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GfK Analyst Daniel Morse claims that to date the Xbox360 has only sold 56,000 units compared to the Sony PS2 which has sold 133,000 this year. This is followed by 69,500 units for the PS3 Sony games console and 90,000 units for the Nintendo Wii. Also popular has been the Nintendo DS which to date has this year sold over 210,000 units.
However Morse admits that the jury is still out on whether Microsoft will suffer from the massive failure rate of the Xbox 360 console both here in Australia and overseas due to what is being described as the "Red Ring Of Death". "It is too early to tell whether there is any retail fallout from the issue," said Morse.
He added: "There is a problem, and the discounting of the Xbox 360 units, and the upcoming launch of Halo3 will help them". He said the launch of this new Xbox 360 game exclusive to the Microsoft platform is critical as it may sweep away the stygma associated with the Red Ring Of Death failures.
Microsoft won't discuss what went wrong with its Xbox 360 resulting in over 30 percent being returned, but to put the issue into perspective, just imagine your new TV breaking down twice in the first six months of ownership. The vacuum cleaner giving up the ghost three times. The microwave repeatedly going kaput. Then imagine replacing the item with the same model over and over while being asked by Microsoft to stay loyal to the company.
For Microsoft, the Xbox is a massive financial drain. Last month it was forced to allow over $1.3 billion for extended warranty claims, and where the Sony PS3 has a failure rate of less than 0.1 percent, the Xbox 360 is failing on average by over 25 percent.
When Microsoft entered the gaming market it had witnessed firsthand the success of the Sony PS2, as well as the success of consoles from the likes of Nintendo and Sega, and it greedily wanted a share of the action. Now three years on, Microsoft is bleeding gaming losses which are estimated at over $18 billion dollars.
This week and only a few days after Microsoft cut the price of the Xbox 360 gaming console by 15 percent in the USA, the premium device was languishing at #21 in the Amazon.com sales charts. Competitors such as the Sony PS3 came in at 6th and the Nintendo Wii took up the third slot.
With many telling SmartHouse that it was not the failure of the unit that upset them most but the reaction of Microsoft when they complained about the problem. To date we have had over 200 emails from Microsoft customers affected by the Xbox 360 failure.
Stephano Nevarez has had to repair his Xbox 360 three times. Since he first bought his $400 Microsoft Xbox 360 in 2006, it has failed three times. Each time, he sent the game machine back to the company and waited weeks for a repair or a replacement.
"There's nothing in the house that breaks down as much," said Stephano, a 15-year-old high school student.
Yet he remains a devotee of his 360 console, the more so because he wants to play Halo 3, the latest iteration of a violent space epic due in stores on Sept. 25; it is available only for that game machine.
The game, published by Microsoft, could redeem the company going into the Xmas selling season. Untold numbers of 360 owners have watched their machines break down, and then, in many cases, watched the replacement consoles do the exact same thing because of a severe and widespread manufacturing flaw.
But if the Xbox players keep coming back because of Halo 3, and if other gamers buy the console just for the game, then Microsoft could markedly improve its standing in its battle against rivals Sony and Nintendo.
"Halo 3 is Microsoft's most important game," said Dan Hsu, editor in chief of Electronic Gaming Monthly, a magazine for enthusiasts. Mr. Hsu, who has seen the game, said it delivers in spades, with one caveat: "Assuming your machine does work, it does what it sets out to do."
The bar is high. Combined, Halo and Halo 2 have sold around 15 million units, making the series one of the most successful game franchises of all time. The game has spawned novels, comic books and a possible movie.
Not every Halo game has been a banger, but the franchise still has a raft of the greatest games of all time.
Infinite is a dumpster fire and as much as I like ODST, in no universe it ranks above Halo 2. This list is trash.
Best to worst: Halo 3, Halo 2, Halo Reach, Halo CE, Halo 4, Halo ODST, Halo Infinite, Halo 5.
The Xbox 360 was a fantastic console in its day with some truly classic titles, but what are the seven best games for the console?
I'll go with,
Lost Odyssey, Blue Dragon, Culdcept Saga, Shadow Complex, Ace Combat 6 with the flight stick,A Kingdom for Keflings, A World of Keflings.
Bonus Kinect Games: Happy Action Theater and Sesame Street.
*Skyrim was so bad on PS3 that it almost deserves to be #1*
Ah yes, Shadow Complex! Good indies back in the day. Summer of Arcade. I enjoyed Trials Evolution as well.
Was this made by a.i.? No human being would put Shadowrun, Fable III, and Splinter Cell: Conviction into a list of the 7 best Xbox 360 games.
Would love to play Ace Combat6 on PlayStation, but Xbox decided to buy exclusivity and keep it off a competing platform.
The only mainline game I never played except for one level at a friends place. Game sold less than any other in the series if I remember correctly.
360 had Namco hitters AC6 and RR6... both quality titles. You should at least bust out the 360 for AC6 if you can score the flight stick. Its great.
When the current gen XBOX offering is so lacking people need to refer to games released two generations back....
It's a nostalgia peice same reason we get thousands of YouTube videos on sega genisis. Something people have fond memories for but the era is long gone.
It's xboxs golden year imo it was their genisis years the time where they stuck it to the market leaders Sony.
They stuck nothing. Sony screwed themselves giving Xbox an opening. They would have gotten the usual smack down if the PS3 had launched at $399 and was easier to develop for.
The Xbox 360 launched in North America 18 years ago, and is now officially old enough to buy you a drink in Europe.
Great platform, and many of its games (not bc) still hold up well to this day. Like the PS3, I keep a 360 hooked up for those games you can't play any other way.
The last gasp of greatness from XBox, you are missed, except the RROD that was lame, but amazing exclusives until the Kinect dropped.
I really enjoyed my X360, some great exclusives on it. Used to play the shit out ot Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey, two masterpieces
savior for xbox 360 for just mere 3 months.
At this point NOTHING can save the 360.
It's fate has for ever been sealed in the Red Ring Of DEATH....AAAAHHAHAHAHHAHA
For every “new” fan of the Halo series, there are people like me who enjoyed the first iteration of the series, but not so much the second, and could now give a rat’s ass about the third. Add that to the straight out of the gate RROD, and you’ve got a consumer who could care less that the 360 even exists.
I think this section of the article says it all, and it also tell you who the 90% of the Halo fans out there are. Halo is intended specifically for kids this age…
“”There’s nothing in the house that breaks down as much,” said Stephano, a 15-year-old high school student.”
Have fun playing with this kiddy junk for 2 months kids, and let the real gamers play with the likes of KZ2, MGS4, UT3, and many more.
Don’t forget to drink my Oil XBOTS…..AAHHAHAHAHA
It's still somewhat uneasy but the 360, like its predecessor, is still known as the "Halo machine". I was reading another article yesterday that suggested - because of the same sales trend with the 360 as with the original Xbox - that after Halo 3 is released, the sales rate will slow down because the majority of interest relating to it as actually due to that game.
With 2008's list of software titles to be over taken by Sony's lineup, nevermind the long-term future of the machine - but what about Microsoft's next console? If not Halo - what will its flagship title be - its biggest selling point?
Thats also, the most important, period in the gaming industry. If a company had made losses during the year, that "3" months is the perfect time for them to make all that extra cash. I think Halo can save the 360 and much more. Microsoft might actually make profit this year thanks to Halo 3.
The Xbox 360 needs "saving", It's doing just fine without Halo 3