back to article Xbox 360 outsells PS3 in Japan

The Xbox 360’s Japenese sales figures have finally overtaken those of the Sony PlayStation 3 - by a margin of just 239 consoles, according to market watcher Media Create. Figures from the company show that 17,673 Xbox 360s were sold during the seven days up to 4 November. Some 17,434 Sony PS3 consoles were in the same time. …

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  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Unsurprising Wii figures

    They had to start declining soon - almost everyone in Japan has already bought one. Now there is just the battle between Sony and Microsoft to be the second console in the living room.

  2. Iain

    Ace Combat, probably

    A quick glance at the software charts for the same week shows the 360 release of the new Ace Combat game coming in at number 2. Albeit a very distant second to Mario Galaxy. Halo 3 was briefly at number 1 the other week, as well, so maybe they've actually found some games the Japanese want to play now?

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Boffin

    40gb PS3

    May have something to do with the now released 40gb PS3 which had started being pre ordered a month before it's release. Apparantly has sold in the region of 36,000 units in Japan since its release a couple of days ago.

  4. Webster Phreaky
    Jobs Horns

    Take THAT Apple Droids! Bwah ha ha ha ...

    Of course, any Mac is a gaming console too, since every time Apple releases an OS X or Apple app update, it's a gamble that your Mac won't be dead after installing it.

  5. Mike
    Stop

    How the hell...?

    How the hell does some saddo called "webster Phreaky" turn an Xbox/PS3 article into some tripe about OS X upgrade problems? Presumably you're so busy trying to recover from the smouldering heap of melted slag that the Win 3.11->Win 95->Win 98>Win ME->Win XP->Vista upgrade path has created that you havent' had time to engage brain before activating keyboard?

  6. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Scaremongering

    The xbox 360 outsells the ps3 for 1 Week and now its all over for the PS3.

    This is typical of the Media coverage of the PS3 since Sony launched the console.

    You the Media have complained thats its Overpriced, yes its more expensive than other consoles but Sony are still makeing a loss on Every one sold.

    Lets see some real reporting please.

  7. Jon Brindley
    Go

    Microsoft

    Some people are so blinded by an automatic hatred of MS and their products, they can't see when something is actually good!

    I've had my issues with just about every MS software package I've ever used (mostly their insistence on doing everything their way and that it is the best way and everyone else's method is wrong) but the 360 is a really good piece of kit. I'm currently part way through Orange Box - despite already owning and having completed HL2 on PC.

    People .. please .. stop hating and start using! The only way to know if something is good or not is to use it yourself - don't just assume you know everything cause you read a magazine about it.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Down

    How the hell...?

    ...did the Reg's moderators let two people turn a console thread into another idiotic OS wang-waving contest?

  9. Chad H.
    Stop

    Dont know the reason?

    Could it possibly be a coincidence that Generic Shooter 3.. I err mean Halo 3 has just been the most successful Xbox title ever in the Multiformat charts in Japan?

  10. Arif Rashid

    HAHA Sony

    Dear oh dear Sony! how the mighty have fallen! It doesn't take a genius to figure this one out and even though there is a new model of PS3 coming out, it doesn't change the fact the Microsoft has finally managed to outsell Sony in Japan, even if it short lived. Facts are:

    1) PS3 is overpriced, especially in Europe (you bunch of **nts)

    2) Games are too expensive (new ones are normally £10 more than the same 360 version)

    3) Lateness to market, especially in Europe (you bunch of **nts)

    4) Games availability - there are hardly any decent games out on the PS3 (except maybe pro Evo 2008)

    The only thing the PS3 is currently good for is a cheap Blu-Ray player, but that will change once the Chinese whiteboxes start churning them out by the boat load. Its a shame because i dont really like Microsoft as a company, but they have seemed to got their act together and as for Sony, they just went from a good company with a great product, to a lousy company with an overpriced and overblown product

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Paris Hilton

    Wii Papa Girl Rappers

    It's a shame the article doesn't mention Wii sales. Judging by the graph in "Sony PS3 narrows gap with Nintendo Wii", which goes up to the end of October, the Wii should have dipped below six-figure sales for the first time in a long time (it seems to have sold 50,000 units fewer per month for the last two months, and it sold 110,415 in October, but I reckon the dip will slow down).

    Japan's population is twice the size of Britain, but one-quarter of the weight. I choose Paris Hilton as my avatar because she is used to looking at things that are drooping.

  12. david gomm

    these numbers look wrong

    According to Enterbrain the Xbox 360 sold 18,717 units in the whole of October so how the hell did they manage a 400% increase in sales for the first week in November ?

    I think its more likely to be a typo that the Halo factor that's responsible for these numbers.

  13. Stone Fox
    Flame

    Shame really....

    I've yet to buy a console, but having played on both the 360 and the PS3, I'd much rather have sony's offering.

    The only thing putting me off is the price! I think we'd probably have seen sales figures close to the original Xbox vs Ps2 if only Sony had hit the market at the same time, then with the massive extra revenue they'd have gained they could have brought us more decent titles.

    And can someone please shoot the OS flame wankers please? Piss off back to the Leopard story comments.

  14. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    @Jon Brindley

    Hear hear! I use linux everywhere for my computing needs, but i have had an xbox and now a 360 elite and it does a great job at a gaming platform.

    The PS 3 is technically superior with its cell processor and all that but alot of games are on all platforms these days so really the only thing to choose between next gen consoles is the games that are only on one platform, such as Halo 3... and no doubt loads of others which the Japanese will likely see long before us.

    I'll bash MS where its due but fair's fair, the 360 is damn good.

  15. Jozbun
    Stop

    PS 3 Overpriced? I think not.

    The PS 3 is Overpriced? Frankly I have all 3 "major" console brands along with my laptop for my gaming needs because I like to play what I want to play without worrying about the hassle of whether it will come out on any particular platform.

    Having purchased a 360, Ps3, and a Wii I can say I have been much happier long term with my PS 3 purchase than my 360.

    My 60GB PS3 cost me $599. It came with 2 controllers, Built in Wireless, and Blue Ray DVD capabilities.

    My 360 cost me $350 + $100 (Wireless NIC). + $40 (2nd Controller) Then if I wanted the HD DVD option (equivalent to the PS3 Blue Ray built in) I'd need to spend an additional $180. This totals out to $670 U.S. Dollars.

    Now the 60 GB PS3 sells for $499. Overpriced? I think not.

  16. Daryl

    Pricing

    What gets me is the price of the console in Japan. In the more successful countries MS keeps the price higher, while in the unsuccessful countries they slash the price. Nothing like thanking the regions that keep the console from failing. I know it’s a sign of weakness suddenly reducing prices but fairs fair Microsoft, give something back to the regions that are actually making the 360 successful.

  17. Andy Ivey
    Boffin

    Sony's Dead?

    Did Sony release the PS3 in hopes of placing a console in every household?

    or

    Did Sony release the PS3 to provide gamers with the highest quality gaming experience and forward the adoption of Blu-Ray?

    Believing the former would explain the posts applauding Sony’s “collapse.” Accepting this notion that Sony’s products are wholesale crap only displays what I assume is a blind bias against this resurging market leader. That is unfortunate since that bias is based on what must be a short-term view of the consumer electronics industry. More on this later…

    If you accept the later (PS3 exists to push Blu-Ray and HD gaming), then the product is a great success. Households that buy the Wii do not decide HD-DVD vs. Blu-Ray. Households that buy the PS3 do. That is what is most important to Sony. Taking a short-term loss on a bunch of consoles is overshadowed by what is at stake in the battle for the future of the DVD.

    As for XBOX, it has a more attractive price point that the PS3. It also provides for a somewhat comparable gaming experience. Call it a toss up if you wish, but Sony and Microsoft have taken losses on console sales. The only difference is Sony does it to ensure the success of Blu-Ray and Microsoft does it just to get a foothold in the market. Which strategy comes with the biggest long-term reward?

    ...back to Sony as a whole. Sony stumbled when it turned away from electronics and focused on content (ex: Sony Pictures). A change of leadership has seen the company turn away from this error and return to their roots. A great example of the turn was the XBR line of televisions followed by their SXRD product that competes with TI’s DLP. There is still a lot of work to do, but let us not forget that Nintendo was pronounced dead multiple times over the past decade. The difference is that Sony’s console business is a drop in the bucket while Nintendo’s consoles are always an “eggs in one basket” gamble.

    On a final note, credit the posters here for not forgetting about the effect Halo 3 had on console sales.

  18. Steve Rowsell

    Re: Sony's dead?

    Some good points there. However, I am not sure what you mean by 'credit the posters here for not forgetting about the effect Halo 3 had on console sales'.

    The very reason Microsoft took on Bungie as an in-house developer was to release a 'killer app', a must-have game that makes the punters want to buy their console. I guess my point is that surely the high sales of Halo 3 and associated console sales shouldn't make any difference to people's perceptions of the sales figures. At the end of the day, where do you draw the line?:

    - '...ah - I see 360 sales are up...'

    - '...yes - but don't forget thats only because a lot of consoles and games were sold this month...'

    Vaguely ridiculous, I think you'll agree.

    The interesting thing is that whilst Halo 3 has had an effect on console sales, there are so many high quality games on the market at present for 360, I don't think that Halo 3 is the sole reason why console sales have increased. There are platform exclusives, like Halo 3 and Bioshock, but also a few other releases that are out now for 360 but not yet for PS3, such as the Orange Box. Factor in the fact that a lot of the current releases for PS3 are also out on 360, (Call of Duty 4, Assassins Creed, etc), and I think you have the reason why the 360 is doing well.

    Quite simply, it offers a wide variety of good quality games, which are usually £10.00 cheaper than a near identical PS3 version, and are not games that have a gimmick programmed in as an afterthought where you wave a controller about, (i.e. quite a few Wii games). Don't get me wrong - I really like the Wii, but everyone I know that owns one has had the initial period where they play it constantly. But then they realise quite a few of the games have no real depth and get bored quite soon afterward.

    Although I own a 360 and have taken the stance that I will not buy a PS3 due to the poor manner with which Sony has treated its European customers, I do not doubt that the PS3 is a good piece of kit. However, I do feel it is overpriced for what it offers, (especially the neutered 40gb model), and I don't want to have a Blu-Ray player forced upon me. If I want one, I'll buy a standalone player - same for HD-DVD. I'm only about half way through the arduous and expensive task of replacing my favourite VHS movies with DVDs and have no intention of replacing them yet again at even more expense.

    I do think that the strategy of building PS3s with Blu-Ray players is a risky one and gambles a lot on the gamers who buy the PS3 also buying into the whole 'hey - lets replace every DVD I own' idea - in addition to spending their hard earned cash on gaming. After all, Sony pushed the UMD on PSP owners when cartridges or memory sticks would have been a viable alternative and look what happened to that...

  19. Andy Ivey

    Re: Sony's dead?

    Steve-

    Great post and I do agree with the broad strokes of what you wrote. I read that Sony is in the process of releasing a massive amount of games for the PS3. I do not know if these will be unique to the console, but just getting more options for consumers should help the console.

    Sony’s treatment of European customers is unfortunate. The company still has a great image in the US. We are used to them pushing proprietary technology and sometimes it fails. Beta is an overused example of this. It is not always a winning philosophy to drive new technology and even if it is successful (ex: MemoryStick licensed to SanDisk and Lexar), it can still be limited by the fact that the core technology is controlled by one company.

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