According to sales data from NPD Group, the Xbox 360 was the top selling console for the month of April. Microsoft's 295,000 units edged out Sony's 205,000 units of the PlayStation 2. This may not be so surprising with more 360s in the pipeline after a long draught, and the Oblivion launch certainly didn't hurt, either. The big question is, can Microsoft maintain their momentum through the summer?How many of you contributed to the 360's April dominance?












(Page 1) Reader Comments
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That's not good and certainly not what I'd call momentum for a system with an install base of less than 2 million 6 months after release.
So Microsoft projected that they would have 10 million by November eh?. 300kX7 =2.1 million. Assuming the keep up the same pace as the resupply month....
That's not even going to put them over the 5 million mark. And I am pretty sure that things are slowing down.
Those are not good numbers, is the as good as dead?
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The NEXT-GEN 360 is selling 90.000 units per month over the ex-gen PS2 and somehow that's something to celebrate about?
No wonder Sony have announced a 600$ price for their NextGen console. The 360 is going against a previous generation console and outselling by a factor of almost a third.
If I were Sony I'd let the competition get pummeled abit more and then at Xmas time really go for the jugular.
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Keep in mind too that supply shortages were just solved at the end of March and early April. I'm curious how they'll do in May and I'd love to get data on all regions.
Anyone agree?
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Also, I know at least one friend that is looking hard at buying a console for the first time right now, and he's looking over in Sony's direction. He was thinking of waiting for the PS3, but since his wife just gave birth to their first child about two weeks ago, I think he'll pick the much cheaper alternative.
Also, there are just some people that like to have multiple copies of the same console in their house. I've thought about a second PS2 to let my wife play the games she wants while I'm in the middle of something for review.
I know it's hard to believe, but not everyone has a PS2 yet or has as many as they want.
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But yeah, chalk me up as another that doesn't see sales of 295,000 in a month much to write home about. That's around 3 million per year, which would put them at 15 million total after 5 years. That's not really a success.
You can say April's a slow month generally, or whatever, but then you can't use the "supply shortages just ended" argument, because that implies pent-up demand. Either the demand was there or it wasn't. Apparently, it wasn't - meaning it's just as likely sales will slow down for the rest of the year as that they'll pick up. The jury's still out on that, but this is not what I'd call a great month considering Xbox 360's are now easily attainable.
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70,000,000 / 300,000 per month = 233 months = 19 years to match the PS2 sales
or
March 2000 - March 20006 = 72 months
70,000,000 / 72months = 972,000 per month for Sony
How's X360s numbers now? I still see stacks of them in the stores by me. I wonder if this is a worldwide sell through rate which makes the number look pitiful.
I can't believe they are still selling 200,000 PS2s a month.
Disclaimer: This does not take into consideration price drops (that drive up demand), the fact that the X360 was released Worldwide, or the increase of demand for a console at it's later life cycle.
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You don't even want to see Japanese numbers. But they're out there if you search. Xbox 360 is selling around 10,000 units per month there.
Europe, I have no idea, but it seems likely that it's selling slightly fewer units there than it is here.
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" I sure as hell didn't. I'm not dumb enough to pay $400 for some tiny improvement in graphics and the same games as the last generation."
Edmund is a troll.
Tiny upgrade from last gen?? Lets review....
Lemme see the 360 has 512mb and xbox1 has 64mb.
360 has 3 core processor running at 3.2 ghz and xbox1 has 733mhz celeron. 360 has a incredible online presence with a marketplace and xbox1 has barely online presence.
360 has wireless controllers that have a guide button that brings up the 360 dashboard and xbox1 has nothing like that.
360 has a incredible video card which is equal to the PS3 and xbox1 has a pathetic video card.
360 has USB ports and xbox1 does not.
360 has a removeable upgradeable Hard Drive and the xbox1 does not.
360 has HiDef widescreen resolutions and xbox1 does not.
etc...
tiny upgrade? huh?
you really are doing a really good job trolling. good for you Troll boy.
Im wondering if your a PS3 fanboy that is bitter that your minor upgrade call the PS3 is such a dissapointment in features and ridiculous price point.
I certainly would not pay $600 for a PS3 when I get the same thing but much better implementation and proven technology for $200 less in the 360.
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I bought a premium package in April and have enjoyed it. I have only been renting games and have worked the hell out of Fight Night 3 & GRAW. Really looking forward to Rainbow 6 Vegas and Splinter Cell: Double agent
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1. PS2 price drop to $129
2. Some people can't afford $299 or $399
3. People's PS2s break and they have to replace them
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Ps2: 205,000 x $130 = $26,650,000
With the 360 costing a lot more than the PS2, these numbers aren't bad at all. I'm guessing the low 360 numbers are more with lack of supply than demand. I certainly haven't seen 360s collecting dust on the shelves. In fact I only saw one on the shelves for the first time last week.
*Assuming there was an equal number of premium and core units, although I'm pretty sure only about 1/4 of the shipped units are cores.
$88,205,000 all core vs $117,705,000 all premium.
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I look forward to owning a PS2 and eventually a Wii for the foreseeable future, thanks, occasionally dusting off my N64 now and then.
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Meanwhile, all the moms/dads being pestered to buy a PS3 see the CRAZY price (or cant find one) and end up buying little Johnny a 360 for Xmas cause there will be lots on the shelves by then)...
Headline "January 2007 - X360 sales THROUGH THE ROOF"...
LOL.. Sony.. What a joke...
Oh, and whoever thinks Sony will sell 100 Million PS3's is on CRACK...LOL... WAAAAAAAAYYYYY overpriced....
Have fun kiddies....
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Now..now Sony and Wii fanboys... wait till your system launches, you will see the same shortages and problems the 360 suffered. As Peter moore said, the truth about it all will be on 2008.
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Of course, I will be picking up a Wii on launch too!
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Thank you.
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I guess microsoft is in deep doo doo. There is no way they can hit 10 million at that rate. This is much worse than what the gamecube did last gen.
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did you read the interview joystiq did with shane kim? In that interview Kim stated that 60% of the 360 consoles(3 million) are connected to xbox live, with either a gold or silver membership. from this we gather that world wide microsoft has sold over 5 million consoles. Keep in mind that it was almost impossible to buy a 360 from december of 2005 until march of 2006, unless you live in japan. sounds like good sales to me. at this rate it will reach the 10 million mark by november and beat the sales record set by the ps2 by a month.
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High demand and low supplies heading into a holiday launch. First gen games are scooped up by early adopters eager to get their hands on anything (like Mortal Kombat Trilogy or Gretzky 64), but those who waited out the launch, either by choice or due to the low supply, have had more time to mull over the first gen games and decide to wait for the next batch.
I just got an HDTV and it's really making me want a 360, but the only game that seems to have maintained and lived up to the hype (and maybe the only game so far the future will deem a classic) has been Oblivion.
For me, in addition to the fantastic E3 showing, that's gonna be enough to get a 360. I'll pick up a couple first gen games just for added content, but I think a lot of people are waiting for the next round of games, at which point console sales will start to climb. It's going to be an interesting Christmas.
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Prices drop over time... Look at the cost of a DVD player in 2000, then look at it now. It was like $300-400 range, now you can get them for $40. As the price of blu-ray drives drop, plan to see a nice sizable decrease in the PS3's price. I mean, maybe I'm wrong... but didn't both the PSX and the PS2 drop like $60 in the first 8 month stretch?
Honestly, I don't see the X360 hitting it's goal unless Halo3 comes out during the summer, or there's a substantial price drop ($100 would be nice). Neither of those is going to happen though since the PS3 isn't even out til November... So... good luck MS.
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2. Supply just meeting demand mid-April. Added new manufacturer in Feb and decided to ship more via sea rahter than by air to bring larger quantities. Most retailers refreshed between last week in March to mid-April.
3. Retailers won't advertise until they are comfortable with supply. Once MSFT gets good on they're shipping promises... retailers can advertise with confidence that new shipments will be steady.
You really need to look at May and June figures to get your head around this. Anyone jumping for joy or sneering (at this data) are just fanboys for Microsoft, Sony or Nintendo.
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Take into account that perhaps 3 or 4 people live in most homes, that means that 1 in 300 homes bought an xbox360 in just one month alone.
How is this much worse than the gamecube did last gen? The xbox360 is the fastest selling console in history.
How much is the PS2 now, $99, whilst the xbox is $399, 295,000 x $400 is a LOT more than 200,000 x $99, you work it out.
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We'll see what the numbers are in May before spelling out Microsoft's demise. But seeing how the top 5 selling software titles in April were Xbox 360 games is pretty telling the system is alive and kicking. Whether it will be 1, 2 or 3 in the coming years is anyone's guess.
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Unless may moves more than twice as many units and the momentum stays at 200%+ Microsoft cannot hit their 10million mark. I have a 360 myself but I'm dismayed by these numbers. They are not good not matter how you spin it, developers are going to stop supporting it by 2007 if this is what the suits see for numbers.
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Sony is going to have an extremely hard time justifying to its huge user base why they should upgrade to a PS3.
Hypothetically, the PS2's are probably still going to be selling very well by the time the PS3 comes out. So hundreds of thousands of people in November are going to be stroking their brand new PS2's. Then they are going to look at the PS3, its $600 price tag, and wonder "what the hell for?," "My PS2 is good enough."
Why buy a $600 PS3 when only 6 months ago you just bought a $130 PS2 and you haven't even come close to getting tired of it and thus want more?
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The 360 is on short supply which means they will sell ou tevery month the numbers mit be low but the demand is still HIGH
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ROFLMAO...Sony isn't waiting to release the PS3...they CAN'T release the PS3 now. They don't have any made yet. The innards won't fit into the case, cell processor yields are very low and it's much harder to program than the PS2. Not to mention the Blu Ray problems.
I was expecting to see playable PS3s at E3...guess what, they didn't have them. Instead they had rack-mounted eveloper kits running the games, and some of them kept crashing. You think Sony will have 1 Million PS3s by November? Think again. They will be lucky if they even launch by November.
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