RSSMicrosoft claims Xbox 360 sold 8 million more worldwide than PS3
By Sharon Fisher | Published January 6, 2009, 4:18 PM
Once again just before CES week, Microsoft is claiming victory in the game console race, at least against rival Sony PlayStation 3. And once again, veteran analyst Sharon Fisher pores over the numbers.
When I was a kid, I used to love word problems. You know, "Sally is 6 years older than Jane, and Jane is twice as old as Margaret. If the ages of all three add up to 21, how old is each girl?"
That's what Microsoft's Xbox 360 sales press release today sounded like.
The report said Microsoft had sold "more consoles, games and online entertainment experiences sold than any previous year," where "life-to-date unit sales of Xbox 360 systems climbed to 28 million consoles worldwide." It also expanded "the product's lead over Sony PlayStation 3 to more than 8 million units."
Did you notice that, nowhere in there, did they say how many of the things they actually sold? Okay, so now let's do the math.
In January, 2007, the Xbox 360 had sold 4.5 million since launch, and the Sony PS3 had sold 687,300. Now, there's no worldwide sales watchdog for these figures. The NPD Group releases monthly sales figures for consoles sold in the US, and then an annual report for the previous year in January. So let's look at how things went in the US.
In January, 2008, NPD Group figures had the Xbox 360 with 4.62 million for the year, and the PS3 with 2.56 million for the year. (Notice, too, that Microsoft isn't comparing itself to the Wii, which sold 6.29 million in 2007 and 1.1 million since launch as of January 2007, for a total of 7.39 million.)
Well, the NPD Group numbers for December and for the year won't be out until later this week, but let's look at the month to month figures compiled from various sources:
| Xbox 360 | PS3 | Wii | |
| January 2008 | 230,000 | 269,000 | 274,000 |
| February 2008 | 254,600 | 280,800 | 432,000 |
| March 2008 | 262,000 | 257,000 | 721,000 |
| April 2008 | 188,000 | 187,100 | 714,200 |
| May 2008 | 186,600 | 208,700 | 675,100 |
| June 2008 | 219,800 | 405,500 | 666,700 |
| July 2008 | 205,500 | 225,000 | 555,000 |
| August 2008 | 195,200 | 185,400 | 453,000 |
| September 2008 | 347,200 | 232,400 | 667,000 |
| October 2008 | 371,000 | 190,000 | 803,000 |
| November 2008 | 836,000 | 378,000 | 2,040,000 |
| TOTAL: | 3,295,400 | 2,818,900 | 8,001,000 |
[Source: Wikia Gaming compilation of NPD figures]
Indeed, Microsoft has performed consistently better than Sony since last August, and we're expecting December numbers soon from NPD which would probably verify that continued margin. But taking everything into account, Microsoft would have to have sold considerably more Xbox units worldwide -- that is, outside the US -- than Sony sold PS3s, in order to make its 8 million claim true.
(Notice, too, that the Nintendo Wii sold twice as many units as the Xbox 360. But Microsoft doesn't talk about that. In fact, Nintendo was able to sell just in the month of November alone 72% of what Microsoft sold for Xbox 360s all year, in unit count.)
But there's also Microsoft's use of that elegant little word, "sold." What is "sold"? Does "sold" mean "sitting in a consumer's living room"? Or does "sold" mean "shipped to a Circuit City, where it's currently standing in a huge stack of others on clearance, soon to be returned"? Does "sold" even mean "On a pallet packed up for Circuit City, unless they cancel the order"? We have no way of knowing.
NPD Group will release its December and 2008 numbers later this week, and we'll tell you how everyone did, at least in the US.
[ME's NOTE: We corrected a mis-statement in the title of this piece that was introduced during the editing process; it should note that the lead of the Xbox 360 over the PS3 is 8 million, not the total units sold. We regret the error, and thank jacobrelles for pointing it out.]
8 million XBOX360's sold, of which 7 million will RROD within the 1st year, 5 million within the first half year, and 1.5 million within the first week of usage....
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|Eh? You can get their numbers from their fiscal reports. Sold always means sold to retailers.
For the record, MS weighed in and 10.3 million units sold this year. They reported their total as 28.1 million units sold life time to date. They started the year at 17.8
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|LOL LOL. I am gonna talk here the Truth u people know and specially the 360 owners, know that the 360 has been on sale for almost more then a half decade and the PS3 jus have like 2 years and the 360 has been on sale many years that is why the cheapest 360 cost 199 and the more expensive 360 cost the same as the cheapest PS3. This days u can buy an 360 on JCPenny and Macys and thats not the only thing everybody here knows that the 360 within a year gets ****ed up and i bet my balls that more than 50% of 360 owners here has bought more then one u people talk s*** that the ps3 is too expensive b**** u are not poor just ask for money in the holiday and ur birhtday and u will get one.I dont know why u people cry about it because in the long run u are gonna spend more money than a ps3 owner cause the online playing is free and u dont need to go tom the mall and buy a permission to play online and the stupid points card too so its like buying a Toyota Corolla and buying a Hybrid yes the Hybrid cost more but in the long run u barely have to use gas while in the cheap a** Corolla u gotta go like twice a week and with the hybrid just one lets see now who spends more money. And the stupid s*** of the ring of death thats something planned dude what console or even a computer tells u that it is going to get ****ed up soon, so prepare yourself cause i got like a week of utility. The green lights turn red when the **** they put a red light on the 360 and why the green lights turn red thats bulls***. I got my PS3 for 2 years and my little brother got his 360 1 year and it already got ****ed up so ofcourse they are going to make more money is so cheap they sell it to u in like a 100 dollars LOL and as soon as the old one gets ****ed up u r like a its ok i just gonna buy another one yeah cause is so ****ing cheap. Before the PS3 was released u guys were talking "ohh my god the ps3 gets so hot bro u can make hamburgers on it". My PS3 has never freezed or s*** and when I use it it doesnt make a sound the ****ing 360 makes more sound than ur ****ing air conditioner men. So talk s*** all u want u know that i am telling the truth u ignorant so love u guys XOXO LOL LOL BYE sucka
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|I have been having the same issues understanding all of this as well. They stated that they had sold more and yet provide absolutely no proof, no references or even a statistic to show they are actually that far ahead. They also do not even try to touch nintendo because as my understanding, x360 would get eaten by wii's popularity. Personally I am a sony fan, always have been and always will be. Sony consoles have been around longer than xbox has and I can always appreciate experience in that field. Still, would be nice to see those numbers that they are so quick to brag about huh?
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|It had to happen. It's mainly because of hot titles that are available for XBox 360 including Microsoft Halo 3, Gears of war etc. And now Rockstar games will bring exclusive content of Grand Theft Auto only for 360 owners and it won't be available for PS owners.
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|wow such a sony fanboy article you may not know but the 360 has sold 3m in europe in the last 6 months alone
Outselling the ps3 by 2 to 1 since september
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|Yeah, particularly old crap RROD'ing motherboards, Now, seriously, I wouldn't like to receive such a 360 as a Christmas present, I would throw it at the head at the one the present came from !
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|they usually dont put out exact figures this close to NPD releasing theirs, and you constantly harp on how much more wii sold then the xbox 360, but funny how you dont mention how much wii sold more then the ps3, this is just a article to deminish what the xbox 360 has done, and when sony or microsoft claims sold, and i stress SONY and microsoft claims sold it could very well mean to stores or to consumers, but of course their not gonna be specific enough, this article was plain horrible, and for the comments section, the 360 is getting outsold by a less powerfull system, and true the 360 had or has some hardware problems...but what does that say about the ps3 which still sells less then both systems?
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|Very unprofessional article, whats with the "claims"
Why would you question their numbers and not question anyone elses?
We dont know if those Wiis are sold or just delivered to retailers either, or PS3s for that matter. The fact that you single out 360 is bias and its unproffesional. Yet another site I should steer clear of.
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|Reason I picked on the Xbox claims is that Microsoft is the one issuing the press release with the numbers (and yet not including actual sales numbers, which I found odd). The numbers I used for Sony and the Wii, and elsewhere in the article for Xbox, are from the NPD Group, an independent company. Sorry that wasn't clear.
In other words, if Sony had issued the press release, I would have picked on them.
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|Right, my first question on interviewing Xbox PR would be.
your outselling the playstation 3 but your getting owned by nintendo's console that is 100 times less powerful then yours and customers do not have to replace it 5 times a year. so MS what do you have to say about that?
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|Yea, but combined they did not beat the Wii and no one remembers 2nd place.
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|I noticed Wii's were in stock at every store in November / December for the first time ever. BB had piles of them and so did Wal Mart and GameStop.
The eBay hoarding has finally come to an end.
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|May have sold more, but also have to fix more...I enjoy my 360 but am about to switch to Sony because I am on my fifth 360 since launch and Microsoft does not care......
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|I had great luck sending back my Elite went it went tits up. Back in a few days with freebies and not a refurb. The manufacture date was only two weeks prior.
On the other hand, my PS3 has never given me a problem, other than it's no fun.
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|Yes, they sold 8 millions, 6 millions of them will die in 6 months, 7 millions in the first year, 1.5 million within the first week.
Wow, now THAT are so well known stats !
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|lol, so true !
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|There is a standard 1 year warranty
replacements covered under warranty !=sales
RROD is covered for 3 years again a replacement is not needed.
Since we are bashing consoles, how do you think ps2 sold so many? They were far from perfect...
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|I don't want a replacement guarentee plus the guarentee that I WILL have to use it within a year, and get some refurbed older crappy used one back. NO THANKS !
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|Microsoft and Sony always claim not to be in competition with the Wii as they should because they know they havent a cat in hells chance of getting sales like the Wii's. The problem for Microsoft and Sony is that with the current economic climate whatever they say about not being in competition with the Wii, the climate is dictating otherwise as people cannot afford 2 or all 3 of these consoles!! I am just waiting for the big re-shuffle in the Sony camp which is sure to affect the Playstation brand. I really cannot see a PS4 if the current economic climate continues...
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|Wow, does nobody else notice that the title of this story is a horrible misinterpretation of the statements made.
Original statement: 'It also expanded "the product's lead over Sony PlayStation 3 to more than 8 million units."'
Proper interpretation: 8 Million more Xbox 360s have been sold than PS3s. (Total during lifecycle, not YTD)
Compare that to the title: 'Microsoft claims Xbox 360 sold 8 million worldwide'
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|thanks, jacob, I'll putacrewonit.
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|You're absolutely right, Jacob, and it's my bad. I've made a correction, and thank you for pointing it out.
-SF3
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|"Notice, too, that the Nintendo Wii sold twice as many units as the Xbox 360. But Microsoft doesn't talk about that. In fact, Nintendo was able to sell just in the month of November alone 72% of what Microsoft sold for Xbox 360s all year, in unit count.)"
Why would they? Microsoft does not consider the Wii to be its competition. Large amount of people who buy a wii also purchase either a playstation or 360, and many of those that get bored with their wii's after a few months upgrade to a more serious console.
I would like to see some research on game title sales and games per person, console online marketplace, online gaming activity and base. Those are things people will find interesting.. as much as the media like to use the readily available sales data for a quick rant it really means diddly squat.
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|"Wii creams both XBox and PS3" ..... in sales.
Somehow the prospect of 8 player online Marked Man in Burnout Paradise with a Wii controller, Nintendo 64 processing power in 480i just doensn't cut it.
Wii is good for DaBlob and Bowling at family parties.
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|Maybe Wii is hitting a broader demographic than the other two. For me and others, high end graphics don't necessarily make a great system. You play video games for fun, and Wii provides that for me and my family. I wish people would stop equating graphics to the best games.
If a game looks good but plays terrible will you play it? I'm not saying all HD quality games are bad, but it isn't necessarily the important part of the equation in my mind.
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|Don't get me wrong, I like the Wii, but it feels like a Fisher Price toy when you own a 360 and a PS3 as well.
A lot of Wii owners still haven't bought a single game. We only used WiiSports and the disc that came with the WiiPlay for the longest time.
I know three other Wii owners that have had it for a year and still only have WiiSports. Luckily, Nintendo actually makes money on every console, unlike MS and Sony.
_______________________________________
By the way, the new SceneIt for the 360 is the best party game you can buy next to Rock Band / GH4.
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|I have to agree with this. The wii was extremely lackluster for me, and I modded it and had over 100 games. None of the games held my interest at all beyond wii sports tennis. The 360 has better games, better online community, and is simply more fun due to these things. The only problem with the 360 that I've seen, is the overheating issues (which I haven't dealt with at all), and the lack of a keyboard mouse setup (which can be allayed by purchasing a xim2 setup though it's a bit pricey.) MS should allow this by default. It's pretty ridiculous that they don't.
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|I love these articles about the Xbox360, PS3 or Wii. Depending on which BetaNews clown is writing it, it's always biased in one direction or another. I mean, just the title alone is misleading. It reads "Microsoft claims Xbox 360 sold 8 million worldwide" but then the article focuses on the (claimed) gap between the Xbox360 and the PS3. On top of that, the article points out (more than once, in case you're slow) that Microsoft isn't comparing themselves to the Wii. Microsoft is not comparing themselves to the Wii for the exact same reason you never see Sony comparing their console to the Wii: they don't see it as competition. That and it would be pretty stupid of either Microsoft or Sony to compare their console to something that has sold more units than their own.
Anyway, I think the bottom line here is this: Wii is leading, Xbox360 is second and the PS3 is a distant third. That order isn't likely to change any time soon, despite all the whining and moaning we're likely to hear from the usual Sony fanboys. I find all this very amusing, because a couple of years ago those Sony fans were so confident about the PS3 easily catching up to the Xbox360, yet each year it's falling further and further behind. :)
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|Wii creams both XBox and PS3.
All of the rest is is hype akin to listening to the BR fanboys claim victory relative to standard DVDs!
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|The Wii, cant even play a DVD movie heheh. Its a Fun machine, not a game machine.
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|there is NO WAY MS outsold Sony by enough worldwide to make that claim....i'd be surprised if they actually even outsold Sony on a worldwide basis...i'd bet its the other way around...
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|yea yea.. no way.. the HOME aspect alone would sell me on buying that console over the whole game and multiplayer advantage the 360 has over the POS3.
Then again Dark I remember the hard on you have for the pos3 and bloray so I'll end with "ya your right entertainment unleased indeed best console in the world!" *ROLLSEYES*
On that note I just checked the stock of the local best buy and they are out of 360 consoles but yet they have an ample amount of POS3's.. huh.. ..
Damn WII is still rocking in sales wow! 2million consoles in one month thats insane! Congrats to Nintendo again, too bad they're game line up for the past year hasn't been as good as the previous so hope that next year brings a better line up
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