PS2 beating 360
Here’s a great article on Ars Technica on some of the numbers behind PS2 and Xbox 360 sales. I maintain that it is somewhat silly to compare PS2 and 360 sales, given the obvious price difference and the fact that the 360 has had several supply problems. However, the most interesting part of all this to me is:
According to sales estimates from the NPD Group (conveniently collected here and here), the Xbox 360 won its first sales victory against the PS2 in April, outselling Sony’s offering by nearly 90,000 units (295,000 units in all). The end of Microsoft’s supply problems may have accounted for the leap in sales, but May estimates showed a return to more settled buying trends: Xbox sales decreased by 74,000 units, while the PS2 climbed to more than 231,000 units total, recapturing the lead with roughly 11,000 more consoles sold.
Xbox sales are decreasing by quite a bit. Granted, this is probably expected with the release of the next gen Xbox 360, but the PS2 is still gaining on the 360? Odd. What does the PS2 have over the 360 that would cause it to have more sales in the U.S.?
The PS2 has more games than the 360. A lot more. Despite that most of the PS2 catalog is a bunch of crappy shovelware, I’d bet there is still more A-list PS2 titles than there are for the 360 at this point.
The PS2 is hecka cheaper than the 360. $300 vs. $120. Which one is Grandma going to buy?
That’s about it. 360 is obviously superior to the PS2 in online connectivity and graphics (well, usually). Otherwise, these are the two main advantages of the PS2: game catalog and price.
Now, let’s fast forward to the Future! November 2006. PS3 has been released. What advantages will the 360 have over the PS3? A lot more titles will have been released for the 360. And the 360 will be significantly cheaper (especially if MS pulls out a price drop, as well). Where do we expect PS3 sales to go? Well, I won’t be surprised if the PS2 outsells the PS3 for the foreseeable future…
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