Both the big console makers claim retail dominance... We go behind the spin on 2011's gaming retail figures.
Gosh, I love it when the NDP retail gaming numbers come in. Not only do we get a snapshot of the health of our industry, but I also get to imagine the rushed and most likely breathless scurrying from the two big console makers to claims market dominance and all-round gaming kudos.
And this year - or, more accurately, last year - has been no different.
To get an idea what I mean, here's the titles of the press releases we received from Sony and Microsoft this morning.
"PlayStation 3 leads Australian console sales in 2011"
"Xbox 360 bucks industry trend"
At first read, it seems a simple matter to guess that Sony's PS3 is on top, and that while the Xbox is doing well, there's nothing much to crow about other than being better than most in a bad economic time.
Sony should be happy, too. The PS3, as a total platform (this includes software and peripherals, by the way), enjoyed a sales increase over last year of 24.85%. Further, the biggest game release of last year, Modern Warfare 3, sold the best on PS3. There is now a total of 1.5 million PS3 is households around Australia. It's worth pointing out though that Sony will often giveaway PS3 units as part of television deals.
However, it's interesting to look at what's not being said, and the one thing that Sony doesn't mention is the money it's made on the PS3, except to mention it's enjoyed revenue growth on the PlayStation Network.
Microsoft, on the other hand, is only talking about money. The 'industry trend' it's referring to is revenue growth, and the Xbox has bucked that trend to the tune of 5% growth. In other words, Microsoft made more money this year than it did last year. And, again, look at what's not being said - not a word about actual sales, or its install-base. But then, if you're making money, do you really care about pushing more units?
It's a tough race out there at the moment, but if we had to pick a winner, just on this info alone, we'd say it's Microsoft's horse.
Issue: 137 | June, 2012