EA predicts PS3 will outsell Xbox 360 in 2008

by Ludwig Kietzmann { Feb 4th 2008 at 9:52AM }

Following the release of its latest financial results, EA has shared its estimates for predicted console hardware sales in North America and Europe in 2008. Though the Wii's continued domination seems obvious in even the murkiest of crystal balls, the publisher sides with Sir Howard Stringer's recent observation that the PlayStation 3 has departed the woods and sets

EA sees the PlayStation 3 selling between 9.5 million and 11.5 million units, compared to the Xbox 360's 6 to 8 million units. Sony's system would take the lead in Europe (a view shared by SCEE chief David Reeves), where it's expected to sell between 5 million and 6 million, well over the Xbox 360's 1.5 million to 2.5 million. Towering above both would be Nintendo's Wii, with estimates placing its sales between 12 million and 14 million units.

Only time will tell how accurate EA's predictions are and whether the PS3 will start contributing more heavily to the publisher's bottom line.

Tags: 2008-Sales, David-Reeves, EA, Electronic-Arts, Estimates, Howard-Stringer, SCEA, SCEE

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)

baby sea tuna @ Feb 4th 2008 9:56AM

Hey MS, now might be a good time to announce that Gears of War 2 game I haven't been hearing so much about lately...

Cyro @ Feb 4th 2008 11:40AM

I believe Gears of War is the new Halo Franchise and when Gears of War 2 comes out, that is going to sell like crazy, probably record high first week sales. I can see this happening.

This is why I want Epic studios to take their time with this baby and make it the best they can. I am pretty sure its going to be a hit.

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 4th 2008 11:55AM

"I believe Gears of War is the new Halo Franchise"

MS knows this. A price cut and a HUGE exclusive title like this coming up = SALES!!!

Jerk Face @ Feb 4th 2008 9:56AM

Whaaaaat!?

copa @ Feb 4th 2008 9:59AM

One step at a time, boys. The PS3 has been out for 15 months. Before you talk about outselling the XBox 360 in North America for the year, try something you've never done before: outselling the 360 for one month.

Christian @ Feb 4th 2008 10:16AM

If you had actually bothered checking out what was said so did EA not expect the PS3 to outsell the xbox360 in North America. They did expect the PS3 to outsell the xbox360 on a global basis however due to the PS3 doing well in Europe and Japan. And considering the PS3 has outsold the Xbox360 globally for the last two Months its not rocket science to make this prediction.

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 4th 2008 10:17AM

Exactly +1

Mike @ Feb 4th 2008 10:30AM

LMAO!!! Some people thinks that NA is the entire world. OH! How foolish. When it comes to world wide sales NA needs to realize that Sony owns. The Playstation brand is extremely strong world wide.

James @ Feb 4th 2008 11:10AM

Well yea the 360 isn't doing too well in Europe. It's in complete last place behind PSP, PS2 etc here.

But are Europe (where margins are minor) and the islands of Japan enough to push the PS3 past the 360 globally? I somehow doubt it.

On a side note nothing is stopping the Wii. It's first everywhere, shame the first place in Europe doesn't get us Brawl any quicker...

copa @ Feb 4th 2008 11:33AM

Christian, budddy, if you bothered to read the article you would have seen that these are purely North American and European numbers. The Japanese figures you are citing have nothing to do with what EA said here.

Specifically, EA states "the two will tie in North America on 4.5 to 5.5 million unit sales."

PS3 is on a 15-month head-to-head losing streak against the 360. I would be very interested in a prediction on what MONTH the PS3 is going to catch up with the 360 on unit sales. Predicting them to match the 360 for a YEAR is pretty silly at this point.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Feb 4th 2008 11:36AM

@James

Have to agree with you there. Basically 360 has the US and Ps3 has Europe. Japan doesn't really matter anymore. sorry but when you're only pumping out 30k a week compared to 600k in the states in europe, that's kinda like a trophy wife of a billionare getting a job at a local beauty salon because she wants to "help out"(comparison based on an eddie murphey joke).

Noshino @ Feb 4th 2008 12:00PM

Vegeta, buddy, I have to disagree with you, if Japan didn't matter anymore, Microsoft wouldn't be investing SO MUCH money on that region, don't you think?

At this point, the only market that doesn't really matter is Africa and South & Central America.

glitched @ Feb 4th 2008 12:39PM

Wait, wait, wait...

we have James asking "
But are Europe (where margins are minor) and the islands of Japan enough to push the PS3 past the 360 globally? I somehow doubt it."

Shouldnt it be "Is US enough to push the 360 past the ps3 globally when the ps3 has the other 2 major markets?"

And then we have Vegeta saying Japan doesnt matter!? and then goes on to compare Japan's weekly sales with MONTHLY sales directly!? (30k weekly vs 600k MONTHLY)

Spartacus @ Feb 4th 2008 5:30PM

Uh, if my maths are correct, 30k weekly = 120k monthly and 600k is 5X greater than 120k...

SO... Yeah, Japan is mathematically 1/5th as important as North America, which means the naysayers have a valid point.

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 4th 2008 10:02AM

Well just last night at my SupBowl party
2 couple-friends of mine said they had just bought a PS3...but for BluRay not gaming.

I also agree with BayBC2na...announce Gears 2 already! Some Teh Haloz 4 rumors also might help lulz!

Christian @ Feb 4th 2008 10:19AM

But that is exactly the kind of thing Sony wants. Cause once they got the PS3 in-house there is a good chance they will end up buying games for it at some point even if that wasn't there original plan or reason for buying it.

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 4th 2008 10:34AM

No, thats why they have a 360 for.

Shagittarius @ Feb 4th 2008 3:21PM

LOL, so you think gamers that own a 360 and a playstation will never buy games for the playstation...thats really funny, and wrong.

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 4th 2008 4:03PM

Sarcasm FTW Shaggy, c'mon now your slipping.

Steve @ Feb 4th 2008 10:03AM

Man, and they've kept their feet out of their mouths quite a while now. Shoulda known it wouldn't last. Now about that, what was it? Something like 400 games by March? Hows that coming along?

Nigeria @ Feb 4th 2008 10:03AM

The real story is the Wii is predicted to outsell both the PS3 and Xbox combined.

I was going to get an Xbox 360, but I remembered how Microsoft burnt the owners of the original Xbox.

Viva Pinata almost tempted me, but I'll probably get the DS version instead.

baby sea tuna @ Feb 4th 2008 10:13AM

Oh, Viva Pinata...sooooo good...

Kizzle @ Feb 4th 2008 10:13AM

The XBox and XBox 360 are totally different animals. While I was just as pissed as anyone with MS crapping on original XBox owners, I can at least see why it happened.

The XBox was a money loser and essentially "tied for second" last generation. The XBox 360 is essentially "tied for first," recently began turning a profit, and still has momentum. MS won't be so quick to leave it behind this time.

Anubis @ Feb 4th 2008 10:16AM

Nigeria,

MS dropped the original XBOX early because they were losing $150 per system sold; MS didn't own the intellectual properties of the CPU and GPU so they couldn't get the critical dieshrinks needed to make them cheap to manufacture. Settings aside different DVD-ROMs and PSU revisions, there was really no difference between an XBOX manufactured in early 2005 and one that sold at launch. The Xbox 360 is different from its predecessor simply because MS owns nearly everything that pertains to the system. The Xbox 360's CPU went from 90 nm to 65 nm this fall (the GPU will be following); the XBOX's mutant Pentium III Coppermine processor, comparatively, stayed the exact same size throughout its life (over 130 nm in size). I'm not saying I agree with what Microsoft did, but from a financial point of view it made sense. The XBOX was never, ever going to make money while its successor already has (it would've last year had there not been a warranty extension).

Co @ Feb 4th 2008 10:17AM

"The real story is the Wii is predicted to outsell both the PS3 and Xbox combined."

I'll second that.

dan stabbingworth @ Feb 4th 2008 10:18AM

If MS fails this gen, they'll have nobody to blame but themselves. They have the games, but the hardware is so faulty it's disappointing. I love my 360, and even my heart skips a beat when it hiccups.

I can't imagine being a consumer who has to make a choice and actually picking the 360 with the reported failures. Add in the shitty DRM, DVD drive failure, disc scratching, etc., and you drive a lot of consumers away.

The 360 should be crushing the PS3 and leaving it with no hope. But the hardware failure I suspect is holding it back quite a bit.

ill trooper @ Feb 4th 2008 12:58PM

If the Wii can answer all of your gaming needs, then you should stick with that and defend it with sales numbers. But in my life, I only own one Wii, and "millions and millions more sold" hasn't really equated to "more and better games" than the 360 and I actually use my PS3 more. The Wii offers very little to me compared to the 360 and PS3. I rarely turn my Wii on anymore, although I do like it, and it's an unstoppable WiiSports Party Machine™ when people are over, so I'm not mad.

KushielsScion007 @ Feb 4th 2008 10:04AM

This is EA just trying to please sony execs and fanboys who think EA has been shafting them all these months.

Oddly enough the sony fanboys will welcome this bit of "news" and ignore the fact that its from "LAZY & EVIL EA who doesn't know how to program for the ps3".

And Joystiq why have't we seen any Console sales figures for the week? Hasn't it been a while since we see ANY figures at all?

Noshino @ Feb 4th 2008 12:03PM

just like Nintendo fanboys welcome Factor 5 and their rumor of a new Kid Icarus game after they completly bashed the Wii?

anyway, this EA exec is stating the obvious, and yes, EA still a lazy developer, at least when it comes to the PS3

Mr Khan @ Feb 4th 2008 5:03PM

I wouldn't say that exactly

The general opinion over at Wiifanboy was "so you had your dose of PS3, and now you're crawling back."

A bit cynical, and i'd disagree with it (Loving Sonic and the Secret Rings as i did, Lair appealed to me), but welcome in this case had a negative connotation

Esat @ Feb 4th 2008 10:06AM

This could be true now that blu rays practically won. However this may also be expected. Think about it; the 360 has had a year head start, that means many people who wanted a 360 have one by now. 360 sales will slow down (the graph is tailing off so to speak) PS3 sales on the other hand would be expected to increase due to blu ray and for all those people that have been waiting for price drops.

driven2sin @ Feb 4th 2008 4:46PM

your comment is filled with way too much logic - did you get lost on your way to ars technica?

less analytics, more fandom

everyone knows sony counts shipped as sold and best buys are now reported to have removed their walls and their roof shall now stand on the piles of PS3s that are ignored in their stores...

Spartacus @ Feb 4th 2008 5:46PM

The 360 is less than 3 years old, has sold less than the original XBOX in its lifespan, has only dropped $50 since its launch and you think it has saturated its market?

The 360 could hit a second wind just as easily as the PS3 given a price cut and the right software. The 360 is in a much better position to hit the $200 sweet-spot than the PS3 and THAT could be determining factor in who sells more worldwide.

Korova @ Feb 4th 2008 6:32PM

My crystal balls are telling me MS should do a price cut on or about April 29.

Also, on the HDDVD and BD, I keep seeing standalone HD players advertised for U$149. Is that a last ditch attempt to grab market share or a fire sale of outmoded equipment? If former, HD still has a fight left in it.

Korova @ Feb 4th 2008 6:33PM

Evan @ Feb 4th 2008 7:30PM

@Spartacus
The 360 has nearly saturated the hardcore gamer market. How many hardcore gamers wait over 2 years to buy their desired console? How many shooter fans are content watching others enjoy Halo, Bioshock, and Gears of War without being tempted to buy a system for themselves?

The 360 is nearing the middle of it's lifespan. And who buys a console in the second half of it's lifespan? A few kids graduating into hardcore gamers. Perhaps a few people just getting out of prison who haven't already had an opportunity to buy (or steal) a game console. But mostly it's parents buying a gift for their kids. You know, the people who we can't believe are still buying the PS2 now!

However, Microsoft has completely ignored this large group of consumers, and handed them straight over to Nintendo. How many exclusive kids/family/casual games are on the 360? Even the PS2 had loads of shovelware to attract parents by this time in it's life, what what does the 360 have? A couple pinata games? That's not going to cut it.

Microsoft won the battle for hardcore gamers, but by ignoring the kids/family/casual market, they've lost the war.

Pedobear @ Feb 5th 2008 3:06AM

You guys talking about the console saturating its market and what not. But do you really have any proof? Is the 360 selling shit all now? I still believe it is selling hundreds of thousands a month.

nick @ Feb 4th 2008 10:10AM

I think this is assuming Microsoft sits idly by and does nothing.

Personally I think a price cut is in the 360s future. Last years price cut was too insignificant. And now the system is profitable and a cheaper to produce parts are the horizon.

For me, the PS3 becomes relevant when it hits $299.

What I'm really interested in, is how Nintendo will continue to perform. We should start seeing consoles in stores instead of always being sold out.

Kizzle @ Feb 4th 2008 10:13AM

Wouldn't surprise me...every respectable gamer already has a 360 now, eventually the PS3 will have more than two or three games worth owning, so...

360 will obviously still lead in overall sales for the duration of this generation.

James @ Feb 4th 2008 11:15AM

What? You're disregarding gamers if they don't have a 360? Wow.

I got sold off both my repaired 360's because, as a gamer, I wasn't happy with the downtime of waiting 3 weeks to get a replaced system every 2 months. I only buy good computers and my gaming PC has taken over any desire to get a 360 ever again.

glitched @ Feb 4th 2008 2:31PM

obviously

Co @ Feb 4th 2008 10:19AM

"every respectable gamer already has a 360 now"

Well, I don't know about "respectable"

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 4th 2008 11:14AM

OMG your becoming as annoying as Kayrazy Ken, maybe even more so with your retarded ass K-fed looking avatar. If thats really you in that pic then count me in as LMAO. Only Jerkface can pull that off =) lul

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo) @ Feb 4th 2008 11:41AM

I know seriously. This is exactly why I don't have a problem with Fernando. At least he has the ability to say intelligent shit every once in a while.

Co @ Feb 4th 2008 11:44AM

lmao Vegeta you've agreed with me on comments in the past, making your reply here is hilarious and questionable.

Fenix, why do you search me out everytime I post only to leave a reply. Like a kid once said to the sexual offender holding out the bag of candy in the white unmarked van: "Leave me alone!"

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 4th 2008 11:49AM

My problem is you dont belong HERE!! You belong here:
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/

Atleast Fernando and others are funny, your just annoying. "Would ya kindly" STFU already. Oh but you wouldnt know where thats quote is from.

Co @ Feb 4th 2008 11:58AM

Fenix, you're the one posting at http://www.microsoftsmybabysdaddy.com not me, k buddy?

xFenixKnightx @ Feb 4th 2008 12:29PM

"Hmm, I guess it is true what they say. Wii Fangirls, although slow and dangerous behind the wheel, still do serve a purpose....dont you go buying a 360 on me"

-Lloyd Christmas *kinda sorta*

Co.

Ill just leave your sad self alone. I think your far beyond help.