PS3 News

PlayStation 3 will emerge victorious by 2011

By Stevie Smith Feb 15, 2008, 7:17 GMT

Research firm iSuppli says the PlayStation 3 will have beat out the home console competition by 2011. Credit: Nigt.

Xbox 360 devotees should plead with their parents for heavy duty riot gear this Christmas, because it would appear that a doubled PS3 installation base and more growth than any of it competitors in 2008 will see Microsoft forced to hand the mantle of ‘next-gen’ console gloating over to PlayStation 3 fans.

According to research firm iSuppli, worldwide sales of the PlayStation 3 will significantly outstrip Microsoft’s Xbox 360 during 2008 and will continue to rise through 2011, at which point Sony will have returned to the top of the hardware charts -- even overhauling the hugely popular Nintendo Wii.

From a global numbers point of view, iSuppli offers that 2008 will see the Wii retaining its home-console momentum, amassing some 12.2 million units sales while a solid 10 million sales will enable the PlayStation 3 to shift past the Xbox 360, which will only manage to sell around 7.5 million units.

“In this stage of the new-generation video game console market, consumers are showing they'd rather be entertained and pay less for their consoles than shell out more for the latest and greatest technology,” commented iSuppli analyst Pam Tufegdzic said in a Reuters news report.

When looking at the more long-term view, iSuppli goes on to outline that, come 2011, Sony will have successfully retained its console crown thanks to projected PlayStation 3 sales of 38.4 million units.

With PS3 manufacturing costs on the decline, and retail prices being adjusted to reflect that, Sony is finally finding stable traction in the marketplace as it strives to establish the PlayStation 3 as the premium home console.

And, following a year of software disappointments, the likes of Grand Theft Auto IV, Metal Gear Solid 4, LittleBigPlanet, Gran Turismo 5: Prologue and Home should all arrive in 2008 to bolster the PlayStation 3’s consumer appeal beyond its obvious power and in-built HD Blu-ray drive.