Pachter says PS3 outsold Xbox 360 in July

by Alexander Sliwinski { Aug 18th 2007 at 2:12PM }

As a master of the occult, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has access to an astonishing amount of prescient items. He typically rotates them, most recently speaking to the mirror which he got at an estate sale from a Queen who apparently took a nasty fall. Pachter went up to the mirror and asked, "Mirror, mirror, on the wall. In July, who's the console winner of them all?"

The Mirror replied, "Why the Nintendo Wii and DS, of course."

Miffed at the information given by his impulse purchase, Pachter replies, "You better tell me something I don't already know or I'm shipping you by freight to Pidgeon!"

In a moment of sheer panic the Mirror blurts out, "NPD will report the PS3 beat the Xbox 360 in sales for July."

Pachter believes that for the month of July, which will be official from NPD on Aug. 23, that the DS (450,000 units) and Wii (330,000) dominated sales in North America. Although, for the first time ever, the PS3 will show sales of 160,000 units, while the Xbox 360 will have 115,000. This would also mean that the PS3 will have doubled sales since announcing their 60GB clearance sale last month. He goes on to say that the Xbox warranty issue was a speed bump for Microsoft as "as consumers struggled with the meaning of the 'three red rings of death' issue." He believes that the price cut and apparent fix of the design flaw will rebound Xbox 360 sales.

Tags: ds, july, michaelpachter, npd, pachter, ps3, sales, wii, xbox360

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

Kye @ Aug 18th 2007 2:18PM

Speaking of which, where are the weekly hardware sales for Japan?

hvnlysoldr @ Aug 18th 2007 2:28PM

They had a holiday. Having no business on a holiday, what a novel concept.

Rare Hare @ Aug 18th 2007 2:18PM

Speaking of the improved 360, has anyone heard any reports of the new model RRODing?

Zaphod Beeblebrox @ Aug 18th 2007 2:29PM

I think it is to early for that, even by 360 standards. The larger heatsink should help, but who knows? We will have an answer by the end of the year maybe?

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 18th 2007 3:25PM

Yah, there talking Falcon chipset by the end of the year.

I'm waiting on the new chipset.

Fernando Rocker @ Aug 18th 2007 2:21PM

... and then, Pachter woke up.

severian00 @ Aug 18th 2007 9:15PM

You know what? He's probably right. The first week or two of the price drop we saw a nice spike in sales for the PS3. It didn't get to 2-1 as he's saying, but it was a spike. Since the 360 price drop though, the 360 has been selling at a 3 or 4-1 ratio depending on the week. Granted this is only from my perspective at a midsize regional chain, but I would be suprised if it was much different. I'd say the August will look much different than July.

Ross @ Aug 18th 2007 2:24PM

People like cheaper things, really Pachter? That's a leap in logic. I guess he omitted his next prediction..."The sun will rise tomorrow."

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 18th 2007 3:27PM

Is it any surprise to anyone that the two best selling game devices(console and portable) are also the two cheapest.

The Wii and the DS....both the cheapest units in their respective categories.

Because pricing is EVERYTHING!!

mr nimblewick @ Aug 18th 2007 3:30PM

Except in the case of the Gamecube and Dreamcast.

ExMcloud @ Aug 18th 2007 3:48PM

Actually the Dreamcast messed itself up....

Zaphod Beeblebrox @ Aug 18th 2007 2:26PM

How does this guy have a job? He seems to predict the obvious.

I think there will be a car accident in my hometown this month.

Someone will eat a pizza.

Other people will sleep tonight.

Poisoned Al @ Aug 18th 2007 2:29PM

Sources sugest that the PS3 sold more untits while they where holding a clearance sale. These source go onto mention that water is wet and the sky is blue.

God, they are clutching at straws now aren't they?

Curmeo @ Aug 18th 2007 2:30PM

prediction 1: 250 plus comments on August 23rd US hardware sales.

prediction 2: 150 plus comments for this story.

prediction 3: insecure PS3 haters going crazy at the news.

Jonny @ Aug 18th 2007 3:06PM

Prediction 4: Curmeo downloads a new picture of MGS4 for his next Joystiq post. Unsurprisingly he photoshops the picture so that instead of a cigarette, Solid Snake seems to be chomping down on Curmeo's wang, which is incidentally about the same size as said cigarette.

FrankTheCrank @ Aug 18th 2007 3:33PM

PS3 needs some games, like NOW.

I own the PS3 and I've got five games that I consider the best of PS3.

I just cannot wait for more games. Sony needs at least 4 must have games this holiday season.

samfish @ Aug 18th 2007 4:28PM

Coming from a insecure Nintendo hater, that's hilarious.

Curmeo @ Aug 18th 2007 5:23PM

@FrankTheCrank,

some games being released this year: Heavenly Sword, Warhawk, Folklore, Eye of Judgement, Rachet & Clank, Time Crisis 4, GT5 Prologue, Uncharted: Drake's Fortune, SingStar, etc. maybe Lair turns out good, doubt it though.

what does 360 have? BioShock? thanks ill play the superior version on PC august 23rd. Mass Effect and Halo 3? fine, two big games versus all the above: you decide. besides, how long before Mass Effect and Halo 3 come on PC?

muppetmeth @ Aug 18th 2007 5:34PM

Exactly! Why buy a 360 when you have a PC? Online is free!

TRUTH @ Aug 18th 2007 6:38PM

LOL & how many of those ps3 games are gonna get a score that even comes close to Halo, Bio Shock, Mass effect, etc.. Ohhhh... That's right

DSK @ Aug 18th 2007 7:17PM

Don't forget Blue Dragon, PG4, Ace Combat 6, Too Human and Eternal Sonata. Any fool can rattle off lists of games, what matters is the quality.

Ska Oreo @ Aug 19th 2007 3:25PM

@Curmeo

Seriously you need to stop listing the same god damn games over and over. Especially Time Crisis 4. Everytime you post that game I laugh my ass off(lmao!!). Seriously it's a good game(for a light gun shooter I guess) but I highly doubt Microsoft has to worry about that game. That and singstar.

Burritoclock @ Aug 18th 2007 2:31PM

PS3 sells will have increased, will they surpass the 360?

NO.

Wow being an analyst is kinda fun...

Poisoned Al @ Aug 18th 2007 4:33PM

Ooo! Ooo! Let me try!

"Nintendo will make more pointless peripherals for the Wii!"

Wee! Stating the obvious is fun!

Mr Khan @ Aug 18th 2007 2:39PM

This is certainly possible, considering that July was a good month for PS3, between Ninja Gaiden Sigma and the price drop/clearance thing, while 360 didn't get a game with such a big name as Sigma, and didn't really have any incentive to buy (and more importantly, with the rumors that persisted through the month about an August price drop, it perhaps persuaded people who were considering buying in July to hold off)

LaughingTarget @ Aug 18th 2007 2:43PM

Sigma unlikely sold too many units. No one can expect a third re-release to suddenly reach a point where folks will drop $560+tax (console and game) just to play something they've played twice already. The $100 price break would be the critical factor, not Sigma.

Joshua @ Aug 18th 2007 2:56PM

I don't think having a die shrink on your CPU and GPU counts as fixing a design flaw. Rather, it's just decreasing the likelihood of that flaw showing itself because of the cooler chips.

Digi Smalls @ Aug 18th 2007 5:38PM

not if the design flaw relates directly to heat. which it does.

sorry guys.

GWolf @ Aug 19th 2007 12:33AM

You don't know much about computers do you?

Tahiri @ Aug 19th 2007 8:42PM

Smaller chips, with the same amount of processing power = more heat. Not less.

Joshua @ Aug 19th 2007 9:27PM

Smaller chips with the same amount of processing power = less heat. Not more.

The thing is, MS' solution to the problem is to use cooler chips to hide the fact that their machine is prone to failure if it gets too hot. Their solution is to just cover up the real problem with something else. If they really wanted to fix the system, they'd improve the parts that are prone to failure from overheating -- whatever was getting warped from heat in the dead systems.

SneezyPorcupine @ Aug 20th 2007 12:36AM

@ Tahiri:

Um actually ur wrong. A smaller die for a CPU that will be carrying the same number of CPU cycles means that the CPU will have to use a lower voltage but a higher current(amps) to run the same unit. And it is the higher voltage that causes heat buildup. Thus, a smaller CPU + die shrink = lower heat production.

U should consider reviewing ur basic resistance & conductivity physics.

On a side note; it would be funny if it turned out the CPUs were overheating due to the amount of thermal paste that was being applied to the heatsink like what happened to the Macbook Pros sumtime ago. :P

Jonah Falcon @ Aug 18th 2007 3:01PM

What it means is that the news of a Xbox 360 price drop caused fewer people to buy an Xbox before the price drop went into effect. Duh.

Matt B @ Aug 19th 2007 9:28PM

Uf that makes it eaier to sleep at night. Sure.

E.J. @ Aug 18th 2007 3:03PM

Previously, in Pachter-land:

Pachter predicts the future and fails. Crystal ball is blamed.

In today's news, Michael Pachter is Captain Obvious. Will wearing a cape and underwear on the outside of his pants make him a better analyst? Stay tuned...

bnfrost @ Aug 18th 2007 3:37PM

I don't currently own any of the next generation consoles (odd since I've owned seemingly everything before). I'd be really happy with a 360 for Gears, Fable, BioShock, and some others, but I can't get over how much I'd miss square enix and FF, or god of war and ratchet and clank. I think I'd be happy with a ps3 maybe Christmas 2008, what do you think the prices will be like then???

hydralisk456 @ Aug 18th 2007 8:12PM

Way too fucking much...

Negativecool @ Aug 18th 2007 3:47PM

I foresee the 360 taking a dump on PS3 sales this holiday season with all of the 360's "big" exclusives due before years end (Halo 3 anyone?), only to have the PS3 sales sail past the 360 again in 2008 with all of their "big" exclusives (MGS4/GT5 anyone?). What happens beyond that is unclear.

Matman @ Aug 18th 2007 3:54PM

Why the Xbox 720 is released of course, and Microsoft discontinues support for the 360. The new media may be HD DVD or Blue Ray, but one things for sure, you can only count on a fraction of 360 titles working for it.

Triforceowner @ Aug 18th 2007 4:26PM

That might not be so. If Microsoft sticks with a similar architecture than full Backwards compatibility might be possible. It could go either way, and you can't be sure of either way.

Digi Smalls @ Aug 18th 2007 5:45PM

its in any company's interest to extend their platform as long as they can. the only reason microsoft abandoned the xbox was because the PS2's lead was insurmountable, so they got a jump on this generation.

companies make money selling *games* not introducing money losing hardware. c'mon guys, try and think for yourselves instead of taking your arguments from the fanboy handbook.

.

Negativecool @ Aug 18th 2007 11:31PM

I have again been planted by half a heart for seemingly no reason...do you people even read posts? Or is it that joystiq has been propogated by fanboys giving negatives for anyone saying anything remotely negative towards their consoles?

Triforceowner @ Aug 19th 2007 5:27PM

I know what you mean. If you say anything positive 360 you get completely wasted by the heart system. Joystiq needs to lose that thing fast, because it isn't working at all.

Cuja @ Aug 18th 2007 3:48PM

That's almost double what they sold in June. I guess you call it their Christmas sale. Once the 60 gigs are gone, they'll need to come up with another clearance sale to make people notice again. I would sure like the 360 stock clear out for new Falcon mobo.

IlyaG @ Aug 18th 2007 3:49PM

The Xbox 360 has a lead of millions of units in the United States. Even if the PS3 outsells the Xbox 360 by 50,000-100,000 per month, at this rate, the PS3 may only be able to catch up to 360's sales at the end of it's lifespan, if ever.

Launching the Xbox 360 ahead of the competition, and racking up those millions of extra units, was a genius move on Microsoft's part.

pizzanerd @ Aug 18th 2007 3:57PM

Um... No... If they outsell the 360 by 100k a month in North America, thats over a million a year. Plus what with the fact that they're outselling the XBOX in all other markets and that they're shooting for the PS2s mark, 5 million in the bucket is no biggie.

BulletToothTony @ Aug 18th 2007 4:18PM

@pizzanerd

well one thing that you have to put into consideration is that once the ps3 gets momentum it goes fast.. because it will not only get momentum in the u.s. but worldwide,

i mean look at the ps2, it has reached 122 mil in 7 years,

and another thing is that people that love their ps2's are more likely to jump to ps3 when the price drops again,

either way i don't see the 360 ever reaching the 20mil line, and while i don't see the ps3 selling 120 mil in 6 years i think because bluray and that it gonna support VOD and appereantly some type of tivo plus the fanbase, most likely it will reach 150mil in about 8 years

but that's just me.. and by then of course the ps3 will be like $ 150 and most of you will own one, and this discussion won't even matter, i mean i'll be 35 for goodness sakes..