14 DAY TRIAL // An analyst watching the video game industry has said that global sales of the PlayStation 3 home gaming consoles from Sony will surpass those of the Xbox 360 from Microsoft during next year mainly because it has more diversity and can better suit the needs of the global markets.
David Cols, who works with DFC Intelligence, has told Industry Gamers that “We have been forecasting for the past three years that the PS3 would catch up to the 360 by 2011. I think the big issue is that the 360 has been primarily the platform for FPS games and has lacked the diversity to appeal to a broader international market… mainly Japan and Europe where Sony is very strong. The Xbox 360 was just much stronger in North America than it was globally.”
The analyst recognized the fact that Microsoft is taking steps to broaden its appeal and become more attractive to those gaming in Japan and in Europe, but he added, “Going forward I don’t know if there is much they can do. They will try with the Kinect but I don’t see that working. I think the PS3 will soon pass the 360 for good.”
The gap between the Xbox 360 and the PS3 sits at about 3 million worldwide at the moment with the Microsoft made device reaping the benefits of being the first to actually hit the market.
At the moment the fight is one for second place as the Nintendo Wii is still the best selling hardware device of the current generation, riding the wave of popularity it has garnered from being the first to implement motion tracking controls and the boosts offered by experiences like Mario, Wii Fit and Zelda.
The launch of Kinect and Move might close the motion tracking gap and, with companies not talking about a new console generation, there seems to be plenty of time for the PlayStation 3 to overtake the Xbox 360 and even take aim at the Wii.