July and September 3.5 million were sold.

Sony has billed PlayStation Move as a slow-burner whereas Microsoft is going for a big-splash entry with Kinect next month. If what Sony said about Move demand outstripping manufacturing in the US is true, we may have a proper Tortoise and the Hare-style battle ahead.

Sony noted an $85 million profit (operating income) today for the Networked Product and Services division that houses PlayStation. During the same July-September period last year, that number was a frown: a loss of $731 million. Sony picked out the "strong performance" of PS3 and its "significant hardware cost reductions and higher sales" as a major reason why things improved.

Sony's other machines - the PS2 and PSP - were bought 1.5 million times apiece during those three months. But it's Sony's old PS2 that has the yearly edge, having shifted 4.8 million consoles since January compared to PSP's 4.1 million.

Around the world, 35.3 million PlayStation 3 games were bought between July and the end of September. PSP game sales dipped to 11 million and PS2 game sales halved to 5.6 million.

Sony reckons that by March 2011, PS3 will have sold 15 million consoles, PSP 8 million and PS2 6 million. Sony's financial year starts in April; with half of it gone the PlayStation 3 count stands at 5.9 million - only 9.1 million to go!

Can Sony do it? Well, between October and the end of December 2009, Sony sold 6.5 million PS3s. A similar performance this Christmas would leave only 2.6 million to sell early next year.

Sony's total company take for the three months ending 30th September was $20.9 billion. That breaks down into Consumer, Professional & Devices ($10.7 billion), Networked Products and Services ($4.4 billion), Financial Services ($2.7 billion), Sony Pictures ($1.7 billion) and Sony Music ($1.3 billion). Doesn't quite add up, but I've rounded a couple of numbers because this isn't a maths exam.

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds. @Clert on Twitter.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

You may also like...

Comments (91) Latest comment 2 years ago

Comments for this article are now closed, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • ThePissartist #1 2 years ago

    They're both doing great! Good to hear. :)

  • Zappa #2 2 years ago

    gafs thread says 41.6 million. ??
    http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showthread.p...

  • Britesparc Verified Creative, ITV #3 2 years ago

    Whichever ends up on top, I think we can probably agree that this generation the HD consoles were fairly evenly matched and both outstripped by the Wii.

    I guess I should add the caveat "the generation's not over yet"!

  • FireMonkey #4 2 years ago

    I'd be shocked if Sony can't over take Microsoft, seeing as in the last generation the XBox's market share didn't really dent that of the PS2.

    I'm just really glad there is this competition in the console market this gen. Pushes all parties to be better which is a good thing for us consumers.
    Edited by FireMonkey at 29/10/10 @ 11:22

  • FogHeart #5 2 years ago

    I hear a distant rumbling....

    TO THE RAMPARTS! MAN THE TREBUCHETS! GET THE WOMEN AND CHILDREN TO THE ENCLAVE! START THE FIRE BENEATH THE CAULDRONS!

    THE TROLLS ARE COMING! AND I SUSPECT THIS WILL BE THE WORST BATTLE YET!

    /Kneels

    /Crosses self

    /Prays to see the day out

  • FireMonkey #6 2 years ago

    @FogHeart - Yup, won't be long.

    Would be good to see everyone ignore the trolls and down-rank them into oblivion for once.

  • Buztafen #7 2 years ago

    Christ thats alot of numbers and jargon i know nothing about. Still, well done eh.

  • IronGiant #8 2 years ago

    Considering the investment MS have made to be number 1 coming 3rd will be a huge failure for them. I initially agreed with most people that Sony made a huge mistake by packing blu ray into the PS3 but maybe they were right as over the long term it's looking to be a wise decision in pushing both their console and also the blu ray format. Be interesting too see the totals post Christmas as the 360 had a boost with halo reach any Sony will be hoping that GT5 can do the business! Nice to see Nintendo haven't given up, seen a few Wii ads on tv lately, probably to combat move and kinect :)

  • Br0ken_Engli5h #9 2 years ago

    With sales this close neither Sony or MS can't really afford to rest on their laurels. That can only mean good things for the consumer.

    ...Oh, and for the record Spectrum > C64.

  • RexRunti #10 2 years ago

    It's a little stupid to make trend predictions based on just one quarter. Especially one of he quieter ones. I personally would be very suprised if the Playstation out sells the XBox this christmas, October will probably be in Sony's favour (on the back of Move) but I think Kinect will sell more consoles than GT5.

    PS This is an opinion on sales not an opinion on quality.

    PPS I just made a bunch of predictions based on personal opinion and hearsay, can I have an analyst's salary now?

  • FireMonkey #11 2 years ago

    @IronGiant - "Considering the investment MS have made to be number 1 coming 3rd will be a huge failure for them"

    Except MS came from pretty much nowhere (in the console market). To get and hold that lead on Sony for that amount of time is a great achievement on there behalf and I doubt the'd be classing that as a failure.

  • Soton4084 #12 2 years ago

    To be honest I'm tired of all these sales statistics. I have owned both consoles and both are great. Personally I think the 360 used to be the superior console with a far greater variety of quality games. However I think that the PS3 has edged ahead within the last few years.

  • Br0ken_Engli5h #13 2 years ago

    @IronGiant

    I don't think 3rd would be a huge disappointment for them, really. They've managed to massively up their market share and got their product into a lot of homes. They might've been third last gen also, but it's been a much, much closer ran race for second this time.

  • rotmm #14 2 years ago

    Robert Purchase,

    As Zappa said earlier, it's 41.6m total sales, not 39.2m as you put in your article. It seems you have forgotten to include the 2.4m Sony sold in Q1 of this financial year.

  • karooo #15 2 years ago

    Who would have thought, forget about PS3 being in third place. This is a console that was said to be doomed and Sony would discontinue it. Amazing comeback.

    And market share means nothing. You could easily sell a cheap PS3 and sell 50 million in no time. What is important is gaining goodwill by giving quality service and games to their consumers and that's what Sony is doing, so is Microsoft and these will help them both in the long run.

  • toa_boa #16 2 years ago

    So a quick calculation - not considering potential future change in sales paces on either platforms - would put Xbox 360 and PS3 at the same sales numbers roughly 7 quarters from now, somewhere around mid 2012.

  • RobTheBuilder #17 2 years ago

    {{Please note this is a genuine question not fanboy based slanging}}

    I wonder how this plays out by territory. If you exclude Japan then I imagine 360 would be much further ahead; likewise if you exclude the US would PS3 be ahead?

    The launch of Kinect looks like it could be the decider: If it sells well or badly it may tip the balance.

  • MiniAmin #18 2 years ago

    I'm just glad that nobody who owns an HD console will have to endure the same fate as Dreamcast, Saturn and (UK) Gamecube owners.

    *shudders*

  • BAM! #19 2 years ago

    As pointed out above, the article is incorrect. Sony have shipped 41.6m PS3s to date and the difference between the PS3 and 360 is just under 3m.

  • teabagger #20 2 years ago

    Great news indeed.

    Though I'm pleased about the success of the Wii (even though it's not my cup of tea, personally) I still firmly maintain that the real question is how much of their consumer base will continue to reinvest in gaming come the new generation of hardware in the same way the more core-orientated customers of Sony and MS tend to do.

  • NotSoSlim #21 2 years ago

    Next year with Kinect, possible price drops, Core Move games could really be defining year as to where both consoles end up.

    First half of 2011 looks insane for Sony in particular

  • Psychotext #22 2 years ago

    Quite astonishing really. Had you told me before this gen started that it'd be 2011 before the PS3 caught the 360 then I'd have laughed in your face.

    A much closer battle than most people saw coming.

  • Diomedes #23 2 years ago

    Sorry to break your bubble Eurogamer ,but with these 3.5 million sales the PS3 stands at 41.6 not 39.2 so its exactly 3 million behind X360 and not 5.

  • Widge #24 2 years ago

    I am still supporting the CD32

  • Tinrib72 #25 2 years ago

    Similar specced consoles in similar sales shocker..

  • rotmm #26 2 years ago

    @RobTheBuilder, "I wonder how this plays out by territory. If you exclude Japan then I imagine 360 would be much further ahead; likewise if you exclude the US would PS3 be ahead?"

    The real game changer here is Europe, not Japen. Yes it's true that the PS3 has a 3-4m lead in Japan over the 360, but looking at the last qtr (thanks to Ranger over at B3D) US+Japan only accounted for 30% of PS3 sales, whereas those same two regions counted for around 50% sales for 360/Wii. So an amazing 70% of PS3 sales now comes from Europe (primarily) and others.

    Even in PS2 days, when Europe was Sonyland, European sales only accounted for around 35% of the global total.

    Europe is certainly the game changer for Sony this gen.
    Edited by rotmm at 29/10/10 @ 12:05

  • mungolikebeans #27 2 years ago

    'Big corporate company slightly richer than other corporate company'

    Riveting read.

  • CrumpledPaper #28 2 years ago

    Similar specced consoles in similar sales shocker..

    Well, it kind of is surprising. PS3 has been much more expensive than 360 most of its life. It arrived 1+ years later.

    Maybe the playstation brand does count for something afterall.

  • Diomedes #29 2 years ago

    No HD console is a failure. The 360 will have a long comercial cycle and has already far outclassed the Xbox 1. The PS3 couldnt conceivably repeat the PS2 succes (launching with the rival (Sega) going bankrupt ,and the other rivals waiting nearly 2 years to launch) but all things considered its making the strongest comeback ever. I dont think there has ever been a machine that was dead last and with the worst monthly sales for months and turned around the situation so it becames the best sold machine(not LTD in any case).

  • Beano #30 2 years ago

    When GT5 is launched in 2012, I think Sony will sell a few PS3 units more also.

  • Retroid #31 2 years ago

    @Psychotext

    When I bought my launch 360 (RIP) I honestly expected it to get trampled by the upcoming PS3 behomoth and to offer good gaming, nice exclusives etc. but to be in the minority, much like the original Xbox. I really didn't expect us to be talking in 2010 about the PS3 catching up. No way.

    This generation has been *very* strange.
    Edited by Retroid at 29/10/10 @ 12:20

  • Teamallstar #32 2 years ago

    Pretty amazing comeback for Sony. I think they have benefitted from the Wii becoming less fashionable with casuals.

    It would be interesting to learn what the ps3 attach rate is. That is where the money is for the console makers.

    Wii attach rate barely beats 1.2 per console
    Xbox 360 is roughly 9 per console
    PS3??

    Let's hope there is similar competition in the next generation

  • frunk #33 2 years ago

    MS has done very well this generation, from nowhere to levelling with Sony. The Sony train will have longer legs though.

    Kinect is MS's attempt to get the 360 out of "hardcore" territory and into mainstream (i.e the bigger market). Sony blanket themselves across most types of users given time... Singstar, Buzz, media capabilities, BD-Player... all of these types of things appeal to the wider market. As Sony add more and more free features like iPlayer, Vidzone, movie services and its cost reduces over time, it will become more and more widespread.

    But you say... MS has all those features too! Not quite...

    MS on the other-hand will find this more tricky - biggest issue is the cost of Gold Live membership... and the fact it is increasing. Most of the casual users which they are trying to attract with Kinect are not really interested in this online gaming and will therefore not buy Gold membership and therefore will not get the benefit from the other Live features that probably would appeal to them.

    MS probably need to tier their Live membership better:
    Bronze = free = old Silver, i.e. you are connected and can buy stuff
    Silver = low cost - family features, access to facebook/media services, etc.
    Gold = features of interest to hardcore and on-line gamers

    Unless they do something like this MS - "Live greed" will get in the way of newly attracted users properly adopting the system more widely in their life leaving the door open for Sony to do what they have done in the last 2 generations and become the longest selling console appealing to the widest market possible. It is Sony's stated 10 year intent.

  • Skooch #34 2 years ago

    Considering the stellar success of the PS1 and PS2 the fact that the story is about Sony 'catching up' shows just how large an impression MS have made in the console market. The PlayStation brand is incredibly strong and was as instilled in our vocabularly as much as 'hoover' in terms of becoming THE noun to represent any console - "shall we go play PlayStation". Now, you hear Xbox referenced in things like rap lyrics and it doesn't seem odd at all.

    One small point I would like to make is that Sony count 'sales' as any console manufactured and left the plant, MS count sales as those sold to retail (I believe Nintendo may count only those sold to consumers but not sure). Anyhow, doesn't make a big diff but there is some wiggle room in those numbers.

    Also, am I in a different universe....30+ comments about sales numbers and no-one has yet brought up RRoD, we all must be growing up :-D

  • Widge #35 2 years ago

    How are they calculating attach rate btw? Simply dividing number of games sold by number of consoles sold? Or is there some sort of network monitoring to see exactly what people have and play? Or am I getting too advanced in my thinking there!

  • telboy007 #36 2 years ago

    Is there still time to point out the incorrect sales figure? Its already been done? At least 3 times already? Oh, I won't then but please anyone else who wants to point that out again please feel free. Jeez.

    The PS3 was far too expensive when it came out, and even now I think its too expensive. Might pick one up next year if it ever drops below £200.

  • Vanmunt #37 2 years ago

    how many on here are on their 2nd or even 3rd 360... I can count towards two sales of both 360 and ps3 (however my ps3 was stolen, not broken).

  • paulf #38 2 years ago

    you should have really mentioned Wii sales in this article, if only to put 2nd and 3rd place in context

  • TonyHarrison #39 2 years ago

    "Wii attach rate barely beats 1.2 per console
    Xbox 360 is roughly 9 per console
    PS3?? "

    What? Lol.

    Attach rates, as from the latest shipment figures in all these reports:

    Wii - 8.04
    PS3 - 8.42
    360 - 8.9

    So they're pretty close really.

  • Les #40 2 years ago

    "They're both doing great!"

    No they are not.

    They are both lagging initial sales estimates and will probably never generate a positive return on investment anymore as it took them way too long to get where they are now.

    Not sure why gamers always seem to want to put a positive spin to things but from a business perspective, 360 and PS3 are duds.

    The earnings model of 360 and PS3 are based on the PS2's model, a system that captured around 70% of the games market. For both to achieve that scale, the market had to roughly double, or again one of them had to capture 70% of the market.

  • ronuds #41 2 years ago

    I thought the lead was down to around 4m, after Sony's previous reports? If it's 5m, they've cut the lead by around 2m over the course of this gen.

  • schnide #42 2 years ago

    I'll go out on a slight limb and say that I think Dance Central is going to open that lead back up.

  • Markitron #43 2 years ago

    @Vanmunt

    Im not a fanboy and own both consoles, but I too would be very curious to know how many 360's sold were to previous buyers. Personally I dont know anybody who has owned more than 1 PS3, whereas I know at least 3 ppl who have owned more than 1 xbox (even 1 guy who has had 4)

  • Widge #44 2 years ago

    I’ve owned 2 PS3’s, to move from fattie to slimmie. I reckon many might have done this sort of thing. Hovering on the edge of getting a 3rd for bedroom media playing duties too.

  • lockload #45 2 years ago

    So give it another 5 years and sony 'may' catch up

    Lets remember last generation microsoft sold 20m and sony 100m

    Ive owned 3 ps3s over my time one imported from japan, 1 uk and ps3 1 slim
    Edited by lockload at 29/10/10 @ 12:46

  • morriss #46 2 years ago

    /random troll containing Sonylol and "how the mighty has fallen etc.

  • alimokrane #47 2 years ago

    and guess which territory those extra 5 million are .. It's Japan of course.

  • Psychotext #48 2 years ago

    "They are both lagging initial sales estimates and will probably never generate a positive return on investment anymore as it took them way too long to get where they are now."

    Whilst the ROI thing is probably true of the PS3 (Sony's gaming division is $4.5bn in the hole since the release of the PS3), there's an outside chance that the MS gaming division can make the 360 a profitable venture. It would only take another two years (at current profits) to cover the $1.5bn that they've lost since the 360 was released.

    Of course, there's not a chance in hell of covering the losses since the original xbox was released ($5.7bn).

  • SHPanda #49 2 years ago

    Yawn.

  • Mono_X #50 2 years ago

    @teabagger
    "Though I'm pleased about the success of the Wii (even though it's not my cup of tea, personally) I still firmly maintain that the real question is how much of their consumer base will continue to reinvest in gaming come the new generation of hardware in the same way the more core-orientated customers of Sony and MS tend to do.

    I'm not convinced.

    PS2 130m
    Xbox 25m
    Total 155m

    PS3 40m
    360 45m
    Total 85m

    Granted the PS2 has been around a LOT longer - that's still a difference of 70m.

  • JBlokeUK #51 2 years ago

    I remember when I bought a PS3 on launch, I got so much stick from mates at work who all had 360's. Comments came my way like;

    ''It won't last long, it's made to fail''

    ''Blu-ray will flop because of it''

    ''360 will always be better and always be ahead''

    Blah blah blah fanboy crap. Well Sony pulled off a masterstroke with Blu-ray, and the last year it's really hit it's stride. Yes the 360 continues to do well, which is great news as competition is always good, for everyone. However I still feel the Playstation brand is strong and that will continue for a while yet.

    I honestly feel the PS3 has a brighter future than the 360, and a big part of that is exclusives. Also not forgetting that the 360 seems to be heading in a completely new direction by trying to attract the casual market with Kinect. Calculated risk, big failure, big success? Only time will tell.

  • Judas_Priest #52 2 years ago

    Aye, this has been the generation with the closest consoles yet. The 360 and PS3 are just as capable as one another in terms of hardware and are selling just as much, this is quite surprising and also good for us consumers as someone rightly stated before me, as it drives competition, deliving us better products.

    I only hope future console generations can match the closeness we have been granted this time.

  • GreyBeard #53 2 years ago

    It all hinges on Kinect. If its a mega-hit then they should increase their install-base decisively - if not, well...

    That said I think that with the 360 brand we're always going to see a sharp fall-off in market share the further we get culturally and geographically from the US. Sony on the other hand, are far more successfully globalized as a brand and are doing a decent job of recovering from their catastrophic melt-down around PS3 launch.

    The next step for all 3 platform holders is definitely going to be an interesting one, although I think next year's battlefield is for sure going to focus on the handheld sector, not the home console one.

    On the console front Sony really need to make PSN better and more feature complete than XBL. Especially with MS focus on casuals/non-gamers with Kinect, now would be a great time to try and get the hardcore gamers back onboard.

  • infernox1 #54 2 years ago

    if they cut the ps3 price it would sell alot more, basics of economics.

  • makeamazing #55 2 years ago

    It has been a strange gen this time around, but i think both MS and Sony have begun to build up their networks and their services such as trophies etc... while Nintendo focussed only on selling lots.

    So yes MS and Sony are in close 2/3 place, I actually think they have put in place the services that will allow them to profit quicker in the next get, while Nintendo are going to suffer.

    As for Nintendo being so far in front, yes no doubt, they have done amazing, but the HD machines might be able to begin catching up if Wii sales continue to drop.

  • coolbritannia #56 2 years ago

    Those crazy racist Japanese eh....

  • des #57 2 years ago

    No real number and PR loonies are having a party....business as usual

  • Widge #58 2 years ago

    Yes, cut the price of the PS3, basic economics. I think Ferrari should sell all their cars for £5, they will sell like the clappers then. SIMPLE.

  • Optimaximal #59 2 years ago

    As an aside, Sainsbury's seem to be selling a PS3 Slim & some games for £199.99. Not sure how long the offer lasts or how localised it is though.

  • bladdard #60 2 years ago

    Do these figures take into account that 20% of xbox's die through RROD within 3 years of purchase compared to 4% of PS3's through YLOD?

    This would actually put the 360 behind in installed userbase, this also doesn't explain why the attach rate is higher on the 360.

    PS. My figures might not be 100% but after a quick google it's the best average I could find.

    Edit. Sorry my logic is wrong because most Xbox's are replaced FOC so that would actually put the PS3 even further behind in installed userbase, this also explains the attach rate differences.
    Edited by bladdard at 29/10/10 @ 16:09

  • Machiavellian #61 2 years ago

    how many on here are on their 2nd or even 3rd 360... I can count towards two sales of both 360 and ps3 (however my ps3 was stolen, not broken).

    Well, I am on my second 360 and I have two PS3 and one is broken. My launch 360 finally went down with the RROD and my Launch PS3 went down with the YLOD.

    On another note it seems strange to say where Sony and MS is compared to sales when both only state sells to retail. The reason I say this is that one could have more units in the channel then the other. It would be easy for Sony to have more PS3 units in Japan since they do sell a heck of a lot more than MS.

    I continue to wonder what state the PS3 would have been in if the RROD did not exist. When the 360 was hitting it's stride and the PS3 was floundering, is when the RROD started to really rear it's ugly head, killing the 360 momentum. MS only have themselves to blame for missing that opportunity.

  • Les #62 2 years ago

    "So yes MS and Sony are in close 2/3 place, I actually think they have put in place the services that will allow them to profit quicker in the next get, while Nintendo are going to suffer."

    But how exactly? Sure online gaming services have become more important, they'll have motion controllers, but unless they address the cutting edge loss leader strategy (like Nintendo did with Wii), they'll be in the exact same boat next gen.

  • Machiavellian #63 2 years ago

    Do these figures take into account that 20% of xbox's die through RROD within 3 years of purchase compared to 4% of PS3's through YLOD?

    The difference you are forgetting is that the 20%RROD has a 3 year warranty while the 4%(where do you get your numbers) do not. Making a blanket statement that 20% RROD 360 are new purchases is about as wrong as your numbers.

    Edit: I see you change your logic so disregard my original statememt
    Edited by Machiavellian at 29/10/10 @ 16:32

  • Chazmeister #64 2 years ago

    I think the most surprising thing about the figures is that MS is still in the lead over Sony after all this time. I think the vast majority of people both PS and Xbox users expected Sony to make short work of MS's lead and that things would be pretty much like with the original Xbox launch but with MS doing a bit better this time.

    In my opinion the reason it has taken Sony so long to get going this time was that ridiculous £425 opening price tag and the amount of time it's taken them to get it below the £300 mark. Regardless of whether it has Blu-ray or WiFi etc, I don't know anyone that is willing to put down more than £300 on a games console.

  • Les #65 2 years ago

    "This generation has been *very* strange."

    About as strange as the NES destroying Atari, the Mega Drive really competing with the SNES, PlayStation obliteraing Saturn and N64 and Xbox performing better than GameCube...

  • DrStrangelove #66 2 years ago

    Don't forget the PS3 came out 11 months after the Xbox, in Europe even 15 months. Which means, that even by Eurogamer's numbers Sony sold about 835,000/month compared to Microsoft's 755,000. This, and the fact that Sony's biggest franchise (Gran Turismo) isn't even out yet, makes me pretty confident that Sony will overtake Microsoft.

  • mgillespie #67 2 years ago

    LOL, seems the usual Eurogamer/Digital Foundry coverup. "accidently" add the numbers up wrong, make the masters back in Redmond happy.. Just as bad as the Digital Foundry cherrypicked comparisons...

  • immateriaux #68 2 years ago

    @TSB, your comparison of the XBox slim and PS3 slim is disingenuous (and, to a degree, inaccurate - you can get an XBox slim for $100 less than a PS3 slim if you wish): current sales for such a recent launch sku (particularly one serving as an upgrade) as against one made over a year ago is not going to illustrate future trends at this point.

  • DarkSeptember #69 2 years ago

    To be honest , I really don't care about 'numbers' .I've got a PS3 , a Wii and three (yes three) Xbox 360's ! It's all good :)

  • BlinkeredAxis #70 2 years ago

    PS3 needs more good exclusives, it really does. If sony had realesed the top 10 xbox 360 exclusives not Micro$oft (we all know which games these are by now...) then sony would own the market completely. Imagine xbox owners boasting about how great heavy rain or uncharted are, and having to pretend Halo, Gears, Mass Effect, Fable were all rubbish! Xbox would have sold about 11 consoles. That xmillion PS3's have been sold is a fantastic case study in brand loyalty. Someone should do a doctoral thesis on it.

    There, freaks! Troll that.

  • SG79 #71 2 years ago

    The earnings model of 360 and PS3 are based on the PS2's model, a system that captured around 70% of the games market. For both to achieve that scale, the market had to roughly double, or again one of them had to capture 70% of the market.

    It's the same model as the PS1 before it to a tee. Given that the investments in those two machines are far greater, you're dead on that neither current consoles are doing great from a business standpoint. However, it's also reason why neither company will take either one off the market well after the successors are out.

    Still, I can't say I'm not impressed how well SCEI turned around after being sacrificed to win a format war. Kutaragi made many missteps but using the PS3 as a BD Trojan horse wasn't his idea.



  • Xardan #72 2 years ago

    Undoubtedly this is an article to appease the many sony fanboys on the site. Cant say i care about numbers myself to be honest.

  • MegaCadet #73 2 years ago

    Wasn't the gap like 3 million at the end of Q2? How did it turn to 5 million?

  • Sevens #74 2 years ago

    "You could easily sell a cheap PS3 and sell 50 million in no time. What is important is gaining goodwill by giving quality service and games to their consumers and that's what Sony is doing, so is Microsoft and these will help them both in the long run."

    Yeah, knowingly releasing the faulty red-ring SKUs was great quality service. Granted, Microsoft sold millions by rushing to the market (which probably was a good [business] decision).

  • RKOwned #75 2 years ago

    lol, you look at some of the comments in the face offs and youd think PS3 was a bust.

  • lockload #76 2 years ago

    Lets not forget the 360 slim has only been out since august, since the the 360 has been #1 (including ds/wii) in the usa and europe

    Most analysts expect the gap to be wider in 3 months time not less
    Edited by lockload at 30/10/10 @ 06:05

  • RKOwned #77 2 years ago

    @lockload: I think those analysts might be looking at US a little to much. MS does have momentum right now, but I dont know how long it can really last. I mean, PS3 slim sale momentum has only really lasted for the first month or two. While 360 has had theirs longer then that for their redesign, I really dont think itll go on for many more months. They dont have the future software lineup next year to support such a continuation. theyre putting everything on Kinect.

    Anyway, it doesnt matter. PS3 has already proven its relevance.
    Edited by RKOwned at 30/10/10 @ 06:30

  • MizzouGaming #78 2 years ago

    Wow are some of you that clueless? SONY has COMPLETELY DOMINATED the industry the last two generations. Prior to 2006 you'd have been sent to the looney bin for suggesting MS would be ahead of SONY in 2011. No matter what SONY does from here on out they are GUARANTEED to be the only console company to lose marketshare this generation, and we are talking a TON of marketshare.

  • Loghorn #79 2 years ago

    @IronGiant
    Considering the investment MS have made to be number 1 coming 3rd will be a huge failure for them.

    Please. Sony may have caught up on them now, but that doesn't change the fact that they've done terrible for this gen in comparison to their last two generations. MS has been making profits off of the 360 for a long time now, while Sony just started making a profit off of each PS3 being sold back a few months ago (or back in March or April this year). Not to mention that Microsoft have plenty of marketshare in comparison to last gen, while Sony had lost most marketshare &/or sales to Microsoft & Nintendo this gen in comparison to last gen. Sony had to do many, many pricecuts just to play catch up with them since they launched the PS3.

    Microsoft going from 24 million XBox systems sold to now currently 45 million Xbox 360 systems sold is actually quite good in itself.
    Sony going from 102 million PS1 systems sold, to now currently 147 million PS2 systems sold, to now currently just 42 million PS3 systems sold; hmmm...something's wrong there. That's a big, humongous drop (even though the PS2 had been out for much longer than the PS3). That isn't good.
    Edited by Loghorn at 30/10/10 @ 09:24

  • TheJuriel #80 2 years ago

    Interesting. Nice to hear both doing fine.

  • darth_paul #81 2 years ago

    Microsoft has done really well this generation. I have all the consoles so far, but have my X360 as my main system, buying the vast majority of games for it (for the ps3 i buy the exclusives, only).
    I feel I have to reward Micro$oft for the good job, so I spend most of my cash on them. Sony i feel has to punished for its mistakes. And so far it has. Hope it learns from its mistakes from now on

  • RKOwned #82 2 years ago

    @darth_paul: are you for real?

  • ybfelix #83 2 years ago

    70% of ps3 sales are from Europe? That's very unexpected

  • darth_paul #84 2 years ago

    @RKOwned
    actually, no. im serious. if there is a multiformat game that i want to buy, i never buy it for the PS3.
    FIRST: because the majority of games i have are for the 360, and i dont want to split my collection in two
    SECOND: because the games, in their vast majority, run better on the 360 (which is a sad fact for sony)
    THIRD: i prefer to buy games i think are going to be playable on future hardware ;-)
    Edited by darth_paul at 31/10/10 @ 19:11

  • Diomedes #85 2 years ago

    Come one Eurogamer ,is it so difficutl to edit a single number in the article? You know ,not because you put PS3 two further million behind will it change the fact its at 2.9 million from the 360...

  • Diomedes #86 2 years ago

    In the US, the PS3 Slim and 360 Slim have always been the same price, yet the 360 Slim has outsold the PS3 every month since it launched. Every year has been the "year of the PS3" since it launched and even with a re-design, a price cut, and all their good exclusives released apart from GT5, this huge surge in sales just doesn't materialise. I think it's just wishful thinking.

    "That said I think that with the 360 brand we're always going to see a sharp fall-off in market share the further we get culturally and geographically from the US."

    Apart from in the UK, which is the world's second largest gaming market.


    Uk bigger than Japan? Keep dreaming fanboy. You only have to take a look at UK sales number ,where the fifth game in the Top Ten usually cant manage 5 digits. Japan still trounces the UK.

    As for your other comment.."this huge rise in sales doesnt materialize". Oh ,it doesnt materialize ? Are you so blind no to see the PS3 has been eating marketshare to the 360 since September 2009 and its now at spitting distance of the MS console (with concrete possibilities to overtake it in 5-6 monts)? What would have been "materialize" for you ,sail past the 360 in 3 months maybe?

  • darth_paul #87 2 years ago

    @djronz
    that one came out wrong. what i meant was in my second reply :p

  • dirtyvu #88 2 years ago

    while 360 and PS3 duke it out for second place, Nintendo is laughing all the way. this gen is over in terms of big profits. Nintendo made billions this gen by making a weak hardware system that was profitable from day one on the hardware alone. the only systems making money this gen are Nintendo (bucket loads) and Microsoft.

    The entertainment division for MS would've shown more profits if it wasn't for Zune and Kin dragging it down.

    Sony will never recover the money lost on the PS3. The bulk of their profits this quarter came from their Sony PCs which increased marketshare. They will have lost $8 billion on the PS3 when you factor in cost to design and create the foundries that made the Cell processor. Toshiba, IBM, etc. also lost money on that deal but it hit Sony the hardest. The Cell was supposed to be the chip that took over the PC industry and now it'll be nothing more than a PS3 processor. It's still an Intel, AMD, and ARM world. Having found no takers for use of the Cell, Sony sold the foundries to cut their losses and basically ceased further Cell development (now all development is going toward making it cheaper rather than next-gen). But that's money that can never be recouped even if they sell the PS3 for another 10 years.

  • Les #89 2 years ago

    "the only systems making money this gen are Nintendo (bucket loads) and Microsoft."

    Wii is definitely making money, but 360 isn't. Initial investments and losses were way to high for the tiny profits of the recent years to offset them and create a positive return on investment.

    And of course if looked at as a whole, the Xbox project of MS is a business disaster. But what's probably even worse for MS is that it took away management attention from other ares, contributing to MS being blindsided in the mobile phone and tablet OS markets.

  • Loghorn #90 2 years ago

    @dirtyvu & @Les: Companies like Microsoft, Apple, & Google have far more money than Nintendo (or Sony for that matter) can ever dream of.

  • WangKZ3 #91 2 years ago

    I’m playing MAG with MOVE and feels very good and gives new-more-realistic experience!!

    The first 2 weeks was a nightmare and I got owned all the time...but now I'm doing quite good and I would like to encourage hardcore players to try it out and to not give up at the beginning...believe me it's worth the try = MOVE IS GREAT.
    Can't wait for KILLZONE 3!!! :-D