PS4 made history - #1 selling launch

[MrNathanDrake]

http://blog.us.playstation.com/2013/...-made-history/

PlayStation 4 | World's Largest Console Launch Ever - YouTube

It’s now clear that the launch of PS4 is one for the record books. This afternoon we learned from market research firm NPD Group that PS4 was the top-selling console for November and PlayStation was #1 in sales overall for home consoles. This news comes on the heels of yesterday’s confirmation that the PS4 launch is the biggest ever in the history of game consoles. Ever! And it’s all thanks to you.

Real stats: The PS4 sold 1 million in the U.S. in its first weekend. Xbox One didn't even manage 1 million in the U.S. in its first week
— Mike Rose (@RaveofRavendale) December 12, 2013

[GeneD5]

Deservedly so.

[Terjyn]

The Mike Rose statement is just silly.

Yes, the PS4 sold more in the US.

But what does that mean when both consoles are supply constrained?

Practically nothing. If Microsoft had pushed 1.5 million consoles to the US they probably would have sold them. Does that mean Sony suddenly failed?

To be fair, Major Nelson's spin is just as silly.

[Zivouhr]

1 million is a nice accomplishment, though as suggested above, by limiting the supply much like Nintendo did with the hard to find Wii from years ago, it created a marketing spike where potential buyers saw and heard the system was hard to find, and then went out to try to get one of the rare systems on the market, increasing demand by decreasing supply; along with good marketing about new features.

Now that both systems (PS4 and XB1) are hard to find before Christmas, it'll help increase anticipation to buy more systems once they roll them out of the factories.

Or is that off the mark?

It can be argued that the console's features make a bigger difference.

[LegacyCosts]

Originally Posted by Zivouhr

1 million is a nice accomplishment, though as suggested above, by limiting the supply much like Nintendo did with the hard to find Wii from years ago, it created a marketing spike where potential buyers saw and heard the system was hard to find, and then went out to try to get one of the rare systems on the market, increasing demand by decreasing supply; along with good marketing about new features.

Now that both systems (PS4 and XB1) are hard to find before Christmas, it'll help increase anticipation to buy more systems once they roll them out of the factories.

Or is that off the mark?

It can be argued that the console's features make a bigger difference.

I think your spot on. Simple human psychology. Knowing its difficult to obtain makes me want one more. Being a beautiful system and affordable doesnt hurt either.

[Zivouhr]

Originally Posted by LegacyCosts

I think your spot on. Simple human psychology. Knowing its difficult to obtain makes me want one more. Being a beautiful system and affordable doesnt hurt either.

Good point about psychology. The price and advanced graphics and games of the future (that can also be played offline) were great motivators for getting a PS4.

I heard Best Buy gets some PS4's in at the stores every week or so, but only a handful. Before they opened at 10AM, a friend went to their door, and they opened it asking if he was there for a PS4; they gave him a reservation ticket for purchasing it, then when the store opened, he was able to buy one of the few they had. I don't know how he figured that one out, but it worked.

[bluearth]

PS4 is poised for PS2 like domination.

Both Nintendo and Microsoft shot themselves in the foot with overpriced and underpowered systems.

PS4 is the clear favorite. I think it will sell 80m units in 5 years and 100m before its all said and done. It took the PS3 7 years to sell 80m.

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

The Mike Rose statement is just silly.

Yes, the PS4 sold more in the US.

But what does that mean when both consoles are supply constrained?

Practically nothing. If Microsoft had pushed 1.5 million consoles to the US they probably would have sold them. Does that mean Sony suddenly failed?

To be fair, Major Nelson's spin is just as silly.

Major Nelson's comment is far more silly.

Dividing the launch sales over a shorter period of time in November to say that you are the "fastest selling console in November" is borderline idiotic, when the vast majority of your sales at launch are done in the first 48h.

If we push his logic, the XB1 did 101.000 sales in 24h when the PS4 did 1m.
Completely stupid PR spin...

As per what the numbers mean, not all that much for now.
It was all about supply, and still is. Sony has now a tougher job to keep the markets supplied, as they are in 32 markets, and soon more than 40.

The one thing that is telling is how fast the PS4s are selling when available, but it will only be translating into a (possibly) size-able advantage when supply is not so much constrained.

[Icemage]

I think the interesting point to watch is at what point each system is no longer supply-constrained.

We know the Wii U had a tremendous launch as well, but stopped being supply-constrained shortly after Christmas.

Xbox One and PS4 are still supply constrained in North America despite some hefty follow-up shipments.

PS4 is definitely supply constrained throughout Europe and Aus/NZ.

There are sporadic reports of Xbox One being widely available in Australia and New Zealand, but XB1 appears more or less sold out in the UK.

The only country I've seen confirmation of no supply constraints is Spain for Xbox One. Multiple reports of XB1 sitting unsold on shelves in Spain (unsurprising, as Spain is probably Sony's biggest stronghold in the world, where the PS3 actually managed to outsell even the Wii, and totally wiped the floor with the Xbox 360).

[-RONIN-]

Icemage, there are many countries where the PS4 is king, not just in Spain. The fact that PS4 was able to take an early lead in North America tells me the PS4 is in good shape to be the dominant console this gen even when supply is no longer limited. NA has always been Xbox territory so if M$ has lost that location, or even been equaled, they are seriously up against it if they want to be the system sales leader. Sure, the Xbox will probably go on to break their own sales records, but I believe the PS4 will be even better with overall sales. Heck, they haven't even released the PS4 in Japan yet and that entire country is ALL PS4. I don't even think they sell Xbox in the stores over there anymore as they never sell.

[Blu-Generation]

Originally Posted by -RONIN-

Heck, they haven't even released the PS4 in Japan yet and that entire country is ALL PS4. I don't even think they sell Xbox in the stores over there anymore as they never sell.

There is no question that the PS4 will go on to do great everywhere, but I don't think Japan will add much for overall sales. I mean, yes having Japan is great, but as of late, Japan is more into portable, more so than home console. That said, having Japan will still be of help never the less.

In any case, what's up with the PS4 Launch edition being remove from Amazon best sales of the year chart? Like it didn't even exist.

[Icemage]

Originally Posted by -RONIN-

Icemage, there are many countries where the PS4 is king, not just in Spain.

I point at Spain specifically because it's one of the 13 Xbox One launch countries, and one of the very few territories in the world where Sony holds a larger market share than either Microsoft or Nintendo.

You're of course correct that the PS4 is basically leading the Xbox One in literally every launch country with perhaps the exception of Brazil (because the PS4 costs a hilarious amount of money there: $1,845 after taxes).

The fact that PS4 was able to take an early lead in North America tells me the PS4 is in good shape to be the dominant console this gen even when supply is no longer limited. NA has always been Xbox territory so if M$ has lost that location, or even been equaled, they are seriously up against it if they want to be the system sales leader. Sure, the Xbox will probably go on to break their own sales records, but I believe the PS4 will be even better with overall sales.

I think the story in North America has yet to unfold. Microsoft is trying very hard to hold onto USA/Canada, shifting quite a lot of hardware supply to NA at the expense of other countries where the demand for Xbox One is much cooler (i.e. most of non-UK Europe).

If Microsoft holds on anywhere to at least parity, it will be in the USA, where they have the benefit of a robust Xbox Live service + NFL deals that no other country cares about. Mainland Europe is a lost cause for Xbox One at this point; PS4 is going to decimate the Xbox One everywhere in EU, and even the UK looks like it will trend at least 3:2 if not more in favor of PS4.

Where Microsoft could run into trouble is if they run out of hardcore buyers and don't pick up any additional mindshare beyond the core faithful Xbox fans. Right now, the "middle ground" people who have no specific allegiance or preference are leaning heavily to PS4. Having literally every multiplatform game perform better on PS4 is going to be a big problem for Microsoft moving forward on this, because the "persuadable" consumers are going to lean toward the platform that gives them the best value for their money, both in purchase price and quality of software.

Heck, they haven't even released the PS4 in Japan yet and that entire country is ALL PS4. I don't even think they sell Xbox in the stores over there anymore as they never sell.

As a market Japan isn't very pertinent in terms of home consoles any more, but the reason Japan is important is because it heavily influences how Japanese developers trend. In generation 7, Microsoft grabbed a toe-hold on Japanese development by getting out ahead of the PS3 and inking a lot of exclusive deals with Japanese developers. This time around, we're hearing very little about anything of that nature, and the Xbox One is going to be very late to the party in Japan.

Seeing as how many Japanese developers still favor software that appeals to their home territory, this could end up being a problem for Microsoft. A lot of influential developers are based out of Japan (Capcom, Konami, Square-Enix, Namco-Bandai, Koei-Tecmo), and if they choose to develop games that favor the Japanese market, it's extremely likely we'll see a repeat situation from what happened at the end of the 360/PS3 era, where core Japanese franchises started skipping the Xbox 360 for lack of a market. See: Ni No Kuni, Tales of Graces/Xillia, Persona 5, Ace Combat Infinity, Final Fantasy XIV Online, etc.

[bhampton]

I'm amazed because most things considered I still think PS3 is the better system. PS3 for the moment has better games, more capabilities, 3d blu ray playback, cheaper controllers, a remote, free multiplayer, media playback abilities,....

If they add all kinds of stuff they left off the PS4 then it could be much bigger still.

I'm glad is m$ loses big and leaves next gen. I believe they have been given far too much money for inferior products over many years so anything that bucks that tread is actually "right" in my view.

[Blu Lemmy]

And yet you seem to be ignoring the main point, the much better looking games?

Don't get me wrong, I want all those things you listed above and a few extra, but in terms of gaming, I couldn't be happier

[bhampton]

I've only really seen and played FiFA which was freakin beautiful so yeah,... I want a PS4 too..... but, they can add so much and I hope they do.

I'm very glad Tomb Raider is going to PS4... for when I do eventually own one.

-BRian

[Terjyn]

Unofficial sources on Neogaf reporting ~1.138 million PS4s sold in November.

[keb33509]

Originally Posted by Terjyn

Unofficial sources on Neogaf reporting ~1.138 million PS4s sold in November.

Glad you said unofficial because it sold more than that in all of November.

[Elandyll]

Originally Posted by keb33509

Glad you said unofficial because it sold more than that in all of November.

Do you have a source?

We are talking NPD (US only, not NA) numbers.

The official number for XB1 (as per Major Nelson) is 909.000 in November, and the Insider Famousmortimer (who supposesly knows people at Sony) said that the PS4 did 200k more than that in November, due to supply constraint (basically 1m at launch in 24h in US, and only around 100k more in the next two weeks due to low availability, as they were preparing for the EU launch).



This (from a Gamasutra editor, in response to the Major Nelson BS) would tend to confirm it, and given the low availability, the tough fight might continue in December as MS continues to focus on US/ UK for supply, while Sony has to provide to more than 40 markets (more than 50 soon enough). Also according to Mortimer, Sony is about to drop 500k units for the Asia launch.


This is very interesting for the future of 3rd parties though

AC4
XB1 - 30.95%
PS4 - 69.05%

NFS:R
XB1 - 16.71%
PS4 - 48.42%
360 - 17.77%
PS3 - 17.11%

NFL
XB1 - 40.12%
PS4 - 59.88%

2K14
XB1 - 34.84%
PS4 - 65.16%

FIFA 14
XB1 - 35.43%
PS4 - 64.57%

NBA 14 Live
XB1 - 43.40%
PS4 - 56.60%

Looks like people who did buy a XB1 did it for the exclusives (KZ:SF is still the #1 exclusive over November), or for COD/ BF4 (I do not have the split for these) I guess.

[Terjyn]

I only put "unofficial" because it wasn't straight from Sony's mouth, but it was from someone who's been known to have the actual numbers.

[keb33509]

@Elandyll - I don't need a source because he never stated US only. He said 1.138 million sold in November as a statement. He didn't differentiate between the number by country.