April 20, 2007
Sony’s US sales still sagging
Despite Sony trumpeting PlayStation 3 sales in Europe this week, the next-generation console has still to catch fire in the US.
Official March sales figures just out from the NPD Group show 130,000 PS3s were sold here, compared to 199,000 units of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 and 259,000 Nintendo Wiis.
That means only 1.2m were sold in the four-and-a-half months since launch, compared to 2.1m Wiis over the same period. The Xbox 360 had a year’s head start and has cumulative sales of 5.3m.
A lack of compelling games at launch and the high $599 price tag are blamed for the PS3’s poor showing to date and Sony is now considering a price cut.
Sony can take comfort from the continuing strength of its PlayStation 2 – 280,000 sold last month, 38m lifetime to date, and helped in March by the release of God of War II, the top-selling software across all platforms with 833,000 units shifted.
The 360 platform was boosted with sales of 394,000 of the latest Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon, in second place overall, and Guitar Hero 2, in third with 291,000, despite being on sale for only five days of the period.
Nintendo’s handheld DS was the best-selling console overall in March, with 508,000 units sold, but the industry as a whole is seeing an encouraging start to the year with first quarter revenues of $3.3bn up 54 per cent on a year ago.
I have just gotten an XboX 360 and the graphics are just awesome on it. I have heard too many problems with the Sony Playstation 3. I am sure that when they get them ironed out, it will bring Sony up too.
Posted by: Tanning Lotion | April 20th, 2007 at 5:14 am | Report this commentits all about price 199 is a magic price … guitar hero II is like 80 bucks for a GAME not a system, the DS is like 120 … the 360 is the best system out right now, if MS can get the price down to 199 for the core they will rule the market for Christmas.
Posted by: scratchdisk | April 21st, 2007 at 6:16 am | Report this comment