Here's to hoping the Pach-man's got it right. I'm no fanboi, but I sure do love my PS3, and increased sales for the platform means better quality of games on my shelf!

It's not just the PS3 that murdered the 360, it's the Wii too. both consoles hold the global knife that only NA shields. but yea, 360 is an American console and only does well in America.

Well doesn't it seem kind of obvious? Just by looking at sales every month, the PS3 outsells the Xbox 360 a LOT in Japan. In fact, his comment is way off because the console is already dead in Japan. That won't stop Microsoft from still selling games there of course. Its a real shame imo, there are great games for 360 that the Jap's are missing out on but whatever really, it has no impact on me in UK.

He's totally friggin right, man!

Lower priced consoles ALWAYS FAIL against their higher priced competitors!

Just look at the Wii! I mean...

...err, wait..
..ummm

i dont know about overseas but I think he is right about retailers. As soon the HD-DVD was declared defunct, I started seeing circulars with HDTV's on sale in packages with PS3's at really good prices.

Is he taking the falling dollar into account? That's got to help MS and hurt Sony.

I dunno, if prices drops for the 360---watch out Sony!

How is predicting the 360 getting killed in Japan even a prediction? That's been happening for quite a while.

Meh. As long as there is a steady stream of software on the 360, I don't think most us will care all that much.

God...he's great at predicting what is already going on.

@Tiberian: Dont use the word Japs. Unless you want to find yourself a new account.

They aint missing out on much becuase most of the games are not geared towards the userbase here anyways. The amount of folks who are into "foreign" games are the ones who are currently supporting the system now.

Asides from that I dont think there will be enough J developed titles to keep the interest going in the system here either seeing how things are now. Granted there are a few up and comming, still though there just is not enough momentum behind the system to make back what devs would spend with production costs and advertising. Granted if they sell the games overseas too that will help a lot, but still a lot of the devs have the mindset if it doesnt sell well in Japan its not worth trying to break out big overseas. Since thats an even bigger gamble than trying to do it within your own country.

Its still early in 2008 so will wait and see how things go.

@jp182: I noticed that as well! They're certainly not wasting any time, and why would they? It's still the best blu-ray player on the market.

I think analysts are overplaying Blu-ray. Blu-ray = Laser Disc of the 21st century. Many people who have HDTVs still have consoles and DVD players hooked up via composite or SVHS cables and have no interest in paying $100 for a HDMI cable (most people don't know about monoprice.com ;p). Most people don't care about hi-def movies as there is little difference between an upconvered DVD and a hi-def DVD unless you have a big 60+ inch screen or sit really close to the TV. Plus, the main reason people switched from VHS to DVD is the convenience, people in general don't care that much about video quality aside from pixelated hi-def sports off cable/satellite.

As for games, the PS3 still doesn't have too much going for it compared to 360 outside of Japan for 2008 (Japan will never care about the 360). There is MGS4 this year, but that is about it. Most of the truly big hits are 2009 or 2010 - FFXIII, REV, GT5 final... Resistance 2 is no Halo and Little Big Planet = kiddie game that wont sell to the "hip" PS3 crowd.

@Paul: Whys that? Its the opposite since Sony is a Japanese company and having the yen almost 1:1 with the dollar is better than the previous exchange rate where the dollar was stronger than the yen.

I believe Pachter is right on this one. What I do not understand for the life of me, is why MS even has a game division in Japan. I mean Japanese developers want the Xbox for its access to the US market, not because of their presence in Japan, so why waste money on Japan, when it is clear they will never break into the market there.

It is also confusing to me that they will load the Japanese console with all of the extras, different color consoles, special edition MS published games, but give the American consumers who are 100% responsible for the Xbox brands place in the world, crap.

Case and point: Lost Odyssey. Japan gets cool four disc case, America gets standard case with 3 discs jammed on a spindle with the fourth disc in a damn paper sleeve.

All I know is as soon as the MG4 bundle comes out I am buying one.

These analysts dont know their anus from their elbow half the time.

@Paul:

how?

Micro$oft will just do what they did last generation and just buy their market availability despite lack of demand.

@tme2nsb: Yup, until Sony drops their price (which they are in a better position to do, seeing as they don't spend as much of their revenues on refurbishing red-ringed consoles) and then watch out Microsoft!

@Gray665: Same analyst as well as others expect ps3 to get a price cut as well

pachter can bite me. I don't like him or his predictions. MEH I SAY.

Three items for discussion here that may or may not change Pachter's theories:

1. Rapidly falling prices of stand-alone Blu-Ray players take a way the market of people buying just for Blu-Ray. Could that happen?

2. The momentum of PS3 is driven by Blu-Ray (See #1) and the promise of upcoming titles. We have yet to see Sony consistently deliver quality product in a timely fashion for the PS3. Can they get MGS4, FFX111, GT5, Home, and LBP out the door with no issues and without further delays.

3. Can Sony afford to match the price cuts in store for 360 and the already affordable Wii price? While the Blu_ray makes it attractive, it still skeeps costs up.

The future's Sony's for the taking, but can they do it? The hardware's brilliant, but the extras are the problem. I really wish they'd get Home and the PSN update out the door sooner rather than later. To me that's what is killing them the most in the games department.

I'm sure the 360 will be a solid platform for the next 2 years. After that the PS3 should be in a much stronger position and we will probably be hearing rumblings of even newer consoles.

Sony's going to kill off the 360 in Japan? Is it possible to kill something that's not really alive in the first place? Other than zombies I mean.

Still no HD-TV in my livingroom and I can't see myself spending the money on one just yet. Someow I don't think I'm alone in this boat.

"The PS3 may outsell the 360, but it also may not outsell the 360 but if it does outsell it it might only outsell it by a little but if it doesn't, it will outsell it by a lot but if it doesn't outsell it at all, the 360 will outsell the PS3."

In other words, he doesn't know anything and everything he just wrote explains he doesn't know anything.

Why does this retarded analyst keep saying the same things over and over every week? Is once per quarter isn't enough? He's the worst of all the Sony fanboys out there.

I say Pachter is right, I've suggested to my old man to get a PS3 for a blu-ray player for his 55" HDTV and for high-velocity bowling, he loves that game.

Also, I like how this battle for the #2 position gets so much talk.

I have noticed that for the past couple of months every ad for HDTvs have had at least some reference to the PS3 as a BR player to go with it. At least in Best Buy ads anyway.... Now that HD DVD has been pronounced DOA it will spread to other store's ads, if it hasn't already.

@zztopp: because theyve been wrong every time, keep saying something over and over and youre bound to get something right.

If I wasn't such a Wii/PC fanboy, and I had to pick out a new console, I'd easily go with the PS3.

Free online multiplayer equals long-term win in my book. I also care about reliability. The 360 just doesn't make much sense any more.

Once M$ offers TWO Xbox 360's (Falcon) for the price of one Elite, I'll go back. Until then, PS3 is doing just fine.

RRoD on the cheap, ftw!

Hold it, hold on a second... I'm, I'm predicting something... *adopts Mentok stance*
I'm after finding out that... Saturday... will follow... Friday!!
Whew, good thing I have that degree in videogame industry analysis!

No big deal. As long as i have games to play i dont give a fuck which console is better. PC usually gets ports anyways. That next to my 360 i dont think ill miss out on much. As for the wii, thats what friends are for...

Here is what microsoft needs to do:

1. release a 360 with a 4x blu-ray player (twice as fast as sonys). Sony uses xp and vista on their laptops, microsoft uses blu-ray on its game console.. win win

2. 80 gb hard drive standard.

3. All available xbox live arcade games are already on the system in demo form when the user buys it, no downloading needed.

4. Throw in a copy of Halo 3 now that its made a bazillion dollars.

5. Finally have wireless in the darn thing, and hdmi 1.3 spec.

Sell it for $479 and their golden.

It never ceases to amaze me how rabid console fanboys can be. So you bought a 360 and not a PS3, or vice-versa. Unless you're a Sony or Microsoft shareholder, why do you care about how well consoles that have been in the market for over a year are selling?

Both Sony, Microsoft and their respective game-development partners have already made capex investments in both systems for their entire lifecycles and neither will be "killed' by the others.

Just because one console is outselling the other doesn't mean the losing one will suddenly have no new games for it. And I don't know about you, but for me that's all that matters.

That said, cheers to fanboyism. I'll now sit back and wait for the throat-tearing to begin.

360 was DOA in Japan to begin with. Ps3 is outselling 360 everywhere but the US, but I think the US is going to be harder to crack then anything.

@DaPress: oh the irony

Keep swinging Michael. You'll hit that ball one day.

In all seriousness was the Xbox 360 ever alive in Japan? Maybe it had a pulse at launch, but it's been flatlined for quite some time. These predictions are becoming old news now. Yeah PS3 will kill Xbox in Japan. Yeah PS3 is beating Xbox in Europe. Yeah PS3 and Xbox are neck-and-neck in the U.S. This isn't really news any more.

@Rubix42: agreed in the full

360 Lower price won't matter in Europe it's not like the Europeans are cheap or anything plus PS3 has been killing the 360 since lanch there so it always at a higher price.

Most likly the PS3 will get a price reduction as well Sony won't let this go unnotice.

STOP GIVING CREDENCE TO THESE GAME ASTROLOGIST PARASITES!

I think that last generation Microsoft proved that they are willing to cut the price of the machine any time they feel it needs it, not just when the hardware is closer to cost.
I think you'll see both another price cut this year for the 360 and see Blu-ray players become cheaper than the PS3 by the Winter. If not then maybe Pachter will be right, but I seriously doubt it.

@lionkitten: Awesome Comment

@ ErskinPig his predictions have been correct so far this generation.

The 360 was born into its death bed in Japan, it's amazing MS has kept it on life support this long

In the US, I think it will be close all year, with 360 outselling PS3 most months due to its lower price points (at least as long as it remains lower priced)

yes...b/c the only reason it's outselling is its lower price points. this guy obviously has his finger on the pulse of the gaming community.

Mario May Cry Sunshine will put the 360 out of business.

The underground 360 cult will keep the spark alive in Japan, trust me...

News Flash... the 360 was still born in Japan, and technically died back in 2001 when the Xbox was launched. Something has to be alive to die. Seriously though, these guys get PAID to predict this stuff? I need to choose a new profession.

It's not a prediction if it's already happened. ZING!

@KirbyMorph: You've got vision, man. Go be an analyst. ;)

@jrcbandit: You see, context is everything. A year and a half ago not many people could have argued with your brilliand thoughts. Today, you just look blind. I'm pretty sure I read that HD penetration is faster than DVD was. Why? People have money, and electronics are cool. It's not enough to just have a nice car if you can't entertain a girl in your room with a movie or a Wii game. Not just nerds play Halo or CoD4. And poeple have enough money to spend on iPods and the like. So keep comparing BD to DVD and assimilating the world to yourself if it makes you feel better, but jus because you're blind doesn't mean everyone else is. Oh and by the way, Resistance is no Halo. It's just the sequel to the best launch game of the PS3, by the team that came out with two of the most praised games on PS3 and that are promising one of the most impressive titles this year. LBP will very likely not be a blockbuster, unless Sony puts a couple of ads on tv, but it still looks like a Marvel. MGS4, KZ2, Heavy Rain, Haze should all make it this year, so don't worry about the PS3's fate. It will be fin, trust me.

Sony didn't kill the 360. Microsoft did. With the hardware craptages. Well, at least for me. I can't imagine myself being one of the people that paid $300+ for a console only to hear myself saying "I'm on my 8th console this month."

@wonder6oy:

Yeah true... just look at the Dreamcast... umm

pach-man wasn't all that far off when kotaku analized the analysts so I would have to say my money is on the Pach-man, just hope Mrs. Pach-man arcade box doesn't attack us with her ghostly waka waka

You mean they haven't killed it already?

It's already dead in Japan.

@mac-phisto: Yes. That is an interesting point. The analysts share the opinions on WHY the numbers are what they are as if they have exit polls outside EB and Toys R Us, just waiting to question the motives of each purchaser of Go Diego Go for DS.

It is all quite silly. We can all speak as to why we ourselves bought what we bought or play what we play, but I'd be curious to see any support for analysts' claims about motivation to buy the consoles.