PS3, Xbox Having Disappointing Christmas Season

Both the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 appear to be having a bit of a rough Christmas. For the PS3, it's all about launch jitters. The worst of these jitters is probably the dubious nomination from TIME magazine, who has cited the console as a 'bust'. The 360, likewise, is having problems meeting expectations, especially those of Michael Pachter. He's the gent that expected big sales this Christmas for the console, and he's now trying to figure out why the 360 fell short. What is, perhaps, a larger problem - lack of penetration for the Xbox Live service - is being discussed by Reuters. While the still laudable number of 4 million subscribers sounds impressive, the article points out that the runaway success of the Wii and the overall ratio of possible to actual subscribers should give Microsoft pause. In short, Sony and Microsoft are having good, but not great holiday seasons. Next year, when there's enough stock to go around and big games on the way, we'll see who really 'has the stuff'.

Comments

You can get an Xbox 360 for $200

[KingSkippus]

I just mentioned in another thread a few minute ago that Micro Center is offering a $100 rebate on Xbox 360s, both the core and pro systems. For the core system, that would end up being $200.

Now, that being said, beware the nickel-and-diming:

• You have to pay $300 up-front and wait for the rebate to get to you, and make sure you take the check and deposit it in the bank. It's a bit of a hassle, but hopefully for $100, you won't forget.
• If you pick up a few accessories and a game or two, that could easily push you $200 or more higher.
• You have to put up with their pushy salespeople trying to sell you an extended warranty contract. Don't buy it. Aside from the fact that all of these contracts are totally bogus, Microsoft just extended the manufacturer's warranty from 90 days to a year.
• If you want to play online, you'll also have to subscribe to Xbox Live, which is an additional fee.

So if you're just looking for something that will play the fancy new Xbox 360 and classic old Xbox games, you can get it now for $200. If you're looking to build it out to any degree, you should indeed probably wait.

/really wants a Wii also

Re:More Gnashing of Teeth

[LoverOfJoy]

At the time I'm looking now, all the ones above $700 don't have any bids at all (except a few large bundles). I just saw a 60 gig model sell for $560 (plus $60 shipping). http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-PlayStation-3-Game-consol e-GET-IT-NOW-1-DAY_W0QQitemZ180066522847QQihZ008QQ categoryZ62054QQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

Re:I'm not buying any NextGen Console

[ximenes]

You can convert HDMI to DVI with a simple $5 cable from monoprice.com. It is disappointing that the Wii only supports up to component, but who knows what will develop later on. Someone could come out with a VGA cable eventually.

Re:More Gnashing of Teeth

[AKAImBatman]

Stores have been getting regular shipments of PS3s every couple of days all of december and online stores have been getting huge batches of PS3s. Stores are not getting any significant new supplies of Wiis like they are with PS3s. That is why you can't buy a Wii right now.

You're only half right. The PS3 supply problem has been mostly sorted out, but both consoles are being regularly resupplied. The difference is that the Wiis are disappearing the moment the store opens, while the PS3s just... aren't. (Remember, the Wii has several times as many consoles out as the PS3.)

Scary as it may sound, most people know the exact dates that the Wii will arrive, and thus show up to acquire them. I few dates I was aware of:

November 24th (Black Friday supply)
December 2nd (First occurance of consoles being held until Sunday in order to list it in the flyers)
December 6th (Walmart held theirs until this date because their flyers are on a different schedule)
December 9th (Most stores cancelled this release to stockpile for the 17th)
December 17th (huge dump of stockpiled consoles)
December 22nd (last shipment before Christmas)

Each of these dates represented a significant number of units for nearly every major retailer. The fewest I've heard of was 9 for a given store. EB Games appear to get their shipments in a more ad-hoc fashion, so reports on specific dates have been sketchy for those.

In comparison, the PS3s are usually Fex-Exed to the stores in bundles of 3 to 5 units. Delivery is ad-hoc and unpredictable. Surprisingly, the consoles don't appear to immediately sell out. I know several people (one personally) who were there at the time of a PS3 restock. There simply wasn't much interest from the shoppers.

Sams Clubs In Ohio have no PS3's.

[Nazmun]

We've been getting shipments of everything but the ps3. WE've had tons of 360's ordered hundreds for the holiday and they are selling but we've barely had any ps3's. The ps3's status is worse then the 360's last year. We knew we would be getting at least one shipment a week if not more. Three months after launch we were never out of stock for the 360's. I've not heard a thing about us even getting more ps3s.

Parent's aren't even interested in asking about the ps3's and when they do it's something like. "Well, we also want to get a ps3 but you guys probably don't have it right?"

I don't know who's got in in shelves but they aren't really available here in central ohio.