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Official Jan 2008 NPD Thread - HW Shortages + Spectacular SW
- Thread starter VideoMan
- Start date
DayShallCome
Member
Analysis up at niceskybox.com.
Theres no doubt about it: Sony scored a big victory in January. PS3s margin of victory wasnt huge, and Microsofts inexplicable inability to get consoles into consumers hands was as much a part of the equation as PS3s success, but Sony can finally chalk up a victory over Xbox360. For the first time since launch, they can say We won (discounting Wii, of course)!
Still, its doubtful that January is a sign of any major reversal in regards to overall sales trends in the US. From a hardware standpoint, Xbox 360 had a great holiday season (where it outsold PS3 by a significant margin), and it simply doesnt make any sense for such a dramatic reversal in consumer interest to occur in the very next month. And when you look at the industry in terms of software, 360 has continually surpassed historical industry trends. The fact of the matter is, Microsoft (and Nintendo, for that matter) essentially sold out of product in December, and since their supply lines were so manipulated to get as much stock into stores as quickly as possible, there wasnt a lot left to fill shelves in January. On the other hand, while Sony had a solid holiday, PS3 had plenty of leftover supply to satiate demand in January. Thats not to take anything away from their success, though in spite of all of the negativity surround its next gen machine (high price, poor sales of key 1st party titles, etc), Sony has done well to at least keep PS3 relevant in the market. They arent going down without a fight.
Ultimately, for what its worth, mark down January 2008 as the first time since launch that Sony has bested Microsoft. And depending on how soon 360s supply woes are dealt with, PS3 might come away with a multi-month string of successes when the dust settles. Momentum means a lot in this industry, and Microsoft had better watch out that Sony doesnt gain a lot of it in the first part of 2008. PS3 has had a lot of bad press over the past year, and to be honest, even the emergence of Blu-ray as the standard for hi-def media and a sales victory in January probably wont be enough to overturn consumer wariness towards the console (domestically, anyway). But every comeback needs a first step.
Theres no doubt about it: Sony scored a big victory in January. PS3s margin of victory wasnt huge, and Microsofts inexplicable inability to get consoles into consumers hands was as much a part of the equation as PS3s success, but Sony can finally chalk up a victory over Xbox360. For the first time since launch, they can say We won (discounting Wii, of course)!
Still, its doubtful that January is a sign of any major reversal in regards to overall sales trends in the US. From a hardware standpoint, Xbox 360 had a great holiday season (where it outsold PS3 by a significant margin), and it simply doesnt make any sense for such a dramatic reversal in consumer interest to occur in the very next month. And when you look at the industry in terms of software, 360 has continually surpassed historical industry trends. The fact of the matter is, Microsoft (and Nintendo, for that matter) essentially sold out of product in December, and since their supply lines were so manipulated to get as much stock into stores as quickly as possible, there wasnt a lot left to fill shelves in January. On the other hand, while Sony had a solid holiday, PS3 had plenty of leftover supply to satiate demand in January. Thats not to take anything away from their success, though in spite of all of the negativity surround its next gen machine (high price, poor sales of key 1st party titles, etc), Sony has done well to at least keep PS3 relevant in the market. They arent going down without a fight.
Ultimately, for what its worth, mark down January 2008 as the first time since launch that Sony has bested Microsoft. And depending on how soon 360s supply woes are dealt with, PS3 might come away with a multi-month string of successes when the dust settles. Momentum means a lot in this industry, and Microsoft had better watch out that Sony doesnt gain a lot of it in the first part of 2008. PS3 has had a lot of bad press over the past year, and to be honest, even the emergence of Blu-ray as the standard for hi-def media and a sales victory in January probably wont be enough to overturn consumer wariness towards the console (domestically, anyway). But every comeback needs a first step.
Oh wow. This is a suprise. Hopefully a sign of good things to come. But most importantly all those PS3 owners better be picking up Uncharted and Ratchet. It will all be for naught otherwise. Matter of fact, while you're at it, I would recommend those owners also pick up Resistance (you absolutely cannot refuse this one), WOWHawk, and Heavenly Sword. Games are what systems are all about. So go get 'em. Hardware is always a nice sign though. And I think people need to stop downplaying this due to shortages. I also think people shouldn't be treating this like the end of the road. What the hell is wrong with some of you people. Anything could happen at this point. All systems deserve props. They all did fairly nice for this time of year. Wouldn't it be awesome if by the end of this generation there was this little of a gap between the consoles' sales. It would be a testament to what has truly been one of the best generations for gaming ever. Congratulations goes out to Sony, Nintendo, and Microsoft. And probably even more importantly, the gamers who bought them. This industry has only begun to spread its wings.
npd numbers = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NdYI-G_PDqg
Absinthe said:
That's what I was going to say as well. The last time I made a trip to my Best Buy (not too long ago) there were hundreds all lined up neat little (an understatement :lol ) stacks for both PS3 and 360s. It wasn't just at Best Buy, it was everywhere. These are not too terribly hard to come by. And people should also remember shortages could lead to a loss of interest. Hopefully, no one is relying on that statement to somehow put themselves above the competition. *Knows full on well how pointless it is to hope.*
AlteredBeast
Fork 'em, Sparky!
Musings threads VINDICATED! 
Spotless Mind
Member
Some of you guys need serious sarcasm detectors, since you're still quoting me after 24 pages. :lol
AlteredBeast
Fork 'em, Sparky!
The only 'stacks' we have had are the 7 40GBs PS3s that we have in stock right now. Other than black and blue DS, we have no other next gen systems in stock period. (that goes for all other stores in my district, as well, besides a few Arcades and a couple 80 GBs left)
squatingyeti
non-sanctioned troll
Liabe Brave said:
This logic has been proven flawed time and time again. The larger your userbase grows, the smaller X game will sell on a % base. So, if you guys that keep repeating this crap are correct, GTA:SA should have sold way more than it did on the PS2. Problem is just like I said: The larger your userbase gets, the smaller the % of said userbase that purchases X title becomes.
Mr.Potato Head
Banned
yup.. because in the chicagoland..you'll be hard pressed to find a 360omg rite said:
NolbertoS said:
Who said sony did something right? :lol You sony fanboys..dont get your hopes up lol
MaX_PL said:
I may just hold you up to that. I'm sure they still have those stacks. Its not like they could have disappeared (been bought). I'm dropping my brother's 360 in for a replacement anyways. Hopefully Best Buy doesn't freak out. :lol I just don't think the shortages are nearly as bad as people are making them. There is more to this nation beyond California, you know. And that goes for other major metro areas as well.
AlteredBeast
Fork 'em, Sparky!
To be fair, from October to about mid-December there WERE stacks of PS3s and 360's. Then, many 360's sold out (except some Arcades and Halo editions), while Sony stuffed retail with PS3s galore (at least at Target, they did). Then, throughout January, MS was sitting with their thumbs up their collective butt and Sony sold a (relative) ton from having product in stores.
I am sure the Warner announcement deal helped a tad (but not a TON), mainly it was just having something in stock and ready to go with today's biggest games, namely Guitar Hero III, Call of Duty 4, Rock Band, and Assassin's Creed. Can't argue with that lineup (for casuals and hardcore alike) and simply being in stock.
I am sure the Warner announcement deal helped a tad (but not a TON), mainly it was just having something in stock and ready to go with today's biggest games, namely Guitar Hero III, Call of Duty 4, Rock Band, and Assassin's Creed. Can't argue with that lineup (for casuals and hardcore alike) and simply being in stock.
Absinthe (Permed)
Banned
omg rite said:
Don't tell me I'm fucking wrong. I was just in EB Games yesterday when I picked up Professor Layton and they had a fucking stack of Rock Band, 360, and PS3 consoles in the middle of the store. The Wii, on the other hand, can't be found. I've also seen the same thing in Best Buy and Gamespot.
Shin Johnpv
Member
Cynar said:
Again it depends on where you are at. In Northern New Jersey I haven't seen stacks of Pros or Elites since some time in November.
B-Rad Lascelle
Banned
I just vomited a little in my mouth reading that.Basch said:
squatingyeti
non-sanctioned troll
sonycowboy said:
Damnit, give them their moment in the sun asshole. 2007 was a tough year being outsold by almost 1.8M in the US. Let them have their time!
I'm being sarcastic....don't ban me
I like the spin fanboys are putting on this when the simple fact this is just the beginning of PS3 outselling the Wii/360 for hardware for the entire year. Spring 2008 will see the PS3 outselling the Wii by a margin.
Wii is out, PS3 is in.
Oh, and an interesting fact: Playstation family has outsold the Nintendo family by more than the total sales of the XBox 360 this month.
Wii is out, PS3 is in.
Oh, and an interesting fact: Playstation family has outsold the Nintendo family by more than the total sales of the XBox 360 this month.
DayShallCome
Member
Absinthe said:
Just remember that this NPD period only covered January. I know that microsoft said that supply issues would exist until March, there are a few indications that supply has increased a little bit, which makes sense, if you think about the issues they're having. Things will get gradually better over time.
Absinthe (Permed)
Banned
MaX_PL said:
They started doing it in October or so of last year and it is still continuing. In fact, they've remodeled their whole store and have taken Gamecube games off the shelves in order to make room for Wii games. The PS2 has been downsized as well.
Bending_Unit_22
Member
Probably, but 25k would still put NMH on track to blow away the sales of every other Suda51 game. Even the discredited 100k claim was over the last 3 weeks so it wouldn't have been just January.legend166 said:I bet after all the NMH excitement it will probably end up selling 25k or something.
Jive Turkey
Unconfirmed Member
:lol I'm so glad you're not banned. I already miss Hans.Tabris said:
Absinthe said:
Same here. I think its just the major metro areas that took the big hit. People can't just throw around the word shortages. There are way too many variables. Just take a little time to think about it. Its like someone said a while back. GAF is not senior sales correspondents. We are gamers. We like to predict things, but we should keep in mind we are not the professionals. We don't have access to all the data necessary to draw such broad conclusions.
_Alkaline_
Member
Tabris said:
Oh god. :lol
Bending_Unit_22
Member
Wow, Sony manages to get one foot out of the grave and Sony fanboys think they're on top of the world again.Tabris said:
Whatever though, as a Wii fan all I care is that the battle for #1 has been decided. How the battle for #2 shapes up doesn't concern me much.
dr3upmushroom
Banned
I've been to about 8 stores today and they all looked like that...Choke on the Magic said: