Console sales/discussion - Wii vs PS3/xbox

SheepBeast · 11 Dec 2011 at 14:57

Units sold (worldwide) of each console, grouped by generation:

PS1: 102million
Saturn: 10million
N64: 33million

Total: 145-150million, including low numbers of other consoles

PS2: 153million
Xbox: 25-30million (ish)
Dreamcast: 11million
Gamecube: 22million

Total: ~200million

PS3: 56million
Xbox 360: 58million
Wii: 90million

Total: 204million and counting

So Sony absolutely dominated with the PS1 and PS2, but then got kinda raped by the Wii. Even the 360 has a similar number of units sold to the PS3 - but look at the original xbox vs PS2, the PS2 sold way more. I don't really understand, why did the Playstation line drop in dominance so much? And more importantly why is the Wii so succesful? Of maybe ~20 people I know who have consoles, ~19 have xbox 360s, 1 has a PS3. 3 have Wiis, in addition to one of the other consoles. None of the Wii owners continued to play on it for more than about a month after buying it - they all went back to playing on their other console.

I know my circle of friends is only a small sample size, but I can't help feeling that maybe a lot of people buy Wiis, but only rarely use them because they're a bit of a gimmick. It'd be interesting to see figures listing the number of each console which is actually still in regular use. I bet the 360 and PS3 would probably come out on top.

So what do you guys reckon? Any of you own Wiis and actually use them? Anyone gonna buy a Wii 2? (or whatever the hell it's called)

And are you guys waiting eagerly for the next xbox or playstation, or will you wait and compare features and price before you judge which one to buy? Personally I'll probably get the xbox 720 or whatever they call it, just because my friends all seem to be xboxers.

Skillmister · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:00

It still amazes/confuses me how the Wii sold so many. My brother bought one, had it for around 6 months until i got an 360 then sold it and bought his own 360. It has to be down to the gimmick factor surely

I'm not sure why playstation dropped the ball. I'm the same, all but a couple of my friends have 360s, yet almost all had PS2s.

As for next consoles i'll probably do what i always do and buy it a year or so after release as i always seem to be going through a PC gaming phase when they do come out.

godinman · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:00

The N64 was soooo much better than the PS1, why wasn't it the best selling? GOD DAMN IT!!!!

Jay794 · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:02

The Wii is aimed at families thats why it sold more, that and all these gimmicky, healthy, excerisey gym peoples

"I can play games, stay inside AND get healthy"

SheepBeast · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:03

Skillmister said:
It still amazes/confuses me how the Wii sold so many. My brother bought one, had it for around 6 months until i got an 360 then sold it and bought his own 360. It has to be down to the gimmick factor surely

I'm not sure why playstation dropped the ball. I'm the same, all but a couple of my friends have 360s, yet almost all had PS2s.

As for next consoles i'll probably do what i always do and buy it a year or so after release as i always seem to be going through a PC gaming phase when they do come out.

Same. It's probably different for each region/country, but here in the UK it seems like the "standard" console among my friends was: PS1 -> PS2 -> Xbox 360.

:(Rhodri:) · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:03

Simple really, Sony were late to the market with the PS3 and had a rather lackluster launch lineup allowing Microsoft a substantial head-start on sales. With consoles this tends to snowball - if all your friends have 360's you're less likely to buy a PS3. As for the Wii, its a console aimed at everyone, as opposed to just gamers. It's cheaper and easier to use for most people, although I'd imagine its software sales are a far lower percentage than the other two due to its player-base.

Raymond Lin · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:04

Why the Wii sold so many.

1 - It was £150 vs £300 (for a long time)
2 - It was targeted at EVERYBODY, from ages of 3 to 100. (not your typical 15 to 35)
3 - It came with Wii Sports out of the box
4 - It has a novelty value of the wii-mote vs traditional joypad

I have not turned on my Wii for 2 years and actually boxed it back up last night whereas my 360 is still plugged in.

Glaucus · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:06

Wii is geared more towards socialising, kids, older people.
Games are more kiddy, frendily and interactive.
Significantly cheaper.
Interactive control, way before Xbox/wii offered the same.

Xbox/ps3 is more for the serious gamer thus limiting their market. As wii also does the gamer market.

Jay794 · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:06

Glaucus said:
Wii is geared more towards socialising, kids, older people.
Games are more kiddy, frendily and interactive.

Xbox/ps3 is more for the series gamer and these are limiting their market. As wii also does the gamer market.

this

RomanNose · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:08

Glaucus said:
Xbox/ps3 is more for the serious gamer thus limiting their market. As wii also does the gamer market.

Serious gamer?
Clearly you have never met a PC gamer like me who laughs when you call console gamers serious gamers

.
I have a 360 right next to me on the floor collecting dust, after a while I realised xbox live is such a rip off and went to pc gaming. Now I don't really game as I am a bit busy for it.

weringo · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:10

IIRC there's a wider gap between sales of 360s and PS3s in the UK compared to the rest of the world which is why it seems more people have 360s. I also imagine owners of PS3s are more likely to have it for its media capabilties rather than solely for gaming.

Glaucus · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:10

RomanNose said:
Serious gamer?
Clearly you have never met a PC gamer like me who laughs when you call console gamers serious gamers .

I just ignore their fanboysim.
And if mouse/keyboard wasn't so ingrained into me. I would have a console. Huge benefits with few downsides.
Younger generations aren't ingrained with keyboard/mouse, they're ingrained how to use a pad controller.

Raymond Lin · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:11

RomanNose said:
Serious gamer?
Clearly you have never met a PC gamer like me who laughs when you call console gamers serious gamers .
I have a 360 right next to me on the floor collecting dust, after a while I realised xbox live is such a rip off and went to pc gaming. Now I don't really game as I am a bit busy for it.

I don't see how you can call a 360 a "rip off" when it cost like £150 now, when i got mine years ago it was £200 in the shops.

How much is your graphic card and how long did that last?

iamtheoneneo · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:11

RomanNose said:
Serious gamer?
Clearly you have never met a PC gamer like me who laughs when you call console gamers serious gamers .
I have a 360 right next to me on the floor collecting dust, after a while I realised xbox live is such a rip off and went to pc gaming. Now I don't really game as I am a bit busy for it.

no you call that pc elitism....and thats totally different.

SheepBeast · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:12

Rhodri2311 said:
Simple really, Sony were late to the market with the PS3 and had a rather lackluster launch lineup allowing Microsoft a substantial head-start on sales. With consoles this tends to snowball - if all your friends have 360's you're less likely to buy a PS3. As for the Wii, its a console aimed at everyone, as opposed to just gamers. It's cheaper and easier to use for most people, although I'd imagine its software sales are a far lower percentage than the other two due to its player-base.

Yeah, you're right about the bad launch lineup. I got a PS3 near launch and it came with Resistance. Pretty mediocre game tbh. I just went back to playing my old PS2 games (gotta love some killzone 1 split screen) until new PS3 games came round the corner which interested me. Then I got the yellow light of death, and my bro and I decided to just get the 360 instead of trying to repair the PS3.

I suppose the high launch price of the PS3 hurt it too. Although it was awesome that you were getting a concole + blu ray player for less money than a standalone blu ray player cost. Shame no one cares about blu ray...

RomanNose · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:13

Raymond Lin said:
I don't see how you can call a 360 a "rip off" when it cost like £150 now, when i got mine years ago it was £200 in the shops.

How much is your graphic card and how long did that last?

"Xbox live" the actual thought about paying for a subscription for not that much made me switch over to PC gaming. My graphics card is about 18 months old and it was £200, I recycle pretty much all my components into other computers so I don't really loose out.
I have three computers from buying hardware over the last 5 years, all of them are doing some job around the house. I will probably decrease my upgrade cycles now.

Raymond Lin · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:13

SheepBeast said:
I suppose the high launch price of the PS3 hurt it too. Although it was awesome that you were getting a concole + blu ray player for less money than a standalone blu ray player cost. Shame no one cares about blu ray...

It was a way to get the format into more households, a tactic to win the BR v HD-DVD war.

Which it worked.

SheepBeast · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:13

Raymond Lin said:
I don't see how you can call a 360 a "rip off" when it cost like £150 now, when i got mine years ago it was £200 in the shops.

How much is your graphic card and how long did that last?

He's not calling the 360 itself a rip off, he's calling Xbox live subscription a rip off. Which I agree with, given it's free to play online of both PC and PS3.

Jay794 · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:13

RomanNose said:
Serious gamer?
Clearly you have never met a PC gamer like me who laughs when you call console gamers serious gamers .
I have a 360 right next to me on the floor collecting dust, after a while I realised xbox live is such a rip off and went to pc gaming. Now I don't really game as I am a bit busy for it.

I never understood why someone would pay a monthly subscription to play online, when PC's and PS3's don't charge.

PC Gamers = Serious gamers - Also agree

.Lethal · 11 Dec 2011 at 15:14

And what about game sales? I would think the wii would be last in that respect