Japanese Retailers: thumbs down to PS3

[Ace Pace]

O Rly?

Retailers expect PS3 to get the Wii kicked out of it

Now is the winter of our discount tents


By Nick Farrell: Monday 02 October 2006, 16:20


RETAILERS HAVE

given the thumbs down to the PS3 and are expecting the Sony console to be soundly beaten up by Nintendo's Wii.

A survey of retailers conducted by the Japanese media outfit Enterbrain shows that 88 percent think that the Wii will sell better over the Christmas break, only 11 percent believe the PS3 will be tops. Since this is a Japanese survey they didn’t even bother asking if they thought the Xbox 360 would go anywhere.

Out of all hardware sales, 60.7 percent Nintendo DS would be the best seller, followed by the the Nintendo Wii at 32.8 percent. The PS3 would be outclassed by the PS2 at 3.3 percent. The PS3 and the Xbox360 will have 1.6 percent each, which shows how bad it is going to get for Sony in Japan.

[atg]

Would I be correct in thinking that if Sony fail with the PS3 in Japan, it can be pretty much be assumed they will fail everywhere else?

Even Nintendo at their lowest still did well in Japan.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

Since this is a Japanese survey they didn’t even bother asking if they thought the Xbox 360 would go anywhere.

Ooh, burn...

The 360 just can't get a break over there, can it?

[General Zod]

Would I be correct in thinking that if Sony fail with the PS3 in Japan, it can be pretty much be assumed they will fail everywhere else?

Even Nintendo at their lowest still did well in Japan.

That's usually the way it works, unless you happen to be Microsoft and have shitloads of money to throw behind your pet console. Even then it didn't do that good in the States.

[Vendetta]

The 360 just can't get a break over there, can it?

Actually, it might well, with most gamers saying that Blue Dragon was the highlight of TGS, and queueing for 90 minutes to two hours to play the thing.

It looks snazz as well, and might just live up to the promise of being a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger if all goes well.

[Alferd Packer]

Now is the winter of our discount tents

Ugh. I bet the writer just couldn't resist.

As to the article, I wonder if they take into account the differences in production numbers between the two.

[SylasGaunt]

Odd on whether the people who said the Xbox was too big are gonna go anywhere near that thing? It's friggin enormous.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

With the price break, though, the PS3 might actually do OK in Japan. $420 is only a little bit more than the 360 Premium package, after all, and it's got roughly the same amount of features. The question is whether Sony can ever hope to get all the money back selling at that much of a loss, and the answer is no, but the installed base might end up being pretty decent.

[Count Dooku]

With the price break, though, the PS3 might actually do OK in Japan. $420 is only a little bit more than the 360 Premium package, after all, and it's got roughly the same amount of features. The question is whether Sony can ever hope to get all the money back selling at that much of a loss, and the answer is no, but the installed base might end up being pretty decent.

But that's still a lot of money for an FPS (Resistance: Fall of Man), and the Japanese don't exactly like FPS too much. There really isn't anything decent coming out until several months after launch.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

With the 360 relegated to a non-issue (unless we all get surprised), the PS3 is still the choice of the "gotta have it" demographic, who wants the best graphics. Not that it really helps Sony, who's taking the "we're losing money on every unit sold, but making up for it with volume" approach.