It didn't.
360: ~43.2M
PS3: ~26.8M
But yes, X360 really dominated PS3
Analyst: Xbox One global sales at 41 million; digital sale ratio far higher on Xbox One than on other platforms
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It didn't.
360: ~43.2M
PS3: ~26.8M
But yes, X360 really dominated PS3
This is definitely a big part of it. MS has been putting in a lot of work for it and they are reaping the benefits.
A lot of the factors that made the Xbox One underperform compared to the 360 are completely in Microsoft's control. I think it's up to them, honestly.
Where did you find those numbers? From what I can tell, the 360 sits around the 40 million mark in the US.
I get that previous sales can indicate how much the next console will sell in each region, but there is no guarantee that the US vs rest of the world split will remain the same next gen.
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The market is bigger. But a bigger market doesn't automatically = console sales. Look no further than this generation and the Wii U, which sold roughly 13 million. A lot of people need to understand the difference between failure, and disappointment. The Wii U was a failure. The Xbox One is a disappointment.
I don't see why Japanese devs would drop PS. It would just mean more Sony/Nintendo multiplats or games that start exclusive and eventually go elsewhere.
A log of the factors that led to the 360 were also mistakes made by the competition, namely Sony launching a year later, at $100 more, and largely ignoring the burgeoning presence of online MP/gaming as major market factors, specifically in North America. They also struck at a time when digital ecosystems were not a thing, so consumers didn't really think twice about buying a 360 to replace their PlayStation 2. All of these are difficult to repeat market factors.
The 360 was basically the absolute best case scenario for MS. The PS3 was Sony's "Failure" yet sold about the same. That is pretty telling. Again, is it possible MS could sell 80-90 million units and/or outsell Sony worldwide? Sure, anything is possible. But it's also incredibly unlikely and certainly not "easy".
What is fascinating to me is that huge,global corporation like MS has such a US-centric product.
If there's a silver lining to be had, the high ratio of digital sales bodes well for MS, because they've earned consumer trust in protecting their libraries transitioning to the next generation.
There's little to not doubt to be had consumers can count on their current library to transfer over in its entirety.
That makes it more difficult to decide to switch platforms.
There's little to not doubt to be had consumers can count on their current library to transfer over in its entirety.
That makes it more difficult to decide to switch platforms.
Uh...like how Microsoft had the online DRM fiasco, $100 more with a weaker console and forced Kinect? Hubris is a thing and is never out of the realm of possibility for any company.
A lot of the difference though has to do with the rise of digital distribution in general. Sony would have been making more off the PS3 if the market was equal.
Also, what do you call "very" profitable?
Yeah, PS4 was usually ahead 2:1. I guess Sony slowly slipped by, and it'll end up at around 3:1?
They are in dire straights in most of Europe and Asia. With Sony firing on all cylinders where it matters (exclusives) I give them no chance next gen. In Japan alone PS4 will sell about 10 million more consoles then the xbox. How do you even compete with that.
41m total is lower then many believed vs 92m for the ps4. The ps4 will probably have sold 110m by the time next gen starts and the xbox will be short of 50m.
Momentum has severely shifted towards Sony this gen who now have a first party offering they've not had in generations if ever. The Switch and the PS5 are going to dominate the landscape going forward and I predict PS NOW will be the Netflix of gaming.
Is it digital sales of current gen only, or is BC games included in that I wonder. Doesn't make it clear. That 41 million is not great imo, when you compare it to how well the other consoles are selling this gen. I know it had a poor start, but over the last couple years they've done a good job of making the xbox one a decent alternative to PS4.
I like how the 360's issues always gets handwaved away in these comparisons. It's not as if the first half of the 360's life was a cakewalk. The 360 didn't take off untill the second half of the gen.
Anyways, I don't disagree with you that Sony's mistakes with the PS3 helped the 360. I was talking about the 360->XBO transition though.
You don't think the XBO wouldn't have been off to a much better start and much much closer to the PS4 if:
-It had launched at 399$
-The DRM sysem was never mentioned
-It was as powerful as the PS4
-Huge parts of mainland Europe wasn't treated as second tier citizens
?
Those are the factors that are in Microsoft's control going into the next gen. If they don't fuck up again, I expect the next gen to go a lot better for them.
Keep in mind, that even with Xbox One's faults the system is still likely going to reach the 50-55 million range by the start of 2021. Xbox 4 has a real shot at reaching 80 mill unless they pull a Mattrick again.
MS had their own setbacks in the 360 era like RROD and drastically scaled back on investing in conventional first party output and didn't even have something to compete with PS+ offerings just before this generation launched.
Like Sony encountered with the PS3, Microsoft's failures early in this gen cost them dearly. 360 had given them tremendous growth and momentum and they squandered it before this generation even began and then outright blew it.
Considering the PS2 sold 150m and PS3 about 70m less than that, that's a relative comparison to MS selling 85m 360s compared to let's say 50m XB1s by the end of this generation.
If all things are equal going into next gen, i.e. nobody makes any major fuck ups, you will not see a disparity of this kind again.
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Yes. So if Sony monumentally fucks up on a grand a scale with the PS5, MS (or Nintendo) can reap their market share. Again, not likely, not easy. My point is simply that due to their brand and places in the market, Sony has a larger margin of error.
A combination of NPD, GfK and Famitsu numbers + other data I have access to.
Agreed, digital would help a lot.
By very profitable I mean that if they reach 10 billion yearly revenue selling so little console units (which are the products with the lowest or zero margin) then most of the revenue comes from services and games which are more profitable.
OP
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Didn't say they did. Simply saying that if Sony's marketshare were to suddenly crater, MS wouldn't be the only beneficiary.
I prioritize digital on Xbox because of their commitment to bc. I love knowing my games will be available on their next generation system.
Right, except they are also a retailer, so revenue numbers aren't really that telling in this regard.
I don't think MS has ever spoken publicly about the division's profitability...
Yeah, I agree. This gen is one for the history books. I expect some books about this gen about all 3.
And as always....why not both? Its not like the PS4 is lagging behind in subs, MAU, games sold, controllers because they're selling lots of consoles.
Exactly.
Again, why not both?
I'm not into smartphones like I used to, but I know one of the things that made me pick Android was the many, many free apps. Free GPS and just free apps. Angry Birds came over from iOS initially free, that was a top paid game on iOS at the time. More free apps, games could skew this maybe? And the demographics. Android has been cheaper and on pre paid carries alot longer than the iPhone.
I dont think Apple App Store vs Google Play, Android sells alot more phones overall is a good example.
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But revenue isn't a profit. I really can't remember when was the last time MS mention profits of Xbox ( Gaming ) division.
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Given the rough start of the generation, circa 40 million consoles sold don´t seem like a total failure. After the legendary 360, it is indeed somewhat disappointing... but at least it is one of the few successful consumer brands that Microsoft has left after being beaten by Google at almost every other scenario.
That said, there are more important metrics to analyze, and IMHO the proportion of digital sales is one of them. It is very interesting from a market / demographics standpoint, but I´m still not completely convinced by the explanations attempts I´ve seen.
On my native country (Argentina), piracy had made the 360 hugely popular. Eventually, the PS4 dominated the Eight Generation sales. But those who remained in the Xbox ecosystem do seem to be particularly loyal to the brand, and extremely invested in digital. To add on that, the recent devaluation transformed the dollarized PSN prices into unreachable luxuries (an $60 game equals here about 21% of the minimum wage). Game Pass and aggressive local currency pricing for Xbox sales generated a significant platform migration during the last months.
That said, there are more important metrics to analyze, and IMHO the proportion of digital sales is one of them. It is very interesting from a market / demographics standpoint, but I´m still not completely convinced by the explanations attempts I´ve seen.
On my native country (Argentina), piracy had made the 360 hugely popular. Eventually, the PS4 dominated the Eight Generation sales. But those who remained in the Xbox ecosystem do seem to be particularly loyal to the brand, and extremely invested in digital. To add on that, the recent devaluation transformed the dollarized PSN prices into unreachable luxuries (an $60 game equals here about 21% of the minimum wage). Game Pass and aggressive local currency pricing for Xbox sales generated a significant platform migration during the last months.
next year? switch will overtake it this summer. at worst in october
That's low, expected more !
2018 US
NSW: 5640K
PS4: 5330K
XB1: 4340K
With 4.3m sold in US in 2018, we can extrapolate 6.5m-6.8m Worldwide sales in 2018 for Xbox One
LTD
24.5m One in US
So 16.5m One in International markets (including ~5m UK)
2018 US
NSW: 5640K
PS4: 5330K
XB1: 4340K
With 4.3m sold in US in 2018, we can extrapolate 6.5m-6.8m Worldwide sales in 2018 for Xbox One
LTD
24.5m One in US
So 16.5m One in International markets (including ~5m UK)
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I think it's the same situation as last gen. 360 completely dried up in the end exclusive wise and PS3 was firing on all cylinders. That was just as big of a positive for Sony as them nailing PS4. PS3 had a lot of mindshare at the end which helped contribute to people choosing PS4 early on. Right now X1 is doing just as poorly in exclusives and I think it's going to hurt them. I'm sure there are people who feel burned. Impressing at launch is crucial but impressing at the end of a gen is just as important in keeping customers.
Microsoft actually respects your digital purchases, so it's normal for Xbox owners to feel confident about it.
Thanks to the exemplar backwards compatibility Microsoft offers, I turned all my XBO library into digital only and never looked back.
Also congrats on the 41 Million. Huge numbers for a console with a so bad launch and reputation.
Thanks to the exemplar backwards compatibility Microsoft offers, I turned all my XBO library into digital only and never looked back.
Also congrats on the 41 Million. Huge numbers for a console with a so bad launch and reputation.
They did amazing from the start with Xbox One, it tracked ahead 360 for some time
It just collapses after few years
Yeah at this stage last gen Sony were firing on all cylinders releasing exclusives to win gamers back over and that momentum really helped going into next gen. This gen likewise except now their games are even bigger hits. GOW, U4, Spiderman, Detroit etc. Plus instead of a little focus on the Vita the psvr will get that attention instead which only helps the ps4.
What?!
Their previous console sold more than double that number. XB1 is lagging WELL behind.
It terms of platform revenues from XBL revenues are very high for the installed base, but the installed base numbers are anything but "very good".
PSNow has no exclusives available at launch and doesn't have the big third party hitters like gamepass does, focusing instead on more quantity which equals to more shovelware and is only available on Sony systems and PC where no one has a need to have access to PSNow.
Gamepass/xCloud has more chances of becoming the Netflix of gaming.
Also, if the digital attach rate is lower on PS4, that means if the price is right on Xbox Two most casuals probably wouldn't have a problem jumping ship, especially since those types of services will most likely define next gen and gamepass seems to be ahead on that front.
Context. It's very good compared to where it was heading in 2013
Why would you go all physical for a handheld? Not to mention that the Switch carts are kind of a pain in the ass.
I was all-digital on Switch up until a few months ago when I came into ownership of some physical games. Let me tell you: it fucking sucks. I hate it.
Having all your games on the system and accessible in an instant? That's the DREAM, especially for somethibg you're supposed to carry around.
Nintendo's track record on digital ecosystems is very bad and I would never trust them with my digital purchases, which is why when I owned a switch all of my games were physical as well.
Nintendo likes to make you pay for the same content again and again and not transferring you purchases future systems. Just look at Wii to Wii U to Switch. Even for whatever you could transfer from Wii to Wii I they made you pay a few $ even though you already owned it.
I wouldn't trust Nintendo with digital purchases if I were you.
I think it would be interesting to check the numbers - my intuition is that if it was half what it is, and that was the state of play today, that the ratio would be higher. But to wind back x years to when PS4 was actually at that number does introduce another variable, time - digital ratios overall were presumably lower 2 or 3 years ago - so i'm not sure it would be an apples to apples comparison.
Storage issues,I have a 256GB card but its already half way filled with the digital games I do have. Physical was cheaper up until my GCU expired, and the carts aren't that cumbersome to me. And as I stated above I love collecting Physical games, being able to see all the game cases on the shelf is a plus for me. Also as much of a Nintendo fan that I am even I'll admit their digital qualifications are way behind Sony and MSoft.
Agreed, I think Microsoft has a much higher chance than Sony regarding becoming Netflix of gaming. You need A LOT of resources. Netflix spends over $13 Billion per year on content. Microsoft is perfectly capable in spending a lot on content, not sure about Sony.
But there is no doubt on anybody's mind, PSNow has terrible quality games.
Yea, it's pretty surprising. MS is a massive global corporation with a huge presence but for some reason the Xbox is very US-centric. I thought they would start taking steps to expand their presence this gen after the success they enjoyed with the 360 but for some reason they doubled down on the US-centric approach this gen with the XB1.
Casuals own less games and buy their stuff at Walmart and best buy, and PS4 has the casual mind share right now so it makes sense to have a much lower digital attach rate. Those are also people that will switch console on a whim at every gen if they are told something is better/cheaper going by word of mouth.
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