Consistant / Reliable European / Other sales data source?

[liolio]

THe french article stated that they had interview with the three manufacturers.
The numbers are Gamekult one not Ms PR.
And for Eurogamer they could lie but I don't think so.

 

[NavNucST3]

It's another PR roundabout just like back in April (summary link). One side claims one thing, the other claims something else, they both use clever language to make it sound more impressive but reality falls somewhere between the two.

You can rest assured that if there was an unarguable lead across Europe falling out of the GfK numbers for either party, they'd be pretty quick to make a song and dance about it.

Besides, one has been on sale in Europe for 151 weeks (December 2, 2005), the other for 91 weeks (March 23, 2007), so outright lead here is a moot point to all but the people who write the corporate gloating.

Yep, publishers don't care at all...there is no accounting for the fickleness of a publisher, NONE.

I remember some years ago, even after the launch price was revealed, people who stated that price was irrelevant since it was the same price as the PS2 when it launched if not cheaper, that the SONY brand name was the most powerful in gaming, that it did not matter when the 360 launched that it was doomed for failure because people hate MSFT. Now the argument most commonly used is, "well, they launched first, what did you expect?"

 

[catisfit]

Yep, publishers don't care at all...there is no accounting for the fickleness of a publisher, NONE.

Publishers care about money, nothing else. Reports like these from EA and Take-Two contradict the argument about publishers being interested in install base.

Now the argument most commonly used is, "well, they launched first, what did you expect?"

We are talking about the European install bases being broadly equal, right?

 

[Arwin]

Right now, yes, and if it stays that way that is a victory for Microsoft, as they came from a long distance (twice as many Xbox1 sold in the U.S. as in Europe last gen). It is now just a matter of seeing how things progress henceforth with Sony seemingly moving the PS3 towards 299 any day now (it seems to start happening in Europe, though maybe it's initially just to get rid of PS3s with Sixaxis pack-ins, as opposed to DualShocks?). But things are definitely looking up for Microsoft, especially with the price-drop - mind that they've been and have had to be very agressive especially in some European regions like the Netherlands where they went as far as 149 for the Arcade!

Back on topic though: a Dutch consumer program (Radar) discussing BluRay drive failures in the PS3 (they've had 350 people complain apparently that Sony charged a lot of money) mentioned 250.000 PS3s sold in the Benelux region (The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg). These are the same guys that first discussed the disc scratching issue in the 360, possibly even worldwide.

 

[JPT]

Back on topic though: a Dutch consumer program (Radar) discussing BluRay drive failures in the PS3 (they've had 350 people complain apparently that Sony charged a lot of money) mentioned 250.000 PS3s sold in the Benelux region (The Netherlands, Belgium, Luxemburg). These are the same guys that first discussed the disc scratching issue in the 360, possibly even worldwide.

But if 350 units out of a 250K has a problem, that is a very low %. But I expect it to be higher, still 1% is 2500 units. And that is still very good for consumer electronics, I assume. Especially in the light of Sony saying 2-3 % (http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=34703) should be expected, ie 5000-7500 units.

 

[pipo]

But if 350 units out of a 250K has a problem, that is a very low %.

I'm not sure that's the problem.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It's certainly not the topic! The drive issue is mentioned here only to get a number for PS3 installed base in te Benelux region.

 

[NavNucST3]

Publishers care about money, nothing else. Reports like these from EA and Take-Two contradict the argument about publishers being interested in install base.



We are talking about the European install bases being broadly equal, right?

If only I had experience working for a publisher from which to base my original statement, if only...

 

[catisfit]

If only I had experience working for a publisher from which to base my original statement, if only...

Then I stand corrected.

Out of interest, how does a publisher's operational decision making change based on who has the outright install base lead, in your experience? Are they as interested as the Sony and Microsoft corporate gloating machines? For example, what is the difference in a publisher's operation if the 360 had a 250k unit advantage in Europe, compared to if the PS3 had a 250k unit advantage?

 

[NavNucST3]

Then I stand corrected.

Out of interest, how does a publisher's operational decision making change based on who has the outright install base lead, in your experience? Are they as interested as the Sony and Microsoft corporate gloating machines? For example, what is the difference in a publisher's operation if the 360 had a 250k unit advantage in Europe, compared to if the PS3 had a 250k unit advantage?

I realize that what spawned this questioning was you referring just to numbers and me responding to that but in reality the factors are not as simplistic as that...MOST of the times, lol. Seriously you might be surprised at the whims that can completely change direction and focus on a project. I also realize that I absolutely and completely avoided answering your questions

 

[AlNom]

New Thread: http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=51535