No demand at street level whatsoever.

Put crudely, if consumers have a choice between Sony's shiney black box or one of its competitors AND being able to pay the mortgage - they'll pick the latter.

Looks like the curse of the dreaded third console blues strikes again.

I think Sony may have timed the recoup of a $300 billion investment slightly wrong.

Though Sony are expecting not only be able to meet 80-90% of the demand for the ps3 and psp this christmas; why would you cut the price unless you're afraid of having stock left on the shelves at the bussiest time of year

Sorry about the typo - should read:

Though Sony are expecting to only be able

Would that be the same 80-90% of demand they were hoping to meet when they launched PS3 in the UK?

Leaving retail to cope with the millions of pounds worth of non-selling machines, forcing a retail driven price drop?

I don't think a cash strapped retail channel will fall for that a second time.

The PLAYSTATION 3 will beat the Xbox 360 this holiday because of hot exclusives like Resistance 2 LittleBigPlanet MotorStorm: Pacific Rift SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation plus the new enhanced Bioshock for PS3 with a lot of new content. Xbox only has Gears of War 2 which is basically the same and FABLE II and the terrible game call Banjo sorry but Microsoft should start making games before Sony destroys them more. This holiday is gonna be amazing for Sony's PLAYSTATION 3 just wait and see.

Batten hatches.

You the new larry then Ivan?

This 80-90% story is a joke.

Sony officials lied so many times in the past, you just have to remember the PS3 launch.

@ Sam

Any analyst seem to get everything right?

Strange that one day microsoft say they're selling 2:1 compared to ps3 then the 360 and ps3 take 42% and 40% respectively for fifa 09 - the 360's 3rd fast selling game. As ony loses money on consoles and make smoney on games they'll be very happy with that.

The wii and ds will rule this christmas simple as that.

a lower price would be nice but last year b4 august in 2007 80 gig was 600 USD now its 399 USD for a core 80 gig
thats alot better in over a year for being early in the projected "10 year life cycle" but thats why the wii is ahead casual gamers dont realy have the knowlege of or what any of the 3 systems have to offer all they realy see is the price honestly im sick of analysts lets just stop analyzing price drops and see whos the last one standing after atleast 5 years whats microsoft going to do after a year or 2 of cutting its price on the 360 give them away to stay ahead or will you have to buy new hardware?

Isn't that endemic of that particular title though?

I would suggest that if 360 sales are pipping PS3 on a title which is widely viewed as a SONY staple then things are worse for the machine than I first thought.

erm you guys... everyone knows Ivan_PSP is a fanboy, he's known all over the net, you been hiding under a rock? haha

every console needs some fanboys, they are the Jovi's Witness's of the gaming world!

Personaly I am with Ivan_PSP on this one, the line up and stuff coming to the ps3 this holiday season is pretty damn hot. Although i don't agree with him that the new "enhanced" bioshock is a good thing for the ps3, lol

Mog
Www.Mogcast.coM

@10

Unfortunatly you have hit the nail on the head but not in the way you intended. PS3 need to be winning as they have "tied" themselves to this 10 year plan.

The rate that Graphics tech on PC's is moving forwards (as that where all the chips originate) is alarming. If Microsoft release a new console 2010 it will with out a doubt blow this generation away - What will Sony do with the 10 year plan then, on a console that was already struggling against competition from Nintendo and Microsoft ???

I really dont know the answer I suppose having always favoured Sony all of this is just upsetting that they "seem" to be getting decission after decission wrong and rather than serging forward like they should be they are slowly going in reverse.

@Sam

"Sony officials lied so many times in the past, you just have to remember the PS3 launch"

Oh yes and microsoft are just a bunch of Angels, haha

Mog
Www.MogCast.coM

yea its not like microsoft didnt just have an employee
get fired for saying they knew about the failure rate

matter of fact didnt bill steal the idea for windows hahaha

Kids, I'm not getting into this "mine is better than yours" game.

All I'm saying is that there won't be a PS3 out of stock this year. Whatever Sony officials are telling us (they tried hard for the PS3 launch, and everybody laughed at the end).

@ 11

Well in the UK which is where those figure are from the 360 is about 1mil ahead of the ps3 with the ps3 having about 1.3 mil sales and the 360 about 2.1 so I would be more concerned from an MS stand point as the ps3 has plenty of time to drop the price over it's "10 year cycle".
The wii is the biggest selling home console but it's fifa sales were beaten by the 360, ps3 and ps2 and psp.

@ 13

If Sony is still losing money hand over fist on the ps3 spec then for MS to put a console out with a higher spec is surely going to cost them huge amounts or the price is been even higher than the ps3 launch price.
And take a look at the wii spec which is lower than the 360 and ps3 but at the moment is blowing them out of the water with sales.

Playstations have always been in there for the long haul; think about the catalogue the ps3 with have when it hits the mass market price point.

The ps2 did it the same way and it's sales almost exactly the same as the ps3's at the same point. The big difference is there wasn;t a wii around at the time of the ps2.

ok the people who developed uncharted say the ps3 is only using 40% power, they are not even using all of the 8 cel processors, but all this crap aside, its down to software, sonys line up is stronger, and i have alot of customers that are buying the ps3 as a 2nd console,just for Socom, Little big planet and resistance, also Siren, and they want Killzone 2 in the new year, they also will buy gears 2 and fable, but they want the best of both worlds, personally i have had alot of depsoits on ps3s from parents who want little big planet, and more and more kids want to play online for free, this is just what ive noticed, all consoles will sell well @ xmas, im sure there will be Nintendo shortages though, already koch is making it hard on the indies by only letting you buy ds bundles, im getting my ds hardware else where now

The only ppl laughing are the ms executives
that rushed the release of the 360 b4 the defects were ironed out and now have to cut thier prices to keep up
plus just a dvd player thats just last gen man.

thats very interesting, someone suggesting sonys 10 year plan is a bad thing, it its got the power and im sure it has, they do always go for the long game, and its true if MS want to launch a more powerful unit, they will indeed meet similar problems sony met with the ps3 launch, people think these companies have bottomless pockets they dont, business has to be profitable in the end, i wonder if there would even be a new Xbox

I bought a PS3 at launch and up until now I've not been that pleased with the line up! But listen up retail: I've been playing Little big planet BETA and can say that when word of mouth gets around that it will sell the PS3. The game is an inspiration and infinite hours of fun to be had for gamers of all ages!

ive got the beta and i couldnt believe it, i love it, and i really didnt think it would be my game, but playing it online with 4 play co-op is amazing, the game just jumps out at you, love this title, its going to be well worth the wait, if sony put enough marketing into this i think it will be their killer ap, and for all ages rather than shooters for just teenagers,

Strangely enough, Mr Analyst, the whole fate of this generation does not depend on this Christmas/holiday season. If sales dry up, Sony will have to cut the price in time for Easter '09.

yeah i agree if home is out soon and little big planet, these titles can really push the console sales,

i believe they will cut the price, but not until after xmas,
there will be bundles i think to increase sale, i can see a price cut b4 easter as already mentioned

Its embarassing, but you CANNOT speak about LittleBigPlanet without sounding like a fanboy. The title is utterly amazing and in itself, will sell countless Playstation 3's. It really IS as good as the hype.

@18

Your "console sales" in europe are wrong. Get your facts right.

Then post again.

I liked this site better before the forum trolls found it and started commenting on stories... complete with poor spelling and completely vacuous arguments based on insecurities and regurgitating their chosen console vendors’ spin.

no offence here at all, but i thought this was a trade site, for people in the business, retailers, suppliers and publishers, i think it should be a log in only site, and you must be varified by mcv.

You can buy a Xbox 360 for £99 at Sainsbury's right now or an PS3 for £399. They basically do the same thing barring blueray, that's a lot of money to buy something for the playstation brand or a blueray drive.. I think you can pickup a blueray drive for £49 for a PC now, if you really wanted it.

Post 30 what a load of bull, you know the fans are interested as well about what the retailers think, its interesting to hear someone else opinion in the industry who doesn't work for a publisher or developer, the indies don't have a big enough voice and this gives them one.

The only reason im buying a ps3 is for little big planet i havent been so excited about a game since final fantasy 12, does anyone know if the LBP bundle pack is coming to the UK last time i checked it just said Europe.

I couldn't care less about a price cut, i have an xbox im happy with it.

I have a blu ray player in my pc cost me £70 and a 4870X2 which kicks the crap out of graphics on my xbox and a ps3. Exclusives don't sell a console for me price does. There are so few exclusives these days it's not worth it. LBP, killzone (first was crap so don't know why peoples expectations are so high) resistance, are 3 games i might be interested in, but i don't think 3 games is worth £300.

So my point is, screw exclusives give me a cheaper console, Give me a PS3 without the Blu ray so its cheaper and i might be interested.

PS. Bought 2 high def films for my player refuse to spend an extra £10 on a dvd thats higher quality.

I think the funniest line in this entire 'debate', (if you can call it that?), was from Ivan_PSP:

"terrible game called Banjo"

Only a fanboy with absolutely no knowledge of the Banjo series could spout something so stupid. Hilarious.

Anyway, to business.

Wii and DS will undoubtably clean up again this christmas with Xbox 360 coming in second with it's fabulous price point, Gears of War 2, Fable 2, (both of which WILL sell by the bucket load), and PS3 not far behind with a far better line up of exclusive content than the previous year and a healthy share in top multi-format titles like Fallout 3, NFS: Undercover, FIFA 09, Saints Row 2 and so on.

The only problem is the PS3's price point. While good value for money when you weigh up what you get it looks incredibly expensive to the compulsive Christmas shopper when put next to both the 360 and the Wii.

As for LBP? Well, lets be honest, as good as it may be it's a nich title, (See Ico, We Love Katamari, Loco-Roco, SotC etc...), and I'm not convinced it's a system seller, not unless Sony get behind some outrageously huge marketing campaign that convinces it's audicence.

Good lord what a conversation!

@34 - I agree with you 100%.

Nintendo 1st, xbox 2nd PS3 3rd. As much as I love my PS3 I have to agree with you, the price for the xbox is an issue (for Sony). The PS3 offers the most 'bang for your buck' hands down, but at the end of the day, in this penny pinching world we live in, the xbox is at the right price (well I say right price, I mean cheapest).

I also agree with you on the games front. LBP is a classic Sony game, the examples you have given are spot on, great games sure, but niche. I've said from the start that this title won't shift units, kids want to play games, not make them (I say kids, I mean me).

What I don't agree on is the title of this topic. I highly doubt the PS3 will die anytime soon. PlayStation has a very healthy following and history, Sony won't 'do an xbox' and pull out of the market after 5 years. It will be the PlayStation 2's 10th birthday next year and its STILL selling, I think the PS3 will follow suit (well, maybe!).

Lee

I am not a fanboy but I don't see that this years PS3 lineup is all that spectacular outside of LBP, unless you already own a PS3.
I owned a PS2 and an Xbox and sat just bought an elite after debating what system to buy. Im normally a PC gamer, and Gears of War2, Fable 2, and Fallout3's exclusive DLC sounded better than any of the PS3 offerings.
Mark my words, Sony has completely hosed up this generation, and it's due to their ****iness.
And whats up with the blurry textures on the PS3 anyway, kind of a bad idea to halve the ram like that.
Oh well, hope the Ps4 does better, competition is a good thing.

Don't spill your kool-aid guys it'll be ok. Sony has a plan, they always have a plan, the plan is planned and is going exactly as planned. We're only using 10% of its potential power. Next year the games will be so amazing that you will orgasm immediately upon touching the controller...and that's only using 120 of its 600,000 "Hydro koptic marzel vanes", when developers figure out how to extract all the power from the "unalatterla phase detractors" it will be game over for the 360...just you wait an see!! oh! and LBP owns your mom in the face!

Meh, get over it, buy both and have the best of both worlds.

I will, when Sony drop the price, lol

@32: Post 30 what a load of bull, you know the fans are interested as well about what the retailers think, its interesting to hear someone else opinion in the industry who doesn't work for a publisher or developer, the indies don't have a big enough voice and this gives them one.

What? Video game fans shouldn't be allowed an opinion on this site. They have no actually understanding of how this industry works beyond the games they see on the shelves, and for some, the limited blinkered fanboy view they hold.

Indies, like myself, as well as the staff of all those indies, as well as Game and Gamestation are welcome too, so long as they call it on fact rather than biased opinion.

Anyway, a trade view (which is far more educated and relevant than some of the bull**** sprouted by some of the people above) is that this analyst is pretty close to the truth.

The fact is, at the moment, a lot of people who have been holding off on buying a PS3 are only just seeing the value in the console – but it has come at the wrong time.

Just wait till Christmas when parent's wallets and purses are stretched and they look for the cheapest options. Stock allowing, Wii will walk away with this Christmas, while 360 will undoubtably make up the the rest of the majority of sales.

Sony's tactic of artificially keeping the price of its console high by "upgrading" it will back fire with the people who buy the most consoles at Christmas being parents – and to the commenter who said Christmas sales don't matter: what? Christmas sales account for around 70% of all console sales, and 65% of game sales, so it's crucial.

Even if little Jonnie asks for a PS3, when his parents see it costs £279.99-£299.99 compared to £149.99 for the Wii and from £129.99 for the 360, little Jonnie isn't going to be getting a PS3; especially when you factor in little Jonnie wanting a game or two. The people with the money just don't have £300 to spend on games this Christmas.

Gas bills are going up. Electricity bills are going up. Fuel bills are going up. Food prices are still going up. All these will have a massive impact on disposable income, which is the crucial factor in games purchases, as well as DVD, electrical, music and other leisure purchases. All these will have a massive impact on the market. If you can't see it, then you probably live with your parents and don't pay for these things. If you don't, then you're in no position to comment, as you don't understand the full picture.

That's why I'm not buying in as much PS3 stock this Christmas. I'm not anticipating it moving; not because people don't want it, but because I think parents who have no brand loyality nor any sense of how consoles and game exclusivity works will simply be unwilling to spend that much money when the economy is as unstable as it is.

I think we should wait & see what TGS brings before we jump on any hysterical bandwaggons & predictions.

I see the 360 is now to get a Blu Ray Player - 6 months ago M$ were writing the format off & trumping digital dowloads.

Maybe Sony backed the winning horse from the beginning?

I think what will sell like hot cakes this Christmas season are calculators! As cheap as the 360 Arcade at £129 may appear it’s with the extras that Microsoft try to get you on.

Add on this, extra that, pay a subscription and pay for that content all on top of the £129 you paid for. A strategy and certainly something retail won’t be explaining to the consumer. Stand alone the 360 is better value than the PS3. But a year down the line when you want bigger hard disk, might actually want a BluRay player and the size of PS3 games increase you might find the PS3 in the long run would have been cheaper.

Don’t literally buy into a tactic that has almost destroyed our economy! BUY A CALCULATOR!

dunks..

"M$" Why use that? Christ some of you lot are really pathetic. Please go else where, soon as I see "M$" I know it's anti Microsoft, and more fanboy drivel.

And while your sentence was sensible, from thereafter it went terribly fanboyish.

I meant, "And while your first sentence was sensible". Apologies.

I think all this talk of blue ray hard drives etc kind of misses the point a bit, all that the majority of console buyers at christmas want is a console that plays games.

@45 I couldn't agree more.

I have all three of the consoles and also work in the industry. My Wii gets used when mates come over as by far it is the most fun, the 360 gets used for most of the games as it does everything the PS3 does but I don't have to wait forInstalling etc and the online play i.e. comms with other players is much better. The only thing I use my PS3 for is blueray movies and the occasional game like MGS4, other than that the PS3 just gathers dust.

Seriously I think there are a lot out there like me, who would have no loyalty to any particular brand or console they just want the one that plays the games the best. At present it is the 360 all hands down. (other than druken evenings with mates :-) when you can't beat the Wii )

Where are the titles in the Sony lineup to rival Gears 2, Halo 3, Lost oddesy, Fable 2. I personally see very little interest in titles like LBP as has been said abouve I is a niche title.

More to the point though......................When titles come along on both formats at the same price point, look pretty much identical on either console, What sways my decission ? DLC and how it all fits together. thats why i purchased games like GTA4 on the 360, extra DLC. Anything else thats online multi player I know the comms system works much better on the 360 with cross game invites, very easy to use chat system that allows you to continue doing other things while talking and sorting out what to play with mates etc. All of these still seem to still be missing from the PS3 all we have is a slow to load in game XMB, so why would go I go with a PS3 version of the game.

I have always said I still believe Sony have the superior machine but at the moment they need to pull their head out of the clouds and get back to earth with a bang and give the gamers what they want. Reduce the price to bring in line with the other consoles (Or at least closer to) and get things like x game invites, full voice comms etc working correctly. Otherwise with all of the above considered WHY would anyone realisticaly spend £300 on a PS3 when they can get a 360 up and running (even including a XBL sub - please lets not get into that arguement again XBL v PSN) for under £150. I know I for one even if I had the £300 would go for the 360 and purchase 4-5 games to go with it.

@ 45 and 46

You're missing the point of who buys consoles at Christmas. It's the people who couldn't care less about Blu-ray, online play or owning more than one console.

That's why the analyst said what he did and will be proved correct.

@ Brett Stocks

Thats what i said in my post (45) i was stating that the talk of blue ray and Hard drives that has occured in some of the previous posts is pretty irrelevant when it come to xmas shopping as most of the shoppers dont care about these things they just want a games console and not an all in one home entertainment kit. as has already been said the xbox will do well because it is cheap and the wii will do well because it is widely recognised by a larger demographic of people due to the fact that it has had so much more positive mainstream coverage than the other consoles.

now your a fan boy if you type M$ i cant believe it, and someone is a fanboy cause they think Banjo is crap, i think banjo is crap, i work @ gamestation and hardly any platform games sell on te 360, they only sell on ds, wii and ps2, good grief, you lot are idiots on here, i love all consoles but ps3 is gaining alot more sales, due to xmas exclussives, free online, blu ray player etc etc,
MS will need to bring out a new console long before PS4 that is a fact, it wont stop me playing both 360 and ps3, your all bloody fanboys deep down !!

@45/47 and 46:

Ah, my bad. Sorry, been a long day and I misread your posts.

well as for both consoles, i believe if sony do drop the price tag and make online better it would deffo outsell 360 n possibly catch up to the nintendo wii. i think that sony has its plans and they are putting the plans into action. ok playstation lost out on having tekken 6 as an exclusive, but they still have god of war iii which i think will be better than all xbox exclusives. if sony drop the price id imagine people will want ps3 more than 360.

Don't be stupid. The PS3 nor the 360 for that matter will ever catch up with the Wii. They might surpass where it is currently at, but they will never catch up with it.

@46

That's because your a fanboy, obviously.