EA: PS3 to Outsell 360 This Year

GamerTM writes:

"Electronic Arts has predicted that the Wii will remain the dominant platform in the West in 2008, but that the PS3 will enjoy better sales than the 360."

[YoMeViet]

Did I read it right? EA said that? And here I thought EA favored the 360...

[Cwalat]

we dont need EA telling this to us, PS3 already outsold 360 2007, why wouldn't they outsell them in 2008 ?

PS3 has all the great lineup then, 360 has nothing then, (Gears wont probably make it 2008, if its gonna deliver then Epic is gonna take their time, considering half the staff still working on UT3 for 360)...

dont come with halo wars, 360 freaks only play FPS.(except for Gears)

And yes, if EA dont make better games on PS3 then they really shouldn't speak anything about PS3...

[fenderputty]

to stop sucking as PS3 devs now. Maybe we can get some decent multi plat games from them.

[Hapimeses]

No, I think it's fairer to say that EA favours its own profits, and currently it is generally more profitable to release on the 360 than PS3; thus it appears to favour the 360. However, that doesn't blind EA to the market trends, and if it appears the PS3 is to sell more, it will change its strategies. Of course, individuals in EA may favour the 360, but as a company they are always going to be led to the profits; they can't afford to play favourites when customers are voting with their wallets. Thus, predictions like this may appear out of character, but only if you view EA as supporting the 360 rather than seeing it for what it actually is: a big business in it for the cash.

Further, you must also remember that EA still seems to have a few issues with coding for the PS3, so its going to appear skewed to 360 as it finds it easier to build games for that platform. However, now that the PS3 seems it will be used as lead platform more often, it seems likely many of these issues will vanish entirely.

In short, EA is a busness, and is after the cash. If it forecasts the PS3 is going to sell more, it will say so, and attempt to subtely influence the market in that direction supporting the decisions it takes for furture games on each platform. It seems like a sound business practice to me, although Microsoft may not be enamoured by it.

[TheTwelve]

EA is subject to bandwagon-jumping just like any other company that wants to make money. I'm sure that their "problems" with developing for the PS3 will suddenly disappear in 2008. Hapimeses hit it on the head.

12

[JewyMcJew]

It's nice to see some people around here embrace good-old-fashion business sense rather than fan-boy conspiracy theories.

Oh, and anyone interested in why GM killed the electric car? It's because the car sucked and was costing GM a small fortune. :)

[Cryxen]

We have to remember that this year there is no Halo. That was MS's big gun and if the 360 couldn't pull enough support from it to outsell the ps3 then Sony has my expressed authority to crack out the bubbly.

[MikeGdaGod]

this falls in the "no sh!t" category

[Ric Flair]

.

[Relcom]

there not gonna suck a$$ at making PS3 games?????

[Rice]

True say... They can say stuff all day but when it comes to developing for the ps3, they suck As*.

[kingOVsticks]

ohh lets not go overboard only baby steps pal

[ravinash]

Hopefully if they are taking the PS3 more seriously they'll be making more of an effort in the builds.
But they have a long way back to re-build their reputation.

[makatak]

sooner or later even M$ is going to say that the PS3 would outsell the 360

[ravinash]

Have you ever seen MS admit if they were the underdog for anything?

[The Killer]

i was waiting for EA to give the prediction of ps3 sale in 2008... NOOOOT!!

[Skerj]

Shut up and make your programmers stop making shoddy PS3 counterparts, and Burnout Paradise doesn't count.

[Maddens Raiders]

is back according to EA?

Come on man....

[kingboy]

That videos is just wow

[DTClown]

EA stated more sales for PS3. Sony's 2008 line up is going to in turn sell millions and MILLIONS of PS3's. All these new owners will be buying up all kinds of games for their systems like Burnout and even older games like Fight Night. I predict PS3 will out sell the 360 by 4:1 by the end of the year. (maybe even more)

[MikeGdaGod]

good video

[Milky]

what song is that

[Rusted]

this is going to be ugly...

On topic, with a promising year for the PS3 now EA is supporting this console mmm... EA looks like the whore of the industry with this kind of statements.

EDIT: nice video Maddens!

[trikster40]

Wow, real bold statement there EA, considering that the PS3 outsold the 360 LAST year...bold words indeed.

[marinelife9]

The PS3 sells well in all three markets the 360 only sells well in one and a half (US and UK).

I think it might be too late this generation to change the perception of the 360 in eyes of the rest of the world.

The PS3 has four things

1. Instant name recognition because of the PS1 and PS2

2. Lower pricing that could go lower this year along with free online

3. Great high profile games on the way in MGS4 and FFXIII

4. Included hi def player in Blu-Ray

Microsoft is going to need to make a big splash at GDC to gain some momentum back.

[antoinetm]

Whatever, EA isnt going to get my money anytime soon.

[Armyless]

-I'd get off my wallet for that one.

[midgard229]

world wide it shud outsell 360 again, yeah, but in america if it does it will be because of metal gear 4 and final fantasy 13, 2 of biggest system sellers ever, besides smash bros and halo lol

[mighty_douche]

out sold the 360 in 2007, and will continue to do so until the end of the generation.

[Genuine]

You mean outshipped, it certainly didn't have more sales to consumers. If you think the ps3 had more consumer sales, then I've got some magic beans you might be interested in. Sony flooded the retail channel this year, just like MS did last year. And I'm sure there will be a news story on the subject sometime soon.

[athlon770]

If YOU think the 360 SOLD the 15+ million, then you are delusional, every 360 that was replaced under store waranty because of the dreaded RROD is counted as a sale.

In other words, to put it simple so you can understand this...

My friend has gone through 5 360pro and 2 360elites, although he has technically owned 7 360's, he has only had 1 at a time, but MS still counts that as 7 360's sold. You do the math, and I am sure even you will come to the understanding why there are only 10mil XBL accounts (figure a couple of million owners do not have a internet connection) and you come up with the magical 33% failure rate.

Hope everyone has a great Superbowl weekend!

[darkside]

Genuine and athlon770 you guys are great!!

[Area_51]

i never thought of it that way i wander if they really do that? I do see them doing some shady stuff like that. If that is true where talking alot of 360's

[Genuine]

Lol, keep going to school braintrust. Reporting false numbers to investors would be a form of stock fraud. Not only is what your implying bullshot, it's common knowlegde to any business owner that your full of sh*t. Nice going...what are you 14?

[Mikelarry]

the lottery numbers please EA. while sony has a great line up of games coming out this year. we still dont know what ms has in stock. but hey what do i care i have got both consoles. let the good game times begin

[Milky]

they expresed they are making there console the 'family' console for 08 so expect alot of games your grandma will love

[RacingX]

EA are bandwagon jumpers for sure. I know the sports titles were shoddy, but my girlfriend got me Orange Box for Christmas (along with a white dual shock 3, UT3, etc.. yeah she's real cool) anyway, I've been playing it quite a bit and I don't see what the hubbub was about. it looks just as good as my buddy's 360 ver, smooth online in team fortress. I have MoH AB too and I have no issues there either. Maybe EA is getting there $hite together....

[Darkiewonder]

They wouldn't have claimed it if it never did so well. They still need to bring most of their developers a bit of to speed. 1 year has passed, time for a new year ;)

[yeh]

What's really funny is that the 360 in it's prime couldn't outsell the PS3 at it's worst.

[TwissT]

That is so true... +bubbles.

[TheHater]

Why don't EA STFU? How about they do less prediction on the ps3, and learn to develop for the dam machine. I am not going to buy their crap until they are on par with the ps3. I could get their games for my 360, but I don't want too.

[athlon770]

Burnout Paradise!

EA and others did a fantastic job on this game. My wife gave it to me last night as a early b-day present. If they can do they type of work on their following games, well, EA just dug themselves out of the grave!

[TheHater]

That is only from One EA studio. Look what they did to the Orange Box, and all their sports games on the ps3. But until EA start making ps3 games on par with the 360 version, I don't think any ps3 owners will respect them. And they should spend less time talking, and complaining, and spend more time practice or learn how to develop for the ps3.

[athlon770]

EA's track record has been less than great, but burnout paradise IS a new game from EA and one that depending on who you talk with is either on par with the 360, or-ever-so slightly better. So, like I said in my first response, if EA can keep this type of work on their following games, those of us with both systems can start supporting our PS3 with EA games.

[Daz]

Im to busy playing the games they both have to ofter then worrying about outselling each other. i get to play games what ever happens.

[nirun]

so it would be best for them to spend some more of their moola on the PS3... please release a PROPER nba game

[meepmoopmeep]

i doubt it was Peter Moore that said that... i wonder what good ol' Petey thinks about that statement?

[TwissT]

"More importantly, with EA forecasting that only 3.9-4.9 million PS2s will be sold this year in the West – noticeably less than the next-gen formats – it seems that the games market is well on its way to moving on from the last generation of console."

This quote got more attention from me than from EA saying the Ps3 will out sell the 360 lol.

[Genuine]

Ps3 might have shipped more units in 2007, but it certainly didn't have more consoles sold to consumers than 360. Sony flooded the retail channel, it's as simple as that.

[trikster40]

Flooded? I was a manager at a Gamestop and the first 4-5 months of 2007, we were definitely not flooded. with 360s, yes, but not PS3s. YOu are foretting that in every territory but US, PS3 is dominant over 360. Even in America, PS3 is only about 700,000 units behind.

[Kleptic]

any idea how many more times you are going to say that today, Genuine?...

There is no indication that these numbers are not shipped for both...But you are saying that Sony is claiming these to be sold, when they really are only shipped?...Sony hasn't shown any signs of blatantly lying like MS did last year...MS said they were sold, then admitted they had overstocked retailers with the 360...Sony has pretty much always regarded only shipped numbers...

in either case...the PS3 shipped more than the 360...by 1.5 million...its not exactly like 360s are sold out...anywhere...so an educated guess would mean that the company that shipped more, also sold more...

magic beans?...Its the 360 kids that would buy magic beans...You guys were the people truely believing that an Xbox system would overall takeover a Playstation system...not only is it only getting worse for the 360...the 360 couldn't even beat it with the 'best gaming lineup in history'...pretty sad...

[Bzone24]

"Even in America, PS3 is only about 700,000 units behind."

Did the PS3 sell over 6 million units in January to get within 700,000 of the XBox 360 in America?

[JVIDICAN]

you dont deserve to use brock samsons face XP

[CrazzyMan]

We all know, that PS3 FTW. =)
It`s not debatable.
Only i hope, EA starts creating good games on PS3, not some crappy ports.

[Mr_Kuwabara]

EA, tell Crytek to bring Crysis. =P

[Gina-get-u]

At this point I'm not sure it will matter anymore, as far as 3rd parties are concerned. Even at its current installed unit level the 360 is already able to sustain robust and highly profitable software sales, pretty much assuring for itself the continued strong support of EA and other multi-platform developers until the end of its product cycle. There is no chance that we will again see a situation similiar to the previous generation, where the PS2 received lopsided support from developers and enjoyed a towering advantage in 3rd party exclusives over the original xbox.

I agree that the 360 probably won't "win" this generation, but if there's anybody here that still hopes the 360 will die a dreamcast-style death, then I'm sorry, because it isn't gonna happen. MS is now a legit player in the console gaming business, and you'll just have to live with that. Do yourselves a favor and make room on your shelves for 3 consoles; we should all be able to afford it soon. If 360 sales do slow down significantly, bet on a nasty console price war to keep things interesting.

[GrammarPolice]

is absolutely correct, as is the case in pretty much every profit-making venture.

Following that logic, since the install base for 360 is currently reaching its peak, the smart business will continue to develop for that platform. It's just makes business sense to do so. By mentioning the PS3, they acknowledge that there is money to be made there, and they are shifting their business model to match.

So for this year, I see them devoting the majority of resources to the 360, but continue to ramp up their PS3 effort. What does this mean in terms of actual games? I think owners should expect the 2008 PS3 versions of Madden and NCAA Football to still be inferior to the 360. As the install base grows, EA's resource allocation will shift to match, and the lead development effort will shift to PS3 after this calendar year.

[Gina-get-u]

I would tend to agree with you except with one caveat: if the PS3's software attach rate does not improve, then it won't matter how many more PS3s there are over 360s. Titles will still sell better on the 360, and as you pointed out, the developers will follow the money.

Currently the PS3 attach rate is just 57% of the 360: http://www.gamasutra.com/ph...
If this keeps up, the PS3 installed base would have to grow to almost twice the size of the 360's to generate the same level of software unit sales.

[GrammarPolice]

Great observation, Gina-get-u.

It will definitely be a balancing act. I also would take into account EA's proficiency in programming for the 360. As they peak, I would guess they would gain proficiency which would allow them to streamline efforts and possibly reallocate resources to other areas (PS3 and Wii).

With proficiency in development as a product progresses through its life cycle, the resource to install base ratio wouldn't necessarily have to be one to one.

In any case, it will be interesting to watch!

Thanks, this is a good discussion.

[GrooveChampion]

Wouldn't an increase in sales translate somewhat into higher attach rates if people are truly buying the console for the games of 08?

[Ju]

The attach rate talk is total BS. The PS3 sells 63% of the 360 SW with an about 57% install base (on a global scale). What does this tell us about attach rate ?

[trancefreak]

finally the tables are turned. Was getting sick of all the Sony haters their for awhile. I totally believe a lot of xbox360 owners will head to the ps3 for that new gaming experience and a much more reliable console that doesn't freeze when your at the top of your game

[name]

EA= Flip Floppers

[GrooveChampion]

Flip-flopping has such negative connotations. They see the forecasts their analysts are providing and the have (since PS1) seen the power of the Playstation brand, does one expect them to stick to old data even if the market tells them otherwise? There seem to be very few constants in business, and things can apparently change quite rapidly.

[niall77]

... lets just hope EA use thr ps3 as lead platform this year

[TheExecutive]

i think thats obvious to everyone who isnt a fanboy.

[KILLERAPP]

Well will see.

[DarkSniper]

With the influx of AAA exclusives and integration of Home, EA Sports has finally make the proper business prediction for PLAYSTATION® 3 to continue it's way to dominance in 2008.

Dark Sniper fully agrees with this decision and is willing to support Electronic Arts on their PLAYSTATION® 3 endeavors.

$niper
4D Graphics

[mintaro]

what's the 4th dimension?

[DJ]

Did you get to see the PS3 benchmarks for tech that allows environments to age and deteriorate in realtime? (i.e. no programmer/artist input) Pretty cool that Sony's started including this in their PS3 SDKs.

[PSWe60]

This comment says two things:
What has already occurred in 2007 and what WILL occurr in '08.
I just find it interesting that EA said it, I thought they were all about the 360

[Doctor Strange]

This is what everybody seems to be thinking now and I agree. This is going to be a good year.

[name]

the forth demension is time @ whoever asked.

[karlostomy]

the ps3 is already outselling the 360. and has been for a few weeks last year too.

The real question is how long will it take the ps3 to catch and/or overtake the 360 (assuming existing sales trends continue)?

If it takes too long and both consoles sell over 40+ million will the outcome even matter?
Remember, by 2010/2011 we will have the next generation almost upon us anyway... yep that means ps4!

[xionpunk]

Maybe, but they need to do something about the American market. 360 is kicking its ass here. Nice to see European sales going strong.

[Ju]

I agree. But the problem with the US market is, I fear, they can only win over price here. The US is so money driven. Nobody cares what's in the machine as long as the number on the price tag matches. And combine this with the weak $, the US is the least attractive market for another price drop. So, yes, it will be very hard for Sony to catch up in the US.

[2 cents]

Things are really turning into PS3s favor, and there is more and more positive feedback from the media which will improve PS3 sales.
However we won`t see the PS3s full effect until some of the highly expected games.

[DJ]

PS3 had superior performance during the 360's strongest year, so it looks like they're going to be doing even better in 2008. Just the software lineup from Sony alone is massive; a lot of the 3rd party exclusives and multiplats look great as well.

[TheMART]

Superior performance?

You mean all those less versions of multiplatform games they had?
Or...

You mean Lair?

[rhood022]

^^^^

I think he meant the over 1 million difference in total PS3's sold during 07 compared to the number of 360's sold.

[ErcsYou]

... Superior market performance (plus Uncharted spanks every other console game Graphicly )

lesser versions? You must be forgetting Oblivion and GRAW2 (Burnout paradise)

ShadowRun???

[DJ]

Lair didn't sell because Lair was garbage. Heavenly Sword, Ratchet, Uncharted, and Warhawk have sold boatloads though. Why? Because gamers like to buy good games. Duh.

I'm entering the Warhawk design contest. Is anyone else here submitting Insignias or Skins?

[jaaz]

Hire Insomniac as consultants!

[RiloBunsen]

I own a first generation PS3! And I have been following this " system War" for a while every now an then since I got a lot of work, got nothing against 360 owners this is a matter of choice. I´m not a hardcore gammer, I´m more a casual nostalgic gammer I owned almost every system since Atari and Itelevition or however it´s spelled. My point is, I have not bought any PS3 EA game this generation why? I belive from what i´ve seen that almost every EA game out there works and plays better on 360 ( my opinion) and is not that I expected a killer difference between systems but at least the same quality. I´ve been hearing for long that EA that the 360 is a better console to develop and in general terms a better console, EA has forgotten to whom they own their best software income for the last 6 years, they´re only seeking money they care shi.... about consumers and is not like they betrayed their business partnerships but the compromise with gammers. I now that things are changing I just want to tell every 360 owner to be aware of EA in the near future cause they might be getting less quiality an content in games to come. This guys like many others are just mercenaries.

Regards to all you readers and forgive my spelling since English is not my native language.

[XanderZane]

We'll see what happens in 2008. M$ still haven't drop the price of the XBox 360 in Europe or Japan yet. The PS3 is actually cheaper then the 360 is several countries in Europe. If M$ can get the price down to $300 or lower for their Pro and $350 for their Elite, I think they will move a lot of 360 in 2008. Way more then what they did in 2007. For new adopters getting a new gaming console, the 360 still has the edge, mainly because it still has more quality games then the PS3. The PS3 has maybe 7-8 games on retail shelves RIGHT NOW that is worth purchasing. The XBox 360 has about 20-25 titles worth owning. The system is still cheaper then the PS3 in the U.S., so obviously it's going to continue to outsell the PS3 in the states. Europe may actually break even if M$ can get the price of their system down. Neither the PS3 or 360 will be catching the Wii in 2008, that's for sure.

[TheMART]

So when has EA been right ever?

Funny. We'll see though. PS3 has still 9 mln. consoles as a gap between them and 360 to make up. Current sales are about on par, so how many years do they have to outsell in what amount to catch up to the 360?

[xaphanze]

I dont like predictions.We should wait and see

[heyheyhey]

cue patronizing voice: wow EA you are really really good well done

you must have had the bestest upon bestest of analysts on the job to figure that one out, have a cookie

seriously isn't this a given by now?

[wiizy]

oh well.. ea was right though.. wii will be the top console this whole generation

[Sonics020]

Wii will end up selling the most units but after about two or three years i think the ps3 will outsell the wii week after week but wii will have to big of a lead for anyone to catch up.

[cmrbe]

I do expect PS3 NA sales to be ahead a little bit in NA for 2008 but not enough to catch up. My prediction is the PS3 will catch up to the x360 in NA by the end of 2009 when GOW3 and FF is released after MGS4 and GT5 this year. Europe is just as i expected and the PS3 should catch up in the last 1/4 of this year. There are still alot of variables though MGS4,GT5,KZ2,R2 depending on their performance might have a bigger or less impact on the NA market for the PS3.The 6-7 million lead the x360 has on the PS3 in NA is too big for the PS3 to catch up this year IMO.

I hope with these prediction EA would provide better mulit-plats versions for PS3. As they could see with COD4. The PS3 crowd only buy quality. Not second rate versions.

[DigitalEntity]

Everyone with a 360 will eventually get a PS3... before or after their 360 breaks!

[Lord_Ash]

EA games are selling well on the PS3 lately, even some of them surpassing the ones on the XBox even if by a little (FIFA being one of them thanks to Europe). so I think their expecting even more growth in the upcoming months (stating the obvious).

[GurlPlease]

chile...this site is a mess lol. I got banned on the gamer zone for no reason. Lame

[Iron Man 2]

LOL This is just like Surfer Girl's predictions,obvious!;)

[ForROME]

EA is a pawn, they will move to who ever is making more money at the time or will in the next year, dreamcast vs PS2 anyone?

They are a lame duck if you take away madden they look like a sheep with no fur.

As to the sales, PS3 tripped a little because of themselves not 360, they 360 will not make a dent in the end and for being out a year early with no competition it really didnt sell as well as it was touted and that is now starting to show.

[DFresh]

I guess EA has a little say in the issue with the PS3.
Even though I hated that company for not taking their time and rushing to get people's money they still created Burnout Paradise which blew away the 360 version by 10X.
If they make Crysis for the PS3 then they might get some of my respect back but until they do these things I mentioned they don't have my respect as a gamer and a consumer.

[rexor0717]

I would never want to see it happen, but will there be sloppy 360 ports?

[Figboy]

example:

developer makes game for 360 and PS3. because of difficulties in PS3 development (lack of tools, laziness, etc), the 360 version is superior. word gets out that 360 versions of multi-plat games (they don't even have to be from the same developer), and that becomes the common consensus amongst gamers. from that point gamers, gamers refuse to buy the PS3 version of *ANY multi-platform titles, regardless if the difference in quality is minimal, or even outright non-existent (look at Oblivion, Fight Night Round 3, the Darkness, Burnout Paradise, and Devil May Cry 4).

because consumers aren't buying the PS3 version because of a widespread (and nowadays often *FALSE) belief that the 360 version is better, developers *REFRAIN from supporting the PS3 as it should.

developers refraining from supporting a console, ultimately, hurts that console.

fortunately, not all developers are that skittish, and there are plenty (such as Criterion), who are willing to take up the challenge of PS3 development, and produce spectacular results (ie, Burnout Paradise and DMC4).

it's also no coincidence that the multi-plat games that are actually *GOOD on the PS3 had the PS3 as the lead development platform.

maybe more and more developers are seeing that leading on the PS3 ultimately means that *BOTH versions turn out their best.

as for EA, i could care less *WHAT they have to say, whether it's slamming the PS3, or praising it. until they release quality games *PERIOD (outside of the aforementioned Burnout Paradise), i'll prefer to take the word of developers and publishers that *KNOW what they're doing (ie, Insomniac, Naughty Dog, Bioware, Kojima Productions, Sony Santa Monica, Team Ico, Square-Enix, Level 5, etc).

[jackdoe]

So true. I chuckled when EA revealed how much they made on PS3 games last year. EA got what it deserved.

[jackdoe]

This is truly, really ironic. I would have never expected this type of quote to come from EA of all people.

[HarryEtTubMan]

hahahahaha Microsft is coming in third. IT IS GUARANTEED. SONT WILL NOT LOSE TO MICROSFT HAHAHAHAHAHA. And they know they won't. The PS3 is already winning AND SONY HAS SAID the PS3 will be out 9 MORE YEARS. PS3 WILL WIN EASILY.

ALL JEALOUS TRASH TALKING NAIVE BOTS WILL BE PWNED.

[moodymofo]

of course sony will probably out sell xbox everybody owns one alredy

[Milky]

its obvious, PS3 sold more than xbox 360 in 07 with microsoft giving all the games they had. why wouldnt ps3 sell more in 08 when all of sonys big hitters are coming out ? EA piss me off.

[Rocko]

Not in NA and the UK, 360 dominates.

[Milky]

WORLDWIDE