Slashdot Mirror
Xbox Gains Ground, Outsells PS2 In U.S.?
Thanks to Reuters for its story noting that Microsoft's Xbox is "expected to have outsold Sony's PlayStation 2 for the first time on a monthly basis in April" , apparently helped "by a price cut that made the Xbox cheaper than the PS2" - though a PlayStation 2 price cut to $149 is seemingly rumored for announcement at E3. The rise of the Xbox-exclusive title is also noted: "Titles like 'Ninja Gaiden' and 'Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow' rode rave reviews to big sales, both finishing among the top five titles in sales for March, according to the NPD Group." Elsewhere in the same article, Dan Hsu of EGM comments on Xbox 2's possible showing at E3, commenting: "I think it'd be very strange for them to announce anything like that, because it would only hurt this holiday season for them... Even if this thing is not coming out for a year or two years, that still gives the impression that [the Xbox] is outdated technology."
We like Microsoft when it comes to the xbox, right?
I wouldn't be the least bit surprised if the XBOX (or the GC) started to outsell the PS2. The PS2's been around longer, and was also a good deal more popular. Eventaully it'll hit a saturation point to where people start wondering what's going on with the other 2. Though I really don't care much for Sony or the PS2, I wouldn't be quick to jump on the "See, I told you that system sucks" bandwagon.
"Derp de derp."
If this was near the launch of the consoles it might mean something, but microsoft is going to keep playing a catchup game. There are still alot more PS2's on the market than there are xboxs.
In America we are imprisoned by our fear of them.
....seven months ago, due to a price drop. PS2 quickly re-took second place (behind the GameBoy Advance) the following month.
And before anyone opens their mouth about that being non-news....that's exactly what is being claimed here about the Xbox now.
Analysts? The same analysts who've been telling us online console gaming is going to be "like, so huge, maaan" and Nintendo should quit while they're drowning in money for the past five years now?
Pardon me while I laugh hysterically.
Preferences > Homepage > Customize stories on homepage > Authors > Zonk > Uncheck
Plus, with Madden going online with XBL, the reasons for going PS2 are fewer than ever.
wait a sec
Fable - PC
Doom 3 - PC
KOTOR II - PC
Advent Rising - PC
Full Spectrum Warrior - PC
Starcraft Ghost - PS2 and GameCube
Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow - PS2 and GameCube (this week or next if I'm not mistaken)
Halo 2 & Jade Empire - Would not be surprised to see PC versions
The only reasons the Xbox out sold the PS2 is
1. $50 cheaper
2. Everyone like owns 2 or 3 PS2 by now.
Heres a question, by how many consoles did the Xbox out sell the PS2 by? 100,000? 10,000? 1,000? 100? 10? 1?
What pretty much happen was MS drooped the price and people said what the hell, nothing good came out this month, might as well pick up this console for the hell of it. Its not because it has good "exclusive" titles, I'm sorry but it has one of the worst selections of "exclusive" games. 90% of the time you can go out and by their "exclusive" titles for the PC for like $10-$20 less with all the same features.
The PS2 will always have the largest selection of REAL "exclusive" titles. All the Xbox is getting are more PC ports and calling them "exclusive" titles and on top of that their not that great too. Take Rare's latest game.
Really how many boring RPGs and stupid FPS can you stand? Come on! Lets see I have a choice of Doom3, Half Life 2, Halo 2, UT2005, Quake 4 and what ever other FPS come out. And I rather play a FPS on the PC where I can uses a mouse and keyboard and also make Maps and Mods for the game. I like nothing more then being able to run around UT2k4 as Bender.
And come on KotoR was not that great, it maybe one of the best Star Wars games I've played in a long time, but it was one of the worst RPGs I've played. KotoR would have made a good MMORPG. The game was so boring and dry and the ending could have been written by a 10 year old. I uses to joke around about how that could be the ending and it turn out to really be it.
And all Ninja Gaiden was, was Shinobi with more blood, it was also another very lage disapointment. I'm glad I only rented it and didn't waste my money buying it.
It's one stupid month people, next month the PS2 will be back on top.
Don't forget people a couple months back the GameCube out sold the PS2 too.
-------- -Cap
~Bommers, Why did it have to be Bommers!?!
yes, i know some of those aren't exclusive, but you did the same thing (Starcraft: Ghost and Full Spectrum Warrior both have PS2 release dates)
that being said, the "sushi-RPGs and repetitive kung-fu fighting games" are catering to an Audience that you probably don't subscribe to, then again, i could care less about Doom 3, FSW, and Advent Rising because i don't subscribe to their intended audience (but the rest that you mentioned are on my must-buy list... yes, that means i own an X-Box)
i also want to note, that anyone that didn't see a sale slump for the PS2 coming from 6 months ago needs a reality check, do P2-450MHZ computers sell as well now as they did when they first came out? i think not, old technology will be replaced, thats a proven fact
/. is overrun by bed-wetting elitist nerds
let it be known, for anything other than servers, a *nix OS sucks
PS2's best days are behind it. Get used to it.7 BB2CCAA2F-12BF-4446-944B-7487D59FAF5E%7D&siteid=go ogle&dist=google)
g uid=%7BB2CCAA2F-12BF-4446-944B-7487D59FAF5E%7D&sit eid=google&dist=google)
This is not just a month affair. We are talking first quarter PS2 sales for Sony down 28% from last year, Sony's profits down massively in the first quarter due to a sharp drop in sales of both PS2 consoles and games.
Meanwhile XBOX was the only console that actually had an increase on console sales in January and February, even before any price cuts were announced. Plus an increase of a whopping 80% in games sales.
And now this.
Sales figures for game consoles in April were XBOX 270,000 units to PS2 200,000 versus Gamecube 100,000 for Nintendo's GameCube . (http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?guid=%
Even the anti-American British publication "The Economist" has come around to the view that Microsoft is about to eat Sony's lunch.(http://cbs.marketwatch.com/news/story.asp?
Extract : "Next week, the industry's biggest trade show, E3, which takes place in Los Angeles, will provide the first glimpses of the next round. It is expected to be a brutal two-way fight. For, after a difficult start, Microsoft has now established itself as Sony's main rival, and is gaining momentum. Most important, it has won the crucial support of games publishers, says Nick Gibson of Games Investor, a consultancy. That means Microsoft will "pretty much be neck and neck with Sony" in the next round"
XBOX has been by far the best game console on the market, best processor, best graphics, more memory than any other console, hard drive included, network card as standard, its the easiest console to develop games for and has always been the best value for money by far, even before this recent price cuts.
Now are having some of the best games on XBOX coming out now and later this year.
Consumers have finally figured it all out and are feeling the PS2 to get themselves an XBOX as quickly as they can.
Its time for you to wake up and smell the coffee.
If you look at the top selling video games, you're certaintly not going to see japenese imports that are exclusive to the PS2 - you'll see regular, every day games, most of which are on all three systems. The PS2 Is not the best selling console because it's got the best line-up of exclusive titles - it's the best selling most likely because it came out first. Consider this list of the top 10 best selling console games of 2003: 1 PS2 - Madden NFL 2004 (Electronics Arts) 2 GBA - Pokemon Ruby (Nintendo) 3 GBA - Pokemon Sapphire (Nintendo) 4 PS2 - Need for Speed Underground (Electronics Arts) 5 NGC - The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (Nintendo) 6 PS2 - Grand Theft Auto: Vice City (Rockstar) 7 NGC - Mario Kart: Double Dash!! (Nintendo) 8 PS2 - Tony Hawk's Underground (Activision) 9 PS2 - Enter the Matrix (Atari) 10 PS2 - Medal of Honor: Rising Sun (Electronics Arts) Now, I ask you - how many are PS2 exclusives? None! The game cube, on the other hand, has two exclusive titles on the list. Based on this information, one would be hard pressed to argue that the PS2 sold the best because it has the most exclusive titles. Why has the PS2 done so well ? My conclusion is that it's almost entirely the result of the fact that it came out first. I based this on my observation of people's video-game buying habits. My brothers were conviced by some dude at gamestop to get an Xbox instead of a PS2, so they did. I saw how much fun halo was, and I told me friend about it - so he bought an xbox. My other friend, who one an xbox in the taco bell promotion but never used it, then bought a copy of halo so that we could have LAN parties. Other friends would show up at LAN parties, see how much fun their were, and buy xboxes of their own. I'm sure similar things happened with PS2 (obviously not the LAN party bit, since it didn't have a network adapter untill long after the xbox was out) You may personally beleive that the PS2 offers the best library of exclusive titles, which is a perfectly valid opinion. But you'd be wrong to conclude that the library of exclusive titles explains the PS2 out selling the xbox - the facts just don't support that conclusion.
My blog
Gran Tarismo is old news, nobody that owns an xbox cares. Spend an hour playing PGR2, TOCA 2, or Rallisport Challenge 2 on xbox live, then tell me all about Gran Turismo, I dare you.
done, done, done... Gran Turismo 3 still beats them in terms of overall Racing goodness, maybe not Graphically, but in Physics and Customisation GT has them beat, as well as in overall replayability
IMO, Gran Turismo 4 will crush them even more, 800+ cars, 50+ tracks, completely true-to-life Tuning and Customisation, Full Online, including Downloadable cars and tracks with the HD and NA Expansions, a Physics engine that is, in some cases, less than 1/10 of a second in difference from Reality(in comparative tests), and just about anything else a Hardcore racing fan could ever think of... How can anything else compare
now, in giving credit where credit is due, all three of the games you mentioned are very well done games and IMO are 3 of the best Racing games on the Market, but they just can't compare to the overall immersion that the GT Series gives you
/. is overrun by bed-wetting elitist nerds
let it be known, for anything other than servers, a *nix OS sucks
The PS2 Is not the best selling console because it's got the best line-up of exclusive titles - it's the best selling most likely because it came out first.
Your selective memory seems to forget that the Dreamcast came first. And not only was it first, but it had the far better game library. The PS2 was absolutely barren for almost a year! Just because you're the first on the block doesn't mean you'll be first in sales (see also Saturn).
...have had the biggest impact on me moving to an Xbox over the PS2. The PS2 came without a hard drive or ethernet connection built in. The Xbox doesn't have that handicap. No shame towards Sony there except that it took them far too long to market a network adapter...and then finally a hard drive (which, BTW, you can't get without buying Final Fantasy XI). The most frustrating aspect of the PS2 has been Sony's...suprisingly...their slow movement. A lot of my friends love playing multiplayer/LAN party style games. The king of that particular genre for us right now is Halo. Nothing on the PS2 compares...and you don't have to buy ethernet adapters (or multitaps for that matter) along with an Xbox. The PS2 still rules the RPG market...though KOTOR took a bite out of that... but I like actually seeing people every once in a while so the Xbox has definitely taken priority because of a more multiplayer friendly system. Sony keeps dragging their feet in innovation to the existing PS2. Sure, they were faster than anyone else getting it out there, but after that they took their time with everything else.