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[Handy Fake]

Its a port right next to the headphone jack

 

[Version 3.0]

Why do Americans hate handhelds so much?

I can't speak for all of them, but I hate them because they have a tiny screen, inferior control input, shaky screen because it's all on the same little non-ergonomic chunk of plastic, and, of course, a lack of power. I would think it's all quite apparent. They're the make-do travel kit, the bag lunch of the gaming world.

To be honest, I find it frustrating how many great games are on handhelds, because I'd rather experience those games on a better device - a bigger, stable screen, especially. The rest I'm not too worked up about.

Handhelds have their place, sure, and that place is firmly at the bottom of the gaming echelon, with the shortest pick-up-and-play games in their library, and nothing else. That's how it would be in my utopia, anyway.

Where's my Vita TV, Sony? Those handheld-to-TV devices are like my own personal miracles.

 

[Steve Youngblood]

mess.

are you saying zomg is so big a fanboi that his judgment is clouded? Ouch. I know he's more partial to Sony/PS but I've never seen that influence his opinion. He's always been fairly 'all business', even to the point where he goes in on Sony and THEIR business decisions.

Ultimately, the only thing I'm saying is that concluding that a port that could generate hundreds of thousands of sales by that poster's own admission not being a sound investment strikes me as flimsy analysis. I understand that the One will have basically no presence in Japan when XV comes out. And it's possible that its position in North America will decline over the next couple of years. But unless one thinks that XV is being coded to the PS4 metal (to use stupid terminology) to pull off adequate performance, I don't know why we would assume that it would take a large investment to port it over to the One.

Maybe even 300,000 (or in that ballpark) is too generous. But if we assume that we're talking in the 300,000 - 700,000 ballpark, it just strikes me as absurd to cite "opportunity costs" as the reason why this revenue should be ignored.

 

[Gator86]

What if your Mario fails? What if your Halo fails? What then?

It's called diversification of assets. If one fails, it won't hurt as much because you have your eggs spread over several baskets instead of one.

This. If The Order bombs, Sony will be sad but not devastated. If Halo 5 bombs because people don't care about the series with 343 running the show, MS is fucked.

 

[Mpl90]

...Can I say that I thought PS4 could have done better in March?

Before attacking me, I'll clarify this immediatly: PS4 did great this month
No doubt about that. The weekly average also increased, something that is unusual in the February-to-March shift. And 371,000 units sold are quite a lot, indeed. But...this has been the first month where the console was much more available, right? I mean, hasn't it been available on Amazon.com, as well as other sites (like BestBuy) for almost the whole month? And it's readily available basically everywhere

http://www.nowinstock.net/videogaming/consoles/ps4/

So, no stock problems anymore. Speaking about US in this case: in Europe, from what I've read, there are still ridiculous supply difficulties in specific countries. UK don't seem to have problems anymore, but the rest of Europe needs more units.

A completely different scenario from January (the console was supply constrained) and February (the console was MASSIVELY supply constrained), when it sold around 280/270k. Having shortages problems means that you can't satisfy all your demand for the period, so there was a "suppressed" demand waiting for the stock to come. In March, stock was there, and it's still there, so this means Sony produced quite a big amount of units in order to satisfy the demand. Given the circumstances, and considering inFAMOUS's launch (btw, great result for the series!), a weekly average boost of not even 10,000 units...sounds much less impressive, IMHO.

It means that the demand has been more than satisfied, just with the March brand new supply, and that now it'll start decreasing, and not in an invisible way. I was expecting something around 430-440,000 units for the month, given the severe shortages the console suffered, the big numbers it scored despite them and inFAMOUS being released.

Obviously, this does not mean, starting from April, PS4 will start selling horrible. It's guaranteed to sell well in April, and May and June will be also better thanks to Watch Dogs (being out at the end of May = effect spread between two months), but it could still see a big drop from March. Again, while still selling well. Not great, not spectacular, but still well.

This is just my thoughts on the matter, let's see if next month's results will confirm this or not. No problems if I'm going to fail at this, years of overstimating 3DS have made me a little stronger (...;_.

Just to give context, I was expecting also around 400-440,000 units for One for the month, due to Titanfall, the bundle and all the price deals. Seeing all of this resulting in a LOWER weekly sales average and in 311,000 units sold for the month, after the heavily surprising February result means that, in the short run, MS console could face some mediocre numbers. Titanfall did amazing, at least.

 

[pixlexic]

lol its not a secret the psp had one as well. its main purpose is to give power and controllable signals to headphones.

 

[coldfoot]

I am not even considering to buy FFXV but I'd love for it to be cancelled for a platform so I could then post the "Square just shot themselves in the foot" meme.

 

[Foshy]

Usual comparison I do every year:

HARDWARE JAN-FEB-MAR 2014:

             US+JP         US         JP
PS4       1,417,000    910,000    507,000
3DS         954,000    406,000    548,000
XBO         710,000    710,000
PSV         401,000     50,000    351,000
PS3         392,000    224,000    169,000
WII U       322,000    202,000    121,000
360         277,000    274,000      3,000


US: NPD (91 days - 01/05~04/05)
JP: Media Create (91 days - 01/06~04/06)

Europe: ??????????

The contrast between how the Vita sells in Japan and in the rest of the world is crazy. Same for PS4, only the other way around.

 

[Astral Dog]

Didnt 3DS sold like 68k on January or February?

 

[cakely]

And they were come unto a time called March NPD, that is to say, The time of a final judgement, he gave gamers a shooter to play, mixed with mechs: and when they had tasted it, they would not buy. And when they had crucified him, Sony, Amazon and Valve parted his IP among them, casting lots; and they sat and watched him there. And they set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS XBOX® ONE™ THE ALL-IN-ONE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM. Then are there crucified with him two robbers, EA on the right hand and Zynga on the left. And they that passed by railed on him, waggling their arms in front of his camera, and saying, Thou that createth DirectX, save thyself: if thou are the Son of Microsoft, buy your way down from the cross. He bought exclusive games; his own success he cannot buy. He is the King of the Living Room, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.

Now from the sixth hour there was silence from the XBOX division. And about the ninth hour The One cried with a loud voice, saying USA, USA why hast thou forsaken me? And the One cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the Gaming Age Forums were rent in two from the top top the bottom; and the ban hammer did fall and many avatars of the followers that had believed in him were forcibly exchanged.

Amen! Very nicely done.

 

[freakzilla149]

What's this all about?

Probably just a standard data connection port just like USB, firewire, thunderbolt etc, except it's proprietary.

This doesn't necessarily indicate forward planning with the VR headset in mind as someone suggested, just that Sony wanted to have the option to plug in things other than headphones, whether it's a keyboard, or some other add-on.

 

[jcm]

Poor Vita, I wish it was doing better but alas, it suffers from poor branding and overly expensive hardware and memory cards. It could be saved, but I don't think Sony can get the price low enough to gain real momentum.

Vita's problem isn't branding. Vita's problem is that it's trying to compete with an entrenched competitor in a dying market. There isn't room for two dedicated handhelds. 3DS is selling about half of what the second place PSP sold at the same time last gen. No amount of branding is going to change the fact that dedicated handhelds in the US are doomed to a tiny niche.

In March 2008 the NDS and PSP combined to sell 995K units. This March their successors combined to sell 177K. It's difficult to overstate the collapse of the dedicated handheld market.

 

[LilWayneSuckz]

This. If The Order bombs, Sony will be sad but not devastated. If Halo 5 bombs because people don't care about the series with 343 running the show, MS is fucked.

I'll be devastated! I love Ready At Dawn ;_;

Second Son and Killzone doing so well gives me hope that it will meet expectations. And hopefully Sony releases The Order with a UC4 multiplayer beta.

 

[Portugeezer]

Again, it isn't MS's place to do that. It's developed by Respawn and published by EA. EA has the say in what numbers they publish. It's the same reason you won't see MS tote any specific sale number of ANY third party game, it isn't their place to do that.

It's not exactly the same circumstances as MS paid for platform exclusivity. It's not some random 3rd party game.

 

[DC R1D3R]

i'm still digesting this.....so sony won....in Titanfall month?

Oh boy.....!

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Damn, Nintendo is dying. I know they have a lot of reserve in. I hope they go a PS4 route next gen. Just wait til the other two announce and match their specs or something. I know that won't do it all but they have to get some 3rd party games on their system. Now, Nintendo is not enough. They have to be in the ballpark.

 

[Omakone]

Lol at Vita selling 10K. You think with all the Vita threads praising it on here it would be selling a lot better.

I wonder how much it really matters to Sony how well the Vita is selling. I know they would like to sell more, but they are making a lot of money on the Vita. The attach rate for Vita is over 10 games per unit. Therefore the Vita is very profitable for Sony.


It will be interesting to see what happens to the sales numbers in May for the Vita with the launch of the slim bundled with borderlands 2.

 

[iceatcs]

lol its not a secret the psp had one as well. its main purpose is to give power and controllable signals to headphones.

I thought too, but it isn't match with that PSP headset. DS4 EXT port got 4 connector pins.
Maybe another official headset coming up but currently it can be used for charger:

 

[Deleted member 125677]

Vita actually managed to do worse than I expected. And my expectations were low

 

[sturgboski]

Vita's problem isn't branding. Vita's problem is that it's trying to compete with an entrenched competitor in a dying market. There isn't room for two dedicated handhelds. 3DS is selling about half of what the second place PSP sold at the same time last gen. No amount of branding is going to change the fact that dedicated handhelds in the US are doomed to a tiny niche.

In March 2008 the NDS and PSP combined to sell 995K units. This March their successors combined to sell 177K. It's difficult to overstate the collapse of the dedicated handheld market.

I agree that the market is collapsing but I also thing there is the whole lack of awareness of the platform. Borderlands 2 is probably the biggest game Sony is getting on the Vita this year (in regards to mass market appeal) and that comes in 3 weeks as a bundle with the new Vita. Outside of frequenters to this site or the Playstation Blog, who is going to be aware of it? I dont see Vita ads on TV, but I do see 3DS ads when they push their big games. Hell, if we are relegating the Vita to companion status, at least Sony can push that too. I mean, when I turn on the PS4 I get dumped to the What's New section which has ads for new PS4 releases (and occasionally movies and Taco Bell), why not use that to push the Vita too? You got 7 million potential customers to leverage.

 

[Hypereides]

...Can I say that I thought PS4 could have done better in March?

Before attacking me, I'll clarify this immediatly: PS4 did great this month
No doubt about that. The weekly average also increased, something that is unusual in the February-to-March shift. And 371,000 units sold are quite a lot, indeed. But...this has been the first month where the console was much more available, right? I mean, hasn't it been available on Amazon.com, as well as other sites (like BestBuy) for almost the whole month? And it's readily available basically everywhere

http://www.nowinstock.net/videogaming/consoles/ps4/

So, no stock problems anymore. Speaking about US in this case: in Europe, from what I've read, there are still ridiculous supply difficulties in specific countries. UK don't seem to have problems anymore, but the rest of Europe needs more units.

A completely different scenario from January (the console was supply constrained) and February (the console was MASSIVELY supply constrained), when it sold around 280/270k. Having shortages problems means that you can't satisfy all your demand for the period, so there was a "suppressed" demand waiting for the stock to come. In March, stock was there, and it's still there, so this means Sony produced quite a big amount of units in order to satisfy the demand. Given the circumstances, and considering inFAMOUS's launch (btw, great result for the series!), a weekly average boost of not even 10,000 units...sounds much less impressive, IMHO.

It means that the demand has been more than satisfied, just with the March brand new supply, and that now it'll start decreasing, and not in an invisible way. I was expecting something around 430-440,000 units for the month, given the severe shortages the console suffered, the big numbers it scored despite them and inFAMOUS being released.

Obviously, this does not mean, starting from April, PS4 will start selling horrible. It's guaranteed to sell well in April, and May and June will be also better thanks to Watch Dogs (being out at the end of May = effect spread between two months), but it could still see a big drop from March. Again, while still selling well. Not great, not spectacular, but still well.

This is just my thoughts on the matter, let's see if next month's results will confirm this or not. No problems if I'm going to fail at this, years of overstimating 3DS have made me a little stronger (...;_.

Just to give context, I was expecting also around 400-440,000 units for One for the month, due to Titanfall, the bundle and all the price deals. Seeing all of this resulting in a LOWER weekly sales average and in 311,000 units sold for the month, after the heavily surprising February result means that, in the short run, MS console could face some mediocre numbers. Titanfall did amazing, at least.

A fair stand and sound opinion. This should be taken into consideration for the next NPD divulge.

 

[Zatoichi's Cane]

And they were come unto a time called March NPD, that is to say, The time of a final judgement, he gave gamers a shooter to play, mixed with mechs: and when they had tasted it, they would not buy. And when they had crucified him, Sony, Amazon and Valve parted his IP among them, casting lots; and they sat and watched him there. And they set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS XBOX® ONE™ THE ALL-IN-ONE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM. Then are there crucified with him two robbers, EA on the right hand and Zynga on the left. And they that passed by railed on him, waggling their arms in front of his camera, and saying, Thou that createth DirectX, save thyself: if thou are the Son of Microsoft, buy your way down from the cross. He bought exclusive games; his own success he cannot buy. He is the King of the Living Room, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.

Now from the sixth hour there was silence from the XBOX division. And about the ninth hour The One cried with a loud voice, saying USA, USA why hast thou forsaken me? And the One cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the Gaming Age Forums were rent in two from the top top the bottom; and the ban hammer did fall and many avatars of the followers that had believed in him were forcibly exchanged.

Exceptional.

 

[kswiston]

I wonder how much it really matters to Sony how well the Vita is selling. I know they would like to sell more, but they are making a lot of money on the Vita. The attach rate for Vita is over 10 games per unit. Therefore the Vita is very profitable for Sony.


It will be interesting to see what happens to the sales numbers in May for the Vita with the launch of the slim bundled with borderlands 2.

Vita is going to be a niche system in the west that sells a ton of (digital) software to the 5-10M core gamers who own the system. I don't think there is much Sony can do to propel it to greater success.

 

[FiggyCal]

wat

Kratos is one of the most recognizable characters in gaming.

 

[Mr. PlayStation]

What exactly are people buying the PS4 for?

Infamous Second Son, BF4, Tomb Raider Definitive Edition, more awesome games coming, PS+ free games. It's a great console buddy!

 

[metalslimer]

The handheld market is truly dying. I fear for what will happen when Nintendo launches their next handheld.

 

[Road]

You have the one for last year?

Maybe somewhere, but here's a comparison:

HARDWARE JAN-FEB-MAR

              US+JP             US+JP
             2014 Q1          2013* Q1
PS4        1,417,000                 
3DS          954,000  -49%   1,876,000
XBO          710,000                 
PSV          401,000  -13%     462,000
PS3          392,000  -61%     996,000
WII U        322,000  -25%     432,000
360          277,000  -68%     854,000

2014: 91 days
2013*: 98 days (one extra week)

US: NPD. JP: Media Create.

 

[TalonJH]

Why do Americans hate handhelds so much?

Well, unless you live in one of the major cities, most don't ride public transportation, bike or walk to their destinations. You can't play a Vita or 3Ds while your driving and virtually all of us drive.

Not to mention we all have cell phones. I do love my handhelds though, but I rarely see other adults with them out in public.

 

[Windam]

And they were come unto a time called March NPD, that is to say, The time of a final judgement, he gave gamers a shooter to play, mixed with mechs: and when they had tasted it, they would not buy. And when they had crucified him, Sony, Amazon and Valve parted his IP among them, casting lots; and they sat and watched him there. And they set up over his head his accusation written, THIS IS XBOX® ONE™ THE ALL-IN-ONE ENTERTAINMENT SYSTEM. Then are there crucified with him two robbers, EA on the right hand and Zynga on the left. And they that passed by railed on him, waggling their arms in front of his camera, and saying, Thou that createth DirectX, save thyself: if thou are the Son of Microsoft, buy your way down from the cross. He bought exclusive games; his own success he cannot buy. He is the King of the Living Room, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe on him.

Now from the sixth hour there was silence from the XBOX division. And about the ninth hour The One cried with a loud voice, saying USA, USA why hast thou forsaken me? And the One cried again with a loud voice, and yielded up his spirit. And behold, the Gaming Age Forums were rent in two from the top top the bottom; and the ban hammer did fall and many avatars of the followers that had believed in him were forcibly exchanged.

I said goddamn.

 

[FiggyCal]

Well, unless you live in one of the major cities, most don't ride public transportation, bike or walk to their destinations. You can't play a Vita or 3Ds while your driving and virtually all of us drive.

Not to mention we all have cell phones. I do love my handhelds though, but I rarely see other adults with them out in public.

Yeah, I'm really surprised by how many people have Vitas on the subway in New York City. Most of them are adults too. Weird.

 

[Art1mus]

Microsoft considers those sales to the retailer as revenue. Microsoft gets that money immediately, not when the retailer sells the goods. This is known. I don't know how I can explain this any better to you.

You are NOT going to sell to retailers no matter what. Where in the heck are you getting this idea? If that's the case why are Vita and Wii U numbers so poor? Retailers are just going to buy stock regardless, right? No, wrong! Retailers buy stock from the manufacturer when they sell through their stock. Higher demand means a quicker resale. But the fact remains that Microsoft has sold 5M to retailers and they have the money to prove it. Obviously they want those units to sell through to consumers so they can sell more to the retailers, but the 5M is not inconsequential.

LoL 'Shipped to Store' is not real sales, no matter how one spins it. The fact that a company decides to tout its 'shipped' numbers instead of its actual sold to consumers (which it also undoubtedly has) means it is trying to hide something.
In this case this this was MS only option to counter the 7 million true sales of the PS4.

 

[Guevara]

Maybe this only interests me, but here's a "mainstream" media coverage roundup:

The Xbox One Still Lags Behind The PS4

Titanfall was supposed to change it all, but it didn’t work. So far, Microsoft announced that it has shipped 5 million Xbox One units to retailers. In comparison, Sony has sold 7 million PS4 units to customers. It doesn’t look good for Microsoft as the company doesn’t even say how many people actually bought an Xbox One.

http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/18/the-xbox-one-still-lags-behind-the-ps4/

Titan Fail? Despite Top-Selling Xbox Blockbuster, PlayStation Wins U.S. Again in March.

The big question on everyone’s mind this month was whether the first big post-launch exclusive titles — Titanfall on the Xbox One and Infamous: Second Son on the PS4 — would give the two new consoles a boost, particularly the Xbox. The two had traded off at the top of NPD’s chart at first, with Sony taking November and Microsoft taking December, but the PS4 won out in both January and February, and has repeatedly beaten Sony’s initial sales projections.

A second-place finish for the Xbox One, which is more expensive than the PS4 by $100, is something of a surprise.

http://recode.net/2014/04/17/titan-...ckbuster-playstation-wins-u-s-again-in-march/

Microsoft lags behind Sony, with 5 million Xbox Ones shipped

Newsbrief: Yesterday, Sony announced that the PlayStation 4 has sold 7 million units at retail -- meaning put them in the hands of consumers.

Today, Microsoft shared its numbers, which are less rosy: 5 million Xbox Ones have been shipped to retailers. The company did not specify what percentage of that stock has been sold through to consumers.

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...ind_Sony_with_5_million_Xbox_Ones_shipped.php

Microsoft has shipped 5M Xbox One game consoles to stores, but that’s far short of Sony’s 7M PS4s sold

Microsoft said today that it has shipped more than 5 million units of its Xbox One video game console since launching the system last November. But the company didn’t say how many of these systems were bought by gamers.

Sony, by contrast, said earlier this week it has sold through more than 7 million units of its PlayStation 4 console. That’s an apples-to-oranges comparison, but Microsoft isn’t releasing actual sell-through numbers. Still, it’s not a surprise that Sony is outselling Microsoft. Sony’s machine has an advantage since it is selling for $400, while Microsoft’s console is selling for $500.

http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/17/m...t-thats-far-short-of-sonys-7m-sold-to-gamers/

It seems Sony was prepared for Titanfall.

The company's PlayStation 4 video game console outsold Microsoft's Xbox One, despite the latter device hosting last month's best-selling game Titanfall, according to data from NPD Group. It's the third straight month PS4 topped Xbox One in U.S. sales.

Earlier this week, Sony announced global sales of the PS4 topped 7 million. Guy Longworth, PlayStation's senior vice president of brand marketing says the console was able to finish first for the month "despite continued supply constraints."

Meanwhile, Microsoft confirmed more than 5 million video game consoles were shipped to retailers. The company did not specify how many of those consoles ended up in the hands of consumers. In January, Microsoft announced sales of the Xbox One topped 3 million by the end of 2013.

http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2014/04/17/march-npd-ps4-xbox-one/7844655/

In Titanfall, Microsoft pinned its hopes on a springtime sale surge for the Xbox One. While the first-person sci-fi shooter -- which came out March 11 -- did indeed capture the top spot for March software sales, it was not a strong enough next-gen console driver to push US Xbox One sales ahead of Sony's PlayStation 4.

"In March 2014, Sony's PS4 led hardware sales for the third month in a row," said Liam Callahan, a video game analyst with NPD Group. Microsoft announced that it sold 311,000 units in the US in March, and said that the console had surpassed 5 million units sold-in -- meaning only sold to retailers, not purchased by consumers -- worldwide. Despite Sony's lead, it did not disclose sales figures for the PlayStation 4 for March alone.

That's not reassuring news for Microsoft, which went so far as to bundle Titanfall with the Xbox One in the US for the same price, $499.99, as the system retailed for outright. British retailers also cut the price of the console by 30 pounds in the UK going into March, and just last week followed that up with a price cut to the Titanfall bundle that brought it down to 350 pounds, or roughly 80 pounds lower than the system by itself retailed for at launch.

http://www.cnet.com/news/playstatio...march-even-as-titanfall-leads-software-sales/

 

[andthebeatgoeson]

Well, unless you live in one of the major cities, most don't ride public transportation, bike or walk to their destinations. You can't play a Vita or 3Ds while your driving and virtually all of us drive.

Not to mention we all have cell phones. I do love my handhelds though, but I rarely see other adults with them out in public.

The other part is there is more to do with a cellphone than ever before. Streaming video services along with the other options. I would guess there is even less of a need to have a handheld. Like, it's a tipping point where a handheld gaming option is even less desirable. That 5 minute scratch from Cut the rope is more than enough and other things, especially in HD, are more interesting than bringing another device with you. I wonder how that has been studied.

It's now to the point that anything Nintendo does will be reactionary towards smart phones. We might be in a world of hurt for gaming handhelds that only cater to the gaming market. Is there any going back? Can they address those things? You cut out the casual market for handhelds and there just not enough money to go around, I would guess.

 

[zebwinz]

Something strange/potentially interesting going on. Out of the 10 Target stores closest to me, only 3 have Xbox Ones in stock(only 1 has a Titanfall bundle), while 6 have PS4s. It could mean nothing, but is it possible that Microsoft is putting together another bundle/game pack in?

Edit: It's also possible that the $450 retailer price cut worked well into April too.

 

[Abdiel]

All the numbers being in, I feel pretty confident in how I was interpreting the sales numbers for Best Buy... Though I guess I could have put down a favored opinion of leading towards PS4, but I didn't want to sift through every transaction history to get specific breakdowns.

Congrats to Sony for another win.

Microsoft, you really need to figure out your next move, because there isn't much in the near future to motivate your customers. As I said in another thread: You are not approaching this E3 in a position of strength. You're going into your conference in a position of needing to justify yourselves and your system to the customer base. I don't know what your strategy will be, but all the things that laid out the US for you last gen aren't present anymore. If you want to win in the US, let alone anywhere else, you're going to have to go tooth and nail at it... And not just throw money at retailers to cover them discounting the system a week after the release of the biggest hype game of the last year and giving it away for free in the same bundle.

Those methods aren't sustainable for a company looking to make money, and while I don't personally have a reason to get an XB1, I don't want the people that invested their time making it and the people that invested their money buying them, to have thrown away that investment.

 

[Road]

                      US+JP        US        JP
Yuna Returns         777,000   260,000   517,000
Lightning Returns    587,000   175,000   412,000


US: NPD.
JP: Famitsu.

 

[FiggyCal]

Something strange/potentially interesting going on. Out of the 10 Target stores closest to me, only 3 have Xbox Ones in stock(only 1 has a Titanfall bundle), while 6 have PS4s. It could mean nothing, but is it possible that Microsoft is putting together another bundle/game pack in?

Edit: It's also possible that the $450 retailer price cut worked well into April too.

It could mean nothing. It could also mean that the Xbox One is outselling the PS4 in your local store. With the sales this close (60k difference); statistically, it would be odd if Xbox One wasn't outselling the PS4 somewhere.

 

[1st Course]

Maybe somewhere, but here's a comparison:

HARDWARE JAN-FEB-MAR

              US+JP             US+JP
             2014 Q1          2013* Q1
PS4        1,417,000                 
3DS          954,000  -49%   1,876,000
XBO          710,000                 
PSV          401,000  -13%     462,000
PS3          392,000  -61%     996,000
WII U        322,000  -25%     432,000
360          277,000  -68%     854,000

2014: 91 days
2013*: 98 days (one extra week)

US: NPD. JP: Media Create.

Thanks. I was one of those people who thought the PS3 and 360 will make to 100m eventually but I don't think this will be the case anymore. Both PS3 and 360 probably haven't even sold 1m this Q.

 

[Father_Brain]

I agree that the market is collapsing but I also thing there is the whole lack of awareness of the platform. Borderlands 2 is probably the biggest game Sony is getting on the Vita this year (in regards to mass market appeal) and that comes in 3 weeks as a bundle with the new Vita. Outside of frequenters to this site or the Playstation Blog, who is going to be aware of it? I dont see Vita ads on TV, but I do see 3DS ads when they push their big games. Hell, if we are relegating the Vita to companion status, at least Sony can push that too. I mean, when I turn on the PS4 I get dumped to the What's New section which has ads for new PS4 releases (and occasionally movies and Taco Bell), why not use that to push the Vita too? You got 7 million potential customers to leverage.

SCEA actually gave Vita a decent marketing push when it had exclusive COD and AC spinoffs. Holiday 2012 sales were still abysmal by historical standards, so what's the point in trying to make it more than an ultra-niche platform?

 

[ethomaz]

Thanks. I was one of those people who thought the PS3 and 360 will make to 100m eventually but I don't think this will be the case anymore. Both PS3 and 360 probably haven't even sold 1m this Q.

PS3 have good sales in EU and rest of the world yet...

 

[Majmun]

Maybe this only interests me, but here's a "mainstream" media coverage roundup:


http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/18/the-xbox-one-still-lags-behind-the-ps4/

http://recode.net/2014/04/17/titan-...ckbuster-playstation-wins-u-s-again-in-march/

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...ind_Sony_with_5_million_Xbox_Ones_shipped.php

http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/17/m...t-thats-far-short-of-sonys-7m-sold-to-gamers/


http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2014/04/17/march-npd-ps4-xbox-one/7844655/

http://www.cnet.com/news/playstatio...march-even-as-titanfall-leads-software-sales/

Ouch. This must sting for MS.

Sony announced they've sold more than 7mln Ps4 consoles to consumers prior NPD day. Then Sony winst March NPD. MS posted the 5mln shipped Xbox One consoles afterwards.

Hit after hit for MS.

By the way...
The Ps4 is still supply constrained in the US? I mean, sure, you can order it online. But how's stock in stores? Are Ps4 consoles readily available everywhere in NA?

 

[PachinkoChampBruh]

dang this must be the largest npd thread ever.

 

[Cloud Strife]

                      US+JP        US        JP
Yuna Returns         777,000   260,000   517,000
Lightning Returns    587,000   175,000   412,000


US: NPD.
JP: Famitsu.

Hehehehehe

 

[FiggyCal]

SCEA actually gave Vita a decent marketing push when it had exclusive COD and AC spinoffs. Holiday 2012 sales were still abysmal by historical standards, so what's the point in trying to make it more than an ultra-niche platform?

It really doesn't make sense to support the Vita at the moment. There's only so much money to go around; it would be wiser of Sony to pump that money into worthwile investments, like the PlayStation 4, VR or even PlayStation Now. It's the same reason why Nintendo isn't supporting the Wii U as much as they could be. That money is better spent on the 3DS.

Maybe this only interests me, but here's a "mainstream" media coverage roundup:

I liked this Time article.

Xbox One owners, exhale: Microsoft had a very good March. While the company continues to cede the top monthly console sales spot to Sony’s PlayStation 4, its Xbox- and Windows-exclusive massively multiplayer first-person shooter, Titanfall, was tops in software sales.

That’s good news, as is Microsoft’s disclosure of a new sales figure: 5 million, or the number of Xbox Ones sold worldwide since launch. Yes, it’s some 2 million shy of Sony’s 7 million-selling PlayStation 4, but remember that Sony had a one-week lead...

http://time.com/67549/sonys-playsta...icrosofts-titanfall-was-the-top-selling-game/

 

[Handy Fake]

Maybe this only interests me, but here's a "mainstream" media coverage roundup:


http://techcrunch.com/2014/04/18/the-xbox-one-still-lags-behind-the-ps4/

http://recode.net/2014/04/17/titan-...ckbuster-playstation-wins-u-s-again-in-march/

http://www.gamasutra.com/view/news/...ind_Sony_with_5_million_Xbox_Ones_shipped.php

http://venturebeat.com/2014/04/17/m...t-thats-far-short-of-sonys-7m-sold-to-gamers/


http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/gaming/2014/04/17/march-npd-ps4-xbox-one/7844655/

http://www.cnet.com/news/playstatio...march-even-as-titanfall-leads-software-sales/

I've seen less convincing arse-kickings in the local park at midnight. With pool balls in socks.

 

[mjontrix]

So... When do the ps4/psvita bundles start

The vita is dead (in the west).

 

[Orthogonal]

By the way...
The Ps4 is still supply constrained in the US? I mean, sure, you can order it online. But how's stock in stores? Are Ps4 consoles readily available everywhere in NA?

Retail is improving but still thin in a lot of places. In my area they are on shelves longer but still selling out and currently OOS at my closest Walmart and Target.

 

[Jomjom]

Okay? But the point that I made was the Microsoft already made the money. I'm not talking about future sales, nor was the person I was responding to. It is an absolute fact that Microsoft has sold those consoles and they have the money to prove it. The sales to the retailer are NOT meaningless. I'm not sure what you don't understand about the revenue stream. Microsoft has the money, thus those sales are not meaningless. Not sure how else to explain this.

Wait you really don't get why it's a meaningless number? MS loses money on each console sold to retail. (Hint: best buy is not giving MS $499 per console) not getting in the hands of consumers means it doesn't provide software sales, digital downloads, or gold subscriptions. MS didn't get into this business because it wanted to lose money.

Maybe you're new to the gaming business, so I'll put it in terms of the shaving business (everyone shaves!).

Razor Company Exec: We sold a trillion razors to retail! Time to celebrate!
Razor Sales Analyst: But they're not all going to customers! There's a good portion just sitting on the shelves! What about the blades we sell?
Razor Company Exec: It's ok that's not how our business works! Get the razors on the shelves, who cares about the blades?! We got money in our pocket to prove it!
Razor Sales Analyst: But the stores are telling us they won't buy any more from us for the next couple months until the ones on shelves actually sell boss!
Razor Company Exec: I told you its ok! Razors on the shelves! Money in our pockets now. Money all at once is better than a steady stream! Two bears in the hand is better than eight in the bush or some such!
Razor Sales Analyst: OH OK! CAKE TIME!

 

[schwabdizzle]

I personally think at this point MS is just going to either drop the console down to $399 or drop the Kinnect and sell it for $349. I honestly think Phil Spencer is the right person in charge of Xbox and if anyone can turn it around, he can. I think it's too early to declare a king, but Sony has defiantly forced MS to do something drastic early.

 

[Road]

dang this must be the largest npd thread ever.

I think the largest is November 2013: 5,358 replies.

This one has 5,305 so far.