Call Of Duty: The Only Reason The 360 Still Outsells The PS3?

Bear with my train of logic for a moment, bearing in mind that I'm a big fan of several Xbox 360 exclusives.

First, the facts- The Xbox 360 routinely outsells the PlayStation 3 in North America, although in terms of worldwide sales, it now appears as if the two consoles are just about even. Call of Duty certainly sells best in the US, the one country where the 360 actually does top the PS3 on a consistent basis. And according to recent numbers, approximately 70% of CoD players use the 360 for playing any new entry. Typically, the split is 70/30 between the PS3 and 360 versions of any new CoD and sometimes it's an even bigger discrepancy.

Now, the PS3 is well known for its exclusives (no, we don't need to run down the list). The 360...well, we've got Gears, Forza, Halo, and Alan Wake, with a few other minor ones (like one of my favorites, Lost Odyssey) adding to the console's appeal. But Gears and Forza combined could never hope to reach Call of Duty sales numbers, and the Halo fans have to face up to facts...this is a CoD world these days, although Halo 4 is slated for the fall. The bottom line is that the 360 exclusives, regardless of what anyone says, don't have anywhere near the appeal Call of Duty has on a country-wide basis. I mean, it's not really even close.

Then you start counting up the sales of the 360 versions of the last four CoD entries...the numbers are astronomical. Of course, the PS3 benefits to some extent as well, but it's hardly the same thing. Furthermore, as CoD is basically a community event (multiplayer is the major draw), newcomers are probably enticed to purchase a 360 because the majority of their friends likely play CoD on Microsoft's system. So it's very likely that a great many people out there did in fact purchase a 360 only for CoD in the past few years, and given the sheer size of the numbers associated with that franchise, and Microsoft's general success in this country...

Now, if you just took away CoD and didn't factor in the profound impact that franchise has had, would it really significantly affect 360 console sales? I honestly think it would.

Tags: call of duty, ps3, playstation 3, xbox 360, ps3 sales, call of duty sales

5/1/2012 9:02:14 PM Ben Dutka

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Comments (65 posts)

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maxpontiac
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 9:24:36 PM
Reply

If I were placing a bet at Las Vegas, my money would be on that!

I would also place a side bet on COD being the reason Xbox Live has so many people!!

3 up, 0 down

Killa Tequilla
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 9:31:46 PM
Reply

A combination of CoD and RROD's.

8 up, 1 down

JackDillinger89
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 9:40:08 PM
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It isnt halo anymore so yeah i think it is. I remember when the 1st modern warfare came out and took xbl by storm, all my halo 3 fanatic friends started playing it i never saw them play halo since. lol. Its also price. 360 is like $150-200 now and us americans are cheap so...

0 up, 0 down

bluedarrk
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 9:40:21 PM
Reply

I think the 360 has sold so well is because the rrod. Does anyone have a 360 from launch or know someone who has one that hasn't gotten the rrod?

1 up, 1 down

Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 9:42:23 PM

Oddly enough...me.

Every single person I know has gone through at least three 360s but my launch 360 is still working fine.

0 up, 0 down

bluedarrk
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 9:51:43 PM

Wow well that's good you didn't have to deal with it. I had my launch 360 get it twice then another 360 I bought a few years later got the rrod so I gave up and got a ps3 and haven't looked back.

1 up, 0 down

Killa Tequilla
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 10:01:51 PM

Ben doesnt play Xbox as much based on his launch Xbox.

1 up, 0 down

Palpatations911
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 11:16:33 PM

I went through three 360's and then I learned how to repair them out of sheer frustration due to issues that seemingly happen the moment my warranty would expire. I had to repair my third one twice, then I bought a PS3 and sold my 360 to my roomie. Fortunately (and unfortunately) I never had the RROD with the 360. I continued to get 'Insert Disc' failures which was caused by a bad DVD drive.

As far as the 360 outselling the PS3 due to Call of Duty, I dont think that is the reason why because the PS3 has Call of Duty too. If the PS3 didn't have Call of Duty, I think that argument would be more accurate.

We also need to consider the alluring base price point of the lower end 360's like the Arcade version (not sure if it is still sold btw) and the fact that the 360 is better multiplayer gaming if you are willing to shell out the money for an Xbox Live Gold membership. Voice party that is still a big hit and not just for Call of Duty. I do miss chatting with 9 people while playing team up mode in sports games and with the press of a single button you can invite everyone in your party in to a game instead of going through your friends list one by one and sending invites on the PS3.

I also believe that the year head start allowed for early adoption of the 360 and then those owners peer pressure friends and coworkers to buy a 360 so they can game it up online. At least in my experience!

Nonetheless, put them both toe to toe and if you look at the pros and cons for each system, the PS3 is a MUCH better value for long term console ownership. It's a shame these Xbox only doods don't realize it!

Last edited by Palpatations911 on 5/1/2012 11:19:11 PM

3 up, 0 down

Jed
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 2:22:06 AM

I have a 360 that I got a few weeks before Halo 3 and it still works fine. I only played Halo, Gears, Left 4 Dead, and a few other games. I'm pretty sure that if I had played the 360 as much as I played my PS3 it would have fried.

0 up, 0 down

___________
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 8:01:25 AM

i know a few people who have launch day 360s!
on the other hand i dont know anyone who has launch day ps3s!
sadly my 60GB had the bluray drive die within a few months, then 2 weeks later i got a YLOD, then another 3, then the motherboard died a few months after the slim died so i had to get that.
a friend of mine who bought his 60GB with me had the same original problem bluray drive died, then after that had 2 YLODs and then got rid of it.
gotta love it how whenever sales are talked about everyone says oh the 360 only sold so well because of the RROD.
like every other system out there is as reliable as a wood burning stove.......

1 up, 5 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 9:42:30 AM

Bull...

6 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 9:56:47 AM

Anonymous Cowherd, The problem with your post is a) it contradicts the experience of most gamers, and b) it contradicts all the research done into failing consoles around the world, all of which points to a catastrophically high failure rate in the 1st and second generation Xbox 360s. No amount of unsubstantiated anecdotal evidence and hand waving from you can alter that.

3 up, 1 down

___________
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:10:56 AM

and the point is?
im not saying the 360 is more reliable im saying 1 my experience is that it is, and 2 that i find it extremely ironic that every time 360 sales are brought up reliability is the "excuse" for higher sales.
like no other system has reliability issues.

0 up, 5 down

SirLoin of Beef
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:16:31 AM

"Does anyone have a 360 from launch or know someone who has one that hasn't gotten the rrod?"

My launch model is still running strong and the second one I bought about 3 years ago is, too.

0 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:13:34 AM

With the Xbox being the only system to have an above 5% failure rate (near 30% in first and second generation), I would say that yes, the 360 is the only one with reliability issues.

0 up, 0 down

Fabi
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 9:45:09 PM
Reply

I haven't really kept up with the console wars in the past year or so, but I'm curious about something...

...if the consoles are neck-in-neck worldwide, then why do I see most of the Sony first part games selling so little? And why is it that most big third party games sell better on the 360? Or is this just a perception thing?

Sorry about my ignorance. If anyone could answer this, I would appreciate it.

3 up, 0 down

Killa Tequilla
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 10:05:00 PM

They sell just enough. multiplat games sell a whole lot better because theyre on multiple consoles and pc's, more sales.:-)

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 10:27:43 PM

Also, PS3 exclusives are very diverse titles and not many mainstream people choose to enjoy more than one or two genres.

3 up, 1 down

Cole
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 11:53:53 PM

You need to remember that making an exclusive takes less resources than making a multiplat. Consequently exclusives can sell comparatively less than multiplats but still remain profitable.

And the myth that multiplats always sell better on the 360 is just that... a myth. Shooters are the only multiplats that sell consistently better on the 360.

Last edited by Cole on 5/1/2012 11:56:44 PM

2 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 3:05:46 AM

@Killa: What Fabi means is that multi plat titles sell better on the x360, not total sale but sale on the respective platforms. Also, the sales numbers of many exclusives are rather low compared to other releases within the same genre. Both is true. Prime example is Resistance 3, one of the best shooters last year, still sold nothing compared to the biggest multiplat shooters on this platform.

@World: I don't think that is the problem either. It's not like the exclusives are particularly narrow genre-wise. Platformers, shooters, action adventures and racing games. Can you get more mainstream than that?

@Cole: No, the myth is that only shooters sell better on the x360. That's the myth around here, and it holds no truth whatsoever. Practically every genre sells better on the x360, with as far as I have been able to find out only one exception: Final Fantasy.
Look at the sales of Skyrim. For every copy of Skyrim sold on the ps3 there were sold almost FIVE copies to the x360. Similar is seen with Portal 2, that also sold a lot better on the x360 if my memory serves me correctly.

* * *

I have often asked the same as you Fabi. If indeed they are neck-to-neck, then why do most multiplats sell better - *much* better - on the x360 than the ps3? Every time I see sales numbers for a given title the split between the two are not anywhere near 50/50.
And I have no real good theories as to why it is like that.

I can only think of three plausible theories:

1) Many ps3s around are mainly used as blu-ray players?
2) Ps3 owners on average buy much fewer games?
3) The actual market shares are not as even as imagined

Last edited by Beamboom on 5/2/2012 4:20:31 AM

3 up, 0 down

Cole
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 8:03:30 AM

@Beamboom

What I should have said was that only shooters are gauranteed to sell better on the 360. With other genres it could go either way. Here's a list of games that sold better on PS3.

Final Fantasy 13
Devil May Cry
Castlevania
Bayonetta
Resident Evil 5
Street Fighter 4
Super Street Fighter 4
Tekken 6
Blazeblue: Calamity Trigger
BlazBlue: Continuum Shift
Fist Of The North Star
Dynasty Warriors 6
Lost Planet 2
Nier
Resonance Of Fate
Sonic Sega All Stars Racing
Burnout Paradise
Dante's Inferno
Blur
Split/Second
Need For Speed: Shift
Need For Speed: Hot Pursuit
Batman Arkam Asylum
Batman Arkham City
Just Cause 2
Dead Space
Prince Of Persia: The Forgotten Sands
Darksiders
Alpha Protocol
Colin McRae Dirt 2
Fifa Soccer 11
Ghostbusters
Grid
Spiderman: Shattered Dimensions
Tomb Raider: Underworld
X-Men Origins: Wolverine
Quantum Theory

I'm sure there's more, but you get the idea.

2 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 9:58:42 AM

Beamboom, the problem with what you're saying is that the profit numbers by platform for third party developers point to PS3 software selling better than 360 overall, regardless of how a few high profile titles sell in NA based on NPD numbers. Look at the profit sheets for EA, Capcom, Konami, etc...

2 up, 1 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:54:38 AM

Yea Beam. Companies like Capcom have rountinely stated that their profit comes mostly from the PS3. Better attachment rate. Not every or even most games sell better on the 360. Just depends on the game.

2 up, 0 down

Fabi
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 11:41:04 AM

@Cole - Wow, I didn't expect some of those games on that list to sell better on the PS3. I guess it just seems that the 360 exclusives sell better because the high profile games, for the most part, sell better on the 360.

2 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 7:42:15 AM

Cole: What's the source of that list? Cause if this is true then it all makes more sense. Whenever I read about sales numbers the highest number has been for the x360, with only one exception being FF.

But did even Bayonetta sell better on the ps3, despite all the problems? That's... Weird.

0 up, 0 down

Temjin001
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 9:53:21 PM
Reply

It's like Christmas for Excelsior tonight =p

I also think KInect draws a lot of hardware sales, sadly.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 10:28:38 PM

I have to say I smiled a bit when their much-touted Star Wars Kinect pulled in 5's.

5 up, 1 down

Excelsior1
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 9:59:59 AM

hehe. Good one Temjin. I do love these kind of topics. Thanks for the Christmas present Ben!!

1 up, 0 down

Underdog15
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:15:26 AM

It isn't really a Christmas present, though, is it. :p The article says 360 has sold better in NA. Which is something Ben has never denied.

But if it makes you feel good about yourself, who am I to bring you back to reality. XD

0 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 10:30:07 PM
Reply

Seems like a logical chain of thought. And ever since they started to focus on Kinect the 360 has come to depend almost entirely on 3rd party software.

5 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 10:49:36 PM
Reply

Soccer moms buying their bratty kids one 360 after another is what I suspect.

Seriously, most of the time I'm at the store in the games section, I feel like I never see anyone over the age of 16 browsing the 360 games. Many of them whining to their mommy for a new game or Kinect. Even more often I notice the people browsing the PS3 section are older. About age or close to it. Many of them, I assume, wise enough to avoid buying a console over and over again that just keeps dying.

6 up, 0 down

Knightzane
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 10:53:25 PM
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I think its mainly because people's xbox's get banned or hacked or just RROD'd. Plus CoD always has the special Xbox 360 edition CoD where its all camo and stuff. So people fork out another two hundred dollars for it. Thats my opinion anyway.

1 up, 0 down

Palpatations911
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 11:20:44 PM

Why don't they just say 'to heck with it' and convert to the side of all that is great and holy in the realm of gaming and buy a damn Playstation? Lol. How many times are they going to let MS burn them?

3 up, 0 down

AcHiLLiA
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 11:13:41 PM
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I don't get it all, u can play COD games online on the PS3 for free but on the 360 u have to pay extra. I think when it comes to the 360 it's peer pressure between parents-their kids and friends.

Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 5/1/2012 11:17:55 PM

3 up, 0 down

Palpatations911
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 11:17:55 PM
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Some of the higher profile multiplatform games also have less bugs on the 360 versions.

1 up, 0 down

WorldEndsWithMe
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 11:39:26 PM

And we are none too pleased about it.

5 up, 0 down

Cole
Tuesday, May 01, 2012 @ 11:55:38 PM
Reply

I'm sad to say that Kinect probably helped 360 hardware sales a lot. Not because it's any good, but because the masses will buy anything if it's endorsed by enough celebrities.

2 up, 0 down

Gamer46
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 1:37:21 AM
Reply

It's definitely the Kinect. The North American games market is no longer really about games, whichever console has the latest gimmicky piece of technology that's labeled as the 'it' thing is what sells. It happened in the early part of this gen with the Wii, now the 'casual' audience is in love with Kinect.

1 up, 0 down

Beamboom
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 2:43:52 AM
Reply

I would never have considered this to be part of the explanation at all, Ben, had it not been for a personal experience back when I last had a COD period, with Modern Warfare: All of a sudden a friend of mine that I played COD with a lot told me that he now considered getting a x360. And I was like, "WHAT???", but he explained: His son in his early teens, who he played cod with a lot (on the ps3) said he wanted a x360 instead because it was "better to play COD on", explanation being because most of his friends were there. A totally fair argument for a multiplayer game.

So there, two more x360 sold, two gamers converting from PS3 to XD360 because of COD. I believe there are *many* similar stories to this out there, and it only goes to show the immense power of a multiplayer franchise.

Last edited by Beamboom on 5/2/2012 2:45:26 AM

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ulsterscot
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 3:14:05 AM
Reply

Got a 360 for Gears and Halo - also use it for Battlefield 3 - but prefer the PS3 for COD - as do most people I play with (granted im over 40 as are most of my COD buddies)

1 up, 1 down

Jaylynn
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 6:12:12 AM
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Actuall I really don't care.

2 up, 0 down

___________
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 8:03:14 AM
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WHAT!?
dont be ridiculous!
the 360 sells better then the ps3 simply because of it released earlier, cheaper, its had much more reliable games allot of ps3 games STILL are not as good as their 360 brethren.
not to mention XBLA is far better then PSN, and the dashboard for the 360 is far better then the ps3s.

1 up, 6 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 9:43:05 AM

Cheaper and more reliable? You're full of crap.

2 up, 2 down

___________
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:06:13 AM

ive said it once, twice, and ill say it again.
never will the lack of reading comprehension cease to amaze me on this site!
i said more reliable games, is that so hard to understand?
and i dunno about the states but the 360 here released at under HALF the price the ps3 released!
last time i checked that is "cheaper".....
so now whos full of "crap"?
oh, and in my experience the 360 has been FAR more reliable!
ive had mine for 3 years now never had ANY problems with it!
i had more problems with 1 ps3 my 60GB in 1 year then i have had with my 1 360 in 3 times that.
so if the definition of that is not more reliable, then what is?

1 up, 1 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:12:10 AM

360 is not, nor has ever been cheaper on a like for like basis. the ticket price on the 360 might be cheaper but by the time you added the wireless adapter, HDD and XBL subscription the cost difference was non existent - which you and every other person who ever spent money on the things knows well. 360 games are not more reliable, that's bunk. Xbox Live Arcade (XBLA) is better than PSN? What are you smoking? The only meaningful difference between Xbox Live and PSN is cross game chat. Apart from that PSN is as good or better than XBL (not XBLA since that is really a games retail space).

For a start XBL has a two tier subscription system. There are around 50 million XBL subscriptions (oddly low considering MS claims over 63 million consoles sold). Of those 50 million subscriptions, the majority are the free Silver subscription that is necessary for firmware updates and store access, but does *not* allow online play. So out of 63 million consoles and all the gamers that play on the ones that are still alive, there are fewer than 25 million active online gamers.

PS3 has sold more or less 62 million units world wide, and of those units sold, market research suggests that nearly 90% are actually connected to the net. With free online play that's about 54 million potential active online players. There was a recent report that said that the PS3 is more played than 360, globally. PlayStation Home in December 2010 had 17 million active users. Yes, 17 million. 16 months later those numbers have continued to grow and is they grew at the same rate they did from Home's launch through DEC2010, the number of active Home users is approximately the same as the number of Xbox Live Gold subscribers.

All in all, PS3 is more connected, and more used. Actual data shows that a minority of Xbxo360 buyers actually play games online.

Last edited by Highlander on 5/2/2012 10:14:42 AM

1 up, 0 down

SirLoin of Beef
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:23:27 AM

As much as I love my 360, I gotta disagree about the dashboard. My only complaint about the PS3's dashboard thing is that if you have a lot of programs installed, it's a pain to scroll through the list. The 360 is just so convoluted. And just when you get used to where things are, they moved stuff around again.

0 up, 0 down

Jawknee
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:50:16 AM

My comprehension is just fine. I usually just skim your posts inordered to shield my brain from your insanity.

My point still stands regardless. You're full of it. Flame harder next time.

0 up, 1 down

Underdog15
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 10:20:07 AM

@SirLoin

I organize my immense number of files. So maybe this is a nice FYI for you! (I learned on another forum, myself) If you highlight a game, for example, and hit Triangle, then click on Information, you can name it's folder. Then, anything else you assign the same name to will be stored in that folder.

My XMB now has my games sorted in "RPG's" Action/Adventure, Platformers, Puzzle, Zombie Killers, and a few other folders.

Keeps everything nice and organized. I have my music sorted by genre then artist then album as well.

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chuygr35
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 8:31:47 AM
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I don't get it, yesterday I saw an article that the ps3 is the most played(online) console. Now this article, that it is being outsold. Maybe yesterdays the article was talking worldwide?

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PC_Max
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 8:46:10 AM
Reply

From what I have seen through friends and media, from reading all the fanboyism on both sides.... I think in general it is the multiplayer component that has made the 360 the more successful. It really began with the Xbox and Halo. People including only bought the Xbox to play Halo and many, excluding me, played online for the multiplayer. I did play MP on my computer though.

This carried over. I believe the success of the MP aspects of Halo on the Xbox inspired devs to jump on the wagon and exploit its success.

Now that we are on the latest gen, that success has not only carried over but has cemented a firm base on the 360. Why do you think Ubi added a MP component... the success of it on 360.

This is not saying the 360 is better, far from it, The PS3 is a better machine, its just that the Xbox consoles got itself established as the console where everyone plays MP all the way back to the original Halo. And of course people are like lemmings, they listen to friend saying that they are on a 360 so the only way to play with them is to buy one.

I am not an MP player so I could careless. I only play MP, when I have or do, on the PC/Mac and even then not for long due to the morons that play on them, vets and noobs alike.

I only bought the Xbox/360 for Halo, its really in my eye all it is good for to my game playing. BUT to each there own.

I think if you took away CoD altogether, the 360 would suffer greatly in comparison to the PS3. Players would have to resort to the Halo universe, which has gotten a little stale for sure and with Halo 4 in testing phase and coming out later... hopefully will reboot that franchise.

Keep playing!

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Excelsior1
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 9:53:27 AM
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COD is definitely a factor in driving 360 sales. It helped get the 360 sales ball rolling along with Gears, and Halo. I also think the social dynamic of LIVE is driving sales especially with the younger crowd. Ask these younger people why they bought a 360 and the main answer they will give is because all their friends have one. They get on LIVE just to be with their friends and socialize. Peer pressure and all the other complex social dynamics are at play pulling in players. Some of these younger gamers get on LIVE to socialize almost as much as they do to game. Removing COD from the equation might not impact that demographic all that much at the end of the day. They would just "bunny hop" over to Halo.

I would point out that the COD games are available on the PS3 but Microsoft has smartly put a ton of advertising behind the series and picked up the timed exclusive map packs. I remember a lot of those ads stating the 360 was the best place to experience COD. Gamers associate the 360 with the COD series more than they do the PS3. I'm sure that helps but that one single series does not explain away the amount of sales and marketshare Sony has lost this gen by itself.

The NA market sales inbalance is a big reason the 360 is ahead. I also think that sales inbalance has definitely contributed to 360 centric feel of this gen. Publishers covet the NA market a lot. COD is definitely a player in that larger equation but I think there is more going on in that particular market.

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jimmyhandsome
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:22:40 AM
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I think the fact that Xbox has always been cheaper than PS3 has also helped them. When the casual gamer (or soccer mom) is told my a Gamestop employee that both consoles are "practically the same" of course they will opt for the cheaper one. People do whatever it is their friends do, and MS was able to create a powerful brand with Xbox.

Call of Duty probably helps in that whenever you see a CoD commerical its always for Xbox 360 though.

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Highlander
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:33:02 AM

How has the 360 always been cheaper? Do we really still have this myth top talk about? Really? I thought by now reality had obliterated that particular nonsense.

360. Buy an arcade system, add an HDD, wireless adapter and XBL subscription. Total cost = more than a PS3. That doesn't even include the cost of a BluRay player for the 360 owner. If you want to compare a basic 360 Arcade to a PS3, it's a false comparison since to play many of the online titles you need an HDD. So the bare minimum upgrades to an Arcade box are an HDD and XBL Gold subscription, so in the first year, that Arcade system is going to cost you very nearly what a PS3 slim costs even if all you do is throw in an HDD and XBL subscription. This menu pricing where the price of the minimum spec option appears lower is little more than a scam. And those still pushing the myth are buying into that scam.

0 up, 3 down

jimmyhandsome
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 12:07:32 PM

Highlander,

You can buy a 4GB 360 console for $199, and its often on sale for $149.99 at different online sites, or it comes with a $50 giftcard/free game bundle. PS3's cheapest model is currently at $249, and that was a result of a recent price drop. Before that it was $299. Casual consumers like mothers buying for their kids, don't know and probably don't care about hardware size or bluray capablitites. The entry price has always been $50-100 cheaper than the PS3. This is not a myth, but a fact.

XBL subscription is usually mentioned to the consumer after they already agree to buying the Xbox. They probably figure the PS3 has a similiar subscription based fee.

3 up, 0 down

Highlander
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 1:39:34 PM

4GB isn't going to help much with a game played online that wants to do an install to HDD. Therefore an HDD is required. XBL subscription costs are part of the cost of owning a 360. You have perfectly illustrated the point by saying that people don't look at those costs. The truth is that those costs are there, and do apply making the 360 cost as much or more than the PS3 over even just a 2 year life, and that doesn't include the BluRay player.

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jimmyhandsome
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 2:52:28 PM

I mean you are def right about the HDD and extra peripherals. But you have to think that there are a decent number of uninformed, unsophisticated consumers unlike yourself that simply don't pay attention to how big the HDD is. They see the price in the window of Gamestop and know that it's cheaper than the PS3.

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Excelsior1
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:59:04 PM

Jimmy raises some valid points when he mentions the 4gb model and the $50 gift cards. I have seen the Xbox 4gb model on sale frequently at $149.99. I have also seen the 250 gb 360 bundled with $50 gift cards. That sort of thing tends to go on way more when it comes to retailers in NA than it does with the PS3. The 250 gb model features a larger hard drive than the 160 gb PS3 model at $249 plus it comes with a headset and Xbox Live Gold membership. It's not too difficult to see why consumers might think that's a better deal. I also think the average consumer is subjected to a lot more 360 advertising. Highlander raises some interesting points but I don't think your average consumer will perform such a detailed analysis before making a purchase.

The 360 being perceived as cheaper might be a small factor but I tend to think even the soccer moms will buy the consoles their kids want so we need to look even deeper. I know for a fact the younger demographic prefers the 360 mainly because of the unique social characteristics of Xbox Live. They use Live as hang out and they aren't always gaming either. I know younger members of my family use cross game chat to talk to their friends while watching Netflix. I only mention that because Highlander pointed out that survey data points to the 360 being used more outside of gaming which runs contrary to what a lot of people think.

Temjin mentioned Kinect as a driving factor when it comes to 360 sales. I know MS reported that 60% of 360 sales in NA in the first half of 2011 were Kinect bundles. I know a few 360 owners that upgraded ro the Kinect bundle which is how I inherited my 360.

My answer to the question posed in this article is no. COD is not the only reason.

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Highlander
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:23:23 AM
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I do think that CoD is an interesting lens through which to examine console sales and use. Especially as market survey data this week actually showed that the PS3 is more often used for games by it's owners than 360, and more 360 owners by their console for uses other than gaming than PS3 owners now. Odd considering that the PS3 includes a BluRay player, but whatever...

Either way, when you crunch the numbers of XBL subscriptions and parse out the Gold subscriptions you end up with a Gold subscriber number that is nearly 40 million fewer than the total number of Xbox 360s sold. It is however, remarkably close to the raw sales numbers for CoD on the 360 platform.

In fact if you look at sales of multiplatform online multiplayer games like CoD, they are very heavily linked to that XBL Gold userbase. If you look at it country by country, the heavy sales of titles like CoD to align remarkably well with the countries that have higher numbers of XBL Gold subscribers. Funnily enough, those are typically English speaking nations in NA, EU and Australia.

I've never understood why game makers are so besotted with the performance of games like CoD when they are so heavily dependent on a minority of the game market. If the English speaking gaming world decides CoD sucks butt, the game will tank faster than a strip poker game at a Methodist faith conference.

But the point is that yes, the success of the 360 might in some way be linked to games like CoD since there is a clear linkage between the success of both CoD (and games like it on 360) and the number of XB L Gold subscribers. It's almost a symbiotic relationship. It's not the only factor since of the XBL subscribers fewer than half play online. But then, I think that Kinect and the Kinect bundles were responsible for an awefull lot of repeat purchases of 360.

That repeat purchase thing though is really a factor of the fear generated by constant RROD events. With many 360 owners admitting to keeping a spare system just in case their primary one dies.

I think that the popularity of the 360 is a falsehood. The XBL silver subscriptions paint a truer picture of the number of 360s that are still alive, and the number is 10-13 million short of the total number of units sold. But with repeat purchases by a gamer population conditioned to playing online with friends in the same game it's not hard to see how 360s numbers are built. Nor is it difficult to see the herd mentality in action.

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karneli lll
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:25:34 AM
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Has the site been jacked? i keep getting a blank page with "welcome to inginx"

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ethird1
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:25:55 AM
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600 dollar super gaming machines that are innaccessible to the masses? That was the number one factor that let millions buy the xbox first. Then tons of friends who had to decide whether to buy the xbox and play with friends or buy a ps3 and play for free on the psn comes into factor.

I hope Sony sees the huge mistake they made and keeps the next price of their new next gen system to under 400 bucks.

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Highlander
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:37:17 AM

Sick to death of 360 fanboys pushing this pricing myth. Go back to the launch price od the 360 and PS3. Sit down and work out how much an average 360 user spent on their 360 over 3 years (assuming that they didn't even have an RROD or buy a replacement system). Compare that to the cost of a PS3 at launch ($500, not $600). the annual cost of PS3 online gaming $0, three years of online gaming on PS3 $0. Just on that basis alone, a 360 owner spent an additional $150 on their gaming, and that doesn't include buying a stand alone BluRay player, wireless controllers and a bigger HDD. Good grief, I though this BS had finally been laid to rest years ago, I can't honestly believe that there are still so many people that swallow the lie that 360 is cheaper.

0 up, 2 down

79transam
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:31:40 AM
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When I was inline for the BF3 launch I would say 70% of the people in line were 360 users. I heard many of them say that the online experience is so much better on the 360. I own both and the 360 was my primary system for many years(BTW like Ben I still have my launch 360 with no rrod) and I have no idea what is so much better about the online experience. Only thing I can think of is the free mic but that's hardly a deal breaker.

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Highlander
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 10:39:57 AM

Especially considering the PS3 uses bluetooth or USB mics and very many people have their bluetooth cell phone headset that they can use.

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PharaohJR
Wednesday, May 02, 2012 @ 5:38:48 PM
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lol thats a funny theory be more funny if true. i think the xbox sales in U.S. was due to an affordable level of gaming price for most. also the tactics of microsoft throwing money for limited time exclusive DLC.

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Laguna
Thursday, May 03, 2012 @ 3:02:47 PM
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the gap between ps3 and 360 sales are quite narrow.

Like 2 million or something.

It will eventually catch up but I bet it will be after the 360 successor comes out.

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Call Of Duty: The Only Reason The 360 Still Outsells The PS3?

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