I have absolutely nothing against Xbox 360 Group product manager Aaron Greenberg — I’m sure his spin jobs do Microsoft proud, and I even agreed with most of his recent critique against the PS3. But the man leaves himself wide open. Today, an AP article [via Forbes] quotes him proclaiming an Xbox 360 victory based on little more than their current, notably minor U.S. sales lead:
Microsoft is calling the milestone a crucial one. Judging by previous generations of gaming systems, “the first console to hit 10 million wins,” said Aaron Greenberg, director of product management at Xbox 360 and Xbox Live. Launching a year earlier, he added, “was part of our strategy.”
“The first console to hit 10 million wins,” eh? That’s all well and good — in fact, it’s very similar to the language in Microsoft’s official press release, further down this page — but then he lets slip what might be an important reason why Xbox 360 hit 10 million first. It’s that one year lead.
And honestly, given that one year lead, Microsoft has very little to brag about. According to March NPD numbers, the Nintendo Wii had already sold 8.8 million units to Microsoft’s 9.9, with the PS3 taking up the rear at 4.1 million. And looking at the bigger picture, the 360 isn’t in first place at all. Globally, it’s only sold 19 million to the Wii’s 25.
But even if the Xbox 360 hadn’t needed a one-year lead to find a U.S. install base 10 million strong, and even disregarding the larger global arena, there’s nothing special about 10 million. Considering how the gaming audience has expanded into the mainstream, 10 million is actually a rather small number. What’s important is market share, not arbitrary numbers.
Microsoft SVP Don Mattrick says “history has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle.” So let’s have a look at history, shall we?
Here’s how USA Today saw the gaming landscape, exactly six years ago to the day, when the PlayStation 2 was on the verge of 10 million in U.S. sales:
Sony has sold nearly 10 million PS2 systems in the USA in the 18 months since it hit the market — a rate that is more than double the sales rate of the original PlayStation. Microsoft has sold more than 1.8 million Xbox systems since November; it had a week’s head start on the Nintendo GameCube, which has sold more than 1.5 million, according to The NPD Group.
At that point, it was leading Microsoft by more than a factor of five, and Nintendo by more than six times over. The PS2’s dominance was so pronounced that the Xbox and GameCube were still struggling to reach 10 million by 2004, when the PS2 hit 70. The current situation compares better to that of May 1998 — 10 years ago — when the original PlayStation broke 10 million and Sony held a 59% market share over Nintendo’s 32%. At least then, it was reminiscent of the Xbox 360’s current lead over PS3 — but only if you eliminate the Nintendo Wii from the picture.
On a far more significant note, Microsoft now boasts Xbox Live membership of 12 million globally. Huzzah for online services that actually work.
Full press release:
REDMOND, Wash., May 14 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Microsoft Corp. today announced that the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system has sold over 10 million units in the U.S., making it the first current-generation gaming console to break the 10 million mark in the U.S. The U.S. install base contributes to global sales of over 19 million, more than any other current-generation console.
“This year will be the largest in the history of the video game industry, with Xbox 360 leading the charge in the U.S. and abroad,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business in the Entertainment and Devices Division at Microsoft. “History has shown us that the first company to reach 10 million in console sales wins the generation battle. We are uniquely positioned to set a new benchmark for the industry.”
This announcement comes on the heels of one of the biggest entertainment launches in history, “Grand Theft Auto IV,” on April 29, 2008. Gamers eager to experience “Grand Theft Auto IV” online helped boost Xbox LIVE global membership to over 12 million this month. Fueled by an unparalleled combination of access to friends and family, the best online gaming features, and the best entertainment content, the Xbox LIVE service has doubled in membership in only one year’s time.
“Reaching an installed base of 10 million consoles in the U.S. is a significant achievement and an essential milestone on the road to market leadership,” said Billy Pidgeon, research manager at IDC. “Perhaps more important is the Xbox 360 worldwide online base — 12 million Xbox LIVE gamers is the largest community in the connected console games sector, which represents the greatest growth opportunity in the console market and where Microsoft has been the leader for two generations.”
Xbox 360 leads with the industry’s highest software attach rate, more than any other console this generation, and is home to the best-selling games. With the launch of “Grand Theft Auto IV” in April, Xbox 360 is now the home to more than 16 platinum titles that have sold through 1 million units or more, including hits such as “Halo 3,” “Madden NFL 07″ and “Madden NFL 08,” “Gears of War,” “Guitar Hero II” and “Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock,” and “Call of Duty(R) 2,” Call of Duty 3″ and “Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare,” giving Xbox 360 two times more platinum-selling titles than the Wii and a 16:2 lead over the PlayStation 3 in game titles topping one million in sales. Games not only sell better on the Xbox 360, they play better, too: Xbox 360 has 91 titles with a Metacritic review score of 80 or higher, compared with just 22 titles for Wii and 50 titles for PlayStation 3.
Leave a Reply