Xbox 360 Leads PS3 in Japan, Even as Sales ‘Stagnant’ in US Update

Mon, Aug 18, 2008

Looking at previous generations of video game hardware, there have regularly been big winners and big losers in what are dubbed the “console wars.” PS1 trounced the Dreamcast and N64. PS2 continues to thrive even as Xbox and GameCube lie all-but-forgotten. Nintendo’s Game Boys have historically driven all competitors out of business. But in this latest console generation of ten-year cycles, there is perhaps enough time for the tides to turn.

Thanks to games like Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G and God of War: Chains of Olympus, the PSP has proven itself a contender on both sides of the Pacific Ocean. With Metal Gear Solid 4, PS3 sales spiked 300% year-over-year in the US, where it had long played second fiddle to the Xbox 360. And now, even as Microsoft’s console takes a plunge on its home turf, Xbox 360 is having one of its best weeks ever in Japan, selling nearly 25,000 units.

In the US, the Xbox 360 has trailed the PS3 by a narrow margin for three months now, but in a report issued August 15th, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter reminds us that sales surprisingly remain ’stagnant’ despite Microsoft’s pseudo-price drop:

Xbox 360 hardware sales were again lighter than we expected, indicating that Microsoft may be experiencing stagnant demand. The company cut the price of its Xbox 360 Pro (20Gb) by $50 to $299 in July, but demand remained fairly flat. We do not expect a significant bump in August with the release of the new Pro 60Gb at $349. We expect Microsoft to reconsider its pricing strategy, especially if sales of the Xbox 360 continue to lag sales of the PS3.

Meanwhile, sales of the Xbox 360 have been steadily increasing in the Land of the Rising Sun since the month of June, perhaps unsurprisingly right around the same time Microsoft announced a boatload of new RPGs would find their way to Japanese shores. While the Xbox was barely unloading 1500 units a week in the month of May, those numbers soon climbed past 2000 in June, doubled in July to the 4000s, hovered around 5K at the end of the month, and, this week, increased five-fold with the release of that June event’s first RPG, Tales of Vesperia.

While the single week’s sales could easily be attributed to a number of factors up to and including the must-have limited edition Vesperia bundles, the greater trend observed since June is perhaps not as easily dismissed.

As 4colorrebellion wrote in January 2006, it may be far too late for the 360 in Japan… but now that Microsoft is ostensibly giving Japanese gamers what they want, it will be interesting to see if their console can maintain its minuscule momentum come the release of JRPG #2, Infinite Undiscovery, on September 11th.

Update: So much for momentum. Kotaku reports the console is sold out nationwide.