PS3 sales down in '08 holiday season, cause for concern?

With 2008 at an end, Sony has come out with it's finalized sales numbers for the year in the US. The PS3 sold over 3 and a half million consoles in 2008, up 40% from 2007. However, perhaps the more startling issue is that sales of the PS3 actually dwindled from the 2007 holiday season to the 2008's. Sony pegs the PS3 at 726K units sold for the month, and while they are quick to point this out as a 90% increase from sales in November 2008, this is also short about 100K units from December 2007. Overall, during the holiday months of November and December, the PS3 sold 1,226,000 PS3s in 2007, while only selling a bit over 1,000,000 for those months in 2008.

[Sonyslave3]

hell yell it time for concerns

[Genesis5]

Over 2 million of the Playstation brand sold in one month. I think the gaming division is doing pretty good.

[WANNA GET HIGH]

http://www.youtube.com/watc...

>;)

[theKiller]

because its down by 70k should sony worry??

[ultimolu]

If you're going to treat this console war as a race, then you will never understand the concept of growth.

[Homicide]

And it begins, the new wave of anti-ps3 articles.

[chaosatom]

generating Ps3 hate.

[IzKyD1331]

Xbox 360 4,735,400
PS3 3,544,900

At half the price it could only sell 1 million more consoles?
360 being outsold in Europe, and outsold 4:1 in Japan. All it needs is a price cut, THATS IT!
Now all these 'journalists' need to STFU and get some common sense

[Danja]

the PS3 is doing quite fine , the economy is in the dumpster ..it has a heavy price tag and yet it still manages to sell well....it sold 70k less over a yearly basis ...

im sure Sony is quite Happy with these figures..

The Wii sales aren't as impressive as they should have been why isn't there an article about that.....be prepared members of N4G for another str8 week of anti-PS3 articles..

[Agent VX]

Sony sinking ship just sprouted a new hole. With the sales of the PS3 not going according to plan for Sony, they really better drop the PS3 at least $100 immediately if they don't want to get too far behind. They are already far behind their competition, another 6 months of brutal sales will all but end it for the PS3.

Let the Sony Defense force come out in droves to do everything to divert attention away from horrible holiday sales numbers. Don't be fooled folks, the PS3 is in real big trouble.

[rucky]

Yeah cause the gamecube and xbox was reaaaaaally in trouble when they sold 20-something million each within a three year lifespan ;)

[ThanatosDMC]

What would the media say if PS3 does have a price cut? I cant fathom what BS they'll start mouthing off.

Lack of games?
Lack of variety?
No official mic?
No controller keypad?
Hard drive space?
Installs?
Multiplats superiority?

OH! I got it, it's not 3D yet! But after that they'll say you cant connect it to your brain or something...?

[gambare]

All I can say is that the PS3 is the best buy I made.

[theox2g7]

You sony loyals and supporters just don't get it, do you? Sure, in its own merit and its price, the playstation 3 is doing extremely well, but when consumers are bypassing a well established brand that has dominated for more than a decade for a brand that had a very horrible start and is less than 8 years old, then you know for a fact that either someone is doing really well or someone else is doing something wrong

Just think about it, the ps3 was poised to inherit roughly 200 million gamers acquired from 2 generations of undisputed domination, Unfortunately, it's being overly generous in sharing that heritage with Sony and Microsoft, No matter how you spin it, that's a very bad thing for Sony, I'll bet ya Sony execs are scratching their heads wishing they had the sands of time, Think about it, price should not matter, Ipods are more expensive than Zunes and other mp3 players, Why do you think ipods still dominate? And now that ipods have become so popular, it's hard to think about an mp3 without an ipod coming to mind, So you just imagine if all of a sudden a new cheaper Zune comes out and outsells ipod, It would even be worse if that Zune had hardware failure, Will price be an excuse for Apple? Heck no, when you have that kind of brand credibility and loyalty, price never matters, Unless you royally f*ck yourself over that is or get seriously c0cky, take your eye off the ball and overly underestimate your competition, That's exactly the scenario with Sony now, "Nextgen doesn't start until we say so" "wii is a gimmick" ring a bell much?

Point in case, with that kind of brand power, ps3 could very well annhilate the 360 at 3 times the price, Go figure, i see parents shelling out $600-$1000 for wiis on reserve when stocks run out so money isn't the issue, Funny thing is technically the ps3 isn't double the price of the 360, It's even funnier and ironic that Sony themselves said the 360 was too expensive just a few days ago, And let's face it, they are probably right, the ps3 supposedly offers the best bang for buck, right? So why aren't consumers adequately responding to better value? It's really a sad day when a playstation console can't outsell a faulty console, That's really inexcusable, You can't spin it no matter how hard you try, There's really no silver lining besides the profits Sony made, To think, that Microsoft's second console outsells ps2 and ps3 combined, nobody could've called this 4 years ago, What's even worse is that ps3 did have way better games this year?

This makes me scared for Sony that big hitters like Killzone 2 might not give the adequate boost that we had all hoped for to finally overtake the 360, The ps3 really should be doing better with better games, It has superior visuals, backed by the best media format on the market, way way better hardware, way more overall system functionality and features out of the box, future-proofness etc. Plus it has a playstation on it, It's almost become gaming tradition to own a playstation after all these days years of its marketshare pwnage, I mean the iphone has no problem selling like crackers in a recession even though it is relatively expensive and is bound to a draconian contract from at and t that cost an arm and a leg, and that's because first off, it comes off a super credible dominant brand, the ipod and it offers something none of the competition has much like the ps3 has its brand and special offerings, So it is kinda disappointing to see these sales the way they are today, Not to anyway mean the ps3 is doomed or dead but it really really should be doing much better

[Agent VX]

Very good analysis theox2g7. I really agree with most of your points, well thought out and ringing of many truths.

But don't expect much in agreement on this site, fanboys and trolls don't understand logic and they probably stopped ready after your first sentence since you are sounding like your attacking Sony and their poor selling PS3. Quick action is where it is at for them!!!

But it's nice to see someone taking the time to write out their thoughts and not become a complete tard!!!

[PataponKnight]

I don't think Sony really cares.

http://www.n4g.com/ps3/News...

[theox2g7]

at least i know there's one person who agreed me, I really want Sony to come out successful this gen but I'm realistic and critical here, You have to look at the good and the bad, Of course, it is stupidity on most of the media's part to cast doom and gloom and sing ps3 funeral hymns when it is in fact pulling through strong, And as for the media, they simply go with the flow, I recall one fall a few years ago when the same media was singing doom and gloom for the xbox 360 just a few months after its own terrible launch, They had already declared the 360's death and named it the dreamcast 2, however, we all know how that turned out

And when you put everything into perspective and look at the bigger picture, By virtue of potential the ps3 should be doing much much better, And I have made a lot of plausible arguments why it should be so in my wall of text above, The ps2 was able to easily destroy the dreamcast's 1.8 year headstart and momentum even though it was more expensive and offered less quality titles at the time, Remember the dreamcast, the console that had shenmue, powerstone, soul calibur and all those legendary games? It got utterly eliminated by the ps2 with a mediocre launch lineup which was more expensive, Note that by the time the quality ps2 games started coming out, the dreamcast was already dead, How did this happen? For one, it had the weight of the ps1 marketshare and two it had dvd, Much like the ps3 has today, That's the point I'm making, sure times are different but those two resources should be more than enough to either kill the competition or close the gap quickly especially when you have the hands down best 1st part studios in the gaming industry

I really hope people will read through the whole thing instead of disagreeing in fanboy rage mode just because I said something negative on Sony's part, You can support Sony but you have to face reality sometimes and see flaws or be able to criticize Sony, They have made some dire mistakes they regret from the past, They are now paying for it, They've learned from their mistakes, Now they're focusing on what's most important to get back on their feet, Sony themselves know this truth I'm speaking of, that is exactly why they themselves are not even using price as an excuse and why they came out boldly to state the 360 was more expensive, because for them, price shouldn't be an excuse, If they can work on the actual brand itself and credibility of the playstation name in the eyes of gamers, the price really doesn't matter, they can literally shoot those things off the shelves for $500 with the right marketing, Apple has no problem selling their ridiculously overpriced hardware or phones that come with overly expensive contracts

[uxo22]

Excellent analogy, very well stated and hard for anyone to dispute.

Rock solid, bubbles up.

[Aclay]

The PS3 sold more last Holiday because the PS3 was FRESH off of a Price cut because Sony had just introduced the 40GB PS3 for $399.

If the PS3 sold 200K less or about HALF the amount it sold in Dec. 2007, then it would be a cause for concern, but overall, PS3 sales are up 40% in 2008 compared to 2007 in the U.S., and really, that's the only that that should matter, and that's great growth for a console that's been selling at $399 minimum for over a year.

[Lucreto]

That is true and I bet the 360 won't do those numbers next year and there will be blog from everyone and their dog saying 360 doomed.

[PirateThom]

And it begins... :-/

[Unicron]

The amount of doom fud and anti-doom fud is getting to silly levels. I wish N4G had more news instead of blogs, but that's just me.

[ultimolu]

Doom article #1!

Ignore the growth of the Playstation brand and focus on the *bad* news!

I'm amazed...really I am.

[gauntletpython]

did you read the article? first, it mentions the growth overall, and the software growth, so it doesn't ignore the growth and focus on the negative. second, i doubt its a 'doom' article, its from a ps3 site.

[ultimolu]

I read the article. There's no need for disappointment or even concern. Perhaps that title is a bit misleading to me.

[Sir Daniel Fortesque]

Pathetic excuse.

[Raoh]

I say no. i've bought a total of 4 PS3 consoles. 2 in 2007. 2 in 2008.

at the price of $499, $499, $399 and $399.

Prior to the price cut of microsoft sony was pulling at least decent numbers beating the 360. after the price cut the recession also hit hard.

it's hard for many people to spend the $400.

i dont have a problem with it. and with a raise coming and my soon to be termination of child support. i'm coming out a little better on the recession.

with that said a price cut for the ps3 may not cause the 360 concern as far as market share dominance over the ps3 (not the wii) it all but curb stomps the ps3 is dead articles.

_____________________________ _______

Sony needs to think like vizio. vizio made cheap tv's. then they over took the cheap tv market. and now make high end tv's.

sony makes high end hardware. they need to look at all of their products and reverse on a few lines and sell some low end models.

Unfortunately for the PS3, the console outside of the new way to develop games for developers, is the perfect console/hardware.

its only way to cut cost is cheaper parts.

one suggestion would be to partner with a hard drive company to deliver cheaper hard drives. not include larger hard drive sizes for the ps3 past the 160gb or maybe 250gb but promote cheap upgrades.

__________________________

3 friends just bought ps3's and asked me about it. i sent them an email on 500gb hard drive upgrades, linux, streaming, cheap blu ray's, cheap flash drives, and recommended games.

they loved the email so much their friends are out buying ps3's. some are 360 owners.

_________________________

as long as companies do what capcom said they would do, no more console exclusives, fair development for both consoles.

the ps3 will never die.

just my opinion.

[Captain Tuttle]

Concern? You bet 'ya!

Doom? Not even close.

[Danja]

there's no cause for concern dude....once the price comes down sales will rise...it's as simple as that..

the article states that PS3 is selling tons of software....also...

[Captain Tuttle]

The NPD's say otherwise. MGS 4 didn't even crack the top 10.

[HDgamer]

My cousin is waiting for the price drop, if sony drops the price he can join me and the rest online. Just like my cousin there are other's like him, they will not buy anything else unless the price drops.

[Kyur4ThePain]

Doubt it.
Almost everything has seen major declines in sales with the way things are going. The fact that the PS3 saw only a small drop shows more promise than concern.

[ToKillCG]

No, This is only the US, Sony still has not said the official numbers for 2008.

[rucky]

waaaaaaaat?! Really?! Cause from the sound of things NPD = the whole world. lol

[Unicron]

Ico rocks, I just finished it.

[RememberThe357]

When I beat SoTC I was meaning to get my hands on Ico but never got around to it.

You just sparked my curiosity again. Thanks!

[ultimolu]

Heavenly Sword rocks. I just got it and no, do not give me that look. I went on a game buying spree this weekend. ^^;

[macalatus]

Just short of 100K consoles? Uh, no...

Though I still believe that Sony needs to get their advertising department to start doing the logical things!

[TheColbertinator]

The Ps3 still has games that remain relevant to the gaming community regardless of sales.It still has Gran Turismo 5 and God of War 3.

As a fan of the Sega Saturn and Nintendo Gamecube during their times,I am impressed with the attention on the PS3 games in comparison.

Playstation 3-The greatest 3rd place console a gamer could ask for.

[omega7]

PS3 did very well in 2008 december

considering that it costs 2x as much as x360

However x360 sales remained flat at 150$ . thats a cause of concern.

PS3 will win this gen too cuz PS3's price would come down in the future and sales would spike

3rd place --that x360 motherfuccer

Troll at 400$ ps3 outsells x360 in europe/japan

even it does well in USA too

If you think that x360 would be anything other than a distant third this gen then you are mistaken

from this 2009 and onwards the xfix me will be nowhere in sight

Others this motherfuccer's PSN is also Fake

[Daurelus17]

i agreed with you becuz i liked what u said.
lookin at the games n what the ps3 has to offer u wouldnt think its in 3rd but it is. im like most....while not like most sony fan boys but i want it to shine so alot of ppl can shut up.

[omega7]

and it has already sold around 22m consoles worldwide at 400$ /500$
However x360 sales at 200$ too remained the same over last year. wwell it was 150$ .

with stellar ps3 lineup for 2009 and price cut expect PS3 to annihiliate x360 this year

infact SONY can cut PS3's price multiple times to stimulate demand

x360 will also be a distant third this gen too. mark me on that

PS3 costs 400$ ---u do know that

[TheColbertinator]

My PSN is real XD

Just ask Homicide,Socomer 1979,or Wildarmsjecht.

[jack who]

when killzone flops in sale than it will

[Death]

It will do very well. The PS3 user base is pretty much where the Xbox 360 userbase was when Halo 3 launched. I'm not going to say that K2's numbers will be as good, but the audience is there.

-Death

[RememberThe357]

What are you going to do when the game doesn't flop? Move on to something else to troll about?

[Chubear]

cause everybody knows when you sell over a million of your products in a month you iz teh DOOMED!! -.-

[Death]

If Sony wanted more sales over the holidays they would have cut the retail price again. As it is, they can't since losing money for three straight years in their gaming division ties their hands. There is no point in increasing sales to increase losses. As the PS3 and their gaming divison becomes profitable, they will price the console more agressively to increase sales. The sky is not falling, they are not doomed, they are simply running a business and controlling losses in order to become profitable. This is normal for any hardware cycle and should not be looked at as anything more.

-Death

[Unicron]

Oh Death, why can't more posters be like you? Logical, well versed, taking time to explain both sides when people are being fanboys of either console. You're just a stand up poster. I commend you.

[Kyur4ThePain]

Oh, you make my head hurt. Damn you and your logic. DAMN YOU!

Bubs.

[Danja]

bubbles Death...as always you give a great post..XD

[ultimolu]

That's it...I'm hijacking your brain. xD
But well said.

[dkgshiz]

The PS2 is still selling strong. which is really amazing. 400k in december. Sony did really good this year.

[kewlkat007]

-"The U.S. economy continued its employment free fall in December with a loss of 524,000 jobs."

-The unemployment rate rose to 7.2 percent last month, the highest in almost 16 years."

-"All told for 2008, the economy racked up a 2.6-million job loss, the most since 1945."

AUG NOV, DEC are like the busiest shopping months for the gaming industry, now every one will be having a "Broke Hangover", coupled with the economic times, I do not expect NPD numbers, as we just saw.

As for the PS3, who knows how well it will continue to sell at it's price point.

MS is making lots of money selling hardware and off XBL(I can't imagine).

Nintendo, well, they have become the "Scrooge Mcduck" of this Gen in such a short period.

Given the economic situation, which is getting worst it will be interesting. Again, as I always will stress, Sony sold pretty well for December but how much of those sold, equate to just "buying the PS3 as a Blu-Ray player?" We'll never know...That''s why I always look at software sales and see what really moving on the PS3 consistently.

[ZeVeX]

.....:facepalm:, seriously is this sh*t never going to end, PS3 Doomed End OF PS3 Death etc etc, Just leave it alone and go play the Dam GAMES!

[Helghast Slayer]

My gosh you guys are really pathetic. It boggles my mind when people fail to relies that the 360 was released an entire year ahead of the ps3 with no competition in sight. This has obviuosly enabled it to gain a larger install base plus a large lead in sales.

Also the 360 is the cheapest of all next gen consoles so it beating the ps3 in "U.S" should be of no suprise. Why people fail to focus more on world wide sales is beyond me, because you know, the u.s is not the only continent in the world.

It will be very interesting indeed when the ps3 gets a price cut and the AAA games that releasing in the coming months. Sony's has a 10 year plan for the ps3 so the price it is at now is more than justified by the amount of future proof tech and impressive line up it will be getting in the coming year.

If Sony was to go the way of the 360 by lowering the price to nearly the cost of a pair of shoes then their 10 year plan for the ps3 would be questionable. This brings up the question of how long exactly M$ believes the 360 will stick around until they release the 720?

All i'm saying is Sony's games division is making a profit if you combine all their platform sales. They are in a positive position and will do what is best for them not what is best for you broke/tight a$$ people.

Oh and finally for those xbox/M$ extremist. It seems as though the beating M$ received las gen has triggered a nerve for you people. You guys are so keen on see the 360 as the best console in the universe that ultimately you feel the need to ignore all other facts.

I've said it before and i'll say it again. When M$ releases a console that can reach the caliber and success of the ps2 with nearly $145 million consoles sold and and counting, that's the only time they will be granted a thought of being the worlds best console manufacture. Until then keep dreaming and please keep quite and enjoy what ever game you have for 2009.

[omega7]

his x360 copsts the least and still its sales remained same

x360 costs as low as 150$ during Xmas and still sales remained flat

However for PS3 SONY could drop its price many times and ps3 has the ebst lineup for 2009

his x360 has no games and the troll doesnt even have anything to play

[TheColbertinator]

@Omega7

You ever feel like all that defense of the PS3 falls on deaf ears? ;)

I dont have games to play?

Fable 2 and Call of Duty 4(Kiilzone killer) say otherwise

[firetaw]

you guys are quick to say the ps3 is dying. for fudge sake just because there isnt as much butter on your toaste this year doesnt mean your going to starve and cripple over like a raison. if you ask me its the wii and 360 that are risking the famin when they run out of people who doesnt have a wii or 360. better to not go hungry for 10 years then stuff your face for 3 years and then cripple over cause you ate all your stock right away.

[snowy1185]

Aside from the economy, I have only one thing to say about the numbers for Sony. I believe since Microsoft has dropped their prices for the 360. Consumers are expecting Sony to drop the price on the PS3. I believe that's what those numbers are saying. Of course I understand on Sony's part that they have to have some numbers to show on their financials.

[Ldubbz]

If you seriously think Sony isnt concerned with how this Holiday period turned out for them u are sadly mistaken. No company wants to report negative growth while their competitors report positive growth.

With the automakers its different, because they are all suffering, albeit some more than others. But thats just not the case here. Sony is a HUGE company, and theyre not going to kill the PS3 next month. BUT, unless they can gain some serious growth this year, they will be in trouble.

Bottom line is Sony is in the game biz to make money; if they see that they may be fighting a losing battle, their shareholders will want to kill the division, or make some drastic changes. Unfortunately for Sony, they dont have billions in the bank like MS to weather a storm like that, especially when their other fronts (electronics, movies, etc.) are also under-performing. And PS2 is slowing down, while the PSP is meh at best (I bought a launch one, so chill....lol).

But PS3 did have great SW growth, so that is a good sign. I would personally like to see Sony turn things around this year, just to keep things interesting.

[RPG Guy]

....
....
...
..
.
.
.
..
...
....give me a break.

Honestly, 70k less, no price cut this year...outsold 360 for the year (barely though). Hmmmm....ROLL OUT THEM PS3 IS DEAD ARTICLES!!!! F*ck the media.

[silverchode]

wow omega you are f-ing retarted, go seek help plz.

[AliC]

... year in the US ...

Welcome to Planet America.

[MaximusPrime]

cause for concern in the US.... probably

cause for concern worldwide....nope.