Though the retail economy suffered what appears to be one of the bleakest holiday seasons in recent memory, it looks as though the video games industry bucked that disastrous trend.
That's one conclusion that can be drawn from holiday Xbox 360 sales numbers released by Microsoft Monday, in which the company reported that its console business had the most successful holiday season in its history.
All told, Aaron Greenberg, director of product management for Xbox 360, said, Microsoft boosted the Xbox's worldwide sales lead over Sony's PlayStation 3 to 8 million units, explaining that, based on internal data, the Xbox has now sold 28 million units globally, compared to the PS3's 20 million.
Microsoft said its holiday data came from internal sales numbers, as well as weekly sales data available in some regions, like Europe, as well as past years in which December console sales are typically twice that of November, which in turn are typically twice that of October.
In November, Microsoft sold 836,000 Xboxes in the United States, suggesting that if Greenberg is right, the company moved about 1.67 million of the consoles in December.
No official North American video game sales numbers are available yet for December. They are expected to be release on January 15 by industry analyst, the NPD Group.
To be sure, it can be confusing comparing North American sales numbers to global figures, especially when the numbers are simultaneously based on different kinds of sources.
But there does appear to be ample evidence that the video games industry is proving more resilient to the economic crisis, if not outright recession-proof, than other industries, and data provided by Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo seem to be at the heart of it.
Nintendo, for example, sold 2.04 million Wiis in November, and while reports of shortages of the console seem less prevalent than in 2007, it is likely it did extremely well during the holidays. While non-scientific, of course, if Greenberg's formula is correct, Nintendo would have sold about 4 million Wiis in December.
For its part, Sony said recently that sales of the PlaySation 3 between January 1, 2008 and November 30, 2008 were up 60 percent from the same period a year earlier, though the company has not yet released any kind of figures for December.
"We've had a solid holiday season and have delivered consistent growth throughout this year. Two thousand eight was a pivotal year for PlayStation with the best software line up in the industry, a dramatic expansion of PlayStation Network including the launches of the video delivery service and the beta of the PlayStation Home," said Ian Jackson, vice president of sales for Sony Computer Entertainment America, in a statement. "Early internal data points to an increase of more than 130 percent of PS3 hardware sales for the holiday season--since Black Friday--and we're also seeing a growth of nearly 40 percent in total PS3 hardware sales for the calendar year. We remain confident this momentum will continue into the new year."
More to come.
This article was first published as a blog post on CNET News.com.
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Gaming console brings consolation
I suppose people are willing to buy gaming box as they provide loads of entertainment value for investment. Against the bleak reality and losing economic outlook,
1. they can can seek solace and 'consolation' by playing and has a chance to 'win' by playing games in virtual reality.
2. They can save hundreds of dollars by staying put at home playing games as against going out shopping and going for holidays.
3. They can channel their frustration by playing games in the virtual world
4. Momentary escape the problem they face in work/life
5. Even if they lose their job, they still can continue to have some fun.
Posted by Kenny Turns on Tuesday, January 06 2009 03:59 PM