|
Can Xbox 360 and PS3 Capitalize on Wii's Woes?Published by wes213 on Monday, November 26, 2007 Tagged: Gaming, Xbox 360, Given the publicity surrounding Nintendo's supply problems with the Wii, it is not surprising that Nintendo's competitors -- Sony and Microsoft -- are trying to take advantage of the Wii's woes in the weeks leading up to the holidays.
Sony has been the most aggressive by far, slashing the prices of PlayStation 3 and its developer kit.
The smoke has barely cleared from the Nintendo Wii's first birthday candles, and already the next big challenge is looming: the 2007 holiday season. For Nintendo, the critical question is whether the revolutionary gaming platform will continue to be a consumer favorite or a lingering manufacturing hangover will stifle sales.
According to industry analyst Video Game Chartz, it was a stellar first year for the Wii, which passed the PS3 in total worldwide sales at Thanksgiving last year, and then passed the Xbox 360 at the end this past summer. VG Chartz compiles its figures by sampling sales data from retailers around the globe.
The Xbox 360 has fared better in head-to-head sales in the U.S. VG Chartz reported that as of this week, Microsoft has sold nearly 8.5 million Xbox 360 consoles in the past year, compared to just over 6 million Wiis and 2.3 million PS3s.
A Wii Manufacturing Problem
Given the robust sales and continued demand for the Wii, the upcoming holiday season should be a good one for Nintendo, but the company has been hampered by manufacturing delays.
"Here's the good news," Roger Fils-Aime, the president of Nintendo America, said in an interview with the San Jose Mercury News. "The good news is we're flowing more and more product into the marketplace, and the amount of Wii hardware that will be in North American stores will be unprecedented. Substantially more than the launch, substantially more than has been seen to date."
But Fils-Aime conceded that Nintendo is having substantial difficulty keeping up with consumer demand for its console. Fils-Aime said that retail outlets would receive regular shipments, and that consumers should periodically check with retailers in their area to see when new shipments would arrive.
"But the fact is," Fils-Aime said, "that demand outstrips supply on a worldwide basis."
Are Sony Price Cuts Enough?
Given the publicity surrounding Nintendo's supply problems, it is not particularly surprising that Nintendo's competitors -- Sony and Microsoft -- are trying to take advantage of the situation in the weeks leading up to the holidays. Sony has been the most aggressive by far, slashing prices not only on its console, but also on its software developer's kit, in an effort to expand the number of third-party titles available to its players.
Just last week, Sony took $100 of its 80-GB PlayStation 3, and introduced a 40-GB model priced at $399, just $150 more than the difficult-to-obtain Wii. The cut in price for the software developer's kit was even more dramatic -- Sony slashed the price in half.
The sale appears to be working: According to the weekly figures compiled by VG Chartz, the company has managed to sell more than 120,000 PS3 consoles in the United States over the last two weeks. That's a significant increase over its weekly average of 25,000 to 30,000 units.
But the sobering news for the Sony, which has been mired in third place in the console wars for the past year, is that during the same period, Microsoft sold over 300,000 Xbox 360s. And despite its supply problems, Nintendo sold nearly 340,000 consoles. Sony still has a steep hill to climb.
News-Source: NewsFactor
( Subscribe via
)
|
|
| |
|
|
|
| Tuesday, May 14 | | CAPES releases this month on Xbox X|S, XB1, P |
Monday, May 13 | | Highway Police Simulator launches for Xbox Se |
Friday, May 10 | | THE SMURFS - Village Party launches in June o |
Thursday, May 09 | | 'Paper Trail' Sets Course for Consoles, PC an |
Wednesday, May 08 | | ESDigital Games and Storm in a Teacup team up |
Tuesday, May 07 | | 'Realm of Ink' Reveils New Map Trailer, Invit |
Monday, May 06 | | Puppet House creeps onto Xbox Series, PS5, an |
Friday, May 03 | | Toopan Games Unveils 2025 Release for 'Multiv |
Thursday, May 02 | | F1 Manager 2024 coming to Xbox X|S, XB1, PS4| |
| System Shock remake arives May 21st on Xbox S |
Wednesday, May 01 | | AAA Multi-IP Battle Royale “OPEN” confirmed f |
| Chrysolite announced for to Xbox Series, Play |
Tuesday, April 30 | | INDIE Live Expo Reveals First 2024 Showcase, |
Monday, April 29 | | Demolish & Build 3 is coming to Xbox, PlaySta |
Friday, April 26 | | Killer Klowns From Outer Space: The Game laun |
Thursday, April 25 | | Sleight of Hand launches Day One on Xbox Game |
| Space Invaders Deck Commander - The Board Gam |
Wednesday, April 24 | | devcom announces new venue, call for speakers |
Tuesday, April 23 | | Dune: Awakening Shows Off Stunning Unreal Eng |
Monday, April 22 | | Metro Simulator 2 is coming soon for Xbox and |
Thursday, April 18 | | Terminator: Survivors confirmed for Xbox Seri |
Wednesday, April 17 | | Build Your Empire: 'Rise of Industry 2' Comin |
Tuesday, April 16 | | Epic Fantasy RPG 'Dungeons of Hinterberg' is |
Monday, April 15 | | Delta Force: Hawk Ops gets a brand new traile |
| Perennial Order is set to bloom on Xbox Serie |
Friday, April 12 | | Umbraclaw hits Xbox, PlayStation, Switch & PC |
Thursday, April 11 | | TMNT: Wrath of the Mutants Hits XBOX, PlaySta |
| GIC’24 Early Bird Tickets Now Available |
Wednesday, April 10 | | Mars 2120 launches out of Early Access onto a |
Tuesday, April 09 | | Die by the Blade Slashes Its Way onto PC in M |
See All Xbox 360 News | Xbox 360 News Archive
|
| |