All purpose sales and sales rumors/anecdotes thread next gen+
- Thread starter Rangers
- Start date
- Status
Xbox should be able to eek out a few more victory months in NPD against PS4. Reason being if you look at Xbox one in isolation it's YoY numbers are improving not declining.
That means it's messaging and the value of the console has improved enough such that it is still drawing more customers than previously. We have to assume the hardcore crowd with Xbox is long done with long ago.
These new purchasers are finding value with the console and are going against 2 years of "against" the grain thinking. You can't make the excuse of "not knowing" what's up with Xbox anymore, not in this day of age of the Internet.
As long as we don't see Xbox decline YoY it should have an opportunity to best PS4 here and there.
That means it's messaging and the value of the console has improved enough such that it is still drawing more customers than previously. We have to assume the hardcore crowd with Xbox is long done with long ago.
These new purchasers are finding value with the console and are going against 2 years of "against" the grain thinking. You can't make the excuse of "not knowing" what's up with Xbox anymore, not in this day of age of the Internet.
As long as we don't see Xbox decline YoY it should have an opportunity to best PS4 here and there.
Rikimaru
Veteran
Main driving course for Xbox past year was $350 vs $400. Now it's gone.
Also that assumes that Ps4 will remain static in the NA market which i think is improbable with the first party games coming up next year and the third party deals this year. Don't forget we still haven't seen what Sony plan to show for PGW and PSX, and we surely know most of what is releasing on X1 for the rest of 2015 and the first two quarters of 2016. Microsoft's next showing is E3 2016, right?
This only applies if Xbox One and PS4 are perfectly substitutable. It's clear from your bias they are not. By your thinking if the price of Coke went up everyone would start buying Pepsi or vice versa. That's not what we see happening, some people will always drink coke as that is their preference. Preference, performance and price PS4 had all 3 going into this generation.
It only lost out $50 on price to Xbox, removal of Kinect is not a price drop.
Last edited:
Rikimaru
Veteran
Yes, they bought PS4 even when it was more expensive. Now PS4 will draw some cost sensitive consumers from xbox.
Sure.
Oh I have no doubts it would. But that doesn't mean Xbox will never win another NPD going forward. It's clear the product has been differentiated enough between the two that people are actively looking at that as well.
Xbox still has a chance to do well provided
a) it continues to differentiate further away from PS4
b) people are still somewhat ignorant of their performance differences
c) sales/price/promotions
d) availability
I mean it's as easy as seeing Coke always being #1 and Pepsi always being #2. Just because Coke drops in price doesn't mean Pepsi will see its sales start bombing. It just means more people that love Coke will buy more coke. There are always going to be a group of individuals that are price sensitive, but those individuals are more likely to be heavily influenced by promotions and availability.
If there wasn't a difference Xbox One would be dead by now. $350 for Xbox is the price point in which Xbox owners wanted the console at, otherwise it wouldn't have done as well as it has looking at the product in isolation. When the price goes low enough Xbox One becomes a product complement, and not directly a substitute. If that makes sense the vice versa should be true; just because PS4 drops in price, doesn't mean it should have huge impact on Xbox One hardware sales. People who own Xbox Ones could end up buying PS4 now that the price is low enough for it to be now perceived as a complement and not a substitute.
What you've suggested is that all the additional sales gained are because people are waiting on the fence to buy and Xbox will now see an equivalent priced PS4 will now jump over to PS4 - hence Xbox could no longer sell better.
When in reality, I imagine that the bulk of the sales should be coming from individuals who wanted to buy a PS4 but not at the $399 price point.
I don't see a lot of that happening given the positions they are both in given the past 2 years.
djskribbles
Legend
It was basically a price drop as it lowered the starting price by $100, which was a huge issue with XB1 early on (price). Plus Kinect has basically zero software.
If BRiT's prediction becomes true, then Microsoft's New Year and beyond, looks a whole lot tougher than 2015. Sony has some heavy hitters (titles) coming in 2016 and 2017... not saying MS doesn't have any of their own. However, Sony was able to hold it's own through all the XB1 deals (official and unofficial), super bundling deals, free TVs, and so-on... yet PS4 still holds a commanding lead of 805-810k units within the US (as of the August NPD), without many triple A titles. It would seem IMHO, that XB1 will remain in second place for the remainder of this generation within worldwide sales, and yes, the US as well.
Anyhow, I see September's and October's NPD adding heavily to Sony's current lead within the US. Possibly extending the gap by 1-1.2 million units by the end of October's NPD. Thus, leaving November and December as MS real battleground (stand).
Last edited:
Users did not see value in the Kinect and being forced to buy it negatively impacted sales. Despite the price, unless outrageously low, customers of Xbox One did not want to pay for it, the perceived value for kinect for a majority of Xbox purchasers is that the device is pointless - they would rather always obtain the unbundled variant because that would be cheaper.
Sales only went up for Xbox because of the unbundling decision, PS4 was not negatively impacted by it.
Indeed. I feel this way too. But if it came down to just, 'who sold more' in a single month, I think Xbox still has some opportunities available. Xbox 360 sold 30+ million units, there is a large market for MS to transition over.
A reasonable goal for MS isn't to best Sony but to
a) see the entire X360 XBL population go towards 0 and inversely see that become gains for XBO activity, plug any more losses of their users moving to competitor platform, continue to focus on keeping the Xbox family of users happy to ensure that they stick with the brand going forward. (long term $$$)
b) differentiate their product and attempt to sell the device to a broader market or be sold through different channels (i.e.. XBO one day replaces DVR/PVRs entirely, sold through cable/tv services, or the integration of W10 provides an unexpected living room experience that makes users want apps or programs on their living room TV)
A reasonable goal for Sony is
a) to target and convert as much of that existing X360 base as they can now to profit over the long term, ensure they become loyal console users for the next generation as well (long term profit goals). That price drop was definitely an attack on the undecided Xbox 360 base, they continue to enjoy good sales volumes without a price drop, but I believe that MS has been improving on retaining their customer base. Sony would be able to measure this by the number of PSN accounts being made of owners that did not previously own a PS3. If there was a time to move, it would likely be now before MS starts laying down serious in-roads with their customers again with Halo 5.
b) Continue to convert their existing PS3 base over to PS4.
c) Move their entire customer base over to PSVR.
Persistantthug
Newcomer
Pretty much, this.
D
Deleted member 11852
Guest
I don't think it's possible to loyalise the vast majority of the console buying public. If it was SEGA would still be around and Nintendo would still be relevant, Sony would never have got off the ground, PS3 (building on PS2's success) would have destroyed 360 and Xbox One (building on 360's success) would have destroyed PS4 but these are all contrary and conflicting things.
The console buying public have shown themselves wonderfully independent of brand loyalties when it comes to choosing their new device and this keeps the market healthy.
The only way to ensure long term platform loyalty is to create an ecosystem of forwards compatibility. But even then, in the comparable market of mobile devices, we see people willing to jump ship from iOS to Android or vice versa based on experience.
I don't think hard-core brand loyalty is really a thing outside of a few crazies. Obsession with a goods manufacturer doesn't seem to drum up the level of conviction that obsession with a football team can. Companies have to keep competing; the race never ends and they can't ever stop to celebrate their victory without their rivals closing/overtaking them.
I don't think hard-core brand loyalty is really a thing outside of a few crazies. Obsession with a goods manufacturer doesn't seem to drum up the level of conviction that obsession with a football team can. Companies have to keep competing; the race never ends and they can't ever stop to celebrate their victory without their rivals closing/overtaking them.
Like those?
Jokes aside, i think brand loyalty, and more importantly brand recognition, is still very strong in Europe and Japan for Sony.
Last edited:
Launch stampedes were mostly in mainland EU, since the shipments were very slim there [some stores had troubles stocking it for 6 months after launch!] and many store chains allocated a lot of consoles for "in-store purchase" only. That and the incredible positive hype about PS4 fuelled people to run.
I think I used the wrong word for brand loyalty, I think what i meant was just general stickiness of ecosystem. It's like making the transition is a hard step because you are leaving everything behind, but once you get started its hard to want to leave again.
That's not brand loyalty but product desirability. Like various toy stampedes over the years for new products with zero brand loyalty (new product) which where then forgotten.
That's not to say brand doesn't matter, as past experience helps make one make choices. But there's a difference between trusting a brand and being exclusively loyal to the point of shunning a superior purchasing option because it's from a different manufacturer.
- Status
Similar threads
- Locked
