I thought 300k gap would be low difference gap for XBO and PS4 in December, so it seems if the numbers split range is correct that it's probably under that gap by some amount. So I think this shows the contraction is going to be especially large starting from January, even above the average prediction. I bet the numbers therefore are going to be positively dire for Microsoft's next few months, even compared to how bad console numbers relatively are for this time of year.
If the gap was 400k, and the gap December is 250k or less, that means altogether they cut 700k gap maximum, and that's gonna start to be rolled back now.
Very interesting strategic choices ahead for both companies. I wonder what Microsoft's next strategic salvo is for 2015. Sony's got their price cut
still to do, and thus a huge boost in their cards. I bet Microsoft no doubt has a Halo 5 bundle in the cards for Fall, and that'll likely cushion their numbers quite a bit for at least one month. Quantum Break is a wild card, and I think Tomb Raider is going to be fascinating to watch for a number of reasons - one because I hope the entire series dies after the TR2013 abomination so I hope there's real damage to the brand due to the SE deal, but two because it'll be interesting to see how much draw it can have considering the series history. Is it going to have any significant crossover with a brand previously so associated with PS? Or will it do normal numbers?
But what can Microsoft do to make their system especially enticing for year end? Because if their strategy going forward is to give most of the year away and then earn back a huge chunk during Holidays, they're going to need some legendary deals considering Sony's strategic reservations (they have more cards left to play) and their big game year ahead. It's not going to be similar to 2014's year end AAA emptiness, to say the least.
Fun times ahead.
zero shift said:
It's good to see that the Wii U is starting to turn around.If only it had this momentum from the beginning.
The turn around to still not have any conceivable chance at hitting GCN numbers, which Iwata said would be a failure in the past. "Turn around" is a very liberally used phrase these days