Earlier this week it was announced that PS3 sales in Japan had hit 1,000,000. That was a fairly impressive feat. Japan has a population of 127,433,494 people, according to the CIA. They managed to sell approximately one unit for every 127 people. Today, Nintendo announced that they had cleared 3,000,000 Wii units. That amounts to approximately one unit for every 42 people. Wii sales have nearly reached the point htat they are in 1 out of 10 households.
Why is the Wii outselling the PS3? Of course, price comes into it. The Wii is literally half the price of the PS3. I would also suggest it is because Nintendo have come out with some immensely playable games. Nintendo have certainly learned a few lessons. If the Gamecube was rather lacklustre, the Nintendo 64 was an abomination. With the Nintendo Wii, they have recaptured some of the NES and SNES magic. They have proved that raw power alone is not enough to draw in the buyers. Price is a serious factor.
I have not been a console gamer for some time, I am a PC gamer. I need a PC for work and to equip a system with a very powerful video card costs about $500 - $600. I cannot help but wonder if other people are thinking the same way. A sub $500 PS3 would move some serious numbers, but the prices are not going to drop that low any time soon.
What are your thoughts? Would you prefer to spend $600 buying a PS3 or upgrading your PC?
Source: Reuters
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Tags: Gaming, nintendo, sony
16 responses
Jul 19, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I have both, and the PS3 has as many “playable games” as the Wii does. It’s entirely a price problem.
Jul 19, 2007 at 3:52 pm
So Sony should learn from Nintendo eh?
Since 1990 Nintendo have sold 111 million home consoles.
Sony have sold 225 million since 1994.
The only issue at the moment is price. The demand for the console is vast and sales will go through the roof when the price drops more.
Jul 19, 2007 at 5:28 pm
5 years…. That is the average life span of a gaming console… If Sony is having trouble selling their console now, wait 5 years from now, when they are the OLD console and Nintendo and Microsoft release shiny new consoles for a low price (perhaps even lower then what the PS3 will be selling for by then)
Also, you have to see the pattern…
The Jaguar, Turbo Grafix 16, Neo Geo, 3DO, all had awesome graphics for their time… but they were also very expensive… and they are also all dead failed consoles…
Jul 19, 2007 at 11:30 pm
Tony, I have to agree. Sony overstepped the price mark on this one and they are paying for it. Karl, Nintendo had some great consoles way back when. The Nintendo 64 was an absolute blunder. A cartridge based system was not the way to go at the time. Sony did not really have much of a challenge for those years. It had a virtual monopoly on the teen-adult gaming market. Nintendo focused on kids games with the Gamecube.
It was not until the XBox came out that there was a serious contender. Sony got complacent, just as Nintendo had been complacent. The majority of console buyers are teens. Not too many of them have a budget for a PS3. The price also puts it out of Christmas / Birthday present range in most households.
The PS3 is a great system, but Sony have overstepped the bounds in terms of price. Had they been less focused on promoting Blu-Ray, they might not have dropped the ball.
Jul 20, 2007 at 12:43 am
Sony entered this race as the winning horse, 224 million units sold since 1994 is a legendary feat unto itself. In the meanwhile, Nintendo was holding its dying breath breath while designing the Wii. And somehow, Sony limps out of the starting gate while Nintendo reinvents the standard as to how the game is played. Both metaphorically and literally.
Karl, if Sony turned their noses up at this opportunity to learn a thing or two, they’ve already gone under. As every trend will show, winning formulas have to be changed in order to continue winning, because eventually the competition will tear through your weaknesses if you can’t adapt to the times.
The N64 clung to the past with the cartridge while Sony made the obvious choice to go with CDs as the new gaming format. The Gamecube further backfired on Nintendo while Sony made themselves virtually the sole reason why DVDs took over the market and that DVD players became cheaper than toasters. So where did they go wrong? They got cocky.
They declared themselves the eternal kings of gaming and completely misread both the market AND the consumer. They tried to force-feed a new format for Hi-Def into a world that didn’t really need or want it. And if you look at the figures to the population of who owns hi-def TVs and players vs. those who don’t, you might wonder why they even tried this to begin with. Why did they? The PlayStation is the only thing that’s keeping Sony alive. They tried to use the PS3 to carry their entire company, from cameras to television sets, by arrogantly trying to declare themselves as the kings of the new era. The heralds of hi-def.
Technologically, the PS3 is a fantastic achievement, but it would have been much smarter to have loaded it with an HD-DVD player instead. Why? Think of all the people they’ve alienated by reminding everyone of the Betamax. They could have been the company that set Hi-Def as the standard, and would have neutered Microsoft by making it too costly for them to compete with an HD add-on. That, and on a broader scale, they, like Microsoft, alienated the vast market of people who didn’t have a Hi-Def TV nor wanted one. Sheer cost alone prevents me from making that leap for at least a five years. Oh snap, a next-gen console might be coming out right about then. I sure hope it’s the Super Nintendo Wii.
Sony needs to learn from Nintendo, and they need to learn now. It is a message that every company defines themselves by:
GIVE THE PEOPLE WHAT THEY WANT. The people have spoken; the Wii is still sold out.
Jul 20, 2007 at 5:05 pm
“but it would have been much smarter to have loaded it with an HD-DVD player instead. Why? Think of all the people they’ve alienated by reminding everyone of the Betamax.”
What? “Reminding everyone of the Betamax”? Is that like saying “Don’t buy a Volkswagon because it reminds everyone of Hitler”? Blu-Ray their own supported format, but it is also supported by most of the industry and IS NOT a “Sony format”. Only Universal is keeping it from ending today, but it’s a moot point because BD+ is going to end the “war”.
I’m not saying they are normally on the right side of the format fence, but this time they win and no “memory” of Betamax or UMD is going to change that.
Jul 20, 2007 at 6:52 pm
What? “Reminding everyone of the Betamax� Is that like saying “Don’t buy a Volkswagon because it reminds everyone of Hitler�
O. Kay. Leave Hitler out of it, this has absolutely nothing to do with a megalomaniac dictator who slaughtered millions.
“I’m not saying they are normally on the right side of the format fence, but this time they win and no “memory†of Betamax or UMD is going to change that.”
Actually, it is. The vast majority of people who want to go Hi-Def are choosing not to for fear of purchasing the player for what might be the losing format. So, in this, they have alienated the people by reminding them of the Betamax, or, as everybody looks at it now, a case example of what happens when you bet on the wrong pony. And for the record, despite what the spokesmen of either format say, the war is far, far from over and no side has a clear advantage yet–yes, I am even including the Blu-Ray player in the PS3. That alone isn’t making all the difference that they thought it would.
Sony thought that immense demand for the PS3 would mean that Blu-Ray wins by default, instead, interest in the PS3 is steadily declining when people compare it to the games library of the 360, the cost and the fun of the Wii, and how, inevitably, HD-DVD players and Blu-Ray players will be by far cheaper than the PS3–with HD-DVD players leading the race by several checkpoints in that respect, mind you.
So, when you take into account that the vast majority of the population in general doesn’t feel inclined to go Hi-Def, and that the majority of the people who ARE willing are choosing NOT to BECAUSE of the damn Blu-Ray player’s existance…yes, Sony has done a fine job of alienating their target consumer base by introducing what could be known as Betamax 2.0.
Go fanboy all you like folks, Sony dropped the ball on this one; the sales figures show it.
Jul 20, 2007 at 7:06 pm
You’re a riot. Blu-Ray has been kicking HD-DVD’s ass in both hardware and software for 8 months and somehow that’s “dropping the ball”. The only people “reminding them of Betamax” are dumbasses like you. There’s 2 competing formats. The similarities end there.
If people “fear purchasing the player for what might be the losing format”, then they’ll buy the one with 90% studio support and Blockbuster carrying it, not one with 50% studio support.
As far as PS3 goes, it’s in a lull which is going to end when the star titles start to roll out in September through the end of the year. The demand for it already picked up in spades with the price adjustment. Whether or not it ends up catching up with the other consoles is irrelevant to the HD format war, because regardless of that situation, it is the most successful HD movie player by millions.
Jul 20, 2007 at 8:20 pm
You’re a riot. Blu-Ray has been kicking HD-DVD’s ass in both hardware and software for 8 months and somehow that’s “dropping the ballâ€.
–Only if you count the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player, and only if you count PS3 games as Blu-Ray movies. Which the market does not, only spokesmen for Blu-Ray and Sony. HD-DVD players as stand-alone units are killing Blu-Ray stand-alone players in all regions, and if you subtract the PS3 games from Blu-Ray sales, the figures are actually less than the sales for HD-DVDs. As for Blockbuster, you’re talking about one company which accounts for less than one percent of the rental market, and, actually, one that is facing the real possibility of going under. In comparison to other big-name video rental outlets, they are significantly lagging behind. I know this because I have a friend who is a manager at a location, and this fact is a source of constant stress for him because the bubble may burst within a year.
“The only people “reminding them of Betamax†are dumbasses like you. There’s 2 competing formats. The similarities end there.”
Wow, we must make up the MAJORITY of the population as I’ve already said. Because every time I try to sell a Blu-Ray player at Futureshop, the main concern from the customer–EVERY TIME–is that it may be obsolete in a few years. And yes, I actually want to sell Blu-Ray players over the others because they cost more and I am on commission. For the record, most people are going for the HD-DVD players because of the backwards compatibility. If they choose HD-DVD and it dies, at least they didn’t replace their entire DVD library, eh?
Oh, and by the way, huuuuuuge difference between the figures for SHIPPED units and SOLD units, something of which Sony is blatantly manipulating to misinform the public regarding its transactions. Yup. 100 000 copies of Casino Royawesome (trademark Nathan Fillion) shipped within, what, a week, a month? Something phenomenal. Anyways, when Sony is the one who owns the bloody studio that both filmed the movie and made the Blu-Ray discs, not such an achievement. Nor is it encouraging that they’re carrying on like these have already found their way into people’s homes when less than half of them have actually been sold.
“As far as PS3 goes, it’s in a lull which is going to end when the star titles start to roll out in September through the end of the year. The demand for it already picked up in spades with the price adjustment.”
I suppose the PS3 can only go up, really. Still, what’s typically a lull for consoles isn’t harming Nintendo any. I wonder why that is…oh, right. Sony’s supposed to be learning from THEM, given the trends right now, not vice versa. And don’t make me mention how the Nintendo DS is effectively killing the PSP in all respects. Did you know that Nintendogs has currently sold more units than the XBox 36o AND the PS3 console units have sold combined.
Then factor in that Sony and Microsoft have failed to meet the amount of units shipped that they have set for themselves–while Nintendo surpassed theirs.
“Whether or not it ends up catching up with the other consoles is irrelevant to the HD format war, because regardless of that situation, it is the most successful HD movie player by millions”
Funny how you pluralized the word “million”. But yeah, if you’re considering the PS3 to be a Blu-Ray player and PS3 games to be Blu-Ray movies, I can see why you’d say that. Unfortunately, if you remove those from the score (as well remove as HD-DVD add-ons for the 360 and HD-DVD drives in computers, etc., something of which Sony does every time they release a series of numbers), you get a much different picture. Especially considering the rate they’re flying off the shelves at their new low price that’s stealing a lot of the PS3s thunder.
Yeah. I’m a riot, all right. But how about we leave the name-calling for children, show we?
Jul 21, 2007 at 1:30 am
OK, please no excessive fanboyism, let’s keep this thing from getting personal.
My personal views on this matter have been made fairly clear. I think the PS3 is great, but I think the price is off and I do not think that there was any need to include Blu-Ray with it. The PS3 has an HDD, with proper compression DVD would have been adequate. If you need more than 8GB of space, use more disks. You do not need Blu-Ray to play games.
I always said that Microsoft were smart to get the 360 out with a DVD drive. Sony waited too long and priced their system too high. I am still going to buy one, begrudgingly. Then I will open the case and dump a bigger, badder HDD in.
Jul 21, 2007 at 1:48 am
Why is the PS3 not a “real” player? Because you don’t get a commission on it? Have you ever even used one? It’s a fantastic movie player, much more polished than the PS2 was. If only standalone players count and HD-DVD has sold more of those (they have), then why has Blu-Ray been outselling in movies by 2:1 for 8 months?
http://www.dvdempire.com/Content/Features/hidef_wars.asp
Obviously many of those sales are to PS3 users.
What a salesman you are. Only HD-DVD players are backwards compatible? Where did you come up with that brilliant idea? Can you find me a single Blu-Ray player that won’t play DVDs? No, you cannot. In fact, after firmware 1.80 PS3 is the best upscaling DVD player under $5000.
And yes, millions. Plural. Close to 2 million in the US, 1 million in Japan, almost a million in Europe, and some number in other regions as well. That’s 3-4 million worldwide.
The Wii is totally irrelevant to this issue. The PS3 is following almost the same exact sales history as both the 360 and the PS2. The Wii is selling despite the lack of games because 1) it’s gimmicky and 2) it’s cheap enough to be an impulse buy. Every Wii owner I know (including myself) likes it, but says that there are almost no compelling games outside of Zelda and Paper Mario. It sells because it’s different. Can Sony learn from this? Maybe, but it’s a moot point. The price will fall, the pretty games will come out, and people will buy.
Jul 21, 2007 at 7:06 pm
The PS3 tried to make itself like a computer, too bad it can never replace the computer.
Jul 22, 2007 at 1:16 am
Why is the PS3 not a “real†player? Because you don’t get a commission on it?
Actually, I do, I get a comission on everything that I sell. The ps3 is not a real player because it is a video game console that happens to play Blu-Ray movies, much like the PS2 was a video game console that happened to play DVDs. There is a difference between stand-alone players (units that only play HD movies) and video game consoles.
Have you ever even used one?
Yes, at the store, all the time. We use it to show off what some of the larger HD TVs can do. We also have another TV with a 360 rigged to it, and a couple with stand-alone players. Incidently, the stand-alone players for both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray happen to be far more reliable than the PS3 and HD-DVD add-on for the 360. Customers see this, salesmen see this, its an unavoidable fact that stand-alone players will always perform better than multi-function units until what’s considered to be Next-gen becomes Standard.
It’s a fantastic movie player, much more polished than the PS2 was.
No argument there, the PS3 is really spiffy and looks gorgeous, but if you have a TV that can’t handle Hi-Def it looks like your TV is broken.
If only standalone players count and HD-DVD has sold more of those (they have), then why has Blu-Ray been outselling in movies by 2:1 for 8 months?
Because Sony is including PS3 games as being Blu-Ray movies. PS3 games are not even movies, but to the people of Sony and Blu-Ray, they will squeeze out numbers wherever they can. Remove the PS3 games from these numbers and you get a clearer picture of the real trend, and that is that HD-DVD movies have been making a huge comeback in the last four months, a trend likely to accelerate as the HD-DVD players continue to drop in price and become more common in computers.
Obviously many of those sales are to PS3 users.
What a salesman you are. Only HD-DVD players are backwards compatible? Where did you come up with that brilliant idea? Can you find me a single Blu-Ray player that won’t play DVDs? No, you cannot. In fact, after firmware 1.80 PS3 is the best upscaling DVD player under $5000.
The world according to Sony. I am aware of the firmware updates and know this, just like how the PS3 isn’t entirely backwards compatible with PS2 games, so it is with Blu-Ray movies and DVDs. A large volume of DVDs don’t play in our machine, nor any other, a problem which hasn’t appeared on the HD-DVD players. I have seen the figures on all of these, I have personally looked over sales sheets, specs figures, and observed these incidents in my very store with co-workers, managers, and sometimes even customers. This is why I don’t consider the Blu-Ray to be backwards compatible, because it isn’t. It has software that simulates it, but is far from perfect and that makes customers extra sketchy about buying the machine.
Jul 22, 2007 at 10:09 am
Do people actually consider a PS3 to be equal in quality to a standalone player?
Oct 24, 2007 at 10:22 pm
I would prefer Sony tried to be as much a polar opposite of Nintendo as possible. The Wii is the singular worst system ever.
Oct 24, 2007 at 10:34 pm
“but it would have been much smarter to have loaded it with an HD-DVD player instead”
No, it would’ve been retarded. Bluray is winning because of PS3.
“If you need more than 8GB of space, use more disks. You do not need Blu-Ray to play games.”
That is a horrible solution. There are PS3 launch titles that would’ve taken 3 discs. In which case publishers would’ve put pressure on the developers to downscale everything, reduce bitrates of audio, decrease texture quality and so forth. The point of giving developers more freedom was to reduce sacrifices.
“The PS3 tried to make itself like a computer, too bad it can never replace the computer”
It can and does, thanks to how Sony lets you run Linux on it.
“The ps3 is not a real player because”
You are close minded. The PS3 is rated as one of the best players on the market. Especially thanks to it’s high quality upscaling. There are many people who buy it just as a player.
“the stand-alone players for both HD-DVD and Blu-Ray happen to be far more reliable than the PS3 ”
Lies. PS3 is renowned for it’s reliability. PS3 is also renowned for it’s much better load speeds than stand alone players.
“Because Sony is including PS3 games as being Blu-Ray movies. ”
No they aren’t. That is the dumbest thing I’ve heard in ages. If they did count PS3 games the number would be much higher. Even the lowest selling PS3 games outsell the highest selling bluray movies.
“Do people actually consider a PS3 to be equal in quality to a standalone player?”
Many reviewing sites consider it better than standalone players.
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