The console sales at their six month birthday

by Alexander Sliwinski { May 18th 2007 at 8:20PM }

Six months since the release of both the PS3 and Wii, Infendo put together a comparison chart based on the latest NPD data of where the most recent consoles ranked during the same time. The Wii is ahead of where the PS2 was at the six month mark, and both the Xbox 360 and PS3 rank behind the Gamecube (and we all remember how that ended). The first six month sales of the consoles rank in digits for North America as:

Wii (2,470,000)
PS2 (2,200,000)
Xbox (1,900,000)
GameCube (1,540,000)
Xbox 360 (1,384,000)
PS3 (1,271,000)

Infendo's Blake Snow says, "[This] means fans of motion-controls can expect to see a boatload of good games with fewer titles gracing 'real next-gen' platforms. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills!"

If only the first six months showed the end game. Look at how small the difference between the Xbox and PS2 is in this chart after the first six months, and we know how that one ends too. The PS2 is still selling well while the Xbox has passed on. Although, it's getting hard to ignore the massive growth of the Wii as it gets older (insert typical quip about how it would be nice to have some more original Wii games here). With Iwata already expecting the Wii to hit 14 million units by next March, how big can the Wii get?

Tags: gamecube, npd, playstation, ps2, ps3, sales, wii, xbox, xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

jp @ May 18th 2007 8:25PM

DAM WTF SO OLD GEN OUT SELLIN NOW GEN?
EXCEPT WII

CJC @ May 18th 2007 8:30PM

I ALSO LIKE TO TYPE IN ALL CAPS, JP!

And damn, is there any sales record the Wii CAN'T break? I'm starting to wonder...

Patrick @ May 18th 2007 8:35PM

CAPSLOCK! Seriously, why do we associate anger with caps, it be a really interestin study...

Anyway, well many factors have changed such as price and the fact that the ps2 has such a large presence

Matt B @ May 18th 2007 8:37PM

I wish they would break the 360 up by core vs premium just so I could see if cheapest really sells more.

Skippy @ May 18th 2007 8:37PM

I can't predict five years into the future, but the Wii is certainly shaping up to this generation's winner. Does anyone else find it strange the Xbox 1 sold over 500,000 more units during its first six months over the 360? That caught me off guard.

jay @ May 18th 2007 8:39PM

The Gamecube did better than the PS3...

Christ.

Fatima @ May 18th 2007 8:40PM

haha eat it xbots, you said how much your 360 outsold the ps3 in the first few months.
oh yea...there is defenently a HUGE margin right??
hahahahahahahahahahahahhaaha

TK00 @ May 18th 2007 8:41PM

Hmm, I wonder if people find the "real" next-gen's to be too expensive? Time to start cutting prices Sony/MS, the kiddie toy is kicking your ass.

Donald @ May 18th 2007 8:42PM

"CAPSLOCK! Seriously, why do we associate anger with caps, it be a really interestin study..."

Because CAPS LOCK IS CRUISE CONTROL FOR COOL

Matt B @ May 18th 2007 8:43PM

If this shows anything, it shows that "a large presence" isn't made in 6 months or a year even. It takes many years to sell 100M units.

It also shows the major players have not failed in 6 months.

Unit @ May 18th 2007 8:44PM

but.....but.....but the wii is a fad!!........

Ed @ May 18th 2007 8:49PM

Prices, adjusted for inflation, of the consoles (in the US, in USD, best selling model) at launch:

$239 GCN
$255 Wii
$348 Xbox
$358 PS2
$421 X360
$612 PS3

A few things explain the positions: The PS2 sold so quickly because it had enormous brand presence from the playstation, and because it was first to market. The GCN sold poorly because it was a poor offering in the face of the PS2 and to a lesser extent the xbox.

In other words, two things matter most: price and timing.

I think if the 360 sees a significant ($100) price drop, and the ps3 sees an even more significant ($200) price drop, both will become much more competitive.

TK00 @ May 18th 2007 8:50PM

>>>>>>6. The Gamecube did better than the PS3...

Christ.

The Gamecube did better then the PS3 AND the 360

RoroCo @ May 18th 2007 8:50PM

Fatima... You're an idiot. These are only US numbers. The 360 - unlike the PS3 - had a global release. Not to mention, the PS3 had a surplus for most of these 6 months while the 360 had a shortage.

Frankie @ May 18th 2007 8:51PM

The Wii has also won Japan.

Wordlwide, it is also the fastest selling console EVER in just 6 months.

zwarrior @ May 18th 2007 8:56PM

err DREAMCAST ANYONE?!!

Evan @ May 18th 2007 8:57PM

The comparison is fundamentally flawed...

1) Sales are limited by supply, not demand.

2) The first console of a new generation always has a slow start. (The original Playstation started slow and sales took off after the N64 was release because people were waiting until they saw what Nintendo would offer before making their decision. Anticipation of the PS2 was one of the factors that killed the Dreamcast. And, I know people who waited to buy a 360 because they wanted to see the PS3 before making their decision.)

Sidepocket @ May 18th 2007 8:58PM

...and the shit hits the fanboys.

J.Goodwin @ May 18th 2007 8:58PM

The first six months tell very little. The Xbox is shown outpacing the 360 by 30 to 50 percent in that chart, but as of March 2007, the Xbox 360 had overtaken the equivalent cumulative Xbox sales, WITHOUT Halo.

Matt B @ May 18th 2007 9:01PM

I would also venture to say that the Wii is not the sole console for a very high % of the gamers that bought it. There haven't been monikers like wii60 and PSwii for nothing.

Heh, Firefox shows a misspelling for pswii but not wii60. WTF!!! ha

gir @ May 18th 2007 9:07PM

I blame the PS3 for making spiderman 3 the movie look bad.

chugger1992 @ May 19th 2007 11:06PM

@ CJC

I believe Sony still holds the world sales record with it's Walkman

Andrew Ghobrial @ May 18th 2007 10:30PM

It's because wii is only $250 because its shitty technology with a motion sensor attached. So basically nintendo is making money off a last generation tech console just because its cheap and people act like its some amazing impossible to accomplish feat. You try putting a cheap console out with a new feature like motion sensing and price it at 250 and i bet u itll sell well, but well see what happens when halo and gta come out and wii has nothing to compete with it.

Bill nye @ May 18th 2007 9:28PM

Nintendo should stop making consoles and just make games, they are totally going to be killed.

marth4791 @ May 18th 2007 9:34PM

so with these numbers does anyone still believe that nintendo is intentionally restricting the wii supply? [or did i miss something where that debate disappeared]

John @ May 18th 2007 9:41PM

Sliwinski has written a good article. His end phrasing carefully and succinctly summarized what this chart is.

Perhaps because of that, we are all having a normal discussion, here.

Ryan P. @ May 18th 2007 9:48PM

I was at first thrilled by the Wii's initial success and was finally impressed with nintendo after years of dissapointment.

But being sold out for six months straight? Now i'm starting to get frustrated nintendo isn't doing as well as they could be. They could be selling EVEN MORE if they built an extra manufacturing line.

Ryan

NvM @ May 18th 2007 10:10PM

Gamecube FTW!!!!!!!!!

J.Goodwin @ May 18th 2007 10:15PM

marth4791, you missed the point where the debate disappeared.

The thought was that Nintendo was restricting supply in March because they had already reached their fiscal year ship targets. They then would release supply in the month of April for the start of their next fiscal year.

So, any units held back in March are now on the streets in April. That was the whole point.

Steve 3.2 @ May 18th 2007 10:24PM

No, Nintendo expects to ship an additional 14 million consoles in fiscal 2007. That means there would be 20 million consoles out there. If you're going to be snarky Alexander, at least be accurate while you're doing it.

Calvin @ May 18th 2007 10:45PM

Look how small the difference is between the 360 and the PS3 even tho the PS3 is $200 more expensive. That should tell you something.

pascaloux @ May 18th 2007 10:38PM

@29

If it was that easy, why didn't Microsoft and Sony do it?

Next-Gen-Gamer @ May 18th 2007 10:47PM

Blake Snow. Haha. Sorry...I just never expected to see his name mentioned along with something credible.

Next-Gen-Gamer @ May 18th 2007 10:49PM

Meh, hit "Add Your Comments" too soon. I was going to say that I don't think Sony and Microsoft need to worry. There's a big difference between the GameCube and the 360/PS3. The GameCube had games to satisfy people's cravings short-term, while the 360 and PS3 (and even Wii) are beginning to announce games for 2008/2009. People hate waiting, but look at the GameCube. Rush all those titles out, and what happens? Nothing.

dork @ May 19th 2007 12:57PM

out of those million + ps3's over half were on ebay

waltermh @ May 18th 2007 11:04PM

to clarify, the 360 did not sell as well as the original xbox at the start because it had manufacturing problems that the original did not have, and was supply constrained for its first 6 months since it shipped even less then ps3 could i think, but it quickly picked up supply amount for 3-6 month mark and since it was actually affordable to a larger market then ps3 it could still sell well then, while ps3 has simply not been selling well for no reason related to supply problems.

Lynn @ May 18th 2007 11:03PM

First 6 months for the 360 is WRONG. After 6 months the 360 was at 1,510,000.

Ryuukuro @ May 18th 2007 11:13PM

This must be a mistake. How the hell is the original Xbox outselling the 360? How the hell is the Gamecube outselling the 360? The PS3 is dying, that's not news, but why such a 360 slump? Putting it's one extra year of age aside it's still a hot system with the best online strategy.

jaysins @ May 18th 2007 11:21PM

I don't see why people think sales of a system relate to quality of the system and automatically better games, although if it got really lopsided it would affect the gaming library.

The wii is out pacing the 360 but the 360 is still my console of preference because it's games and features are more in line with what I like to play and use. It's a best console on the market for ME right now. I don't care if everyone else prefers the wii, until it gets some games I want I won't want a wii. Doesn't mean it has nothing to offer anyone else, just not a lot going for it in regard to my gaming needs. Some people the wii is where it's at and would not even consider a 360 at this point and others the PS3.

Just because windows is more popular doesn't mean Mac users should just ditch OSX for windows because Mac's are less popular. If your going to argue a consoles merits at least don't sound like a moron and bring up some valid points. Not "my system is out selling yours because it's way more next gen loser." To each there own and enjoy your system and all the games you play. I've personally never enjoyed gaming as much as I do today, competition has made it a good time to be a gamer. And when did gaming get turned into a popularity contest?

KiraXD @ May 18th 2007 11:24PM

god some of you just dont get it.. this is a comparison of all the consoles during their FIRST 6months... not what it is selling currently... read the article.

First 6 months of sales in NORTH AMERICA... people need to read this before activating "Fanboy Final Form!"

so in comparison... the 360 and ps3 were pretty close here in the states... even with the "Doom and Gloom" that the PS3 got from the start.

James @ May 18th 2007 11:25PM

If you wanted to spin this, you could say that the PS3 kept up with the 360 despite the 360 having no competition and being $200 cheaper. Despite what the internet would have you believe, the PS3 is not really failing and the 360 is not really succeeding. Their both still getting their sealegs. Wii on the other hand is just kicking as..

But the major point is that *IT'S TOO EARLY TO DECLARE EITHER THE PS3 OR 360 A SUCCESS OR FAILURE* Obviously the first 6 months mean nothing long term. So let's make a pact to just leave all the fanboy fighting die until after this Christmas? Deal? Deal.

Stevie Dunbar @ May 18th 2007 11:27PM

The Wii is doing an awesome job, Nintendo hit a gold mine with it and the NDS.

I'm willing to bet 360 numbers will jump tremendously after Halo 3. Wait, why bet? I know 360 numbers will jump.

As for the PS3...I don't know what can save it. Unlike Nintendo, Sony can't live on 1st parties for an entire generation.

megaStryke @ May 19th 2007 12:16AM

According to the first six months of sales, the PS2 outsold its competition, Xbox came in second, and the GC came in last. By the end of that console cycle, PS2 sold the most units followed by the Xbox and then the GC. In that particular case, the first six months did predict who would win the market and in what order, just not with what percent of the market share.

While it is still anyone's game this time around, I don't think it's an unreasonable prediction to call the Wii this generation's winner followed by the 360 and then the PS3, given these first six months.

Next-Gen-Gamer @ May 19th 2007 12:28AM

40/Stevie Dunbar

I think that if exclusives become a major issue with the PS3 in the long run, Sony should treat it as a learning experience. Sony has some good first-party stuff coming out, but they're still years behind Nintendo when it comes to forming a strong first-party. Sony likes to talk about the PlayStation brand aiding their hardware. Maybe they should start building up a strong Sony brand for software.

I wouldn't mind seeing Sony develope a fighting franchise. As evident by how Uncharted is turning out, one team working on one game on one console usually beats multiple teams coming together to work on a few games for multiple consoles (in terms of quality). I think if they found a group that knows how to put together fighters, and gave them a few years to start working something out, we could see a damn good franchise.

Hey, it worked for Nintendo (although this is probably Sakurai's last Smash Bros.). Why couldn't it work for Sony?

Purple Haze @ May 19th 2007 1:01AM

@ Next-Gen-Gamer

Didn't Blake used to work at Joystiq?

T @ May 19th 2007 1:22AM

The Wii sold better than any other system in the first four months? That's not bad. And yeah, the XBox has since faded, but you can't ignore that it did well enough that they went ahead with the 360. And that right now is this gen's PS2.

It's also interesting that the 360 and PS3 both did worse than their predecessors in the first six months than the Wii. I wonder what kind of meaning one can derive from that?

I wonder if you replace the name of the conosle with it's price at launch if that'd paint a clearer picture as to the systems ranked where they do.

Benjamin Heckendorn @ May 19th 2007 2:09AM

The oil companies should get Nintendo or Apple's marketing teams to work for them. Then we'd somehow feel good about paying double what something is worth and giving a company pure profit out of it.

tack @ May 19th 2007 3:55AM

360 and wii are the last 2 consoles that 6 months after release you couldnt just walk into any walmart and walk out with one.

The wii has a better price point and appeals to the gamer and non gamer. While still 6 months after release and no real marquee games. Being a gamer its not as great of a gaming platform as the 360, but its alot of fun for the price.