Analyst: PS3 will kill the 360 in Japan this year
Category: Industry, Posted: 03/11/2008 at 01:40PM CDT by Frank Ling, Editorial Director
It looks like the PS3 has finally made it back from the dead according to analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan. Not only is the PS3 alive and well he thinks that it will outsell the 360 in Europe and the US and basically kill off the Xbox 360 in Japan this year.
"Sony gains a huge competitive advantage when HD monitor sales pick up at holiday, as I expect retailers to push PS3 as a Blu-ray player to anyone buying an HD monitor. By year-end, I think PS3 will outsell the 360 in the US by a little. PS3 will likely outsell the 360 in Europe by 20-40 percent, and will kill 360 in Japan."
Ever since the original Xbox showed up in Japan, Microsoft has been on a mission to try to crack into the market of the Land of the Rising Sun. With the launch of the 360, Microsoft was hoping that they could finally get a foothold in the Nintendo and Sony controlled nation. While some progress has been made, Microsoft continues to struggle in Japan.
Will this year be the death knell for Microsoft in Japan? That all depends on what sort of games it will be releasing this year. The Xbox 360 is top-heavy with shooters and by now everybody knows that this genre of video game is as successful in Japan as meat at a vegetarian convention.
Will it really die as Pachter predicts? Personally speaking, I think not. There is still plenty of time for Microsoft to turn this around -- that is, if they make the necessary changes to appeal to a wider audience of gamers.
[via videogaming247]
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What exactly does 'Kill' mean? If he's saying they're going to stop selling the 360 in Japan, then I think he's wrong. If he's saying that the PS3 will dominate sales as compared to the 360... Well, that's already happening right? I also think the PS3 has a ways to go in the US as well. There's one big exclusive coming out on PS3, MGS. The 360 has several big exclusives lined up for this year. Will be PS3 make up the deficit based on it's Blu-Ray capabilities alone? I don't know the answer to that, but I'd doubt it. And also, because there will be people buying the PS3 for its BR capabilities alone, outright console numbers will be tough to analyze. The way to really compare who's 'winning' will be to look at game sales, espeically sales of cross-platform games like GTA.
Kill it in Japan? Maybe in sales. That is certainly an obvious outcome. But Microsoft really seems to want to get a foothold there, so I wouldn't count them out yet.
You mean the 360 isn't already dead in Japan? I could have sworn...
Of course the PS3 is going to do better in Japan than the 360. Making that prediction is like saying "the sun will rise tomorrow." Yes. It will. Nothing like a highly paid analyst to state something that's been true for the past 8 years. Way to go Patch...