LOL... I love MS... yet again they travel into the ethers to report loosely related victories to the NPDs. Like I said in the Sony response... be it foolhardy, MS looks for victory where ever it thinks it can find it!! Truly masterful spin to hide the fact that they slipped this month and was beaten by Sony who shipped 22.1K more units.

As far as software sales go, it cannot be denied, 360 is the gamers choice for consoles.

I'd like to see MS push the better GPU systems out there and do a $50-$80 blanket price drop then you'll see the gravy flow.

okenny :)

@Mustakrakish:

Wow, MS should just hire you to do these from now on.

eqhara

Lol, if they are this desperate now, they'll be broken in tears at when the NPD sales for june come out :D

Abriael

@Grumps: I know it's sad isn't it:(
The new ones make me feel like i'm going crazy or something.

Gunloc

Yay for Transformers Movie reference image.

Erignamatic

@NitrousO: :(

Luke Plunkett

"Xbox 360 generates more dollars at retail for third party publishers" That doesn't surprise me. It's a less risky console for the third party because their games don't end up having tacked-on motion controls, or bad coding due to them being on a PS3 where it's a lot harder to code. The Wii is obviously a very first-party system, most, if not all, the best sellers are Nintendo games that have actually had good work done on them.

Mustakrakish

@NitrousO: I lament your generation.

Grumps

If we're judging this round upon NPD report pictures, I believe it's clear that Microsoft won this month.

Nirolak

What the hell is that in the picture?! A robotic shark monster?

NitrousO

Feed him to the sharkticons.

Grumps

okenny :) I'm going to try and start this off by saying the PS3 finally has games now... Oh no Microsoft will be 3rd place from now on :P

Gunloc

@akilshohen: Talking like this is all I know... old war wound.

okenny :)

@akilshohen: Noooo..... :(

okenny :)

What exactly is an attach rate? I kind of have the idea just through context but not exactly.

everybest

Seems like month after month, MS is releasing the same response (best attach rate, best 3rd party $$, etc)

Horrible month for 360, MS should think about something. MGS4 in June will add at least 50 000 more consoles.

mcool93

@okenny :): have you been to jail or something?

akilshohen

Bah weep granah weep nini bong!

BigPanda

@Luke Plunkett: It still looks awesome, and if I had to guess from pictures alone who is winning I would say MS cause that thing looks mean but I still dont know what it is :(

NitrousO

@BigShell: The price drop alone isn't enough to sustain long performance. Think of it this way. A price drop is like KY Gel. Sure it feels good while putting it on but if thats all you do then that was a short (no pun intended) and ineffective. The key here is to restore faith in the brand with the GPU issue resolved: This will achieve penetration. If you have penetration with out the the KY gel then things will be tight but rough and can create unwanted friction for people who just aren't ready to take you in. This could lead to a shorter climax and generally unsatisfactory results. MS can be successful if they take the steps to restore band confidence and use price drops to moisten the people who they are trying to penetrate and therefore achieve achieve a larger and deeper penetration at a much higher point of climax. The smoothness of this push will lead to a longer lasting success.

I think that this experience they are going through now is a humbling experience that will teach MS the importance of its consumers so hopefully when they climax, they won't Houdini us.

okenny :)

I thought MS said once their 'supply shortages' were fully over in May, you'd see them clearly on top. So what happened MS, cat got your tongue?

Maximus9

@dam0dred:
It will be more billions actually. I guess MS is just tired of bleeding money on this project. That doesn't sound like them, does it. Their strategy usually seems to be to throw cash at problems until they go away. And it seems to work too.

BigShell

@okenny :):
I don't know if another price drop is the solution. Price drops are great for quick boosts, but they don't seem to equate to permanently higher sales. Especially when Sony drops with them. But I don't blame them for looking for victory wherever they can. Everybody does. Has Sony, MS, or Nintendo ever been like "Shit. Yeah, we fucked up"?

Also, 7.7 per 360! That is really high. I only have 4 games, and I think I play more than most people, and defiantly more than anybody should in college. Then again, I don't usually buy a game unless I think I will play it for more than 200 hours. Or if I think it will have zombies.

BigShell

How has MS not dropped the price on the 360 yet? It's crazy. They have lost momentum to the PS3 in a big way (Wii is obviously in a different league).

They've already lost billions on the XBox, what's a few more million to try and keep Sony down?

dam0dred

Jawsome.

Forkball

@Abriael:

Stop ruining kotaku with your fanboyism.

CCCombobreaker

Ah, the always viable software card. I really hope this isn't followed by another outburst from Greenberg.

SG79

@freakout: you have commander keen as your icon and you don't know what a sharkticon is...

Grumps

@Abriael: lol fanboy

mike566

I wouldn't be pleased if I were them. I'd be scared. I am pleased with my 360 though. I feel a little left out now that MGS4 is out. Then again, if I had a PS3, I would be pissed off about not getting that TF2 map pack. Valve can kind of be dicks, but at least their being dicks in my favor this time.

BigShell

Of all the pictures you could have posted, this is by far the awesomest.

Pezdispenser

@NitrousO: You're not alone, dude, I haven't got a clue either. Actually the only one I get this month is Ursula for Ninty...

freakout

Wow theyre still talking about those surprise games? Awesome. Cant wait to see what they got at e3.

CCCombobreaker

OOOOO BOLD!

DeathBeforeDishonor

Even though I see the 360's staying power dimming this year and next year, you have to admit, they have premium attach rates with software.

sascha23

The picture is from the Transformers movie when they end up on the world with the multi head judge jury robot and they are dropped into a large pit of water and the shark machines attack them.

bigjakefhecake

@okenny :):
Your analogy would be way better if I knew what the hell KY gel was.

BigShell

@everybest: Yep, exactly. And a 40% attach rate for any game is huge.

Captain Impulse

@okenny :): Best. analogy. ever.

/follow

everybest

@Captain Impulse: That makes sense. So a 40% attach rate for a particular game means 40% of the console owners bought this game?

everybest

@okenny :): No it will prob just teach M$ that people will forgive you telling them they they will pay a crazy price for a system with no games(sony ps3) but they will not forgive you making a product that breaks on them... over.. and over... and over... and over again.

invisiblewok

@okenny :): let's not forget about Gran Tursimo either.

invisiblewok

Well, if I'm a 3rd party dev, and i see that all the games that are good that come out for the 360 out sell the ps3 & Wii version 2:1 I might start thinking about not making any exclusives for the ps3. Devil may cry 4 anyone? In fact if it cost more money and more time to dev for the ps3 i would be thinking i can just spend my time on the 360 and not only sell more titles but also save money in the process which means at the same $60 a pop for both 360 and ps3 more profit for me. So those attach rates don't mean crap to us the gamer, but trust me it means a lot to the people that make the games. With the odd exception that is the Wii, where the good games are goes the prize. ps1 had all the good games Saturn had like what Megaman X and Super Street Figther 2 turbo from Capcom and no other good 3rd party games and we see what happen to that system, shoot Sega never recovered from that. If the 360 keeps having most of the gamers buy the games on their system even with the growing install base on the ps3, we will see if future final fantasy or metal gear games stay only on the Playstation console.

invisiblewok

@everybest: The average number of games each console owner owns. So 7.7 means that on average, every 360 owner has between 7-8 games. 7.7 is reasonably high.

Captain Impulse

@mcool93: MGS4 will push probably about 200K more consoles.

okenny :)

Not to slam third party sales and all, but really, those figures are less important than console units sold for a reason. The console with the largest install base always sales the most hardware over the course of its lifespan. Yes other consoles may sale more earlier on, but install base always wins.

On that note, I suspect Microsoft needs to consider another price drop. I'm not sure what else would start moving units again.

WolvenOne

INNOCENT.

Knoxximus (360/PSN)

@sniper13x:

Maybe, but you can't live on one regions sales alone. Thats why Sony is coming on strong by continuing to outsell the box in Japan and most of Europe. Anytime it outsells the 360 in the US is just icing on the cake, especially when they've already done it 2 other times this year prior to this month and I wouldn't be at all surprised to see it beat the 360 next month by an even bigger margin. MS isn't creating a big enough differential in the US to overcome that which is why its losing ground fast. Besides, if you look at the sales history for each then the PS3 is killing the box by selling way more consoles the first year than the 360 despite teh tired adage "the PS3 has no games!"

Sparx

@okenny :) haha funny one

PogiJet

@everybest: I really couldn't care less which console sells more, i care that they sell enough software so that they will be supported. If you look at the Dreamcast as an example, selling consoles alone won't get you developer support. The fact that they both sold around 200k this month is great for us gamers in general, but its software that will drive this console generation, like it has been since the first generation. Only people that care about overall number of console sales are fools with nothing better to do.

sniper13x

@DeathBeforeDishonor: I still find the whole trading in or selling consoles just a strange behavior. The younger ones seem to do this more often. That aside, it's easy to see why people would give up though I still have my launch unit running strong *knock on wood* for almost 3 years now.

okenny :)

@string_theory: OMG! YOUR PSYCHIC! Is Killzone 2 actually going to be good?

DeathBeforeDishonor

@string_theory: I still like Jelster's theory that LIPS is an acronym for Live IP Services, namely the IP TV service and some sort of VOIP/Skype serivce. It seems more logical than a voice controller since you can already control through voice using the headset.

Nirolak

@sniper13x: You have to take into account the year lead the 360 has. I don't think overall console sales are really relevant for much unless you count systems sold all within the same time frame. Even then, it shouldn't matter. What will matter, I think, is which consoles survive the longest and can continuously and consistently sell hardware and software month after month. The one that drops out first will have to either wait for the next gen or else start their own next gen (which wouldn't go very well for most people if it's too early imo).

everybest

@sniper13x:Good point. But are you seriously going back to 2006? Sony's luck MS is sloughing like they are, or they'd still be way behind the pack. I honestly don't understand why they sold 20k more units than MS this month Sony didn't have squat. Now that MGS4(AWESOME!) is out who knows what kind of numbers their going to push.

@okenny :): My friend just traded in his 360 and picked up a PS3 today for that exact reason. MS need to fix their little hardware problem, that would help a lot.

DeathBeforeDishonor

Microsoft's BIG Announcements @ E3 will be:

* new 60GB model 360

* Price Drop $30-50

* Wiimote like motion controller
- codenamed: Newton

* Voice controller
- codenamed: Lips

string_theory

@sniper13x:

I'm with you. I'm old, like Brian's Dad. I buy everything I want. Mwahahahaha! Why choose when when you can have all 3?

That being said, I play my 360 the most. Not because I'm a fanboy, but because I have the most fun with what's available on it.

I'm avoiding Ninja Gaiden 2 and MGS4 though. I don't really enjoy games written by narcissists that hate their customers ;)

Snokie

These are NPD numbers correct? NPD meaning north america i believe? Follow my line of thinking for a few minutes, see if i can make some sense. The 360 has sold 6 million more consoles in the US than the ps3 to date. The ps3 was supposed to kill the 360 once it came out. There would be no stopping the awesomeness that is anything with the name playstation on it. Knowing this, how again is selling 20k more consoles in a month when you're supposed to be catching up and overtaking the 360 a victory? Moral victories only count in little league.

Before the fanboys jump down my throat, this is NPD numbers remember. Im just tired of the stupid "LOL M$ is dead, PS3 will be president soon, M$ has no games now LOL" talk. Enjoy your damn consoles and be happy the developers are making money. Money = more quality(hopefully) games for us to enjoy.

PS. No one cares that you're too poor to buy all 3 systems so you have to put all your energy defending whichever system you chose to buy. As long as the ps3 has great games like MGS4 and FF, and the 360 has great games like GOW2 and Fable2 coming out, i can't see how anyone wouldn't want to own both systems.

sniper13x

@invisiblewok: No. The billion+change they lost will each them about making a crappy product ;)

@BigShell: Hmmmm... what is KY Gel? Here you go: [www.americarx.com]

Turns this:
[tbn0.google.com]
...into this:
[www.fatladysings.us]

okenny :)

@okenny :): Nom'd for multi-tap. Is it possible to get more than one star? ;)

Captain Impulse

@okenny :):

Most awesome thing I have ever read on Kotaku.

PeteeWJ

I'm dying to know what those aces are. I haven't heard of anything that makes me all weak-kneed yet.

dunetiger reads kotaku, seems pleased

@Infernarl: Spare me this mockery of justice!

lgndk11r

Guilty or Innocent?

Infernarl

Oh shit a Sharkticon, I stole $20 out of my mom's purse to buy that thing. Got busted for it and still didn't give a shit, that's how awesome those things are.

Pornosaur

@edhe (xbl): I'm guilty of raising the average. I think I have 20 or 21.

Captain Impulse

that's 7.7 without XBLA titles.

I'm about 12, without xbla titles. And about 50 with.

:x

edhe (xbl)

@Grumps: Shocking, I know. I'm normally pretty good on my cartoon characters... but Transformers was never really my bag as a kid. (Don't shoot!)

freakout

The masters of spin... turning "no news" to "good news" at the drop of a hat.

Dragnipur

The inclusion of a Sharkticon in this article makes me happy.

Salen

and come on loosing in japan? if your not Nintendo your loosing in japan, you think sony's 10k this month (7-8k more than 360) in japan really means anything to developers when they have The wii selling 20x more consoles every month? i mean come on ... japan and quite a few pocket countries just wont buy the 360 because it's from the US im sorry but its true.

Sony sells abysmally in a lot of countries as well when you look at it in the grand scheme of things.. why? no games, and only a few decent/good ones coming, ask anyone MGS may be "the game" but it's also "the game" with the shitties AI most people have ever seen just watch the gameplay videos...

phantam

its funny when people forget for sony ... more consoles sold and less games sold is a VERY BAD THING!

They LOOSE MONEY ON EACH CONSOLE SOLD< and if they cant have the attach rate to back it up then their screwed... if all of their extra consoles only get 1 games sold (MGS) guess what? they still lost a whole crap load of cash....

and to developers and publishers what matters isnt the # of consoles sold, its the # of games sold, if 90% of the 360's install base is buying new games regularly as seen by a steadily increasing attach rate month after month, then the ps3 comes along and its smaller yet growing install base only 25-30% buy games, that doesnt work out in the numbers.... in that case the ps3 would have to have 4-5x the total consoles microsoft does out their to make it directly competitive.

phantam

The 2:1 GTA IV ratio is all that they can gloat about. They've already been losing in Japan and their install base in America, its' strongest market, is about to be passed by the Wii.

KM91

what... no fictional shortages??

JimmyHACK

You get ship if I get trip!

GlazedDonut2186

@BigPanda: You, sir, are the winner of the internetz today. Nice memory/dedication. Wow.

avconsumer

So If the PS3 continues to outsell the 360 by 20k each month It should overtake the 360 about 25 years..

KEELr

@phantam: Not true, a lot of American brands have broken into the Japanese market. McDonalds, Coke, and Ipod to name a few. This Japan hates everything America is just not true.

rotcepsurt

@Sparx: Sales for the PS3 in Japan are almost as pitiful as the 360. MGS4 may give them some added sales for the next few weeks, but like prior exclusives, those could drop off pretty quickly as well.

rotcepsurt

@sniper13x: You just made so much sense my head exploded. Let me get to cleaning this up.

rotcepsurt

Sharkticons! Attack!

Talleh

@rotcepsurt:

Are you serious? The 360 barely broke the half-million mark in Japan. While the PS3 has two million in Japan.

fraggenstein

"Gears of War 2," "Fable 2," and "Too Human" are games to look forward to.

"Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts" and "Viva Piñata 2" will look graphically sweet, but I'm not looking forward to those games. Nope, not at all.

Nada.

Zilch.

Zerooooo.

fraggenstein

Just done a quick comparison on Metacritic's 'Recent and Upcoming' lists:

Green Scores (76%+)
360 - 21 Titles, Average Score 80.4
PS3 - 18 Titles, Average Score 82.9

Yellow Scores (50-75%)
360 - 25 Titles, Average Score 60.3
PS3 - 21 Titles, Average Score 64.8

Red Scores (below 50%)
360 - 5 Titles, Average Score 42.4
PS3 - 3 Titles, Average Score 40.0

MS might want to start looking at what's going on around them right now before gloating over past glories...

stussygalore

SHARKTACONS FTW

THERE CRUEL MASTERS, THE QUINTESONS: EPIC NUBS

underground_slacker

@Pornosaur: That's F'in cheap, yo. I'd look at it as an investment. I went to buy one to add to my G1 collection (which consists mostly of Seekers, Bluestreak painted to look like Prowl, and a couple of Takara and Toys R Us re-releases like Optimus Prime and Jazz) and those things go for like $50 now on BBTS. Geez.

DorkimusPrime

@underground_slacker: Uh, you know the Quintessons actually created the Transformers, right? Well, created worker drones that Alpha Trion modified to allow transformation. Regardless, they're not n00bz. :lol:

DorkimusPrime