More sales charts... (US)

[London Geezer]

vgcharts.org updated their hardware sales figures... PS3 is now 1.1M...

Not sure how accurate that is, but if true, then Sony did achieve their 1M-before-end-of-the-year target. You know, the target they adjusted 3 times...

 

[assen]

vgcharts.org updated their hardware sales figures... PS3 is now 1.1M...

Not sure how accurate that is, but if true, then Sony did achieve their 1M-before-end-of-the-year target. You know, the target they adjusted 3 times...

It seems to me VGCharts is heavily biased, accepting PR numbers from two of the manufacturers and not from the third? The (wildly different) nexgenwars.com numbers seem much more in tune with the general buzz around here and in other public and closed forums.

 

[Metalmurphy]

It seems to me VGCharts is heavily biased, accepting PR numbers from two of the manufacturers and not from the third? The (wildly different) nexgenwars.com numbers seem much more in tune with the general buzz around here and in other public and closed forums.

I already proved once to the Nexgenwars admin that they're PS3 numbers we're incorrect and he refused to adjust them, so i stoped trusting nexgenwars.com right there.

 

[avaya]

It seems to me VGCharts is heavily biased, accepting PR numbers from two of the manufacturers and not from the third? The (wildly different) nexgenwars.com numbers seem much more in tune with the general buzz around here and in other public and closed forums.

Nintendo and Sony will sell everything they ship of their new machines. That is not even a question.

The 360 is in free supply. It is all perfectly logical.

 

[London Geezer]

It seems to me VGCharts is heavily biased, accepting PR numbers from two of the manufacturers and not from the third? The (wildly different) nexgenwars.com numbers seem much more in tune with the general buzz around here and in other public and closed forums.

How is vgcharts "heavily biased"? Except for your personal opinion of it of course.

Besides, i'm sorry but i'd rather trust a proper website, constructed to show a lot of sales comparisons both hardware and software, since the days of the NES, than a "website" consisting of one page, showing three numbers that could come from anywhere from all i know.

Have a look, vgcharts is the only website around to show some of those figures, and construct very good charts for them too.

Nextgenwars sounds, even from the name of the website itself (with "war" and all that crap), like the more "heavily biased" one.

 

[assen]

Nintendo and Sony will sell everything they ship of their new machines. That is not even a question.

Yes there is. Just count the number of "I went to store XXX and there were like 10 PS3 sitting on a shelf" posts around here for the past week.

(and where I live (admittedly, from a console gaming point of view, in a cave under a rock at the bottom of a backwater) there are piles of Wiis (around 350 EUR with Wii Sports) with absolutely zero attention from shoppers - but that proves nothing, compared with the fact of unbought PS3s in the US)

 

[London Geezer]

Yes there is. Just count the number of "I went to store XXX and there were like 10 PS3 sitting on a shelf" posts around here for the past week.

Uhm... I saw one guy who said that there were a couple of PS3's on a shelf in a VERY remote-forgotten-by-God town.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

Yes there is. Just count the number of "I went to store XXX and there were like 10 PS3 sitting on a shelf" posts around here for the past week.

How many is that? From what I've been reading, most comments are 'there was a new shipment of PS3's in. Two were bought while there. People were phoning up inquiring,' and that ilk. The presence of stacks of PS3's seems to show production is ramping up, and then selling to the populace who buy them when they find they're available. You don't expect stock to move instantly the moment it arrives in store, do you?

 

[Metalmurphy]

"Last night at midnight they placed 80 20gb PS3's up for sale, and 4 and a half minutes later they were gone."

http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/ps3/woot-ps3soh-wait-223783.php

The PS3 is having weekly shipments and all of them selling like mad, yet it doesn't seem like it acording to nexgenwars.com

 

[22psi]

I think vgcharts is closer to the real numbers but their 360 numbers are a bit too low. Wii numbers seem to be a bit too high as well. Not sure about PS3 numbers...

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

Just to chime in, I know exactly what Assen is referring to.

I've read many comments such as the one he was reporting on many different websites over this past week.

I can't validate the accuracy (or even the importance) of the claims that people are walking into stores and seeing PS3's sitting on shelves, but I've certainly seen them. From more than a handful of apparently different people on various websites.

I also think the bundle sales, and the Ebay prices are also interesting to take into consideration. Not that I'd try to take such flimsy 'evidence' into any court of law in order to prove that PS3 sales are slowing, however.

 

[Bobbler]

Nexgenwars is a pretty bad site. It's voodoo number munching.

Vgcharts may not be perfect, but it's certainly the best sales site out there, by far. They tell you how they arrive at their numbers and history has proven them rather reliable, if I'm not mistaken. I believe they also do adjustments on NPD by ~15% (which most here seem to agree is important).

Also, a few anecdotal mentions that there are some PS3s sitting around is a bit questionable. There's tons more mentions that they are selling out within the hour (even large batches of 50-150). I definitely haven't seen any sitting on shelves (no Wiis either) and from friends I know that work at Target/BB, they are selling very soon after getting a shipment (couple hours).

Sales seem to be limited by volume at the moment (which is completely expected) and production seems to be ramping up -- they may have had a much worse start than 360 (which was admittedly not so great), but they've done a better job of resupplying (and they seem to be ramping up faster -- which is sort of expected).

 

[dobwal]

I think vgcharts is closer to the real numbers but their 360 numbers are a bit too low. Wii numbers seem to be a bit too high as well. Not sure about PS3 numbers...

I find some of vgcharts numbers a little suspect. The website is very inconsistent in that it partially explains how it generates its number for Japan, but gives absolutely nothing for the US, Europe and the rest of the world. Its obvious the website uses NPD in its calculations for the US but for Europe and the rest of the world who knows what the website uses to generate numbers. There isn't a really a consistent way of calculating sales number especially using public infomation for those regions. I think the inability to consistently and accurately track European and rest of the world sales negatively affects the worldwide numbers and is responsible for the low number posted by the 360.

 

[expletive]

They are certainly not sitting on shelves, though i must say i am surprised at the opportunities that i have had to buy a PS3 before Christmas (and actually did buy one). Conversely, i haven't had a sniff at a Wii in the same period of time and all indications are that Nintendo has been producing significantly more Wiis than there are PS3s.

So while I do agree they aren't sitting, i think there has been some saturation of the people willing to pay $800 (600 console+50 controller+60 game+40 component cables +tax) at retail and even moreso for those willing to pay over retail via ebay or craigslist.

If there were PS3s sitting on shelves a week before Christmas, that would be catastrophic for Sony.

 

[Tap In]

I find some of vgcharts numbers a little suspect. The website is very inconsistent in that it partially explains how it generates its number for Japan, but gives absolutely nothing for the US, Europe and the rest of the world. Its obvious the website uses NPD in its calculations for the US but for Europe and the rest of the world who knows what the website uses to generate numbers. There isn't a really a consistent way of calculating sales number especially using public infomation for those regions. I think the inability to consistently and accurately track European and rest of the world sales negatively affects the worldwide numbers and is responsible for the low number posted by the 360.

I agree.

take the vgchart numbers with a huge grain of salt, not as gospel.

 

[patsu]

Yes there is. Just count the number of "I went to store XXX and there were like 10 PS3 sitting on a shelf" posts around here for the past week.

Heh heh... if the PS3s are on the market, of course a lucky someone will see 'em on the shelf at some point in time (to make the purchase decision). Just like I saw mine on the shelf too (and I bought it). This is not a proof of slowdown people.

I also mistaken a "Wii on the shelf" in Toys R' Us. Even then I decided to pass. I found out later that they were just empty boxes. But it doesn't mean that Wii is not selling well (if they're indeed real packages).

 

[wco81]

How many X360s shipped or sold in 2005?

It sounds like Sony has a chance of exceeding that number in 2006, despite the low number of units on Launch Day, despite being $100 to $200 higher (in an economic environment generally not as favorable as last year).

Anyone remember how many units PS2 shipped in 2000?

 

[patsu]

If this large second shipment is true, could it mean that Sony has started to ship by boat ? (So for the past few weeks, the production is higher than the air-dropped PS3s as more go to the ships).

 

[RancidLunchmeat]

So while I do agree they aren't sitting, i think there has been some saturation of the people willing to pay $800 (600 console+50 controller+60 game+40 component cables +tax) at retail and even moreso for those willing to pay over retail via ebay or craigslist.

Agreed. I was fairly shocked at how well the 360 sold over the past year, actually. I think it is too expensive. I think the market for an $800 console is even smaller, no matter what the brand.

The amount of people willing to pay a premium over retail certainly appears to be less than the amount of people willing to do the same for the 360 (of course, because of the difference in retail prices, that premium is even greater).

Bobbler: While I agree that the stories are somewhat 'suspect', I find the complete absence of such stories a year ago when the 360 launched to be an interesting comparison. A year ago, there weren't any stories about people walking into stores in December and being 'lucky enough' to find a couple of 360s sitting on the shelves. At least, not that I remember. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[patsu]

Agreed. I was fairly shocked at how well the 360 sold over the past year, actually. I think it is too expensive. I think the market for an $800 console is even smaller, no matter what the brand.

The amount of people willing to pay a premium over retail certainly appears to be less than the amount of people willing to do the same for the 360 (of course, because of the difference in retail prices, that premium is even greater).

Bobbler: While I agree that the stories are somewhat 'suspect', I find the complete absence of such stories a year ago when the 360 launched to be an interesting comparison. A year ago, there weren't any stories about people walking into stores in December and being 'lucky enough' to find a couple of 360s sitting on the shelves. At least, not that I remember. Correct me if I'm wrong.

I can't remember now. On the supply side, how many 360s were there during the holiday season 2005 ? On the demand side, there could be many (and multiple factors) at work. e.g., In addition to the high price, people may have learned to wait, especially those already with Xbox 360s. Original Xbox owners might be eager to jump to a new platform last year (compared to PS2 library). Some folks may be waiting for confirmation about PS3 stability (after Xbox's launch overheat and scratched disc fiasco).