360 Still On Top Despite Declining Sales

The Wooster

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Jul 15, 2008
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360 Still On Top Despite Declining Sales


Despite sales dropping by nearly 50% from last year, the Xbox 360 is still outselling its competitors.

Last month, 257,000 Xbox 360s were sold in the US , making the son of Xbox the best-selling console for the 18th consecutive month and giving it an impressive 47% market share. The console's total retail spend, IE: how much was spent on hardware, software and accessories, reached $272 million. According to Microsoft, more was spent on 360 products than Wii and PS3 products combined.

Those numbers are slightly less likely to blow your tiny minds however, when you consider than in June of last year, Microsoft managed to shift some 507,000 console units. Console sales are down all across the board. According to the NPD, retail sales of videogame products fell by 29 percent in June, ending up at just under $700 million worth of products sold. Digital sales aren't included in that number. If they were, we'd be looking at a total of $1.36 billion.

Despite being king of the rapidly shrinking console mountain, it hasn't been a particularly great quarter for Microsoft. While still raking in money like Scrooge McDuck on Adderall, the company chose this year to finally mark its $6 billion acquisition of digital marketing service, aQuantive, back in 2007 as a writedown. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Write-off#Writedown] That hefty figure translates into a $492 million dollar loss in this fourth quarter, Microsoft's first in its 26-year history.

Source: CBC [http://www.cbc.ca/news/business/story/2012/07/19/microsoft-financial-results.html]

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Beautiful End

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Feb 15, 2011
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I always wondered how come Scrooge McDuck didn't just die as he dove into his pool made out of hard coins and jewels.

OT: M$, you got Minecraft to thank for that. I'm not saying that's the only source of revenue for them but the game is selling like pancakes outside a homeless shelter in Abu Dhabi. Hell, it made me get a 360 just for that game. And I love my PS3.

Then there's the fact that they charge you to play online, the controllers either need extra batteries or require you to buy a play and charge kit, the cost for a specific HD you just gotta buy if you were dumb enough to buy a 4GB 360 (And you only got 2 choices anyway), and who knows what else. Might not seem like much but hey, do the math.
Actually, that doesn't seem like a fair race at all! >______>
 

thethird0611

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Feb 19, 2011
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Pretty sure theres some extraneous variables here.
Console sales falling = People already have them. So how many of those sales are new consoles, and not just buying one to a broken one.
Also, I dont think there were any large releases for games in June if I remember (Or not like usual), all of those are coming out in the next 4 months.
 

vallorn

Tunnel Open, Communication Open.
Nov 18, 2009
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Beautiful End said:
OT: M$, you got Minecraft to thank for that. I'm not saying that's the only source of revenue for them but the game is selling like pancakes outside a homeless shelter in Abu Dhabi. Hell, it made me get a 360 just for that game. And I love my PS3.
wait... people were buying Xbox for Minecraft? The game thats already available and better on the PC?

Then there's the fact that they charge you to play online, the controllers either need extra batteries or require you to buy a play and charge kit, the cost for a specific HD you just gotta buy if you were dumb enough to buy a 4GB 360 (And you only got 2 choices anyway), and who knows what else. Might not seem like much but hey, do the math.
Actually, that doesn't seem like a fair race at all! >______>
and dont forget the separate (and expensive) WiFi and the video out cables too.

This is the main reason I got a PS3 over the 360. Every external component on the PS3 is just general stuff you can pick up from most decent hardware store so replacing things if they are faulty is easy and cheap.
Power cable? I have 3 of that since its also used in alot of modern TV's. Video and Audio outs? Standard cables too.
What about the Hard Drive? Pop off a small panel in the side and its a Sata 2.5 inch hard drive that can be easily replaced without voiding the warranty (I actually called Sony support myself to confirm that before I upgraded mine)

There is one cable that Ive found is fiddly. the charging cable for the official controllers. normal cables of the same connecter don't work but the old PSP charger/data cables of the same connecter do work to charge them.
 

duchaked

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Dec 25, 2008
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I really don't need ANOTHER 360 but...oh well why the hell not!

(well ok no not really lol jk)
 

Evil Smurf

Admin of Catoholics Anonymous
Nov 11, 2011
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duchaked said:
I really don't need ANOTHER 360 but...oh well why the hell not!

(well ok no not really lol jk)
one for each cat you have
 

CardinalPiggles

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Jun 24, 2010
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Never buying another 360 MS, bring out the next console and we'll talk.

Although honestly, now I have a PC, I don't feel as though I need a new Xbox, but we'll see.
 

Insomniac55

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Dec 6, 2008
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DVS BSTrD said:
Upside: More people own an Xbox 360
Downside: More people already own an Xbox 360.
Though (If what I've read is correct) MS and Sony make far more money from accessories, software licenses and online subscriptions than they do from selling the console itself. In fact, during the beginning of its life, Sony was making a loss on each PS3 sold.

Having greater market penetration of their console is 100% a good thing for Microsoft. They're unlikely to be concerned about a diminishing market of potential new owners, because they'll be raking in such large profits from the already purchased consoles.
 

FamoFunk

Dad, I'm in space.
Mar 10, 2010
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It does help that you can get a 360 for next to nothing now-a-days, whereas the PS3 is still quite pricey in comparison. Younger gamers and parents will go for the cheaper option.
 

Rednog

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Nov 3, 2008
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Beautiful End said:
I always wondered how come Scrooge McDuck didn't just die as he dove into his pool made out of hard coins and jewels.
I never understood that either, though I give props to Gabe for doing it right.
 

wooty

Vi Britannia
Aug 1, 2009
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Wonder how many of those sold were bought solely to replace the ones that broke down and died?

I know that I've personally contributed to 3 of those sales over the years. Should of learned my lesson after number 2 really.
 

Beautiful End

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Feb 15, 2011
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vallorn said:
Beautiful End said:
OT: M$, you got Minecraft to thank for that. I'm not saying that's the only source of revenue for them but the game is selling like pancakes outside a homeless shelter in Abu Dhabi. Hell, it made me get a 360 just for that game. And I love my PS3.
wait... people were buying Xbox for Minecraft? The game thats already available and better on the PC?

Then there's the fact that they charge you to play online, the controllers either need extra batteries or require you to buy a play and charge kit, the cost for a specific HD you just gotta buy if you were dumb enough to buy a 4GB 360 (And you only got 2 choices anyway), and who knows what else. Might not seem like much but hey, do the math.
Actually, that doesn't seem like a fair race at all! >______>
and dont forget the separate (and expensive) WiFi and the video out cables too.

This is the main reason I got a PS3 over the 360. Every external component on the PS3 is just general stuff you can pick up from most decent hardware store so replacing things if they are faulty is easy and cheap.
Power cable? I have 3 of that since its also used in alot of modern TV's. Video and Audio outs? Standard cables too.
What about the Hard Drive? Pop off a small panel in the side and its a Sata 2.5 inch hard drive that can be easily replaced without voiding the warranty (I actually called Sony support myself to confirm that before I upgraded mine)

There is one cable that Ive found is fiddly. the charging cable for the official controllers. normal cables of the same connecter don't work but the old PSP charger/data cables of the same connecter do work to charge them.
Well, it has come to my attention that a lot of people are going through the same thing as me when it comes to Minecraft: They don't have an awesome computer that can handle it. I tried tons of times before to play it on the computer and it was just impossible.
Also, there's the people who can't afford to play on the PC (Kids? Teenagers, maybe?) and rather get it on the 360.

And yes, exactly my thoughts. when I expanded the HD for my PS3, I just bought it only really cheap. The AV cables are the same as the PS2 ones so you can reuse them. Controllers can be recharged and of course, you play online for free. The 360 has some cool features, like being able to chat whenever with your friends and updates are really fast and all, but the PS3 is way more affordable. And let's not even talk about the Wii.

So again, not a fair race.
 

carpathic

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Oct 5, 2009
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I have to say, pretty much everyone who is going to buy a console already has one. PS3 fanbois are not going to buy an xbox (and viceversa). I am not really surprised by this really, though I am amused at the guy who asked the question:
wooty said:
Wonder how many of those sold were bought solely to replace the ones that broke down and died?

I know that I've personally contributed to 3 of those sales over the years. Should of learned my lesson after number 2 really.
This always comes up in these threads. Seriously, send it off to microsoft when it breaks. They'll generally send you a new one for less than $100. Even off warranty.
 

BrotherRool

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Oct 31, 2008
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Sigh, I've actually given up on hoping for accurate reporting on MS press releases with the Escapist. This post is like the culmination of all the mistakes in all the previous ones
 

Souplex

Souplex Killsplosion Awesomegasm
Jul 29, 2008
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It's called peak market saturation.
The 360 has been out for over six years, by now most people have one, and they don't need a second.
When you're 47% of the gaming market, there aren't going to be many people left who don't own your product.