Pachter: PS3 To Close Gap In 2008

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If you've been reading the news at any point in 2008, you know the PlayStation 3 has been rapidly gaining momentum while the Xbox 360 has, at best, remained steady. But Wedbush Morgan Securities' Michael Pachter believes the 360 sales aren't "steady," but slowing down, and the PS3's momentum will make the console race much closer by year's end.

According to the Videogaming247 blog, Pachter predicted the sales figures for both the PS3 and 360 in 2008-

“We expect Sony to have an installed base of 16.3 million PS3s by year end, and Microsoft to have an installed base of 21.3 million Xbox 360s (both figures are U.S. and Europe only, not counting Japan),” he said.

Over the Easter break, both consoles enjoyed a huge sales spike in the US (360 sales went up 78% and PS3 sales went up 73%), and the recent price cut for Microsoft's system in the UK has certainly helped their cause across the pond. But even with that price cut, the PS3 "ably matched" the 360 in that region and continues to gain in the US, which is why many analysts have predicted a 360 price drop in this country, too. Sony has always been aiming for about 11 million PS3s sold worldwide by March, although we don't have those numbers yet, and the last confirmed global total for the 360 was 17.7 million in January.

The first half of 2007 was tough for the PS3; it had nothing but negative press. On the flip side, many are calling 2008 the "year of the PS3." ...the more we see, the more we're inclined to believe that.

4/4/2008 Ben Dutka

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