Console war for Xmas (PS3)

[Elandyll]

I find the estimated numbers of PS3 sales encouraging

Translation of the following:
http://www.france24.com/france24Publ...51658.ahtfc2k8

Shaken by the Nintendo Wii and its successful bet to open video games to new users, Sony counts on the Holidays to play catch up and beef up its console, the Playstation 3, while facing its most direct competition, the Microsoft Xbox 360.

This is the first time that the three consoles will fight on the entire world market at the Xmas period: The PS3 was only released in Europe in March, 4 months after the Wii, while the Xbox 360 started the new Gen consoles at the end of 2005.

The stake is huge for the companies in this sector that make between 40 and 50% of their sales in November and December.

After a difficult start -delayed launch, price considered too high (599euros)- Sony has again good morale. The important drop in price, anounced this last few months, gave a serious jolt to its machine, certifies the Japanese Group, who anticipates to have sold 16.5 Million units by the end of March 2008.

Will it be able to restore its leadership on the console market, started in 1994 with the Playstation and then PS2, who seduced for each of them more than 100 million players?

To this day, the Wii, that separates itself from its competition by its remote control duplicating on the screen tthe movements of the player, outclasses its competitors.

With 13.3 million consoles at the end of September, it just passed the Xbox 360 that sold about 13 million units, against 5.6 millions for the PS3, according to the console makers.

Two strategies in opposition: On one hand a familly oriented console, accessible to all and at an affordable price (249 euros), on the other hand, very powerful consoles with high definition graphics, destined mostly to seasoned gamers.

"Ending up last in the Technology race", with the relative failure of its precedent console, the GameCube, Nintendo "decided to rethink the experience of games and gave a swift kick in the ant nest", analyses Laurent Michaud of the Insitute of Audiovisual and Telecoms in Europe (Idate).

A winning strategy for the Japanese veteran, specialist of portable consoles, and a new angle "healthy for the industry".

"The widening of the targets of video games toward a beginner public is at the origin of a more dynamic market", adds Stephan Bole, head of Nintendo France.

For the game publishers who had anticipated the Wii Wave, it's the Jackpot: Ubisoft is one of them. Its CEO, Yves Guillemot, had understood that "at its starting price, the PS3 was too expensive to be able to sell well". Others, like the world leader Electronic Arts, had to revise their strategy.

The Wii "has taken a considerable advance, but Sony has not said its last word", advises Mr Michaud: "Everything will be played during the Xmas period".

Microsoft, arrived on this market in 2001, considers it took the leadership and is ready to show off the big game for the end of the year.

"Sony was able to become more competitve in October", admits Francois Ruault, director of the Consumer Electronics division of the American Giant in France, "but we are re-engaging hostilities with an agressive starter price (279 euros) and a catalogue of games three times larger".

Same dynamic speech with the competitor: despite a "very competitive market in the United States, we will catch up to the Xbox very rapidly", estimates Georges Fornay, president of Sony Computer Entertainement France, without "sacrificing the older generation": 12 million PS2 units will still be sold this year.