Gamasutra breaks down console sales in light of price cuts
by Griffin McElroy 
{ Oct 27th 2009 at 10:00AM } 
Source: NPD Group; via Gamasutra
If you're like us -- and, we figure after all these years we've been secretly brainwashing you, you are -- then the recent console price cuts were met with your curiosity over how these discounts would affect the vast gaming sales landscape. Fortunately, Gamasutra has posted a chart (using NPD figures) that measures how the price cuts altered two factors: each console's average sale price during the month of September and its year-to-date sales (through September).
This first figure proves the most telling about how the market reacted to the slashed prices. For instance, the average price at which PS3s were purchased in September was a flat $300; meaning an overwhelming majority of buyers responded favorably to the discount. Though the price of the Wii didn't get cut until the last week of September, the console's average price dropped to $218 -- also indicative of a reactionary market surge. The average Xbox 360 purchased price, however, actually increased by a buck to $261. By Gamasutra's calculations, folks purchased three Elites ($300) for every Arcade model ($200) sold during the month.
The PS3 was the top-selling console in September, which is the first time it's ever managed a first-place sales finish. It's still in last place in the 2009 year-to-date totals, though, and Sony's system would need to outsell Xbox 360 by about 35,000 units every week until the end of the year to break even with its competitor. Passing up the Wii, however, would require an act of divine intervention -- Nintendo's console is currently sitting on YTD sales of 4 million, which is more than twice the total of PS3 sales.
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 27th 2009 10:06AM
I don't think Sony can do it. Maybe, but they've got a long way to go.
I wouldn't count out the huge number of releases early next year, though. That should keep things at holiday levels.
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 27th 2009 10:54AM
You Also have to realize that 360 was out an entire year before PS3. That's a year of sales the 360 saw and PS3 didn't.
Marmot @ Oct 27th 2009 12:58PM
How does that affect this year?
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Oct 27th 2009 1:41PM
he didn't say it affected this year...just that if the PS3 doesn't catch up that is why...
sinjinn @ Oct 27th 2009 3:59PM
im think these are North america sales data. if you look at the rest of the world ps3 is catching up.
TypeF @ Oct 27th 2009 10:06AM
it wont beat wii, but probably beat 360 we'll see
TypeF @ Oct 27th 2009 10:09AM
if not next year when the real games comes out. GoW - FFvs13
Jack Tretton @ Oct 27th 2009 10:16AM
"Real" games?
tmacairjordan87 @ Oct 27th 2009 10:24AM
So Infamous (which I don't like at all but it's a core game), Killzone 2, Uncharted 2, Ratchet, MLB 09, Demon's Souls etc etc etc aren't real games? Have I been confused into thinking they were all real games when really they were just casual minigame compilations?
Jason Statham (Has a ps3 now) @ Oct 27th 2009 10:30AM
Really? So the games that I've been playing on both my 360, ps3, and Wii aren't Real games. But GoW and *snicker* Versus is?
Jeez, I mean besides show us the same CG trailer for the past three years, Squenix hasn't done much to show that this game even fucking exists.
m3nphls @ Oct 27th 2009 10:58AM
Culiao!
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 27th 2009 10:58AM
Dumb fanboy is dumb.
Space @ Oct 27th 2009 11:04AM
are people still excited about ff13? that game already looks dated and it'll probably get delayed again.
they should've just released it when it looked good in 2007
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 27th 2009 11:09AM
Are you serious? The graphics on FF XIII are excellent. Besides, it's the gameplay that counts. I'm guessing you have never played a Final Fantasy game.
TypeF @ Oct 27th 2009 7:41PM
damn you fanboys i understand those are great games but come on now...you guys overreacting over over what i just said....most of the game you guys mention i have but seriously face reality old gamers from ps2 would know WHAT IS GOW AND FF. Tell me not that majority of the 360 owners are from ps2 uh? am i wrong or what? 360 gamers don't see what U2 really is. They know old school game and not new school face reality you dumb fanboys. I ain't trashing something that i personally have lol is rediculous when making 1 real statement you all jump in crying hahah
TypeF @ Oct 27th 2009 7:47PM
@Traceur_Ryuk
tbh definition of a dumb fanboy is that they can't face reality when knowing the truth that 360 are actually beating ps3 and wii beating overall. As much as i want ps3 to win i know that this year it wont beat it because people don't know much about ps3 games except old school ones such as MGS - Rachet - Killzone (which 1 failed) and the other new IPs that tmacairjordan87 mentioned only new comers to ps3 would really see them. Don't get me wrong those new IPs are great but seriously the real games which were in ps2 have yet to come. All those players are on the 360 right now and is the truth.
Turkiriano de la Teta @ Oct 27th 2009 8:29PM
Actually, i agree with TypeF, makes lots of sense. I was a proud owner of a PS2, and am now a even prouder owner of a 360, and seriously, 360 FTW. I have never heard of those ps3 "exclusives", but as of now i'm waiting for gow - ff13 and specially ffvs13 because is exclusive and ico team and hope for kingdom heart 3.
This is for you Jack Tretton, you better listen to this because us 360 owners will be waiting for them "real" games.
PS: btw, is this really you Jack "Off" Tretton?
saik @ Oct 27th 2009 10:07AM
1st, 2nd, or last, I just hope Sony keeps releasing quality games like Uncharted 2 etc.
Space @ Oct 27th 2009 11:11AM
I agree. Although I would have no problem with sony offering me money....but uncharted 2, infamous, LBP, MLB09, killzone 2, ratchet and clank, and demon's souls all in one year is just fine with me.
Mazrael @ Oct 27th 2009 11:13AM
that's Naughty Dog.. not Sony....
Duke @ Oct 27th 2009 1:09PM
But it was a sony exclusive, which is clearly what he meant.
scratch @ Oct 27th 2009 3:10PM
actually, uncharted 2 was published by sony, so you could easily say it was released by sony. it was made by naughty dog.
Vcize @ Oct 27th 2009 10:10AM
Maybe this chart is just too smart to me, but I don't see where that chart mentions anything about price...
Darth Bradwart, Dark Lord of the Sith @ Oct 27th 2009 10:13AM
It doesn't-you've got to click the link to see the original article.
GewurztraminerX @ Oct 27th 2009 10:21AM
I don't think Sony's too worried... they still have another 7 years left to their 'plan' =]
I might pick one up myself in 2011. Nothing against the PS3, there just aren't any 'must haves' that I don't already have access to via Wii or 360. Yet.
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 27th 2009 11:01AM
I'm not trying to be a fanboy, this is a legitimate question. What are some good games on 360 besides Halo and Gears? I honestly want to know becuase I own an arcade and the only game I own is Fable II and I might pick up a Live account soon.
copa @ Oct 27th 2009 11:15AM
"What are some good games on 360"
Braid
Orange Box (TF2 is better on PC, but still amazingly fun on XBox Live)
Mass Effect
Left 4 Dead 2
Shadow Complex
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 27th 2009 11:33AM
I'm not talking about XBLA titles, and Orange Box is also on PS3.
Vcize @ Oct 27th 2009 11:37AM
I'm not going to start listing off all the exclusives for fear of the dreaded "list warz!" witch hunt, but you really owe it to yourself to at the very least pick up Mass Effect, Left 4 Dead (although may as well just grab the sequel at this point), and Crackdown. Especially if you have buddies to play with, there aren't many co-op games in existence more fun than Crackdown and L4D.
uncle jesse @ Oct 27th 2009 11:56AM
I'll do the list thing for ya, even though I question how legitimate that question really is...
Forza 3 (out now), L4D2, Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell, Alan Wake, Crackdown 2 are some upcoming games. If you already own a 360 but only have that one game, you're missing out on some great older games, too. I know you mentioned Halo and Gears, but if you get a Live account, those two games are awesome to play online. Gears' co-op campaign is sweet. If you do get on Live, you're going to want to get some of the XBLA games like Shadow Complex, Splosion Man, Trials, Castle Crashers, Braid, for example. Don't overlook them just because they are download titles. Some of them are better than full priced, disc games.
GewurztraminerX @ Oct 27th 2009 11:59AM
I don't know that I really play many 360 exclusives, to be honest. I mostly use it for Rock Band, Netflix, and XBLA games. Brutal Legend now, as well.
Forza 2 is pretty good (and cheap these days). I'll be working on that one for quite some time before I even look at Forza 3, which just came out. Though, you're going to need an HDD if you want Forza 3.
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 27th 2009 12:03PM
I'm probably gonna pick up Crackdown and Crackdown 2, I don't get the appeal of L4D though. I'm definitely getting Alan Wake when it comes out, and I'm not too big into racing games. I mean games that I can pick up now, because my blu-ray on my PS3 is dead.
As for the XBLA titles, I own Braid on PC. But yeah, I'll check some of those other ones out.
bioshot43 @ Oct 27th 2009 12:46PM
so yo can play killzone2, resistence1 and 2, ratchet n clank, infamous, demons souls, granturismo 5, uncharted 1 and 2, god of war 3, heavy rain, MGS4, etc,etc,etc on your 360 and WII? Fact is ps3 has more end better exclusives than 360.
GewurztraminerX @ Oct 27th 2009 1:09PM
I never said I could play those. I said I don't want to.
kentuckyfried @ Oct 27th 2009 4:33PM
imo, the 360's exclusives list is weaksauce now that Bioshock is removed from the picture.
(I mean I do have Condemned and Dead Rising to play on the 360)
Michael Paul @ Oct 27th 2009 10:21AM
So, what will it mean to the pundits when I buy my PS3: that I consider it BETTER than my 360? Not based on what *I've* read. Must-have games for it just seem to finally have arrived.
I bought Uncharted 2 and Demon's Souls now since they were cheap NOW, and will get the PS3 when I can afford it, probably with tax return money. Unless things change once I play for a while, I believe the 360 will still be the choice for multi-platform titles...
zefur @ Oct 27th 2009 10:51AM
Wait what?! You've bought the games already but dont have the console?
If thats the case wouldnt it have been better to save for the console first because by the time you've got enough for it those games would have gone down in price
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 27th 2009 11:06AM
@Zefur: That's actually what a lot of people do. You grab the games while they're cheap. That way you gave plenty of games when you get your console.
Anyways, since you're buying a PS3, I suggest picking up Warhawk, inFamous, and Killzone. Terrific games
Vcize @ Oct 27th 2009 11:39AM
Traceur, I think the point was that those games aren't really cheap now (they were just released this month), and will likely be as cheap or even cheaper by the time he gets the console.
zefur @ Oct 27th 2009 11:47AM
@Traceur_ryuk
As much as I love warhawk (over 1000 hrs in) I think i have finally got bored of it =[ and i didnt even get to general =[=[
Traceur_Ryuk [All Digital until December] (PSN: Ryuk_shinigami) @ Oct 27th 2009 12:04PM
1000 hours?! I have never even imagined spending that much on a game. No wonder you got tired of it.
Mr_Ahh @ Oct 27th 2009 2:01PM
die hard warhawk fans are sick people, much like the COD4 players and the SOCOM fiends. they don't quit i wish i had that sort of attention span to play one game for so long. I have this guy on my friends list that has, what was it I think about 141 days playing COD4 multiplayer around 3500 hours.
Michael Paul @ Oct 27th 2009 3:03PM
Ummm, plenty of games seem to sit at the $60 price-point for quite a while, so $40 each at Best Buy (Brutal Legend for the 360 was the third) seemed like a good way to go.
It just doesn't seem like a good idea to pay for the console NOW. I'm in the middle of a bunch of 360 games, and with two PS3 games staring at me occasionally I'll HAVE to get around to the console rather than drag my feet forever...
f35acepilot @ Oct 27th 2009 3:08PM
@ Mr. Ahh
If he played 3500 hours in 141 days he would have to play for 24.82 HOURS A DAY!!!
That would be pretty awesome though.
sinjinn @ Oct 27th 2009 3:56PM
@f35acepilot.
i dont think he means he played 3500 hours in 141 days. he must have just played 141 days worth so far .. over the 2 years he's had the game.
which is a lot..... thats like 4/5 hours a day every day for 2 years.
Markez @ Oct 27th 2009 10:29AM
Anecdotal evidence says to me the introduction of the slim had the biggest impact, as both myself and another buddy who were Wii/360 owners bought a PS3. Seems to also be the more common theme I'm hearing in the comments and podcasts.
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Oct 27th 2009 10:37AM
The Wii price drop isn't going to draw many more sales.....they have got the market pretty saturated, I still say that introducing new colors would have generated more sales than a price drop....
Then there is the 360 "Price drop" where they simply phased out the 60GB HDD and replace it with a 120GB HDD.....sorry but I don't see that as a price drop at all....especially considering they took out $100 in cables and games...
The PS3 Price drop is the one that stands to generate the most sales....assuming Sony continues to market it right and we see plenty of 3rd party titles with "PS3" at the end like we have the 360 ones for the past 3+ years
wages of sin @ Oct 27th 2009 11:09AM
A price drop is a price drop. They gimped the cables (not sure what you mean by games) but it's not like either of it's competitors are packing monster cables or games either so...
I would like to see the PS3 (unless they changed it) come with some better cables. The ones it comes with suck especially when your console has a blu-ray player as it's main selling point.
Either way, it's looking good. I just finished Uncharted 2 and games like that come across very rarely. All three consoles seem to have some really good stuff coming really soon and I for one can't wait.
Now, if I could just finish Demon Souls...
Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Oct 27th 2009 11:30AM
no they never had monster cables in the packaging that would be worse as they cost even more....they had MS branded HDMI cable in there that retails for $40-50 as WELL as Component cables.....hadn't seen anywhere that says the new "Elites" come with anything other than Composite cables...and I have said over and over again that Sony should have at LEAST put some $5 HDMI cables in at least ONE of the SKUs, maybe they still will
Mr Khan @ Oct 27th 2009 1:20PM
I disagree. The Wii's price drop just isn't going to be as much of a sudden spike as PS3's was, because it wasn't that much of a drop, and it wasn't dropping from a prohibitively high price to a non-prohibitive one, but the effect is there
For instance, worldwide week-to-week sales (according to VGChartz) were *up* for Wii the 2nd week after the price-drop. So we could see a more sustained effect leading into the holidays.