Microsoft expects Feb. 360 sales to trail PS3

67 Comments by Ludwig Kietzmann Mar 13th 2008 11:15AM
Filed under: Sony PlayStation 3, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

Delivering the giant corporation version of you may want to sit down for this, Xbox group product manager, Aaron Greenberg, has predicted less-than-stellar sales results for the American Xbox 360 during February. Beating the NPD Group to the forthcoming bad news punch, Greenberg told Reuters that continued supply problems would likely place the system behind Sony's monolith for the second month in a row.

"We definitely expect we will trail in February as a result of our supply constraints," said Greenberg. Things are expected to improve in April, however, with "a very healthy inventory situation" setting the table for Grand Theft Auto IV's trumpeted arrival.

Tags: Grand-Theft-Auto, GrandTheftAuto, GTA-IV, GTA4, GTAIV, MSFT, NPD, Shortages

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(Page 1) Reader Comments

Dan Davis: Mar 13th 2008; 11:23AM

Supply constraints? I see 360's EVERYWHERE here in Washington. Spin, Microsoft, Spin.

Marry me Mario PSN: Killjebus: Mar 13th 2008; 11:25AM

Good point, it is very plausible that this is Microsoft spin control for Feb. sales. The question I have is...what was the reason for January?

FixtSux: Mar 13th 2008; 11:59AM

Its like a preemptive strike. Strategery right?

xFenixKnightx: Mar 13th 2008; 12:00PM

This is interesting, I just called my cousin that works at Circuit City in the Games Dept and asked him what system do they have most in stock PS3 or 360. (Note: he is a really bad PS3 fanboy) its sickening. He regretfully informed me that there are in fact more PS3's in stock than 360's.

I mean even when I go to my local WallyMart. Go see in the glass case, it goes like this 99.9% of the tyme.

No Wii's...EVAR =P
Some...360's
Packed full of PS3's

Anyone beg to differ???

Still I dont see why MS has to go and announce this. So who cares if PS3 wins this month, are they that much into the fanboy war too that they just want to make excuses. Sad.

ViagraFiend: Mar 13th 2008; 12:03PM

Fenix-

Yeah, PS3's have been in good supply here (Dallas) but so have 360's. I also think that this is Microsoft making excuses for poor sales.

Marry me Mario PSN: Killjebus: Mar 13th 2008; 12:15PM

"He regretfully informed me that there are in fact more PS3's in stock than 360's."

That may be the case but it also proves that the 360 IS AVAILABLE at retail. So what Microsoft said is STILL spin on poor sales.

copa: Mar 13th 2008; 12:20PM

You know what? It doesn't matter whether this is spin or not. Either:

1. XBox 360 was outsold because demand was higher than the PS3.

2. Microsoft did not feel they could sell as many units as PS3, and ramped down their supply chain accordingly.

Both situations are pathetic. Microsoft had a chance to widen their lead before Sony brings out Home, MGS4, LBP, and more Blu-Ray titles later this year, and they couldn't execute, or chose not to.

In 2008, Microsoft is executing a loser strategy, and Sony is the company that is acting like they are in it to win it.

343 Guilty Fart: Mar 13th 2008; 12:24PM

I live in silicon valley and to date have yet to see a Wii on a store shelf. Ever.

Tranando: Mar 13th 2008; 2:24PM

Feeble excuse for getting beat 2 months on the trot by PS3 sales.

The fact that people believe the 360 is in short supply simply demonstates how many brainwashed xbots there are.

The stores are full of 'em (Arcade, Premium an Elite)

Matt B: Mar 13th 2008; 2:28PM

I agree with Copa?!?

It Burns!!!!!

Ordeith: Mar 13th 2008; 3:27PM

They are likely withholding some supply so they can flood the market when GTAIV hits.

They don't want to be caught without supply then.

nick: Mar 13th 2008; 3:36PM

I make a trip to Best Buy every week where I'm at (in the SF Bay area) and there weren't any 360 consoles available from late January to mid-February. For a few weeks, there simply weren't any shipments. Consoles have since started to appear on the shelves again. I'm not seeing any great quantities, but there are 360 consoles available. Now outside of the 360, I'm still not see any Wiis on the shelf at all.

Marry me Mario PSN: Killjebus: Mar 13th 2008; 11:24AM

How can a system that has been on the market since Nov. 2005 have supply constraints? Either it is POOR planning or the RROD is taking away too many systems that should go to retail.

My money is on the latter.

deaftly: Mar 13th 2008; 11:24AM

Sony boys - "Zomg M$ and their lies!!1, peepole finally realized they dont want the RROD shitbox!!"

MS boys - "haha you're still the PS3rd place!!1"

Fernando - "I HAVE A MULLET AND MUSIC SUCKS!"

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo): Mar 13th 2008; 11:44AM

Oh lol, the only sensible and hilarious comment in this thread so far.

xFenixKnightx: Mar 13th 2008; 11:44AM

Hilarious!

Phranctoast: Mar 13th 2008; 11:39AM

Makes you wonder what the excuse will be for the rest of the year ;)

inect: Mar 13th 2008; 5:42PM

well there is going to be a terrorist attack are there major factory will be destroyed.

But really they will plant a small nuke in there factory and kill many employees. Luckily any one important will be at a meeting that day, and they will raise the terrorist insurance the day before. However there will be no connection to 911.

wii: Mar 13th 2008; 5:45PM

or Army of Two.

wii: Mar 13th 2008; 5:47PM

Why did my name change to wii ^^^

ThePremierAssassin: Mar 13th 2008; 11:44AM

Theres no spin here...

On top of the supply issues (mainly due to ridiculous demand from last years holiday season IMO) theres the fact that the psTRIPLE won the format war and now has gotten some much need value in the eyes of some people who were prob on the fence about the whole thing.

With it being the BEST VALUE (when it comes to Bluray players) out there in the market OF COURSE sales are gonna explode...for a while.

After a while sales of the ps3 will cool off and return to their normal level. However I don't see why they shouldn't be higher than the 360 when its just won the all important HD format war and is the cheapest and most future proof Bluray player out there to boot for the majority of Bluray supporters. I mean go to any Bluray website/forum and all you see is people pushing the ps3 as the best Bluray player out there.

Personally I'm waiting for a standalone Profile 2.0 player. But thats just me...I'm sure lots of people are swayed by the whole "pse is the best! Its EVERYTHING!" argument but I'm not one of them...sony koolaid is just poison.

Draco: Mar 13th 2008; 11:47AM

I still believe the reason the 360 is in low supply is because they had a HD-DVD version ready to ship when Warner Bros turned to Blu-Ray.

ViagraFiend: Mar 13th 2008; 12:05PM

And he bases this on absolutely nothing.

Curtis the Claw: Brawl Code 1075-0441-3284: Mar 13th 2008; 12:24PM

Ok, you go ahead and think that.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School): Mar 13th 2008; 1:17PM

Its just a gut feeling. Its possible that this is indeed the case, but warner's abandoment and toshiba's subsequent folding would scrap all those machines.

If that is the case, the most likely course of action MS would take would be to take those existing units and "refurbish" them with a standard DVD drive.

Draco: Mar 13th 2008; 2:23PM

I'm basing it on the canceled announcement at CES, and that right after that the shortages started appearing.

Even if they refurbed them to have regular DVD drives, they would still have to work on them, it takes time to get that done.

CB: Mar 13th 2008; 3:36PM

wut

Fizzle: Mar 13th 2008; 11:55AM

Just a spin- there are 360s everywhere I've been. I was at a local Best Buy yesterday and they had an aisle display with 360s on one side and PS3s on the other- there were 2 PS3s left, and about 20 of the Xboxes. The format war ending will basically make the PS3 the de facto choice for anyone who wants to do more than just play games going forward. Unless the 360 comes down near Wii prices or adds Blu-Ray capability, it will be dead in the water in 2 years.

Matt: Mar 13th 2008; 12:21PM

Fizzle, to respond to your last sentence, MS and Sony are both competitors, but they have different long term visions. This year the Premium system will come down to $299. Likely much sooner than later. Secondly, the next generation Xbox (720, perhaps?) will launch holiday 2010. First to market is Microsoft's position and a 5 year cycle. That is their positioning. Sony will hope to follow PS2's success with the PS3 and have a successful system 7-8 years down the road. Meanwhile launching PS4. However, the earliest we'll see a P34 is 2012.

name123: Mar 13th 2008; 11:56AM

Looks like last year all over again.

"Microsoft Xbox 360 Sales Plunge 60% As Problems Mount"
http://www.informationweek.com/news/201200157

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo): Mar 13th 2008; 4:20PM

Oh jesus christ I thought you were banned.

Martez: Mar 13th 2008; 12:00PM

I've never seen any game retailer sold out of 360's. Has anybody? I haven't heard about these supposed supply issues from anybody but MS, which makes me think it's bull.

why not the LS2LS7?: Mar 13th 2008; 12:03PM

I actually looked after the last announcements, and I did find a few places sold out, which was odd. But all in all, over 50% of places had them, which means if you want one, you'd only have to go to 2, 3 stores at the outside to get one.

Which makes this shortage about as real as Jack Tretton saying the PS3 was in short supply in January 2007 when it just meant that a few stores didn't have them in stock.

This kind of shortage doesn't seem like it would reduce sales much, but then again, maybe I just don't understand the video game buyer.

I do know that if you believe N and MS, the PS2 and PS3 are the only home consoles in stock at a lot of retailers!

pkpk523: Mar 13th 2008; 12:26PM

One of my teenage boys works at a Gamestop in San Fran, and my college son works part-time at Target in Champagne, Illinois. After hearing about these supposed shortages despite seeing 360s everytime i go anywhere, I figured I would ask them. Both of them tell me it is totally boogus. They have over a dozen at Target at all times, and just short of that at the Gamestop. Bottom line: this is bogus.

Pokey: Mar 13th 2008; 12:01PM

The Torrance BB has plenty, all three SKU's.

Trev: Mar 13th 2008; 12:02PM

Maybe MS should just shrug it off instead of having Greenberg make excuses. If they didn't jump in just before the NPD numbers with "uhh... shortages?", twice, it wouldn't look as bad on their part. They could have just said "They sold more consoles than we did" (or even better, said nothing at all) and moved on instead of calling a bunch of attention to it.

Its especially unconvincing since Walmart and Shopko both have cases packed full of the things and the local Gamestop has them in no short supply. My town is not the entire US, obviously, but I'm not the only person mentioning the distinct lack of a shortage.

Crono (NDF - Knight of the Old School): Mar 13th 2008; 1:19PM

Got to keep the stockholders happy. Stockholder don't want to hear nothing when they find out their investment isn't doing as well as previously projected.

h0mi: Mar 13th 2008; 12:04PM

For most of feb, non arcade 360s still seemed pretty rare to me but I saw them at a best buy that last week of feb. What I want to know is whether the gap between the ps3/360 grew or remained the same, and did sales grow or shrink from month to month.

xFenixKnightx: Mar 13th 2008; 12:08PM

It's those damn PS3 Black-Blob commercials!! They are too good with their rockin tune. =P

Ladies and gentlemen...

Marry me Mario PSN: Killjebus: Mar 13th 2008; 12:13PM

Those commercials are sooooo much better than the possessed baby ones. Man those were creepy.

xFenixKnightx: Mar 13th 2008; 12:23PM

My kids love those commercials. And yea, so do I =P

Phranctoast: Mar 13th 2008; 12:47PM

The PS3 turning into Venom to complete the Spiderman theme FTW.

Vegeta (aka Ska Oreo): Mar 13th 2008; 4:50PM

NO NO NO!!!!!!!!!

DO YOU WANT IT!!! DO YOU NEED IT!!!! LET ME HEAR IT!!!

LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!!!!!!

FUCK YOU SALIVA FOR MAKING A RIDICULOUSLY CATCHY SONG. FUCK YOU!!!!

Matt: Mar 13th 2008; 12:12PM

PS3 sales are brisk for one reason - Blu Ray won the format war and the lowest priced standalone player is $399. PS3 is $399. It doesn't take an analyst to put these figures together and understand what is happening. When the NPD numbers come out we will see PS3 slightly ahead, but once again, software sales will be no where in the top 20. Proof that hardcore gamers aren't buying PS3's. Ultimately, hardware needs to sell games and to succeed they need a high attach rate. That isn't going to happen when someone goes to Best Buy and buys a PS3 so they can maybe play some games, when their primary goal is to buy a Blu-Ray player.

Marry me Mario PSN: Killjebus: Mar 13th 2008; 12:19PM

"Proof that hardcore gamers aren't buying PS3's."
I seriously doubt that, you had to be hardcore in my opinion to plop down 6 bills for the PS3 when it launched.

Sony's strategy with the Playstation brand is appeal to the hardcore, appeal to the midcore, appeal to the casual.

It worked with the PSone, the PS2, and it is working with the PS3.

Matt: Mar 13th 2008; 12:29PM

Yeah, hence the reason so few PS3's sold for $600 and dropped like a lead balloon to $399 in less than a year. I guess that $600 thing didn't work out so well.

Matt B: Mar 13th 2008; 2:35PM

I'm "Hardcore" and I bought the PS3 for its "hardcore" games.

JET: Mar 13th 2008; 12:16PM

A national logistics company I work with has virtually no 360s in any of their warehouses in the country (137 total - 120 Arcade, 17 Premium, 0 Elite). By contrast, they have 4800 40GB PS3s. A local EB manager said his chain still have plenty in their warehouses. He believes, and I'm inclined to agree, that MS is allowing the old systems to flush out of the supply chain for their new, lower-priced line to hit in mid-April (just before GTA IV). The new line will consist of a $199 Arcade, a $249 60GB version, and a $349 120GB version.

JET

why not the LS2LS7?: Mar 13th 2008; 12:28PM

$199 worthless American dollars for a 360 Arcade? Seriously, that's 130 Euros, 2/3rds the price of the unit in Europe.

If it's true, MS is definitely going to be taking it in the shorts to get those things out the door.

Cutting prices in spring feels like a sign of weakness too. Although since GTA IV is releasing in spring maybe the normal rules don't apply.

Marry me Mario PSN: Killjebus: Mar 13th 2008; 12:35PM

That is a very plausible scenario, one that I think hold merit. I wonder, if this is indeed Microsoft's strategy, could it backfire on them? If they are counting on PS2 owners to come buy a 360 for GTA4, I think that is NOT a good strategy. Let me explain, most Playstation buyers are used to the DS controller. They do not have to think about what button they are pressing, it is second nature to them after using the same button configuration for 10+ years. I know that for me, I cannot play Madden with any other controller. Madden is difficult enough w/o having to THINK about what button I am pressing.
Once you get used to something and it becomes second nature and you are content...it is very hard to try to get used to something else.

I know alot of my PS2 friends are waiting to buy a PS3 until GTA4, MGS4, GT5 and Star Wars FU come out.

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