Sony marches on through March -- two victories at once!

by Nick Doerr { Apr 20th 2007 at 12:00PM }

Sony released their NPD data and you know what? It's hot. Real hot. Maybe not so much for the PlayStation 3, but even there it has a small gain for the Sony camp. We'll summarize the relevant data below. Get your pitchforks and torches ready, because we'll probably have to fend off some trolls.

PS2 won the month selling 280,000 units. This beat the Wii (259,000) and Xbox 360 (199,000). Last-gen for the success!
PS3, also in a winning position, was the only next-generation console to see a gain in March. The Wii dropped 22% and the Xbox 360 decreased 12%. This is largely attributed to the European launch.
Sony states that there is still a supply constraint with the PS3 because of the focus on getting PAL versions of the console on shelves. This'll change pretty quickly, though.
The price drop of the PSP from $199 to $169 marked a very positive consumer response, increasing sales of the handheld and significantly jumping software sales -- 12% is significant, but not monumental.

What do you guys think? Is Sony really suffering, or is this overwhelmingly positive news just an affront to hide their sorry, cowering hides? We'd say they're doing fine, although we'd love to hear overwhelmingly positive news for the PlayStation 3 in particular and not "Sony overall".

Tags: PlayStation 3, Playstation3, PS3, Sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

MrSkip @ Apr 22nd 2007 5:55PM

This is going to get a lot of comments from some pissed off people

massive_98 @ Apr 20th 2007 12:09PM

Sony still holds the console market for now, but they need to make up ground within the nexy year.

Joe @ Apr 20th 2007 12:32PM

I if the rumors are true that come this Holiday season that Sony will lower the PS3 to the price of the old 20 gig. Then sony really will be making money off the PS3 plus if Sony were also to lower the PSP 20 dollars more to 150 then the PSP would be bringing even more money in. I am not saying Sony systems suck I own then just I could see more people wanting then if the price was a little lower.

That being said good job Sony on getting more people to buy your systems.

shase @ Apr 20th 2007 12:26PM

I know the PSP pricedrop (and me trading 4 games in) made my decision to get a PSP. The graphics is just so much better than DS. FF is totally gonna blow FF3 on DS away.

Paul Atkinson @ Apr 20th 2007 12:34PM

As you suggest in your final paragraph, I think we'd all like to see PS3 selling a little stronger, but for a lot of casual gamers PS2 is enough for the time being and very cheap. Yet, the fact the PS2 is still the market leader bodes well for Sony and ultimately the fate of the PS3. I believe that most of the PS2 buyers will eventually upgrade to a PS3 when next gen sequels to their favourite games tempt them enough and the price drops to a more affordable level over the next couple of years. With the release of games like SingStar and Little Big Planet, casual gamers are also going to be more and more tempted.

A lot has been said about the success of the Wii, but it's really not a long term console, it's a last-gen machine and although fun to play it's scope is limited by the low end hardware. It's success will be sustained for a couple of years but will ultimately be outsold by both Xbox 360 and PS3.

Increased PSP sales is also promising, but in Europe we really need a price drop and some PS3 compatibility along with more PSP exclusive games. Hopefully some games will soon make use of the link up possibilities, increasing sales of both consoles. For now though, I'd be happy with some downloadable PS1 games in the PS Store.

winafreeps3 @ Apr 20th 2007 12:35PM

Give it time. A few more games, especially a good job on the Fifa and F1 franchises from EA, plus the inevitable price cut will have it at the top of the charts.

They've missed the boat on the big hype by not selling out at launch but Sony have deep enough products and a good product.

winafreeps3.co.uk @ Apr 20th 2007 12:38PM

Can't believe people are out there buying PS2s though!
hahahah

http://www.winafreeps3.co.uk

Cagalli @ Apr 20th 2007 12:44PM

PS2 is the cheapest console on the market right now that still has long-term support. You'd be surprised on how many people have never owned one until recently.

alienclay @ Apr 20th 2007 12:53PM

wow. that's a lot of ps2s.
some, no, a lot of them have to be second systems. i myself have one ps2 phat, two ps2 slims, and two psp systems, along with my ps3. even so, this bodes well and shows that the ps2 will probably have a long 10 year life just like the ps1. despite the pressence of the wii, and continue racking in the dough for sony.

nintendo is dropping the ball with the wii shortage. i think a lot of people are starting to give up on finding one for a while and picking up PS2 instead.

time, this holiday season is where the first meaningful battles will be fought.

Phil @ Apr 20th 2007 1:01PM

Wow, great news for Sony. = P *thppt*

But what happens two years from now when the masses stop buying last-gen systems? If the PS3 keeps selling so low, that does not bode well for Sony's prospects for the long-term.

Naaiif @ Apr 20th 2007 1:13PM

Yeh but Phil, when people stop buying last gen systems, they're gonna want to play the sequels to their favorite games on the playstation 2, and the odd few have moved to 360 but the majority are still at the ps3, well the good ones anyway.

So they'll buy the ps3, sales will start ramping up october-december with all the slew of good games coming out, thing is though so will the 360's - maybe even more so due to Halo 3.

Hmmmmm.

Geoff Gibson @ Apr 20th 2007 1:16PM

Matt @ Apr 20th 2007 1:33PM

Every month these numbers come out I always love to see how the Sony fans try to see the bright side. First of all, in North America, there is no supply constraint with the PS3. There hasn't been since early January. Next, the Xbox 360 saw a 12% decrease only because of the growing rumors of the Elite. People held up on purchasing their 360 in favor of the Elite. Lastly, let's look at software sales. Only 1 "killer app" for PS3 in the top ten list and with 199,000 units sold. Definitely not a good outlook for PS3 developers.

Dolla Dolla @ Apr 20th 2007 1:44PM

Sony said all this?

I just got dizzy.

Azorean @ Apr 20th 2007 1:47PM

You spin me round round baby round round like a record baby round round round round! lol

James @ Apr 20th 2007 1:48PM

The point is, Matt, that the PS3 costs way too much, there is a lack of games, yet it is still somehow selling respectably. Until a big new game is released or a price drop happens, I wouldn't expect anything but shrinking sales from the PS3, yet it's the other consoles showing shrinking sales.

PS3 is looking okay because by all logic it should be selling absolutely horribly.

WTangoFoxtrot @ Apr 20th 2007 2:22PM

seriously Sony needs to get off their asses and go to a store and see the truth about how constrained their supply is, thats a load of BS

the 360 sales dropped because of the Elite coming in, wait till next month and the 360 will make a comeback. as for the PS3 its nowhere but downhill. what they need is a sudden improvement in their games catalogue but last i checked Sony was concentrating on the BluRay thing. sad that most of the end users get something else of what they wanted, something sony has never done in the past but this time i think they are desperate to win the stupid format war.

Travis @ Apr 20th 2007 3:16PM

Aren't NPD numbers for North America? So why would the EU launch be the reason that the PS3 was the only next-gen system to see a rise in sales for the last NPD period? If I understand NPD correctly, the EU launch sales aren't counted.

Jon @ Apr 20th 2007 3:20PM

Wow...that is amazing spin for what is otherwise bad news for Sony...that is to say the PS3 is selling considerably less than the 360 and way less than the Wii.

brad @ Apr 20th 2007 3:37PM

If I'm not mistaken, the price drop wasn't official until the first week of April, so this shouldn't have been a factor in the March sales of PSP, or am I getting something wrong here, just seems like people were attributing the PSP gains due to the Price drop but from what I remember and can find the price drop occurred the first week of April. Oh well, probably my mistake or something.

Henry @ Apr 20th 2007 4:33PM

Ok I guess I'll be the one to play Devil's advocate then...

I don't mean to sound like a negative Neddy and as many of you may notice I post on these blogs quite a lot, but really how are you guys seeing this as good news?

The PS3 is still in a distant third place. An increase of 2% is not good. It may have been the only next gen system to have a 'slight' increase but it was still 70,000 less than the 360 and almost 1/2 of what the Wii sold.

The PS2 got second place. Good news? I don't see it that way. Lets look at the repercussions of such a scenario. The PS2 is still releasing way more games than the PS3. The PS2 is also a lot cheaper to develope for than the PS3. A lot of smaller development as well as more than a few large publishers/developing companies still regularly release games on the PS2. The ONLY thing the PS3 had going for it was that the PS3 was or would eventually outsell the PS2 and take its place as head of the Sony pack. With March's findings that does not appear to be true. The results? All those small-time indy developers will continue to release their games on the PS2 which is proven to make them money. Those companies will not be making games for the PS3 anytime soon now. The bigger effect is that EA, THQ, Activision, etc will now continue to support the system drawing much needed IPs and money away from its PS3 development cycle. Sony needs to kill the PS2.

Now for the PSP. Did it sell well? Ya I suppose 180,000 isn't anything to scoff at. And it was probably attributed to the price drop of $30. However, it was still pummeled by DS sells which has no price drop. 500,000 compared to 180,000? Ouch. Although on the bright side the PSP is selling well and its far from being a "dead" system.

I hope Sony decides to look at these numbers and truely improve on what could be done. I love my PS products and love the games they produce, but I hate it when they put spin on news that is in all fairness bad. Just learn from your end results and improve upon your product and you will succeed.

Posted at 1:16PM on Apr 20th 2007
---------------------------------------------

this guy is an idiot, dude I'm no genius but it cost way more to make a ps3 game or 360 game, so software is going to be slow at first, not to mention 360 has alot of software because they cut the cord on there own console what do you think people where going to do? they were losing so they force people to run with there new console LOL losers, and wii has titles(rehashes, ports) I"m titles because it cut it's last console as well, ps3 is great just buy and play ps2 and ps1 games on it there's plenty and when a next gen title comes out that's worth it's salt(heavenly sword, mgs4, lair,) then drop the 60, but even if the games are cross platform, in the end it's ps3's originality that will win, not the xbox which which does nothing for the video game industry but feed it's own pockest(seriously), and nintendo is innovative but let's face it, there lazy releasing that weak console, like the motion control took along time to tap on LOL

BlackBeltJones @ Apr 20th 2007 5:21PM

You also forgot the mention that the GBA outsold the ps3, again.

Tim @ Apr 20th 2007 4:39PM

Nope, not your mistake. It occurred on April 3rd. So the PSP is selling better. I expect higher sales next month. I'm still not buying one though as there are still no games I want for it. Maybe if the FFVII is good I might think about it, but everything good on the PSP usually gets ported to the PS2 so there is no reason for me to buy one. DS just has too many great games to not get one. I am fine with my Wii, my PS2 and my DS at the moment. When the PS3 drops to below $400 is when I may think about getting one. Even then, it may be used as a bluray movie player first before games.

Henry @ Apr 20th 2007 4:37PM

sony's innovations? home, littlebigplanet, blueray, cell, the fact that there badass, I challenge anybody to name 1 thing xbox is doing for the industry

Geoff Gibson @ Apr 20th 2007 4:51PM

@ Henry

Sorry I would have loved to respond to your post as you are so obviously a blind fanboy of the Sony brand, but I actually didn't read it. It was pretty much illegible. Might be something you wish to improve upon before calling somebody else an "idiot".

I am going to introduce you to somebody. I believe you guys would make a great team, and should become really good friends. His name is period. He is actually more expressed as a . as opposed to spelling it out but for simplicity's sake I just decided to spell it out for you.

There is another friend I think you would also get along with by the way. His name is Capital Letter. You see that shift key on your keyboard? Ya, just go ahead and hold that down and press any of the letters you feel so fond of. That will produce a CAPITAL LETTER. See? Not so hard is it?

I understand that you love Sony and that they can do no wrong by your own reality. Thats fine. You can believe whatever you want, but just know that what you believe and what is real are often times quite different.

Finally, you are right about one thing Henry. You are no genius. I am glad you were able to admit that. Now I hope my introduction of you, Mr. period, and Mr. Capital Letter will help increase the value of your posts in the future. Perhaps I'll read it next time.

P.S. Thanks for showing interest in my comments.

Eternally Yours.

Brandon Johnson @ Apr 20th 2007 5:11PM

I know you were expecting this but how can they attribute poor sales due to supply constraint when you can easally find a PS3 just about anywhere in the US.

Henry @ Apr 20th 2007 5:18PM

hmm well if you read it dude then you could respond, who cares if I have periods and capital letters it's a freaken forum moron, what are you to slow to understand english you need it written perfectly for you? any way blueray is outselling hd, but that is beside the point, the ps3 games are on blue ray and that's the point that's the innovation the extra space to put more on your game, and becomes home may or may not have been influenced by second life, does not make it a bad thing, does second even do have the crud that home does? there so much there, it's something new to the gaming community something fresh and different and as much as people like to deny it it's going to be something big. Oh and if you think little big planet is just another game, then you must be just a casual gamer, maybe you didn't see all you can do in it, the lvl those people were playing on it was created by them, every detail created by the user for other users, cloth is cloth, metal is metal, retaining real world attributes, how is that not awesome? I am studying computer science but I am not genious(yet) so I am assuming you are because you can make this claim, why is cell as weak as what is in the 360? with 7 spu's allowing you to off-put workload on to other processors, it allows you to do more per frame and get the most out of your game, you can't do that on 360 so where is it that they are the same?

p.s no one has responded to what xbox is doing for the industry? just trying to knock my valid points

Henry @ Apr 20th 2007 5:22PM

I know you were expecting this but how can they attribute poor sales due to supply constraint when you can easally find a PS3 just about anywhere in the US.
-----------------
I have seen some in just about every store as well, maybe he thinks they need more LOL

Henry @ Apr 20th 2007 5:24PM

@ Geoff Gibson

that's great that you graduated high school, and you shown off your written skills, are you going to actually respond to what I am saying? when your challenged on a forum do you just respond saying " my english is perfect so I win the arguement!" if so well ...... you are an idiot

RangerPrimeX @ Apr 20th 2007 6:23PM

Spin it Sony! Spin it!!!
Supply constraint????
Where?????
Mars?????

Henry @ Apr 20th 2007 6:47PM

Spin it Sony! Spin it!!!
Supply constraint????
Where?????
Mars?????
------
Lol your so right dude it's kinda like when xbox said hdmi and bigger hard drives were not needed and then they come out with the ps3wannabe, gregh I mean the elite, and they still won't let you upgrade your hard drive on your own LOL, they said you guys are to stupid to switch out internal hard drives LOL

James @ Apr 20th 2007 6:59PM

supply constraint = marketiing-speak for "imbalanced supply". The PS3 does still manage to sell out at certain stores like Best Buy and even Target in certain regions (like Los Angeles). At the same time they tend to not sell out in Gamestops and Wal-Mart's in middle America (for example).

Sony's just using whacky terminology to say that they would probably have slightly higher sales if they balanced their supply to higher interest areas better.

However, when people quote Sony in the mainstream press they'll have to say "supply constrained" which creates an impression of demand. It's just clever PR that obviously doesn't work on more informed video game nerds. Nothing new, really.

Geoff Gibson @ Apr 20th 2007 7:33PM

Sorry Henry,

I do not have time to sit here for hours pn end waiting for your response. Was I flaunting my English skills? No. Its how somebody writes. Its what the typical person in America learns at the age of 7.

I wasn't trying to win an argument with you. I am refusing to argue with you altogether. You aren't going to believe anything I say anyways. You a blind loyalist fanboy for the Sony Playstation. Plain and simple. Believe whatever you want to believe Henry. Good luck to you on all your endeavors.

P.S. I refuse to argue with a child who doesn't know how to hold himself in a public forum.

Playstation Xtreme @ Apr 20th 2007 7:48PM

@Tim, NPD No.s for March Included the first week of april as well, NPD tracked 5 weeks for march.

scott @ Apr 20th 2007 7:48PM

Gotta agree with Geoff here, there's a pretty big difference between "perfect communication" and knowing how to convey what you're trying to say. When I read Henry's posts, it's a huge run on sentence filled with LOL and random gibberish.

Let's try this paragraph:

"Lol your so right dude it's kinda like when xbox said hdmi and bigger hard drives were not needed and then they come out with the ps3wannabe, gregh I mean the elite, and they still won't let you upgrade your hard drive on your own LOL, they said you guys are to stupid to switch out internal hard drives LOL"

Try this:

Xbox originally said that HDMI and bigger hard drives were not needed. They were obviously wrong since they came out with a version almost identical to the lower end PS3. I still don't know why they won't let you put in your own hard drive, maybe they think you don't know how?

See how much easier that was?

BlackBeltJones @ Apr 20th 2007 9:14PM

lol, Grammer Hero exclusivley for the Playstation 3

Chris @ Apr 20th 2007 9:39PM

"...this overwhelmingly positive news..."

LOL

You are either the dumbest man on the internet, or the most devious.

Xiru @ Apr 20th 2007 10:58PM

Wow the fanboys are out in full force. No one is giving the PS3 a chance. Its been out almost 7 months and people are pulling the same stuff as they did with the psp. Saying its a failure or its dead. While I believe the DS has lasting power and will stay ahead of the PSP, I don't believe the Wii has the same staying power. I could be wrong but in 2-3 years I see the PS3 being market leader just like the PS2. It always takes Sony a while to get past the slow launch. 360 did so well because it was the only next gen system for a year. Wii is doing so well because its cheap. PS3 is the most expensive and has the least to offer right now so I don't see why everyone is so quick to call it a failure, its obvious that it will be in 3rd place for awhile. Blu-Ray has not taken off yet although its doing better and the 360 has the best games for now. Give the PS3 some time. It will start doing better around Christmas.

Benjamin Breeg @ Apr 21st 2007 12:30AM

Seriously Henry, youre lucky to have all this attention for being so stupid.

To start out, on what possible grounds do you stand, typing incoherent and illegible bunches of randomly used words, to call somebody using very good English and grammar an idiot? One of the basic stages of intelligence is learning and effectively using a language, any person who has ever deeply studied intelligence will tell you that. Now if you can't even put a simple sentence together, one of the basic components of intelligence, how do you possibly expect ANYBODY to take your blind and biased opinions seriously?

I don't think I even need to argue the point that your opinions have very little backing and logic behind them. Your list of Sony "innovations" looks like a very brief and poorly put together list of Sony press releases. I'm pretty sure other people have proven you wrong on that list, so I won't waste my time further.

But in response to what innovations has Xbox given us; if you seriously can't find any innovations in the Xbox, then you are a very sad and pathetic person, but we could all already tell that. First off, the whole Xbox Live thing. Not the first online console, but sure as hell did introduce many features of online console gaming, such as chatting with people, talking to people with headsets, the whole video camera deal so you can see people you're playing, the marketplace, allowing you to purchase mini games, download demos and videos, etc. I'd say Xbox Live has pretty much shaped what we consider "next gen", now its just up to the other two to catch up to that progress.

And now, just for the sake of it, I'll give my opinion on the Playstation 3. I would NEVER recommend purchasing a PS3, at least not until at least a price drop of 100$, but more than 3 exclusive games worth purchasing along with it. As of right now, what you've got is a 600$ machine that can do less gaming than its 400$ rival. Its got barely any games, let alone decent exclusives, and is 200$ more than the competition, which actually has a good deal of exclusive, killer-app titles. So why would ANYBODY buy a 600$ machine that does less and isnt proven to have any staying power yet when you could buy a 400$ machine with at least 3-4 times the amount of quality, exclusive games, and has been selling particularly well for over 15 months now?

It's selling point might get better in the future, but as of right now, the 360 gives you more for less. And come this holiday season, the Wii and the 360 both are gonna have a ton of exclusive, high-selling games, while the PS3 has.... Metal Gear Solid 4, if that hasnt been pushed back to 08 yet.

johnnybrowneye @ Apr 21st 2007 2:59PM

"PS2 won the month selling 280,000 units. This beat the Wii (259,000) and Xbox 360 (199,000). Last-gen for the success!"

Last I checked this blog was called PS3fanboy and not PS2fanboy...
nor sonyfanboy for that matter
(my cynical eyes admire that your glasses are half full, though)

success = ps3 sales and not ps2 sales

Remember: a ps2 purchased today = a potential ps3 adopter deferred to a later date.
or, maybe, not at all if Sony can't muster some truly compelling ways to generate interest [Read: 3rd party exclusives]

and keep in mind: 1 less potential installed user = 1 less potential game sale for all interested 3rd parties to recoup their costs at this critical stage... a time where EA, and the gang are contorting to allocate resources for the Wii...

The PS3 faithful out there better hope the recent SquareEnix info about FF XIII being a multi-title franchise doesn't turn into a multi-platform, slight variation strategy.
This is the wait-and-see approach
I’m sure the last thing Sony needs is a juggernaut console make-or-breaker like FF XIII crossing party lines…

Steve @ Apr 21st 2007 7:12AM

April/May are going to be really bad months for the PS3 sales numbers wise. Zero big releases software wise, and the 360 will have the new/upgrading elite sales to push it. PS3 will be a distant last place for awhile, I'm afraid. That price drop better come sooner rather than later.

ck @ Apr 21st 2007 8:53AM

I never knew there were so many expert financial analysts reading this site. It's amazing.

bearattack79 @ Apr 21st 2007 2:28PM

Henry, it seems that you in fact are the idiot.

Good luck in Computer Science.

My advice to you: "WITHDRAW WITHOUT ACADEMIC PENALTY".

Hey maybe you can get your money back.

Ninegauger @ Apr 21st 2007 2:57PM

I'd think that for Sony every month the 360 outsells the PS3 would be a bad month because they aren't gaining any ground on the lead the 360 has. This lead has already caused a few games to go multiplatform which doesn't help Sony at all unless the games look superior on their system. In current multiplatform releases (where the games were released simultaneously) this hasn't really panned out and it's hard to sell a seemingly equivalent product for more money. Plus the fact that games looked better didn't help the Xbox in the long run last generation anyway (and the Xbox was competitively priced even).

Next-Gen-Gamer @ Apr 21st 2007 4:19PM

Here's the hardware sales numbers from NPD...

Nintendo Wii: 259K (2.1 million total)
Microsoft Xbox 360: 199K (5.3 million total)
Sony PlayStation 3: 130K (1.2 million total)

Here's April (so far) in Japan...

Nintendo Wii: 128,342
Microsoft Xbox 360: 26,468
Sony PlayStation 3: 5,863

Just thought I'd share.

Next-Gen-Gamer @ Apr 21st 2007 4:20PM

Edit: The 360 and PS3 Numbers are backwards on the Japanese thing.

Sony PlayStation 3: 26,468
Microsoft Xbox 360: 5,863

Chris @ Apr 21st 2007 5:19PM

Do you want to know the difference between the fanboy nonsense posted on this blog by Doerr and the actual *honest* opinions you receive on its sister sites?

360 Fanboy, on the 120gb HD: "Granted, there are R&D costs to consider, but $80 extra per unit seems a little steep. Without a direct explanation of the costs from Microsoft, we can make only one conclusion: we're getting ripped off."

Wii Fanboy: "While we love Nintendo, no one's perfect, and sometimes, we end up disappointed. Maybe it's a matter of really looking forward to a game that doesn't deliver, or maybe you're among those frustrated by Nintendo's choice of channel fodder. No matter what it is, what's Nintendo done lately that you found disappointing?"

While the other blogs foster honest discussions about their respective consoles, this site and Doerr in particular outright lie to the people reading it, twisting and spinning in the wind to make the worst of news sound like a victory.

Sony's new console is selling terribly, yet we get BS like this: "Sony marches on through March -- two victories at once!"

Honestly, it's just pathetic at this point.

ndoerr @ Apr 21st 2007 6:37PM

@ Chris -- I'll go ahead and disagree with you. First off, this post had nothing to do with "PS3 is selling well!" because it's not. We have to find victory anywhere we can and looking at what I posted (not the comments which went extremely off topic), everything is kosher. The PS2 outsold all the other consoles this month (except the DS, but that's a handheld which is a different category). There's no spin there. It's a "victory". The PS3 didn't have a drop in sales during March, as we said, and this is probably due to the European launch. How's that spin? It's true. All things considered, a "victory". That's two at once for Sony. The PSP news is just extra topping on this Cake of Truth.

As for my "bias" and "spin" and whatever else, you should skim down a few posts where I chastise Sony:

http://playstation.joystiq.com/2007/04/20/why-dont-those-playstation-games-work-on-my-ps3/

"Sony should have thought about that being an issue." -- and they should have. That no one tested the update was stupid.

So, how's that pathetic?

-Nick Doerr

Time @ Apr 21st 2007 7:36PM

@Benjamin Breeg

ahh you poor child, you must have been waiting for your 360 to get back from the repair shop for the forth time, which is why you are here trying to convince everyone that the 360 is better so that you would feel better about yourself for the "red rings of death" thing

"hell let me go to a ps3 site and try to troll so that I feel better about my 360 crashing again"

Yeah that sounds about right