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NPD to date for 2008: Wii whitewashes while 360 and PS3 thrash it out

VG247: In the wake of July's NPD figures, we thought we'd look at just how well the 'big three' have fared over the last seven months by tallying all hardware data for 2008.

We all know Nintendo is having a fantastic year, but just how well is Wii doing?

Microsoft and Sony are fighting their own high-def battle, but how big is the margin between the two, and who has the lead?
patlike - contributor
Published: 501 days ago | Article | PlayStation 3 | Xbox 360 | Wii | Sony PSP | Nintendo DS | Industry News
 
 

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Ben1054 - 501 days ago
1 - its only NPD (america)
i want to know how it is with the whole world
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Genesis5 - 500 days 21 hours ago
1.1 -
MS is having a heck of a time trying to hold a lead with a 1 year head start. What would have happened if the had launched at the same time. No wonder they rushed that thing out the door. Or they wouldn't even be in this race.
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Maddens Raiders - 500 days 21 hours ago
1.2 - Another thing is we do not know -
just how many therapy offices, clinics, hospices, hospitals, and 24 hour fitness centers are purchasing Wii's in a volume like manner.

Does anyone know if NPD represents individual consumer numbers only, or do they take into account all purchases, such as "bulk" purchases from commercial enterprises?
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PS360WiiRocks - 500 days 21 hours ago
1.3 - maddens
Actually let's see my apartment complex has a Wii in the leasing center. and the only other place I have seen consoles is at the massive children's hospital here in Colorado. Every room has a xbox 360 in it, and in the all the play areas they have Wii's.
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ElementX - 500 days 20 hours ago
1.4 -
Actually, most of the world doesn't have official numbers. Only Japan, North America, and I think England and Germany have numbers. France and Spain don't have official stats. I could be wrong, though.
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Mao - 500 days 7 hours ago
1.5 - Yeah well
My Wii is hitting the used-bin this week in favor of the 360. You know, a console that actually has good games and not just shovelware. Nintendo really has dissapointed me this gen. Totally angry with the Wii and it's gimmicky first party exclusives, last-gen presentation and terrible 3rd party support. PS360. Now THAT'S the way to go.

Nintendo doesn't deserve these sales from the soccer moms. Stupid non-traditional gaming market pushing the change in the gaming environment. Great, now devs have an excuse to make garbage! *sigh*
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Gam71 - 501 days ago
2 -
ps3 only outselling the 360 by over 200,000.
And thats been reduced by 360 during august

At this rate they'll claim second spot during the next gen.
Sure paints a different tale to what the sony execs and more importantly certain fans on here have been saying about the ps3 destroying the 360 this year.
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TheHater - 500 days 23 hours ago
2.1 -
US sales =/= world sales.
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harrisk954 - 500 days 23 hours ago
2.2 - Part of the problem
from Sony's end is that its sales are being split by the PS3, PSP and PS2. While the PSP is not a "next gen" system, so to speak, it is a relatively new platform, released in the US in 2005. That being said, the 3 Sony platforms together are smashing the 360. Of course, we are only concered about the "next gen" systems here, but, it is rather interesting that the 360 only outsold the PS2 this year by 400,000 units. The other surprise is that the PSP has outsold the 360 by 150,000 units. For a system that many sites are touting as "dead", that apparently can't be more far from the truth. That leaves the PS3 outselling the 360 by about 250,000 units this year. While not enough to make a huge dent in the 360's lead, the bottom line is that it is a dent and no matter how much spin MS puts on it they can't be happy. Because with momentum comes more sales and those unconverted PS2 masses are still out there and it is looking more and more like Sony may really keep them... Plus, another ace in Sony's hole is that those who bought PSP will probably lean toward buying the PS3 for the interactivity features. Not to mention, but these are US numbers only (NPD)... worldwide, the PS3's momentum and sales is much more painful for MS.

So, IMO, MS can spin it any way they want, but the PS3 is on its way to an eventual overtaking of the 360... maybe not in 2009 for total numbers, but it looks like 2010 for sure.
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Esena - 500 days 23 hours ago
2.3 -
Why would you say 200k when its more like 300k? 100 thousand units is a lot to miss...
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Gam71 - 500 days 23 hours ago
2.4 -
its more around 250,000 if you do the maths.

ms does have several reason to be happy and one of them should be a big concern to sony.

with the playstation brand name the fact it is competing so closely and still in the lead is encouraging.
then the reason why sony should be worried is software sales.
the 360 sells shed loads month in month out and ms is getting a high market share competing with the wii for revenue but on the ps3 sony lose a lot more money than ms on each console sold so need the software sales.
unfortunately for them software sales are pale in comparison.
losing the share the once owned.

if sony didn't have the ps2 and even the psp to prop them up what state do you think they would be in now?
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tordavis - 500 days 23 hours ago
2.5 -
"but the PS3 is on its way to an eventual overtaking of the 360... maybe not in 2009 for total numbers, but it looks like 2010 for sure."

Thank you for your OPINION!
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harrisk954 - 500 days 23 hours ago
2.6 - @tordavis
You are welcome! And, if you read my comment, I said "IMO"... i beleive that that translates to "in my opinion"....
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callahan09 - 500 days 22 hours ago
2.7 -
272,200 to be exact.
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TheExecutive - 500 days 22 hours ago
2.8 -
i think when the fiscal year is over and both companies produce their numbers the PS3 is going to be CRUSHING the 360 worldwide. I expect the PS3 to be down by something like 2-3 million units. Look for them to overtake the 360 mid next year.

At least thats my opinion.
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Maddens Raiders - 500 days 21 hours ago
2.9 - Are you -
drunk?
2.10 dantesparda | 500 days 20 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show
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TheDeadMetalhead - 500 days 20 hours ago
2.11 - I'm not sure
how far ahead the 360 still is, so I don'r know when Dony will take 2nd place.

But if things keep going the way they are, then yeah. Sony will take 2nd imo.
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power of Green - 500 days 19 hours ago
2.12 -
I read some of the comments in here and find it funny PS3 fans know the PS3 will outsell the 360. Who ever can get the price down in the mass consumer market range first is a strong tool for success. For all we know 20 thousnad people were waitng for the 60 gig consoles.
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MNicholas - 500 days 19 hours ago
2.13 - PS3 sales dropped in the last few weeks ...
due to a lack of supply during the model changeover. Now that many places like Amazon have been able to restock you can see (by looking at the daily sales details) that PS3 sales have gone up again.

Despite the supply interruption the PS3 still has a 31% lead this year. That's a sales massive advantage in the next-gen wars (Wii outsells both but isn't a direct competitor). What's more, retailers like Best Buy prefer to push the PS3 over the 360 because it adds revenue in multiple departments. They can not only sell games but movies too with the hardware. Furthermore, Microsoft's 3 year RRoD warranty (which many consumers mistake for a full 3yr warranty) cut's into retailers ability to promote replacement plans which even cover damage due to humidity, dust and power surges. Not only that, 360 replacement plans can actually cost more to honor (due to the high failure rate) so some retailers stopped selling them!

So the PS3 has not only outsold the 360 by a large margin this year but it has several advantages going forward. Microsoft's only chance to catch up and pull ahead is to cut prices and buy some marketshare.
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power of Green - 500 days 18 hours ago
2.14 - ^^^
MGS4 bundles selling out for a week at some retailers doesn't make much difference, this is where your shortages come from.

PS3 sells in the DVD market and the Video game market plus PS2 has 120 million owners, not to mention PS3 had 2 or 3 price drops in its first year, sheeesh.

PS3 just came off of it's Halo(MGS4) where as the 360 has not had exclusive AAA's release sence last Xmas, I don't think your boasting is justified.
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gaffyh - 500 days 18 hours ago
2.15 -
POG you sound more retarded with every post you make. MGS4 is not the PS3s Halo, Sony does not have ONE definitive game that most console owners buy. The only game that is even capable of doing that is GT5 (cos previous versions have sold 15-17 million, I cant remember the exact number).

You almost always mention this in your fanboy rants:

"not to mention PS3 had 2 or 3 price drops in its first year, sheeesh."

How does this affect Sony's game sales? Increase. How does it affect the consumer? Cheaper console. How does it affect Sony's profit? Profit goes way down. This story is about SALES not PROFIT, moron.
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TheDeadMetalhead - 500 days 18 hours ago
2.16 - @PoG
"MGS4 bundles selling out for a week in some retailers doesn't make much difference, this is where your shortages come from."

Sorry, PoG. But that DOES make a difference.The fact that the MGS4 PS3 bundles are still selling out and experiencing shortages are proof of 2 things.

1. MGS4 IS a system seller
2. People want PS3

"PS3 sells in the DVD market and the Video game market plus PS2 has 120 million owners, not to mention PS3 had 2 or 3 price drops in its first year, sheeesh."

You're actually mostly right about this. Except that PS3 had only ONE pricecut for each type of PS3 (80 GB $600-$500. 40GB $500-400).

"PS3 just came off of it's Halo(MGS4) where as the 360 has not had exclusive AAA's release sence last Xmas, I don't think your boasting is justified."

Halo 3 didn't move consoles the way that MGS4 did. In fact, it was a dissapointment compared to Halo 2 imo.

And you're right. The 360 has had no AAA titles all year. which is why it's sales are dropping.

Of course, we might see a spike in 360 sales when Gears 2, Fable 2, and (Hopefully) Alan Wake finaly come. Just like we saw a spike in PS3 sales the week that MGS4 was released (Hardware Sales nearly tripled that week).

All I can say is, if things keep going the way they are, then I don't think the 360 won't last much longer imo.

"I read some of the comments in here and find it funny PS3 fans know the PS3 will outsell the 360. Who ever can get the price down in the mass consumer market range first is a strong tool for success. For all we know 20 thousnad people were waitng for the 60 gig consoles."

This is all pure speculation and opinions, PoG. Everyone knows that. No one knows what will happen. No one can predict the future. That post was just dumb, dude.
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power of Green - 500 days 18 hours ago
2.17 -
I heard VG-Chartz "America's sales" track all of the america's, it is no wonder PS3 fans can't grasp the NPD numbers which only does the USA(or the version we post that is).

Point is, VGC was 200k off(360) for July because the numbers comparing all of America was compared to just USA numbers hence the PS3 fan attatude.

VGC numbers for July which were all of the America's was compared to NPD's July numbers which the version posted was only the USA numbers.
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MysteriousMaverick - 500 days 17 hours ago
2.18 - wow
You listen to VGChartz?
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power of Green - 500 days 17 hours ago
2.19 - WoW
I don't listen to VGC but I do understand PS3 fans are tricking people when it comes to accuracy, VGC was not off by 200 thousand for July when tracking the 360 numbers, they simply tracked American sales.

VGC tracked the "America's" and when NPD gets posted in comparison it is usually just the "US NPD" thus confusing the ignorant.
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power of Competence - 500 days 12 hours ago
2.20 - @2.12 power of Green
"I read some of the comments in here and find it funny PS3 fans know the PS3 will outsell the 360. Who ever can get the price down in the mass consumer market range first is a strong tool for success. For all we know 20 thousnad people were waitng for the 60 gig consoles."

No one here knows who is going to "win" this console war, but you really seem to think that its impossible for the PS3 to do so. The price cut that Microsoft made to the Arcade system didn't move too many consoles, according to NPD numbers, so it sure is a tool that can be used, but don't act like its going to make thousands of people want to buy consoles. Its all about demand, people won't buy just because they saw the price go down.
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Bucky Sligo - 500 days 3 hours ago
2.21 -
Wow, POG's comments are bothering the PS3 fans so much that there are some stalkers emerging. Thats sad...
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NewSchoolGamer - 500 days 23 hours ago
3 - If this is only
the American NPD then the PS3 has a bigger lead this year.

The PS3 has more time to catch up and beat the xbox360 in sales. It has 2009 and 2010. Not to mention all the great exclusives that are coming out for it.
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militant07 - 500 days 23 hours ago
3.1 -
also there is alot of exlusive coming to 360
wtf your comment got no point
every console got a great exclusive to be released
i can list for you unreleased 360 exclusive
3.2 JokesOnYou | 500 days 23 hours ago - User only got 1 bubble - Show
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MNicholas - 500 days 18 hours ago
3.3 - IF 360 sales keep dropping ...
then it will happen sooner than that. If MS drops it's hardware price but keeps charging for Live they'll only gain a short term recovery.
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Omega4 - 500 days 23 hours ago
4 -
At this rate the Ps3 wont outsell the 360 till about 2012 also anything could happen to turn the favour to any console. Since in 2010 MS might release a slim 360 with built-in bluray for $199 (since bluray will be cheaper by then) which could be a huge boost for them. Also the PS3 coud do the same minus the bluray.

But i doubt the PS3 will ever outsell the 360 by a large enough margin to change the current positions. And while everyone says PS2 fans are yet to be converted, who the hell do yuo think are buying Wiis, the casual PS2 crowd thats who. Not to meantion the 360 will be surpassing the Xbox's orignal install base so all addition sales will likely be PS2 converts, so i suggest you all give up on that idea.
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strotee - 500 days 23 hours ago
4.1 - .
Speaking of "giving up on that idea", why would MS start putting Blu-Ray in their systems? Are you talking for gaming purposes or movie playback?

Gaming: So they would just give the middle finger to 20 million current 360 owners who only have a DVD drive? "Yea sorry, we're only going to make games on Blu-Ray now, sorry. Upgrade or die." Do you honestly think they would do that? You can't just change the storage medium half way through a generation. Face it, MS chose the DVD for 1 reason, cheap price.

Movies: With all their preaching about how digital downloads are the future, etc etc, why would they replace the DVD drive? I could see an add-on, but not built-in simply for the added expense. Even by 2010, I can still see Blu-Ray costing slightly more than DVD, so again, MS will choose the less expensive route.

Sony dropping Blu-Ray: I won't even bother commenting.

I'm interested to hear why you think MS/Sony would make those steps.
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alakazzam - 500 days 23 hours ago
4.2 -
i dont know strotee ms dropped support for the xbox why wouldnt they do the same for 360 lol. anyways the ps3 has already outsold the 360 in europe and japan so i wouldnt of thought the gap on worldwide sales would be as much as you think. oh and for anyone who says that 360 sales have slowed because so many people own one F**K you, if thats logical then why is the psp still beating it, thats been out for ages
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PopEmUp - 500 days 23 hours ago
4.3 - well if M$
do that I would consider them putting a bullet into their head
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Omega4 - 500 days 22 hours ago
4.4 - @ strotee
Sorry you misunderstood what i meant. For MS the bluray would just be for movies since i dont think they're that stupid to let it be for games as well considering the userbase. Also your right an addon is more likely since it would probably make them more money selling it seperatly.

And when i said "minus the bluray" with the PS3 i was only saying that cause it already had bluray.

MS would likly only add bluray if its sales took off really REALLY well (outselling DVD), enough so that they'd rather back the disc format over DD
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Wii60Fan - 500 days 18 hours ago
4.5 - Right about
The time Final Fantasy XIII is scheduled to be released...Hmmm how convenient.
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zypher - 500 days 23 hours ago
5 - @Gam71
"At this rate they'll claim second spot during the next gen.
Sure paints a different tale to what the sony execs and more importantly certain fans on here have been saying about the ps3 destroying the 360 this year."

they'll probably claim second to the Wii, but at this point the PS3 is almost assured a victory over the 360...worldwide, and probably in the US too, but that might take a little more time. since Sept. of last year the US was the only market where the 360 outsold the PS3 on a monthly basis, and now that's no longer the case. in Nov. '06 the 360 had a 10 million lead over the PS3 and now, just 1.9 years later, that lead has been reduced to 5 million.

as for PS3 destroying the 360 this year, i myself think that's pretty strong wording. i DO believe the PS3 will win in the US this year, and by a noticeable margin, but i don't think it'll destroy the 360. the 360 has no system seller coming this year: it's heavy hitters (Fable 2, Gears of War 2, L4D) will probably appeal only to pre-existing, hardcore gaming 360 owners (like myself).
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tordavis - 500 days 23 hours ago
5.1 -
"they'll probably claim second to the Wii, but at this point the PS3 is almost assured a victory over the 360...worldwide, and probably in the US too, but that might take a little more time."

You need to back that statement up with some data. Otherwise it's just a shallow OPINION!
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PopEmUp - 500 days 22 hours ago
5.2 - You need to back that statement up with some data. Otherwise it's just a shallow OPINION!
same goes to all 360/PS3 fans is that what your point is
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zypher - 500 days 22 hours ago
5.3 - @tordavis
um, this is all opinion, because it hasn't happened yet. notice all the "probably"s i put in there? yeah, that means it's all opinion based, so get your panties out of a bunch. what is factual is that the PS3 has been outselling the 360 in the US (which this very article proves), has a much higher install base in Japan, and recently matched the 360's install base throughout Europe, something it managed to do after a delayed launch:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/...

as for which system has better games, well, that's a matter of preference. right now i'm looking forward to more PS3 games this year (Resistance 2, Confrontation, Valkyria Chronicles, LBP and Pacific Rift), but my two most awaited games are 360 games (Gears of War 2 and Fable 2). still, none of this outweighs the fact that worldwide, the PS3 has had momentum behind it against the 360 since last year, and has been gaining momentum all of '08 in the US.
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titntin - 500 days 20 hours ago
5.4 - @tordavis
@tordavis
You sound like a brojken record. " thats your OPINION".

Of course its his opinion - this is a reply on a public website for people to state their opinion!! Don't you understand the concept?? Why do you feel it consistantly necessary to point out what every single person on this site knows already???

If you have a valid rebuttal to make as you don't like the opinion being expressed, how's about making a point instead of simply spamming??? You know, like offer an alternative OPINION. Its what these reply sections are for...
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TheDeadMetalhead - 500 days 20 hours ago
5.5 - @tordavis
It's all opinion! Nobody has psychic powers! They can't predict the future! You saying that's just his OPINION is really just your OPINION now isn't it? -_-

How about making yourself useful and try actually COMMENTING about stuff. Instead of just saying "that's your OPINION" all day long! I'm taking your bubbles!

And change your avatar! I get enough people flipping me off without your help -_-
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TheExecutive - 500 days 22 hours ago
6 -
this is American numbers. I think we all realize that in the rest of the world the PS3 dominates.

I remember a lot of people on this site in January of this year saying the ps3 would not outsell the 360 in america this year, but MAYBE next.

We will have to wait for the official numbers worldwide at the end of the fiscal year, but we have to remember that the PS3 last year sold MORE units worldwide than the 360. That is an impressive feat if you consider a couple things:
1. The PS3 didnt even come out in Europe until March.
2. The price point was rediculously high and there werent a TON of great games.

The 360 last year was beating the PS3 by TONS of consoles, sometimes 100,000 or MORE, but the PS3 still SOLD more units worldwide than the 360 and by about ONE MILLION units.

Lets fast forward to this year. Bluray won, great games are coming out, and in September you will be able to buy an 80gig for 399. This year, the PS3 is OUTSELLING the 360 in North America, once the 360's stronghold. It isnt by much but it DOES NOT have to be. The 360 lost the selling race last year because it wasnt being supported worldwide but it stayed close because it was beating the PS3 in the US.

Ok, so all that said, and the fact that the PS3 is dominating the world in console sales I expect by the end of the fiscal year (when official numbers are released) that the PS3 will be within 2-3 million units of the 360 and by August of next year it should overtake the 360 in sales. I expect demand for the 360 to wane early next year and I expect sales to continue increasing with the ps3 until 2011, at least.I also expect a new console by MS at Christmas 2010. I expect a new console by Sony in 2012.

So there are my predictions for the coming year and I think they are solid looking at the numbers now, what happened last year and what is happening this year (or not happening). What do you guys think?
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Tobias123 - 500 days 21 hours ago
6.1 -
I thought the PS3 outsold the 360 by about 3 million units, since Sony reported that it had sold around 10 million and MS reported that they had sold around 17 million in total(7 million that year, around 10 the first). Either way, kudos to Sony for turning around the PS3, and kudos to MS for putting up one hell of a fight(competition is better for the consumer:))
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PimpHandStrong - 500 days 22 hours ago
7 - i dont care
who sells what

but

Sony has a lot of real good games coming out over the next 3-4 months!

Bio Shock
Socom
LBP
R2

if Socom is any good it will move more PS3's then MGS4 did IMO

then add in multi-platform games and all the greatness that is coming in 2009 the PS3 is going to jump in sales!

Unlike the 360 the PS3 has sold more in its 2nd year and will sell even more in its 3rd

count on it
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paskowitz - 500 days 22 hours ago
8 - Ok so
You all do realize that the PS3 will share the same fate as the PS2 and continue to be sold after the PS4 launches (btw this is a good thing). So yes, the PS3 WILL outsell the 360, "eventually". This generation, who knows, who cares. It really should not even be up for discussion. Also people forget that it is not about winning or loosing (per say), just making money and a good product. MS as done a great job on the first part of that but in my opinion not so much on the second. Sony, and Sony fans should focus on that, more than the anything else. I want to see Sony grow, not beat the 360 or the Wii.

Off Topic
I also believe (opinion/speculation) that Sony is thinking about the next 'next generation' just as much as MS is. I am going to call it, that Sony will release a successor to the PS3 within the same year MS does the same for the 360. Hopefully Sony will learn their lesson and continue to have backwards compatibility and not charge $600 (I could afford it but many others could not). But they will continue to sell and support the PS3 along with the PS'4'. To me this is why I bought a PS3 not a 360. I never thought I would buy another PS2 game after the PS3 but since then I have bought 4. GOW II being my favorite. This is what separates the PS brand from the MS brand SUPPORT and INVESTMENT and this is why I will continue to support them.
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TheExecutive - 500 days 22 hours ago
8.1 -
I agree with what you are saying I just dunno if the consoles will be that close. I dont think Sony will be ready to move on from the ps3 when MS is ready to move on from the 360.

I do agree, however, that Sony is indeed developing their new system. Its always been a never ending process.
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PimpHandStrong - 500 days 22 hours ago
9 - Sony and the PS4
they will do what MS did with the xbox=360

They will shrink the system and make it cheaper

anyway

you wont even hear Sony talk about a PS4 till maybe 2012
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