Economic crisis?
April 2007 April 2008
$839 million $1.23 billion
Those numbers include software (for existing diehards) and are past performance right ? Shouldn't we wait for a few more months to see whether and how things change in hardware terms ?
Also, do the numbers include Wii h/w and s/w ? If so, the alternate conclusion could be Wii is outdoing the economic crisis, while PS3 and 360 new sales succumbed ? Didn't some report say the casual gamers this gen masked the weakness in hardcore market ?
So now it's the MGS4 budle? It's always the next thing right? For 360 fans, oooh wait for the price drop. For Sony fans, it's now wait for the MGS4 bundle. We'll see soon enough.
Sorry, it has always been about the total package, not just the next thing. I am not sure why you're so concerned.
There is always a BR contribution to the PS3. Is it any higher this month than last month or the month before or since Jan? You tell me!
I mentioned it's not a major contribution.
Are you saying BR doesn't have an effect on sales? Didn't I just read a little while back how much the BDA was gloating about BR disc sales since they won the war and how people are jumping into BR now? Couple that with reports (NPD) of BR player sales down, you can extrapolate that the boost in PS3 sales is helping BR!
We know PS3 users have contributed to BR movie sales. Does that necessarily translate to BR helping PS3 sales majorly ? The number was 10-20% owners use PS3 exclusively for BR watching. Up to 80% of PS3 users watch PS3 movies. We used to have 5 free BR movies with every PS3 purchase. Now we don't. For BR to help PS3 sales
majorly without pack-ins, Blu-ray has to establish itself more in the average consumers' eyes. That day may come but I don't think it is here today.
The software sales haven't been real impressive so either people are using them as decoration pieces or folding! I doubt either.
The PS3 being one of the cheapest and easily the best BR player on the market certainly makes it a great buy for those looking to get into BR and judging by various forums (some non tech related) consumers are picking the PS3 for their BR needs.
Sure, some enthusiats will buy standalone, some will buy PS3. Still doesn't tell me people are buying PS3 majorly for BR. It may help but I doubt it's driving the sales based on the past statistics.
Getting back to this month though, no spin will void the simple fact that the 2 biggest franchises from last gen failed to move hardware. The hardware should atleast be greater on a weekly average than last month. If we can't agree on that, this becomes an endless argument and you're certainly more than welcome to the last word.
Perhaps, but there could be multiple factors at play. I'd wait for 2-3 more months of data before concluding.
EDIT:
Samsung just released a Profile 2.0 capable stand-alone for $399. It will be interesting to see how this impacts PS3 sales and the perceived value-proposition of the BR-centric consumer from here on out as stand-alones drop in price and the PS3 is no longer 'the cheapest BR player'.
Yes, it would be interesting. For what it's worth, Walmart has started selling Funai Blu-ray players @ $298. This is great news for Blu-ray. Overall, I think as long as BDA achieve better penetration, it will be good for PS3 in the long run. The trick is to position PS3 well, so that it's not affected by lower cost players. In particular, Samsung does not have great reputation amongst the BR enthusiasts. But new and cheaper players are critical to help establish Blu-ray.
The prospect of a Wii centric gaming industry kind of makes me want to quit the business. Luckily 3rd parties don't make jack on the Wii, so HD console development is likely to continue, for a while at least.