Is There A Clear-Cut Winner In This Generation's Console War?
See Full ImageWith the next generation of consoles looming large on the horizon, maybe it's time to ask the inevitable question: Which machine won the current war?
Sure, it's still going on for Sony and Microsoft and there are few heavy-hitting AAA titles on the horizon, but one can accurately gauge the performances of the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Wii, right? Shouldn't be too tough.
If you're strictly adhering only to sales numbers, the Wii is the answer...for now. At last check, Nintendo's system is closing in on 100 million units sold worldwide, but with the Wii U already out, the original Wii's total won't rise much. On the other hand, the Xbox 360 is at around 70 million and the PS3 also sits at over 70 million; both consoles stand to sell quite a few more units in the coming years, especially the PS3. At this rate, many will say the PS3 will end up on top once again in the worldwide count when all is said and done.
That's just speculation, of course. If you want to consider other factors beside the sales, you could always look at the software. If that's the case, I can once again make the argument for the PS3 on the strength of its exclusives alone, which in my opinion are often head-and-shoulders above the competition. Then again, you could also say that during the first few years of its existence, there was a multiplatform issue for the PS3, in that 360 versions of games were typically more stable. But if we're going to examine the first few years, it's hard to get away from the catastrophic failure rate of Microsoft's console, which made global headlines.
The Wii sold like mad out of the gate and managed to snag all sorts of non-gamers; i.e., the consumers who had never even owned a video game console before. That's a pretty impressive achievement and currently, it has sold the most. If you want to take this from a domestic standpoint, the winner could be the 360, as it usually dominated sales charts in the US. There's a lot to consider, but what do you say?
Tags: video games, gaming, gaming industry, game consoles, gamers
12/30/2012 9:58:17 PM Ben Dutka
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Comments (45 posts)
Aura7541
Sunday, December 30, 2012 @ 10:53:48 PM
0 up, 0 down
Ben Dutka PSXE [Administrator]
Sunday, December 30, 2012 @ 11:46:13 PM
3 up, 0 down
maxpontiac
Sunday, December 30, 2012 @ 10:49:39 PM
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If we, the gamer stop and think about how many good games we have been treated to over the past several years you can't help but smile.
9 up, 0 down
Axe99
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 6:03:33 AM
3 up, 0 down
emily lockwind
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 @ 9:03:48 AM
1 up, 0 down
xnonsuchx
Sunday, December 30, 2012 @ 10:54:27 PM
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Last edited by xnonsuchx on 12/30/2012 10:54:56 PM
9 up, 0 down
Wrote
Sunday, December 30, 2012 @ 11:15:28 PM
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~Wrote
0 up, 0 down
AcHiLLiA
Sunday, December 30, 2012 @ 11:34:57 PM
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Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 12/30/2012 11:36:14 PM
0 up, 0 down
Excelsior1
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 12:09:01 AM
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I guess if you look at it from strictly a sales point of view both Nintendo's and Microsoft's numbers are way up from last gen. Sony's numbers are down but by no means terrible especially if you factor in the PS3's rough start.
My gut wants to go with Nintendo for a couple of reasons. First of all Nintendo and the Wii were kind of written off for dead going into this generation. Secondly as of right now it's Nintendo whose numbers are up the most from last generation. Nobody really expected that.
Part of me wants to dismiss the Wii because it relied on what I feel is almost a gimmick but objectively speaking you can't argue against their numbers. Plus both Sony and MS followed Nintendo into that casual/motion control market. It wouldn't be fair to penalize Nintendo for going that direction and not the others.
Nintendo does get dinged in my book because of their poor online infrastructure and neglecting hardcore gamers. They also take a hit for not competing technology wise. The Wii isn't really all that more powerful than a GameCube.
I guess in the end all three can feel pretty good about how this gen shaped up. No real runaway winner like the last two generations. Nintendo and MS are up from last gen. Sony is down but still very respectable considering their slow start and being last to the market.
Last edited by Excelsior1 on 12/31/2012 12:10:16 AM
3 up, 0 down
BTNwarrior
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 2:01:47 PM
1 up, 0 down
AcHiLLiA
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 2:14:49 PM
Last edited by AcHiLLiA on 12/31/2012 2:19:22 PM
0 up, 0 down
The X Factor 9
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 1:29:18 AM
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There you go, I said it. Here's why.
They're dominating North America, and more importantly, they're dominating the youth here. Kids don't play PS3.
That's probably a good thing for most of us here at PSX, but Microsoft has gotten to the youth in this country. I expect next generation's console sales to definitively skew in Microsoft's favor.
In 2 generations, they will have achieved parity with their biggest rival. Would you have guessed that would happen?
0 up, 6 down
Knightzane
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 1:53:54 AM
So all in all, MS didn't win. Maybe if they tried to win without bribing and cheating they would have had a better shot. Nintendo lost me along the way but they never cheated to get where they are. Sony has never bribed or cheated either. The biggest loser this gen was MS for being so dishonorable, and doing things to get ahead through the way of money. Respect the power of integrity and not the power of money.
Thumbs me down people im not changing my opinion
7 up, 2 down
Axe99
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 6:06:58 AM
4 up, 0 down
Deleted User
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 10:12:07 AM
I know people want to justify spending more than they needed to to save face but in my opinion, anybody who thinks that way is delusional. Then again, these are Americans and British doing this. When I think of the dimmest countries out there, these two head the list.
5 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 10:38:43 AM
Also, the US isn't the only measurable to go by........
1 up, 0 down
Pandacastro
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 3:31:09 PM
Do you have proof that MS bribed and cheated?
1 up, 0 down
Knightzane
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 1:56:29 AM
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1 up, 0 down
___________
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 3:44:04 AM
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sales, the online features, the games both exclusive and MP, and the system itself.
wii was a abomination, im still shocked and amazed it managed to sell so well!
such a expensive system with NO HD!?
WTF!?
i loved so many wii games, but just could not continue playing them because it was like rubbing sand in my eyes!
ps3 suffered on the MP front, something i really hope $ony fixes next gen.
im sick of having to worry about is this game going to work?
ive always hated the store too, and the new update has made things so much harder to find!
at least before you could look by new, you could select whats new and it showed you everything released that week.
now when you select whats new it shows you only a certain category, so your constantly switching back and forward.
instead of killing 10 birds with 1 stone, you now need 10.
XMB feels and looks outdated too, its easy as hell to use but its also as outdated.
just looks really drab and dreary.
360 on the other hand perfect!
never any problems with XBLA, so easy to find what you want, constant updates to the OS, super easy to use, no comparability problems with MP titles, not to mention 99% of games get early or exclusive features for said games, and the exclusives are just as good if not better!
and it looks like next gen will be exactly the same if rumors are accurate.
allot of sources are saying $ony has a abysmal relationship with third parties ATM and thats really going to hurt the ps4s MP chances.
not to mention the rumors of the next xbox being significantly more powerful.
than with the new AR, and projection software that patent described along with kinect 2.0.
next gen is actually looking allot like last gen, except on the MP front.
ps2 was only so successful because of the relationship $ony had with developers, that allowed them to have so many third party exclusives so the xboxs more power and better exclusives just did not matter.
now though it looks like $ony does not have that support, quite the opposite.
so they have lost their advantage they had in the ps2 era, third parties.
and they have lost their advantage ps3 era, most technically advanced.
looks like next gen they have nothing!
maybe this is where gaikai comes in and saves the day?
will that be enough?
2 up, 6 down
Beamboom
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 4:47:59 AM
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So from that perspective I would not mind at all if my console of choice were the lesser sold one - as long as the product itself is at least as good as the alternatives. And in my case, the PS3 is *clearly* the better alternative, there's no question about it:
- A good Blu-ray player. It wins right there.
- No monthly fee for online access. Coming from the PC world it's just so wrong to pay for that.
- It's not Microsoft. A stupid argument but I really can't stand MS.
- It wins hands down on the design department.
- 29/30 games that I've wanted has been available also for the PS3. I'm drowning in good games.
So, the Playstation 3 is the clear-cut winner this gen *for me*,
And as such I really do not care the slightest bit how many else bought this machine, or what else happens on the other platforms.
Last edited by Beamboom on 12/31/2012 4:49:38 AM
4 up, 1 down
Axe99
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 6:11:39 AM
And not liking MS isn't irrational - they're corporate attitude is one of denying service to rake in money, whereas Sony's attitude is generally one of providing a service, that's then paid for. It's a subtle distinction, but in practice the impact is huge. On the 360 interface, it feels like you're wading through ads and attempts to nickel-and-dime you. On the PS3, it's clearly labelled where you can buy things, but it's not shoved down your throat on almost every menu. That, and I've used Office products and MS operating systems for far too long to like them - they've got 'exploitative, lazy monopoly' written all over them.
1 up, 1 down
Beamboom
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 7:37:51 AM
I remember back when I bought a new video camera, and discovered that Sony all of a sudden had changed the microphone connections from the standard connections to a proprietary connection - who lead to none of my microphones working on that cam of course, and ho and behold, wouldn't you know, there was only *one* extremely overpriced Sony mic to choose from.
God how I sweared that day. I discovered it of course AFTER I'd bought the cam.
... Or how they now with the new PS3 all of a sudden has changed the slot for hard drives, so that we either have to buy a special drive from Sony, or an adapter from Sony to fit other hard drives into the PS3. Such crap is annoying.
Last edited by Beamboom on 12/31/2012 10:36:05 AM
2 up, 1 down
Axe99
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 4:07:11 PM
0 up, 1 down
emily lockwind
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 @ 9:05:49 AM
0 up, 2 down
firesoul453
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 5:07:50 AM
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While the ps3 might have some of those things, it definitely doesn't have all
Don't get me wrong. This is my favorite generation and I have always liked ps3 the best
0 up, 0 down
Axe99
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 6:21:53 AM
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Had I been coming from the other angle (the number of exclusive PS3 games I was interested in), the number would have been more than double this, and none of those PS3 games were available on PC.
Add to that having to pay to play online (or even pay to have the opportunity to pay more for Foxtel or Netflix - this is both daylight robbery and possibly the dumbest marketing ploy I've seen in years - there's a reason that Netflix is #1 on PS3 despite the 360's lead in the US, Netflix's largest market by a huge margin), and lots of silly design nuances:
- Controllers _need_ rechargeable or non-rechargeable batteries, or a custom battery pack.
- Closed shop for peripherals - my wheel, flight stick and headset work on PS3 and PC with no extra work beyond the PC drivers. The wheel and stick won't work on 360 at all, and the headset needs another custom $40 part that's hard to find. MS clearly forget that the U in USB stands for 'Universal', lol.
- Hardware failure rates early. Given how rubbish MS' setup is in the first place, it boggles the mind how dumb many kids in the US are. Then again, I've heard the stories about the US education system....
Anyways, short answer is on numbers, the Wii is tearing it up, with the 360 in second just ahead of the PS3 (PC is likely far lower, given the total number of Steam subscribers and PC game sales more generally - noting that I don't consider software pirates to be gamers) but in terms of the better gaming machine, I'd put the PS3 as the better device this gen, including PC, looking at what was released and available between late 2006 and 2012.
1 up, 2 down
Beamboom
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 7:32:11 AM
2 up, 2 down
Axe99
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 4:16:38 PM
Totally agree on digital sales as well, but at the end of the day, I'd strongly wager that PC sales still lag behind those on console. The best evidence of this is that games still lead development on console - publishers go where the money is. PC is growing far more significant again though, and it's good to see :).
1 up, 3 down
Snaaaake
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 9:52:19 AM
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But the important point is that there's no failure, I'd like to say everyone win this gen.
1 up, 1 down
GeorgeTheSixth
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 10:03:03 AM
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Also upto 50% of those Xbox sales are RROD units..
It's clear to me, the PS3 is the winner, by a VERY large margin, not just on sales, but on games too, the PS3 exclusives are WAY ahead of what Xbox offers.
1 up, 1 down
slugga_status
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 10:39:23 AM
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Although slow out the gate the PS3 has provided great exclusives since day one. The PSN has gradually improved over time. Free Online play is another feather in the cap as well.
1 up, 1 down
DjEezzy
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 11:35:41 AM
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1 up, 1 down
Underdog15
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 12:47:41 PM
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3 up, 1 down
Amnesiac
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 5:03:42 PM
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especially if you have the backwards compatible model :)
1 up, 0 down
Coneman1
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 6:08:53 PM
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1 up, 0 down
Warrior Poet
Monday, December 31, 2012 @ 9:11:31 PM
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0 up, 0 down
jugheadjones
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 @ 4:12:08 AM
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1 up, 0 down
emily lockwind
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 @ 8:29:08 AM
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1 up, 1 down
iankhaneagle
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 @ 11:03:42 AM
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0 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 @ 11:08:55 AM
Sorry for your PS3 troubles. My friends and I have had nothing but success and reliability from our PS3's, and our games were anything but lackluster. (poor choices on your part, perhaps?) I also think Sony has the highest quality of systems still and of highest reliability. I feel you are likely an outlier with your experience. And when all is said and done, PS3 will have outsold the 360, and it may even catch the Wii. You'll see. :p
As for me and my aging, I feel it's actually allowed me to mature to the point that I appreciate the quality in development. I appreciate the finer things in gaming, and I also seem to subject myself to far greater numbers of genres.
Last edited by Underdog15 on 1/1/2013 11:12:48 AM
0 up, 0 down
The X Factor 9
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 @ 3:48:42 PM
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Seriously though, things like the PSN fiasco, the failure of the Vita to gain any serious traction, and the inability of Sony to capture more 3rd party exclusives really hurts.
The whole concept of updating the firmware and updating games is a joke too...the whole interface is slow and clunky. On 360, it almost feels instantaneous.
On the plus side, Sony dominated the exclusive department and have shown that their studios know how to make high quality exclusives. Problem is, their marketing departments are pretty bad and they don't sell nearly as well as their Xbox counterparts.
Fix that next generation and maybe they have a chance.
0 up, 0 down
Underdog15
Tuesday, January 01, 2013 @ 7:28:24 PM
Personally, I feel ms's live fiasco of 2007 at Christmas was worse even though it was less time. More sensitive info was lost, they didn't give nice things like Sony did, no one was reimbursed for lost time, and it was during the Christmas holiday.
Don't judge vita on one year. You know what other systems had bad first years? Ps3, ps2, ps1, and psp. Lol :p
Psn did improve updates, etc. now it'll do it while your ps3 is off by soft starting I'm the middle if the night.
Ms is still in the red due to over spending on marketing. (sort of. It is off set by software and PC sales.
Your praise is for the games. Which is all that really matters. And in sales, both ps3 and 360 are just over 70 million systems, but with a year less time for ps3. Sony is not hiring in software sales like ms has experienced in every genre except fps and wrpg.
0 up, 0 down
TopuNeko
Reply
Sunday, December 30, 2012 @ 10:33:22 PM