Updated: PS3 Sales in Japan Drop Below 10,000 "Psychological" Threshold
Sony unlikely to hit target of shipping 11m consoles in 2007
The Financial Times reports recent figures from research firm Media Create as indicating that sales of PS3 on its home-turf in Japan have fallen below a weekly 10,000 benchmark "for nearly a month" - apparently this is "a psychological level".
However, analysts are suggesting Sony may not make its shipping target of 11-million consoles worldwide by the end of this year based on this set of data spanning a three-week period.
The actual figures for the last four audited weeks are as follows:
Weeks commencing
30/04/2007 - 12,974
07/05/2007 - 8,839
14/05/2007 - 8,659
21/05/2007 - 9,627
Carlos Dimas, an analyst at HSBC in Tokyo, said, "The 10,000 mark is a psychological level. It is due to the high price of the PS3 and a big dry-out in terms of software. Promising new titles will not be released until September or October."
Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst at KBC Securities, added, "Falling below 10,000 is a lot lower than I had expected. Smaller publishers and suppliers have also been dropping out of the PS3's supply chain because it takes up too much of their resources and they cannot provide for DS or the Wii."
Sony is currently not set to make any money on each PS3 sold until early 2008.
Sony just missed its stated target of 6m shipments PS3s in the last financial year ending 31st March 2007, having shipped 5.5m PS3s and sold around 3.6m units.
Nintendo’s Wii is currently outselling PS3 in Japan five-to-one. Nintendo has said it aims to double global Wii sales to 14 million by the end of this year.
Source: Financial Times
However, analysts are suggesting Sony may not make its shipping target of 11-million consoles worldwide by the end of this year based on this set of data spanning a three-week period.
The actual figures for the last four audited weeks are as follows:
Weeks commencing
30/04/2007 - 12,974
07/05/2007 - 8,839
14/05/2007 - 8,659
21/05/2007 - 9,627
Carlos Dimas, an analyst at HSBC in Tokyo, said, "The 10,000 mark is a psychological level. It is due to the high price of the PS3 and a big dry-out in terms of software. Promising new titles will not be released until September or October."
Hiroshi Kamide, an analyst at KBC Securities, added, "Falling below 10,000 is a lot lower than I had expected. Smaller publishers and suppliers have also been dropping out of the PS3's supply chain because it takes up too much of their resources and they cannot provide for DS or the Wii."
Sony is currently not set to make any money on each PS3 sold until early 2008.
Sony just missed its stated target of 6m shipments PS3s in the last financial year ending 31st March 2007, having shipped 5.5m PS3s and sold around 3.6m units.
Nintendo’s Wii is currently outselling PS3 in Japan five-to-one. Nintendo has said it aims to double global Wii sales to 14 million by the end of this year.
Source: Financial Times
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Comments
Joji 6 Jun 2007 10:38
1/9
The plot thickens more than mud, as the rainstorm continues. That's too bad. Is PS3 is more or less done or is this just the tailwind of post launch games drought? Should be interesting to see if and how they recover from this one, if ever.
tyrion 6 Jun 2007 12:03
2/9
Please Note: The story has been updated - this is a weekly figure threshold not a monthly one.
Still not going to hit their targets without a severe speed up in sales, but not as bad as fewer than 10K per month.
Still not going to hit their targets without a severe speed up in sales, but not as bad as fewer than 10K per month.
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oldest gamer 6 Jun 2007 12:13
3/9
With the PS3 seeing is believing. A year from now we'll see games that can only be coded on the PS3. It is almost twice the power of the 360 so this inevitable. Once developers get beyond the m$ hype and get some time with the PS3, PS3 gamers will truly start to see next gen games mature beyond anything the 360 can deliver. Welcome to the cusp of next gen gaming.
The Lummox 6 Jun 2007 12:40
4/9
oldest gamer wrote:
With the PS3 seeing is believing. A year from now we'll see games that can only be coded on the PS3. It is almost twice the power of the 360 so this inevitable. Once developers get beyond the m$ hype and get some time with the PS3, PS3 gamers will truly start to see next gen games mature beyond anything the 360 can deliver. Welcome to the cusp of next gen gaming.
In the current market having a more powerful console counts for nothing. Look at the performance of the PSP compared to the DS. The PSP is vastly more powerful than the DS, and has been given plenty of support, but is still failing to make a significant dent on Nintendo's market share for handheld gaming.
To be honest, given the way the market is going in terms of the expansion of the demographic of target gaming audiences, the DS/PSP comparison is a solid indicator of how the Wii will perfrom against the PS3 and 360 in the next couple of years, as the hardware and software sales figures in all territories are already showing. And as for the 360 vs PS3, at present I can't see many people getting a PS3 if they've already got a 360, and also can't see that many choosing PS3 over 360 if they have neither, due to the 360's better price and library of games, coupled with the fact that Sony have lost the monopoly on exclusives they once had.
Don't get me wrong, I don't want Sony to fail, I just think their time as the market leader is over.
DoctorDee 6 Jun 2007 12:40
5/9
Joji wrote:
The plot thickens more than mud, as the rainstorm continues. That's too bad. Is PS3 is more or less done or is this just the tailwind of post launch games drought? Should be interesting to see if and how they recover from this one, if ever.
It's a tough time for Sony. The unit is expensive and there are not enough killer games to convince people to stump up the cash. Even peoplwho are interested are waiting for the price drop that they see as inevitable.
With a price drop and some awesome games, they could still save the day. But it'll take both!
Having said that... games for the Wii are proving pretty disappointing right now. And Nintendo is just not getting units on the shelves fast enough to meet initial demand. But while it's cheap and great, unless that gets some good titles, I think it'll be in the way down by this time next year.
OptimusP 6 Jun 2007 13:02
6/9
It's all true. I am having a blast with Mario Strikers and waiting for RE4Wii (didn't buy the GC-one) but untill the end of the year with their big three (big four in my case, Battallion Wars 2 just seems and sounds so good) there isn't much out there.
So you can see that Ninty is really aiming for the end of this year to make the extra push against the X360 and PS3 with their big three (four in my case). Also, Ninty has the advantage of easier and faster development plus (japanese) third parties are shifting their focus more and more on the Wii which it's impact will be duely felt next year (Mario Kart Wii seems a high possibility!).
Then again also the X360 line-up looks smashing, from a X360-standpoint, but i don't see that console selling more then 30-35 million units. At the end of this year it's sales-structure is set and having Halo 3 then will set it straight in the same spot as the Xbox. Offcourse, i'm looking at it very structural and can be very mistaken.
I like this generation, no set winner has been decided. Makes for lovely drama and excitement.
So you can see that Ninty is really aiming for the end of this year to make the extra push against the X360 and PS3 with their big three (four in my case). Also, Ninty has the advantage of easier and faster development plus (japanese) third parties are shifting their focus more and more on the Wii which it's impact will be duely felt next year (Mario Kart Wii seems a high possibility!).
Then again also the X360 line-up looks smashing, from a X360-standpoint, but i don't see that console selling more then 30-35 million units. At the end of this year it's sales-structure is set and having Halo 3 then will set it straight in the same spot as the Xbox. Offcourse, i'm looking at it very structural and can be very mistaken.
I like this generation, no set winner has been decided. Makes for lovely drama and excitement.
Ethan 6 Jun 2007 13:20
7/9
Ps3 goes to bar, starts drinking with xbox. Wife has to bring up PSP on her own. Xbox doesn't have kids, he was too busy trying to please everybody by spending his cash on everybody. But he couldn't make it with the Asians. He was too white (and he had a massive power brick).
Johnny Come Lately 7 Jun 2007 20:41
8/9
Nothing wrong with having a "massive power brick." :-)
Jonathon Lombard 17 Jun 2007 19:11
9/9
-without imagination, genuine quality or motivation .