IndustryGamers - Informing the Games Industry

PS3 In Third Place 'Not A Terrible Spot,' says Analyst

Posted December 1, 2011 by James Brightman

PS3 sales for the Black Friday period are still unknown, but both Microsoft and Nintendo posted record sales for their respective consoles. The Xbox 360 sold 960K units for the week, while Wii had its best Black Friday ever with 500K sold. But who will come out on top this holiday season? For Jesse Divnich of EEDAR, it's going to be either Xbox 360 or Wii, while PS3 should finish third, which isn't so bad "because unlike previous generations, I don't believe third place is a terrible spot."

"Given the transition we are seeing to the HD consoles, Microsoft and Sony will likely both walk away with smiles this holiday season," Divnich told IndustryGamers.

Microsoft might end up the big winner, however, if the insane reactions by some aggressive customers at big box retailers is any indication. "I believe once someone starts pepper spraying a crowd of people to obtain an Xbox 360, you know you're a must have holiday item," remarked Divnich.

"The big question is, who will come out on top in November and December, the Nintendo Wii or the Xbox 360?" Divnich added.

The one advantage that Nintendo has for this holiday season, though, is it's the only one selling a new portable, and 3DS has bounced back nicely.

"Nintendo's recent success with Mario 3DS is illuminating for the console manufacturer.  Going into Black Friday Weekend, I was most concerned for the Nintendo 3DS since their recent price drop gave them little wiggle room on margins to drive any doorbuster promotions. Given recent commentary from Reggie Fils-Aime, it looks like the lack of deep promotions didn't hinder 3DS sales," Divnich said.

Even with recent holiday sales surging, Divnich did caution that for the industry as a whole, 2011 will most likely be down again. "We really need to be realistic about holiday expectations.  We are going into the 2011 holiday season down single digits in the physical markets and we'd be crazy to think the spirit of the holiday season will lift us to positive comps for the year."

James Brightman has been covering the games industry since 2003 and has been an avid gamer ever since the days of Atari and Intellivision. He was previously the EIC of GameDaily Biz.