recent console sales figures... CNN report
 

Just some more news on sales, no need for any flames...

Microsoft Xbox sales spike

Sony's still the undisputed leader, though, as the gaming industry heads for the $10B mark.
December 17, 2002: 6:36 PM EST
By Chris Morris, CNN/Money staff writer



NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Microsoft Corp. said Tuesday that sales of its Xbox console unit have risen dramatically this holiday season.

In a letter to analysts, Microsoft said it sold 468,000 consoles in November, nearly twice the number sold in October. That number, from NPD, the primary source of data for the videogame industry, does not include sales at Wal-Mart. Still, it is far behind the industry-leading PlayStation 2.

Sony on Monday reported to analysts that it has sold more than 1 million PlayStation 2 systems "in the first couple of holiday shopping weeks." The spike was due in large part to the company's bundling of two games and a more popular controller with the machine in mid-October. But the larger number of Xbox owners is also helping software sales.

Some 2.4 million Xbox games were sold in November, a number the company has topped only once. Its best seller was Ubi Soft's "Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell," which sold 224,000 copies in just two weeks. Five other Xbox games topped sales of 100,000 in November. Sony's big title appears to be "SOCOM: U.S. Navy Seals," an online action game which has sold a half-million copies in three months.

Also selling well is the starter kit for Xbox Live, the online component of the Xbox. Again quoting NPD, Microsoft (MSFT: Research, Estimates) said sell-through for the kit was 136,000 units. That number still lags far behind the number of online adaptors sold by Sony, which recently told analysts it is on target to sell 400,000 units by the end of the year.

Nintendo, the third major player in the console wars, has not informed analysts on how its holiday sales are proceeding.

In its note to analysts, Sony (SNE: Research, Estimates) said U.S. retail sales of videogame hardware, software and accessories have exceeded $6 billion so far this year, which is a 25 percent increase over a year ago. Quoting NPD, it said the industry is expected to bring in $4 billion ore by year's end. If so, it will top last year's revenue record of $9.4 billion.

http://money.cnn.com/2002/12/17/tech...ales/index.htm

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What's the deal with this part:

Sony on Monday reported to analysts that it has sold more than 1 million PlayStation 2 systems "in the first couple of holiday shopping weeks." The spike was due in large part to the company's bundling of two games and a more popular controller with the machine in mid-October. But the larger number of Xbox owners is also helping software sales.

Huh? Am I just reading this wrong? The spike of PS2 sales is due to the bundling of 2 games and a more popular controller? I think it's just a poorly written paragraph. "The spke of Xbox sales was due in large part..." makes more sense.

yeah bad writing.

I am sure MS is surprised that even with adding two games and the new controller they are being outsold over 2:1.


I do wonder how the GC is doing. I expected it to edge out the XBox this holiday so I am looking forward to seeing the numbers when they become available.

I guess it's just me, but I really don't see what is so appealing about the PS2. Now honestly, I am not out to start any trouble or flames. But I just don't get it.... Maybe its my age (28). I have had xbox since launch and just picked up GCN. I hear that I have a PS2 coming for Christmas. And while I'm not complaining, I just don't get how it (PS2) is still outselling xbox by over 2 to 1. Especially with the xbox bundle and PS2 still being at $199 retail... just don't get it :confused:

More and better games.

no other reason.

I am 40 so not sure what the age issue is unless you mean I am old and you are younger ;)

I don't know why, but we sell SO many more PS2's than GC or Xbox at TRU right now. Must be brand recognition or something. We just sell a ton of them. The other two systems are selling well, but not like the PS2. Weirdness.

X

I'm not crapping on any system, I'm glad to have several out there as competition is a good thing. For me, the reason PS2 is doing so well is because, when choosing a system, it's all about the games.

I happen to like RPGs, so PS2 was really the only choice--the only reason I even considered XBox was Toejam and Earl (just because I've always liked that series) and XBox Live...it's the better system technologically speaking, but just doesn't have the developer support PS2 does.

Also, I've bought an unpopular system before (Sega CD) and it's really annoying when the support just dries up (I'm not saying this is going to happen with the other systems, but I'm positive it's not happening with PS2 anytime soon).

It is kinda surprising that even with the bundled in games and new controller, and with Sony doing virtually nothing in response to that, Xbox is still being outsold. But there are a lot of reasons. Assuming parents are the one's buying this stuff for their kids:

1) The backward compatibility issue. I'm sure they don't want all the money they invested in the old PS1 games to go to waste, and it is a very attractive feature of the PS2
2) Cheap Greatest Hits titles: Can't beat 20 dollar games.
3) Grand Theft Auto: Vice City... I'm surprised the article mentioned Socom, but not Vice City. Maybe it's because Socom is a sony made title...
4) The headstart that Sony has means that more of junior's friends have PS2s than Xboxes, and junior doesn't want to be the only one with an Xbox...

I hope Gamecube is doing well, as I just recently got the system and I love it. But I'm not sure if Metroid prime and the Sunshine bundle are enough. Doesn't help that Nintendo had just a one week rebate deal that I, for one, would've totally missed if not for the internet.

As the consoles get older and cheaper, I can see Xbox maybe overtaking PS2 in terms of sales (not total sales, but month to month) if only because PS2 sales will reach saturation, and people with the PS2 will consider buying the Xbox as a second system... especially if there are some killer aps for it in the next year or so (halo 2?).

I am betting that the GC's arn't selling as well as the Xboxes.

Five little words; GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY

The X-Box is great system I admit. But GTA is the veritable eight hundred pound gorilla.

:whofart:

Those 5 words are exactly the reason I just bought a PS2. I was interested in 3 games: GTA: VC, Madden 2003, and NCAA Basketball 2k3. PS2 was the only system where I could play all 3.

I think another reason for PS2 sales being higher is that they were in the field earlier so it kind of snowballed since you may want to buy the same system your friends or neighbors have so can swap games around.

color me "enlightened" :)

I'm actually sort of looking forward to seeing how the PS2 looks on my 34' Toshiba via s-video now... thanks guys! Wasn't too excited about it as I only tried GTA3 on pc and have never seen it on PS2. Nor have I seen GTA:VC. Maybe I won't ebay a new sealed PS2 after all....

Another reason I think the PS2 sells best is that it's the coolest-looking console. You can place it horizontally or vertically. The color scheme on the PS2 is better than Xbox or Gamecube. It's just designed to be very aesthetically pleasing. I have both Xbox and PS2, and I play the Xbox a ton more than the PS2. But I have to admit that the Xbox just looks ugly.

As said above, PS2 has the most games, and thus by default the most good games. Of course everyone has different tastes, but the PS2 pretty much has something for everyone. Hell, I'm a die-hard Nintendo fan, and I have more PS2 games than Gamecube games currently.

I'm not surprised by the X-box numbers, there were three people in line in front of me the other day in Best Buy buying one.

is that what the article is saying? i understand you are comparing 1 million to 468,000 ... but the second paragraph is very, very misleading and confusing.... as noted by yourself and others.
I mean, what are the talking about? I mean, we can figure it out, but if they screw up these simple facts, who is to say that the numbers arent wrong, christ, maybe some of these numbers are actually for the game cube, or bra sales!

While i agree that sony is ahead.... i wouldnt trust this article to much!

The fact that MS sales went UP is all MS cares about!!

I guess I'm a little biased but I care more about games that are coming out than titles that have been out for over a year. The fact that the PS2 has more games is moot for me because I want what's new and could care less about those greatest hits games.

I almost bought a PS2 for GTA:VC but nothing else interests me. Plus it will be on the computer soon.

And honestly, who plays PS1 games anymore? They just look plain bad compared to PS2 games. That might have made a difference at launch but does it really matter now?

Not trying to flame the PS2 but I really don't see the advantages to buying one now, especially with the Xbox bundle and Live.

The Magic Box has reported the November NPD numbers as follows:

So very many times I've bought into the hype and had to have "what's new" and couldn't "care less" about a game a few weeks or months old. So much money and time wasted on games that turned out to be utter crap...

Today, as a loooong time gamer, I know better. I refuse to even consider buying a game on release date - $50 is way too much to spend just to be disappointed. I bought my PS2 and XBox because there are readily available cheap games that are PROVEN winners. I don't need to play GTAVC during release week because-
(A) It will be available at a lower price very quickly,
(B) It will be just as great 6 months from now and
(C) I can spend that $50 now and get maybe 3 great games that have been out 3-4 months.

I just got GTA3 2 months ago for $25. It was the most fun I've had gaming in ages and I feel a certain satisafaction at NOT paying $50 for it :)

Yes but your argument won't work as well for games that have a huge online component. If you're buying say a sports game that everyone is playing when it comes out, but you wait until a year later to get it at a discounted price, you'll be playing that alone while everyone may have moved onto the sequel already.

True enough. My system works for me because -

1) I hate sports games. Video games are an escape from reality so if I wanna watch football I'll turn on the TV and watch a real game played by professionals. Coaching, play-calling, and virtual QBing hold no interest for me.

2) I don't give a flip for online gaming. If a game is good as a single-player or 2-player experience I consider it a good game, but if the online multiplayer features are used just to shore up a weak 1-player mode or hide its flaws completely then the title sucks IMO. I loved Doom but never cared as much for Quake because the solo player part was lacking.

So online sports games get doubly-dissed by me I guess :p

I could care less about what's new. I just want to play good games.

I have more fun playing some old SNES games that I do most of the new games.

My thought's exactly.

So you're not going to buy Metroid and Zelda for the Gamecube? You would rather play the older versions?

Give me a break. Have you actually looked at the cheaper games for the PS2? They are junk. I used to work at Sams club and we would get pallets of older PS2 games. They were around $20 and I hadn't heard of half of them.

Just because a console has more games doesn't mean they have more quality games.

Hypothetically speaking, what if the Xbox bundle came with Halo and Grand Theft Auto (if it existed)? There are plenty of great games out there for Xbox. Its seems to me that there is more hype for the PS2 than Xbox. I would contend that the average consumer does not buy that many games. Only nuts like us will go out and buy a game or two a month.

The headstart doesn't mean as much if people don't buy the earlier console because they are waiting for the Sony one. That's what happened with DC. It doesn't help that Sony made up tons of lies to the consumer and developers about the capabilities of their machine, and effectively cornholed the DC. I expect the same to happen for PS3.