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Jan 30 / Ozymandias

Analysis of Online Holiday Demand for Different Consoles

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Just saw this interesting post from Matt Pace of Compete, a company that specializes in collecting and analyzing online traffic metrics. The company collected data this holiday tracking US video game console demand, and the results are pretty interesting (if somewhat predictable).

I won’t quote the entire article – it’s worth a read. However, as anyone who has tried to find a Wii can attest, the platform has had significant demand, outstripping both the PS3 and the 360. The PS3′s launch was reasonably strong but quickly fizzled, with the PS3 and 360 running neck and neck toward the end of January. If that trend continues, it’s going to make it tough for the PS3 to catch up to the 360′s headstart.

Also of interest is their analysis of cross-shoppers, or people who were initially shopping for one platform who then sought out another (likely because the first choice wasn’t available). It’s clear that momentum shifted from the PS3 to the 360 for buyers of those two platforms. It’s also pretty obvious that the lower price point of the Wii seems to be appealing to a different audience, one who is less willing to consider shifting their purchase to a higher-priced platform.

More conclusions are available at the original post. Note that there is a typo in the URL (playstation is spelled wrong), so let me know if they fix it and the links in this post break.

Related posts:

  1. U.S. Video Game Console Online Shopping Demand
  2. New York Time’s Circuits Buying Guide for Consoles
  3. Xbox 360 Holiday Sales Spike
  4. Disc-free Future for Game Consoles?
  5. Rumored Improvements to the PS3 Online Experience

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  • http://www.corpnews.com Rasputin

    There’s a lot of typos on that site.

    That said, it’s not surprising to me at all that there’s a lot of Wii-screamers out there. I have a bunch of friends who never touched a console before the Wii. One or two have bought Zelda but most of them just play Wii Sports.

    I’m not going to trumpet "GIMMICK, GIMMICK" all over the place, but the pulse of my group is Wii60 and nothing about the PS3 at all.

  • Porktree

    Of the people I know, one bought a ps3, everyone else went wii.  Everyone already had a 360.  The guy that got the ps3 went in looking for a wii, and saw the pile of ps3′s and bought one of them instead. Oh, and with all this wii talk, Ozy, if you have room add my wii; 7294 7377 2464 9309

  • RomeoDude

    Right now, all the stores in my area are sold out of Wiis, and they all have a steady supply of 360′s, and noticeably a lot PS3s.  It’s good to know the 360 is competing with the PS3, considering there probably should be less hype, since it’s over a year old, and PS3 is pretty dominated by ‘fanboys’.  By the next generation, the 360/PS3 ‘fanboy base’ should be evened out, and there should be a fair start in terms of people getting the system for it’s capabilities and fun, rather than it’s brand.

  • Sean

    It’s true that if this demand pattern continues the PS3 will have a hard time keeping up with the 360, but this study is comparing a brand new console having maybe 2 decent games to a year-old console with several good games and a few blockbusters.  It’s not apples to apples; the fact that the PS3 with all its problems and poor video game selection is able to keep up with the 360 is GREAT news for Sony.  

  • Xraf

    Sean I think your post illistrates why Sony should be worried. If general perception says that a PS3 isn’t as good as a 360 right now, what will it take for PS3 to be seen as a better buy despite it’s more expensive price? MS won’t just stop releasing great game titles and let Sony catch up.

    I think in this generation of consoles Sony was put in a bad spot trying to support thier new HD choice in Blu-Ray. People I know base there console purchase on $$$ and what games they want to play. They don’t buy a console for the hardware they get in the console. That may change in the future but for now console gamers buy for games not hardware systems.

  • Aedrin

    "It’s not apples to apples; the fact that the PS3 with all its problems and poor video game selection is able to keep up with the 360 is GREAT news for Sony."

    So you’re saying that the Xbox was a great success? Considering it came into an existing market, and managed to do pretty good.

    Comparing the Wii and PS3 is perfectly fine though. Both released in the same month. Yet, the Wii is outselling the PS3 by large amounts. And if the supply would be there, the Wii would’ve probably done twice as good. I know most people I talk to that are into gaming would buy a Wii if they could. I only know one person who has a PS3, and they haven’t played it yet.

  • Andre is a ps3 basher

    The PS3 has become the best-selling Amazon product in the US (as of this moment, by the time people visit tomorrow it may have dropped):

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/bestsellers/videogames/ref=pd_ts_vg_nav/103-3301847-1494200

    It has seen the highest spike in game-related sales as well, with a 5,000% increase in sales for the 20GB version and 15,000% for the 60GB version:

    http://www.amazon.com/gp/movers-and-shakers/videogames/ref=pd_ts_mte/103-3301847-1494200

  • http://forums.xbox.com/1/10045288/ShowPost.aspx#10045288 Genger

    http://forums.xbox.com/1/10045288/ShowPost.aspx#10045288

    So I called support last night and AGAIN (third time now) they hadn’t sent out the shipping box.  I said, well, how about I send the system in myself?  The guy said that’d be fine, but I’d have to call back in 15 minutes because they had to delete the previous reference # and start up a new one (yeah-nice lame policy).  

    I called back a couple of hours later and this time the agent told me there was a "hang-up" in deleting the previous reference #.   He said I’d have to call back in 2-5 days to try again.  

    At least point I was a little pissed, so I spoke with a supervisor who said something like the reference repair # gets put in a queue, and it takes time to get it out (sure whatever lady).  Now, I’m at the point where I can’t get a box shipped to me because of trying to delete the old ref #, and I can’t even get her to let me ship it to her, because now there’s not a proper reference # associated with the serial # on my xbox and she wouldn’t want it to get lost.  She said that I’d have to call back in 5-7 business days.  I asked her if there’s any way that I could do this in such a way so that I don’t have to call the support line again.  She said, get this, that because it’s my console, it’s technically my responsibility.  I couldn’t even believe it.  I could barely contain myself from freaking out.

    Broken Console + Warranty = The consumer’s responsibility. Remember that kiddies.

    Unbelievable.  So I finally got her to take down my cell # so someone could call me in the 5-7 business days that it takes to remove a goddamned reference # from my xbox’s file.  I don’t expect a call whatsoever.

    Whatever.  I’m at the point where I’d rather just buy a whole new one since Xbox can’t even figure out how to ship a box out to me after talking to 6 different people.

    I’d toss my 360 off the roof if the PS3 didn’t suck so bad. I’d just go buy one of those instead…

  • 10s

    Genger: good luck with microsoft customer service.

    THERE RE THE WORST!!!!

    I ve been through this to…actually 3 time now. cause it seen every console microsoft send me broke within a months…

    I ve ended up buy a wii so i have something to play wile my 360 is on repair.

  • Trellium

    Posts still not showing up.