2009 is the year the Xbox 360 practically vanished in Japan, however in the US it is a completely different story. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has managed to stand its ground and maintain mediocre sales despite the recent removal of the Xbox 360 Pro. Nevertheless, this was spawned from Microsoft’s marketing tactic to solely compete with the Wii and PS3 price points at $200 and $300, respectively with their Xbox 360 Arcade Xbox 360 Elite consoles. However, the PS3 has recently exhibited a price drop to the $300 mark with blu-ray functionality whereas the Wii denounced its price drop to $200 to compete with the Xbox 360 arcade.
Ever since the Xbox 360 was unveiled in 2005, one year before the Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3, the system has made a clear imprint in the industry as one that is venerable and here to stay. There were plenty of skeptics that doubted the 360’s ability to retain marketshare, however they were proven wrong after sales nearly rival that of the PS3.
Now the Xbox 360 is contending in it’s 4th year and since then Sony has quintessentially redesigned the Playstation 3 and lowered the price of the system from a whopping $599 to $399 then down to the present price point of $299. Following the price drop, the elegant PS3 Slim skyrocketed to the top of the hardware sales chart topping even the sales juggernaut, the Nintendo Wii. The PS3 has reigned victorious ever since its release only to get dethroned by the Wii this past Thanksgiving due to Nintendo’s “family-time” inducing marketing approach. The Xbox 360 however is where this story stems from as even with all the hype derived from PS3 Slim with industry insiders grumbling about the aging design of Microsoft’s box, it still stands firm head-to-head with the competition. This is proven by examining the latest sales forecasts from the industry’s leading analysts and the true staying power of the Xbox 360 is revealed.
Here are Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter’s November hardware sales predictions:
Webush Morgan:
Wii – 1,050,000
PS3 – 700,000
Xbox 360 – 650,000
PS2 – 175,000
PSP – 290,000
DS – 1,535,000
As noted, Pachter wasn’t the only analyst making known his forecasts, Electronic Entertainment and Research (EEDAR) analyst Jesse Divnich also passed along his estimates, albeit with similar results.
EEDAR:
Wii – 1,200,000
PS3 – 725,000
Xbox 360 – 700,000
PS2 – 200,000
PSP – 270,000
DS – 1,580,000
As you might gather from the above numbers, even when Sony’s flagship console has received a face-lift in the form of a slimmer design and a more attractive price-point, the Xbox 360 which has received nothing but a price cut with a less than stellar DVD format in comparison to the PS3’s Blu-ray disc capabilities and the fact that the 360 has been around for 1 year longer than its chief rival, is a testament to the popularity and brand recognition the console has garnered over the years.
- XboxLifeStyle.com
The official numbers will be unveiled tomorrow, Thursday, and we know they will be neck to neck. The Xbox 360 may be aesthetically aging and not necessarily matched up to the Ps3 Slim at $300, however it will maintain its position in the industry and prove to the other contenders that Microsoft still has what it takes to produce a flagship console.
