Xbox 360 sales don't worry SouthPeak

By Tom Bramwell Published 30 January, 2008

Publisher gets into digital distribution.

SouthPeak CEO Melanie Mroz says she isn't worried about slowing sales of Xbox 360 hardware in its second full year on sale.

"The 360 market is hardly at a standstill," Mroz told Eurogamer as SouthPeak unveiled its first title for Xbox Live Arcade, "and there's plenty of potential for both XBLA and traditional retail, so it'll still be are the core of our plans for time being."

Despite the launch of key games like Halo 3 and Mass Effect in 2007, the Microsoft console only rose from 10.4 million sold in January to just under 18m by year-end.

"We prefer to publish games for their own merits, rather than because of the platform that they're on - there's still plenty of titles coming up and plenty of money to be made!" Mroz added.

SouthPeak's chief executive also said that we can expect more Xbox Live Arcade games from the publisher in future, and that further titles for Nintendo WiiWare and PlayStation Network are possible too.

"We certainly have things in the pipeline, though we can't talk about them just yet. However, rest assured that we'll be announcing further plans for XBLA very shortly," Mroz explained.

"This is something we're certainly considering, as all three online platforms offer a similar scope to Xbox Live Arcade for the kind of titles we like to publish," Mroz said, when asked whether we might also see SouthPeak titles on WiiWare or PSN.

"It would also be great for us to publish titles on every current format - online platforms included. However right now, XBLA is the most established so it'll be our focus for the time being."

If things go well with Things On Wheels though - and Mroz argues that it's "an AAA title" - it could lead the way. "We'd certainly love to put it out on PC or PSN in the future," she says, "but we've got no concrete plans yet - the team is focused on the XBLA version at the moment."

For more on Things On Wheels, check out the announcement write-up and first screenshot.

Picture of Tom.

About Tom Bramwell

Tom is Operations director of Eurogamer Network and Editor-at-Large of Eurogamer.net. He joined the company in February 2000.

Read more articles from Tom by visiting the Tom Bramwell archive page.

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Comments (42) Latest comment 4 years ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • Rich72 #1 4 years ago

    so selling 2 million less units in the second year is bad?? I'm sure M$ are weeping.

  • Res #2 4 years ago

    For such a new console and the amount of good games it has had released compared to last year its not exactly good is it?

  • rob76 #3 4 years ago

    Considering that it had no competition in the first year and considering that the second year was plagued with the RROD, 2M less is a very good result.

  • SwedBear #4 4 years ago

    Well, it was the first year it had the full competition of both the PS3 and the Wii.
    Who really cares though? It's selling. The PS3 is selling. The Wii is selling. We got great games. It's a happy time for gamers.

  • woodnotes #5 4 years ago

    They didn't sell 10.4 million in the first year, they stuffed the distribution channel with 10.4 million in the first year, then didn't ship any until Summer last year - the figure remained at 10.4m for another 6 months. They actually sold more consoles to consumers in the second year.

  • penhalion #6 4 years ago

    Actually I would put this down to fears of a world resession. It's on the news practically every day. Consumers are not spending as freely as they did due to this fear. Luxury items are always the first to feel the pinch. I suspect that both the PS3 and 360 would have sold even better over christmas had this not been the case. The Wii is cheap as chips anyway so slips under the pinchdar (see how I cleverly combine pinch and radar.....no.....*sigh*.....back the the drawing board) .

  • menage #7 4 years ago

    Pfff, so now 360s not selling is the next big bullshit news thing is it.

    Can this be about the games again, I'm getting tired of salestalk and console wars crap news.

    All 3 machines are wonderful. All sell on a different level. All are getting good gaqmes. What's the freaking problem.

  • penguin_overlord #8 4 years ago


    SwedBear's right. All that should matter is that all the consoles are selling well and we have some great games.

    I'm not sure how 18 million compares to the original Xbox's sales at this stage but it must be better as I thought Xbox 1 only reached sales of around 26 million.

    However, I don't think it's too bold of me to say that the 360 will stuggle to reach 26 million by the end of this year. Last year the 360 had the advantage of price, a larger library of games and many AAA exclusives. Forgetting the Wii for a moment (which appeals to a totally different audience), the PS3 is now practically the same price, has a large library of games as well and definitely has the edge this year on AAA exclusives.

    Japan is already a lost cause for the 360 and the tide has turned in Europe where the PS3 now outsells it. In fact, with the PS3's worldwide sales now greater than the 360's every week and some high profile multiplatform games such as COD 4 and Burnout selling almost the same on both platforms, the long term prospects of the 360 are not looking so rosey.

    Get that, more people buy a PS3 every week than a 360 and they're starting to buy a lot of games too.

  • Lexx87 #9 4 years ago

    Has no-one looked at the screenie? Looks great!

  • Mr_Bogus #10 4 years ago

    Southpeak = Scurge: Hive = awesome underrated GBA/DS game - blatant Metroid rip-off, excellently done.

  • Darren #11 4 years ago

    @Rich72 - Well consoles usually sell far fewer units in their first year than their second, third and fourth, etc., years, usually because of initial hardware shortages and a lack of games, well the more popular ones like the PS, PS2, SNES and Megadrive anyway.

    The Wii has sold 18 million in just ONE year yet it's only £20 cheaper than the base Xbox 360. Sales of the Xbox 360 are by no means terrible but they certainly aren't particularly impressive either. It's only really selling well in the US and the UK, sales have apparently flatlined in mainland Europe and they remain poor in Japan. I think the reliability issues are partly to blame but also Microsoft are too focused on 'geeky' online gaming and the 360 has a reputation for being a first-person shooter console neither of which is a good way to attract the casual end of the market IMO. The original Xbox sold some 24 million units and I'd guess at a large proportion of the existing 360 fanbase being former owners so it'll be interesting to see what happens once the Xbox 360 reaches 24 million sales. Obviously if it is attracting a new audience it'll surpass that figure with ease.

  • penguin_overlord #12 4 years ago


    I predict the 360 will end its sales run with around 35 million, whereas the PS3 and Wii will both have a shot at 100 million.

  • DrDamn #13 4 years ago

    Aren't we overlooking something a little. The 360 has been out two years but realistically the price has stayed fairly static. Yes it's had different and better value configs and pack in games etc. Pop in a proper price cut, get it under the pinchdar and sales will rocket for either of the PS3 and 360. It will happen this year for both.

  • penguin_overlord #14 4 years ago

    There's no doubt that price is a factor in the sale of any console and it's a well known fact that the vast bulk of the PS2's sales came when it dropped below £199. I expect there to definitely be a sales spike again later this year when both consoles have price drops.

    However, the PS3's advantage is that this will be backed up by a great variety of AAA exclusives (such as Resistance 2, Motorstorm 2, GT5, LDP, Killzone 2, FFXIII and others), the success of Blu-Ray over HD-DVD, plus the launch of Home and real signs that it is a superior piece of kit to the 360. There's no doubt at all that the PS3 will outsell the 360 this year, possibly by as much as 2:1.

  • DrDamn #15 4 years ago

    I think there is some truth there Penguin_Overload - the PS3 line up this year, whether you fancy the games or not, is a strong one in terms of brands. Given the very solid year in terms of releases we had from the 360 last year I don't expect MS to be resting on their laurels though. I am struggling to think of some big name releases which are coming this year, no doubt someone will remind me, but you can be sure there will be some.
    Edited by 1 at 30/01/08 @ 11:52

  • BillyBrush #16 4 years ago

    Penguin you could be right, but who cares, 360 has Capcom's games, Pro Evo's, GTA's, all the biggies PS had to itself before

    Until Everybodys golf arrives late March PS3 has 0 UK game releases that 360 does not have, so it's kinda pointless saying how much better it is until it really really is (i would argue ICO team time, MGS time)

    one thing PS undoubtedly has over 360 is the stacking of big releases, Killzone2 and MGS4 were announced right away, they're still on PS3 owners excitement list, things like Dead Rising, Gears, Bioshock, they all actually came out, which at this point sucks for MS, but not people who own 360s

    PS tis great, the greatest even, but people need to get over the 360 fixation, PS is not going to kill it off is it, nothing is going to kill off any of the 3 consoles...the only thing it might affect is the next round of consoles not this one

  • DrDamn #17 4 years ago

    There are a lot of big multiplatform releases this year. If one side can get a perceptual advantage over the other on these then that could be the differentiator. By that I mean something which - while not necessarily even true - is accepted by the general public. I.e. not just known by the people who spend all day reading gaming websites :). So while it is generally accepted that current multiplatform releases are better on the 360 here I doubt this is widely known by the gaming public. In fact due to the posturing by Sony I suspect most people when pressed would think the PS3 is the more powerful machine. The idea that 360's break a lot is fairly main stream. MS need a good PR drive to highlight the key differentiators in multiformat releases - like dlc in GTA4. I expect them to make a big thing out of that.

  • Negotiator #18 4 years ago

    More AAA titles on PS3 this year, don't think so. As far as console exclusive goes its very close, 360 this year has a game from rare, S cell conviction, Alan Wake, N gaiden 2, Halo Wars, need I go on.

  • penguin_overlord #19 4 years ago

    Hey, I'm not going to say that anything is going to kill of any three consoles in the immediate future. Let's be honest here, the first Xbox would still be around today if Microsoft didn't kill it off themselves. Any console that sells 10 million + remains a viable platform for some time to come and there's no doubt the 360 will continue to play host to many great games, no matter if the PS3 outsells it by 2:1 or 10:1.

    However, another factor to consider is that in the last-gen the reason for some games being exclusive to the Xbox was that it was a more powerful console with a hard drive. If we take the 360 Core/Arcade as the standard, the role is very much reversed this time round. Sony has never actually had the most powerful console before.

  • Negotiator #20 4 years ago

    "Sony has never actually had the most powerful console before".

    They still don't.

  • moggsy #21 4 years ago

    @ BillyBrush

    things like Dead Rising, Gears, Bioshock, they all actually came out, which at this point sucks for MS

    So having triple A titles out for your console - that's titles actually on the shelf waiting to be played by people who purchase a brand new Xbox 360 - is now a bad thing?
    Edited by 1 at 30/01/08 @ 12:23

  • penguin_overlord #22 4 years ago

    @ Negotiator

    I'm sorry but games like Alan Wake and Halo Wars (in particular) are simply not going to have the same impact on sales that the likes of LBP, MGS4 and FFXIII will. The latter two are going to explode in Japan. And until some shots of Gears of War 2 are shown, the PS3 looks like being the console of choice this year with the already superb looking Killzone 2, Resistance 2 and Haze building up excitement.

  • moggsy #23 4 years ago

    Sony has never actually had the most powerful console before.

    What about the original Playstation?

    Anyway, 'power' is neither here nor there. It's the games that count.
    Edited by 1 at 30/01/08 @ 12:24

  • penguin_overlord #24 4 years ago

    @moggsy

    The original PlayStation was trumped by the N64.

  • moggsy #25 4 years ago

    @ penguin_overlord

    True, I'd forgotten about that. Probably because it was an age between the PS launch and the N64 launch - so much so that it felt like a different generation. ;-)

  • BillyBrush #26 4 years ago

    @Moggsy

    It's a good thing games coming out, sure, but a lot of gamers make an argument such as 'look 360's releases are drying up we have X, Y, and MGS to look forward to'...this is handy ammo, if MGS takes even longer, and Alan Wake comes out then the argument will be 'look how spent 360 is now we still have X,Y, MGS and Killzone2 to look forward to'

    So that title is handy for Sony (their two biggies Killz2 and MGS, loong use), the carrot has been dangling since 2006 and it's still there a dangling, the Dead Rising's and Gears of this world have been announced, released, and are old news by now, now sure MS makes cash and console sales from Halo3, but imagine if it was still not out, oh the buzz...this stuff is handy for marketing people

  • ParanoidZombie #27 4 years ago

    "And until some shots of Gears of War 2 are shown, the PS3 looks like being the console of choice this year with the already superb looking Killzone 2, Resistance 2 and Haze building up excitement. "

    Mmmh, those 3 FPS you mentioned are not exactly system sellers: killzone 1 was a turd, RFOM 1 was a good game but very generic, and Haze is very iffy (no release date, probably a timed exclusive, and it doesn't look that good). One single GeOW2 screenshot with a firm release date attached to it would be enough to obliterate those 3 combined.

    I think 2008 is basically MGS4, GT5, Killzone 2 if you insist, maybe FF13, lil'big planet, Home versus Fable2, Alan Wake, SC Conviction, Ninja gaiden 2, Halo wars, lost odyssey, too human and probably Gears 2. And exciting year for both platforms, but I don't think the PS3 really has the edge, it has the best hype (only GTA and Halo can beat MGS and GT), but not necessarily the best games.

  • moggsy #28 4 years ago

    @ BillyBrush

    The PS3's constant delays does it's reputation no favours either though.

  • DrDamn #29 4 years ago

    @ParanoidZombie
    "Fable2, Alan Wake, SC Conviction, Ninja gaiden 2, Halo wars, lost odyssey, too human and probably Gears 2"

    The discussion is about future sales this year though. In terms of titles which will get people to buy the machine from that list maybe Gears 2 stands out. Please understand that I'm not commenting on the quality of the titles, but marketability and the impact they will have on console sales. I'm quite looking forward to Lost Odyssey and Alan Wake myself. But even Gears 2 would need to do something special to stand out and make people buy the machine to play it. There are people out there waiting for titles like GT5 or MGS4 before buying a PS3. They are the first iterations of big titles on the platform. Are there many people out there waiting for Gears 2 or Alan Wake before buying a 360? If Gears floats your boat surely you'd have one already? Just my feeling.

    I think there is unannounced stuff which MS is keeping quiet currently though. Sony have to talk about future games as the current catalogue doesn't stack up so well against the 360.

  • DrDamn #30 4 years ago

    @Moggsy
    It used to give people time to save up ;)

  • moggsy #31 4 years ago

    @DrDamn

    Are there many people out there waiting for Gears 2 or Alan Wake before buying a 360?

    Probably not, but there'll be plenty waiting for a price cut which will surely come by the end of the year. £179 would be an interesting price point for the premium 360.
    Edited by 1 at 30/01/08 @ 14:27

  • DrDamn #32 4 years ago

    Which was precisely my point earlier :)

  • ParanoidZombie #33 4 years ago

    @Drdamn: I agree, the x360 has only one "new" system seller this year and it's GTA4, which is multiplatform so I don't think that even counts. i'm not really interested in the marketing stuff,and nothing beats Ninja gaiden 2 in my wishlist, maybe that's why my post wasn't that sharp, but let's give it a try:

    GT5 will be huge, because it appeals to casual gamers as well (Mr Obvious expects a PS3+GT5 bundle for christmas), but i'm not sure about MGS4, because it's more of an hardcore gamer's game, and most of these guys have already bought a nextgen system. And who knows, maybe a lot of hardcore GT5 fans are happy with forza 2 or PGR4 or test drive unlimited right now, and won't buy GT5 unless it's revolutionary?

  • DrDamn #34 4 years ago

    I've had tthe MGS discussion in another thread so I was kinda ready for that one. While the genre isn't one of the big ones it does sell very well (each selling ~4-5m units on PS1/PS2). It is a title which people associate with the PS brand and something people will look for. For me, it's not my bag. I like sneak-em ups and I have tried very hard to like it in the past, but controls have always got in the way.

  • penguin_overlord #35 4 years ago

    Hey, let's face the facts here, GTA4 will be a system seller for both the 360 and PS3. Despite the exclusive DLC for the 360, I expect sales on both platforms to be fairly even, especially if the rumour that the PS3 is getting its own DLC is true. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if it gave the PS3 more of a boost than it does the 360 as the GTA franchise is synonymous with the PlayStation brand.

    MGS4, GT4 and FFXIII will also be huge system sellers for the PS3 as regardless of whether they represent a big leap or not, they are part of franchises that always sell millions. A £199 or £249 PS3 by the end of the year will be far too tempting to many.

    Games like Resistance 2 and Killzone 2 probably won't sell PS3's by the same numbers in their own right (neither are truly established franchises) but their inclusion in the PS3's growing library of quality exclusives will make a difference.

  • sneetch #36 4 years ago

    @SwedBear

    Well said. :)

    @DrDamn - Re: MGS
    "For me, it's not my bag. I like sneak-em ups and I have tried very hard to like it in the past, but controls have always got in the way."

    For me too, tried playing MGS on my mates PS1 the directional-pad controls ended that. Tried MGS 2 on his PS2 and found it tedious but he loved it. I got MGS on the cube and tried my damnedest to finally like it but it's just not my game, I just don't like the way it handles.

    I'm not sure what would be a PS3 seller for me seeing as how I just bought my 360 in August, it's pretty much down to platform exclusives... hard to tell which will be "best" (as that obviously varies from person to person) but I am looking forward to GOW2.

  • Darren #37 4 years ago

    I've got to agree with everything that penguin_overlord has said and the PS3 will ultimately do well in Japan as well as the US and Europe, something that is clearly isn't going to happen with the Xbox 360, certainly not Japan anyway. All the PS3 needs to sell in bigger numbers is a price drop to below £200, lots of great games and a lack of new ones for the PS2 and then Microsoft won't know what hit 'em! The Wii seems to be doing what the PS2 achieved last generation and what the Xbox 360 has failed to do thus far so it looks like the winner of this generation will be likely be the Wii or PS3 IMO. I honestly don't think the Xbox 360 has a broad enough selection of games or the mainstream appeal to sell like the PS2 has, the Wii is doing or like the PS3 will. I mean the PS2 went on to sell something like 120 million so it's not hard to imagine the PS3 going on to do the same given that Sony have a ten year lifespan mapped out for it.

  • Xerx3s #38 4 years ago

    I agree, the x360 has only one "new" system seller this year and it's GTA4, which is multiplatform so I don't think that even counts.

    Funny that people are so quick to dismiss games as system sellers. Fable 2 will probably outsell the original which is near the 3 million units. Halo wars isn't my cuppa tea but will probably sell well with them yanks simply because it's halo. The Splinter Cell franchise sold around 6 million units on the xbox platform alone. Etc. etc.

    Just because ms hasn't announced anything, doesn't mean that this is it either. I.e. What's Rare doing (apart from banjo)? They usually develop 2 to 4 games at the same time. What is bungie doing (besides counting money)? etc.

  • DrDamn #39 4 years ago

    Halo Wars will sell a bit because of the name, but it's a RTS game. It's not really a system seller is it? Splinter Cell is a nice franchise, but again there is already a SC title available on the 360 and it sold just over a million. Again why would a new one sell 360's? These are titles which will sell to the existing base, but not really be the tipping point for people without the machine already.

    MS does have stuff to announce though - it would be crazy to think otherwise, and that is where the sellers will come from.

    One thing the XBox didn't really do is have the breadth of titles the PS2 had. Where what sells the machine is the diversity of the catalogue. I think with the 360 they have recognised this and are trying harder this time round. Better Japanese numbers are a decent testament to this. They do still have some way to go though.

    /marvels at the rarity of having a reasonable discussion in a EG news story :)

  • penguin_overlord #40 4 years ago

    It is good to have a decent conversation on here for a change.

    I think it's important to consider what a system seller is, as opposed to a game that just sells a lot. There are plenty of games that have sold in their millions but that success hasn't matched a similar spike in hardware sales. For example, games like GOW2 and Resistance 2 will undoubtedly sell several million but since they will be drawing largely on the same audiences as before, I wouldn't expect either 360 or PS3 sales to benefit much from their release. If you think back to big releases like GTA: San Andreas or Halo 2, both sold bucket-loads but to pretty much the same people who had already played the previous game(s).

    The difference comes largely in three ways:

    1. Firstly, when an established franchise on a previous or competitive platform arrives. GTA4 will likely be the biggest seller of 2008 and certainly where the PS3 is concerned, there's nothing quite like it yet (it has no Saints Row). Going on the assumption that most PS2 owners will upgrade to PS3 instead of the 360 (a likely scenario, BC or not, simply because of brand awareness) I expect the PS3 to benefit most from that game, especially in Europe. MGS4 carries its own loyal followers and, with no decent realistic driving sims (Burnout is no FORZA) or RPGs (Folklore is a bit lame), both GT4 and FFXIII will bring with them legions of fans.

    2. If a particular console has a higher than average proportion of good games in a particular category, that can be enough to tempt some customers. For example, before the Wii, the PS2 was the console of choice for family games as it was the home of EyeToy, Buzz and Singstar (and the PS3 may take over this crown in a few years if the price drops enough and people tire of the Wii). More recently, the 360 has been the system of choice of FPS fans with the likes of Halo 3, Bioshock and GOW. But the PS3 is mounting an offensive on that front with Resistance 2, Killzone 2, Unreal Tournament and Haze (and possibly Crysis as well if the rumours are true) so it's not impossible to imagine many FPS fans being tempted, especially as the only exclusive 360 shooter this year seems to be GOW2.

    3. When something unique is introduced that creates a new audience. And that's a key reason behind the Wii's success and, as above, why games like EyeToy, Buzz and Singstar sold well on the PS2. The 360 doesn't appear to have anything truly unique for it this year but the PS3 has Little Big Planet and that could draw on the audience currently buying the Wii (possibly). Even Home (although not that different to something like Second Life) is unique for a console.

  • Xerx3s #41 4 years ago

    Fair enough. I still think that those titles will shift machines. I.e. Halo 3 shifted a lot more machines and there isn't a game available that appeals more to the 360 demographic than that. There are a lot of die hard gamers out there still without one.

    Couldn't care less though, bought an xbox and 360 for the games that it is strong in so to each his own. As for diversity itself, I don't really see big differences between the machines. Mostly because the ps3 and 360 share basically every game. The handful of exclusives that each has doesn't really swing the balance in one way or another. The wii COULD do it but it's still to early to tell imo.

  • penguin_overlord #42 4 years ago

    Ah, but Xerx3s, that's my point. Halo 3 shifted a lot of 360s (although perhaps not as many outside of the US as Microsoft had liked) because fans of the Halo series had to buy a 360 to play it. It was the first installment on that machine. If there was to be a Halo 4 it wouldn't sell nearly as many 360's as if you felt so strongly about Halo as to buy a 360 to play it, you would have done so sooner.