The PlayStation 3 Is The Highest Selling Console In Australia This Year

48 responses to “The PlayStation 3 Is The Highest Selling Console In Australia This Year”

1. 

   D.C.

   November 2, 2011 at 3:04 pm

   My PS3 gets a lot more use than the 360, solely because of the Blu-Ray capabilities. I initially bought a PS2 for its DVD capabilities too. If you were on the fence on what to get, I reckon Blu-Ray would seal the deal. (Though I personally prefer the 360 as a console, but that’s a preference thing.)

   Reply
   1. 

      Lord Bob

      November 2, 2011 at 3:15 pm

      Same here, wanted next gen and blu-ray. Also after looking around I found there were just more games I liked for the PS3. Nothing against 360, I own one of them too, but It doesn’t get much of a workout recently.
      At least in my neck of the wood PS3 prices seem to have dropped a bit over the last year and a half so maybe that’s part of the explanation. Has anybody seen an article with price comparisons?

      Reply
   2. 

      SunSkorpion

      November 2, 2011 at 3:20 pm

      My ps3 gets more use now since all my friends are on PSN. I was hoping that they would get 360’s but i had to jump on their ps3 bandwagon to join them online. No regrets though, I’ve gotten a blu ray player and games like Uncharted.

      Reply
2. 

   gigaroth

   November 2, 2011 at 3:16 pm

   My ps3 gets used 95% of the time.Blueray plus I have more friends on ps3.At the moment I only use the 360 for xbox only releases tho I will get ME3 on 360 because I have ME1 & ME2 on it.

   Reply
   1. 

      Lord Bob

      November 2, 2011 at 3:47 pm

      This. Almost exactly.

      Reply
3. 

   qbngeek

   November 2, 2011 at 3:18 pm

   I used my 360 a lot more than my PS3, mainly due to the fact I find the PS3 controller really uncomfortable, but I bought a second PS3 a few weeks ago to use a blu-ray player on my second TV….mind you its only been used about 10 hours since then and I reckon the 360 clocked up 100+ hours of use in that time.

   Reply
   1. 

      D.C.

      November 2, 2011 at 3:24 pm

      I prefer the 360 controller in general too, plus the tiny charger cable for the PS3 is unreasonable. Unreasonable I tells ya! 😀

      Reply
4. 

   oggob

   November 2, 2011 at 3:22 pm

   I still think the majority of the Kinect success was still in the Christmas rush of 2010. Uptil now, the PS3 has been riding a constant wave of decent exclusives and with the price drop in August helped push it along further.

   For the remainder of the year though, it’s hard to say with MS releasing branded 360’s for Gears 3, MW3, Star Wars (maybe this year), plus their own price drop recently, they could easily swoop back in front with the holiday rush.

   The same goes for Nintendo, they are always dangerous over the holiday period and I’m sure there are plenty of people that aren’t aware of the Wii U. Though by now, you can argue that anyone that wanted a Wii would already have one.

   Reply
   1. 

      Lord Bob

      November 2, 2011 at 3:57 pm

      I don’t really get the branded consoles thing, they are frequently uglier than the normal unit. But mostly It’s because they have been coming out with sequels. If I’m buying the sequel chances are I already owned the original and the console to play it on.

      They are like the ultimate -you’ve got so much money you now think cocaine, hookers and base jumping are boring – collectors editions.

      MW3 ULTIMATE SPLOSIONTASTIC EDITION! Get the game, a figurine and a 360 to play it on!

      Reply
      1. 

         oggob

         November 2, 2011 at 4:07 pm

         I specifically mentioned them, because I know a number of people who have stated they will be buying the Star Wars console on release, just because it’s Star Wars. These same people already have a 360, so there is certainly a market for these types of people.

         Reply
5. 

   J-Rod

   November 2, 2011 at 3:24 pm

   I really like the Kotaku community, because they’re is no fanboy-ish.
   Just quality opinions and thoughts..

   Reply
   1. 

      masha2932

      November 2, 2011 at 6:43 pm

      Exactly. I actually felt happy reading the comments on this article. No slurs or insults just well thought out opinions. Kudos Kotaku.

      I’m happy for Sony, it’s good to see the PS3 picking up some steam. I bought my PS3 because I prefer the controller and i’m a huge God of War and Twisted Metal fan. My PS3 also gets a lot of play as a DVD/blu ray player.

      Reply
6. 

   Thom

   November 2, 2011 at 3:25 pm

   I’m surprised as well, but it is cheaper than the 360, so there’s that. That said, I think its all much of a muchness unless you specifically want a blu-ray or Kinect.

   Reply
   1. 

      N0NEoftheAB0VE

      November 2, 2011 at 10:00 pm

      That’s exactly right – I had someone ask me the other day which they should get (they own a Wii which shows you which direction that console is headed) and I could only say depends what you want – Blu-Ray or Kinect.

      Disclosure: I own a 360 (have done for 2 years – it’s great fun) this Xmas I’ve asked my wife for a PS3 – I’m not abandoning the 360 at all but the PS3 is so affordable now I want both (esp to play PS3 exclusives and to play with my PS3 owning friends)

      FWIW Like Mark I would’ve thought Kinect would’ve put Xbox in front but I guess the PS3 price drop really created some buzz.

      Reply
7. 

   Blackhawk

   November 2, 2011 at 3:25 pm

   Well the price drop certainy did help.

   Reply
   1. 

      Blackhawk

      November 2, 2011 at 3:27 pm

      *certainly

      Reply
8. 

   Matthew K

   November 2, 2011 at 3:26 pm

   This surprises me too, I assumed the 360 was dominating – not because of Kinect, but just generally outselling the competition.

   I guess I haven’t really paid a lot of attention to what the PS3 is doing because I never really use mine.

   Reply
9. 

   anonymouse

   November 2, 2011 at 3:41 pm

   Free playing of games online is the big sell. Give someone a 360 and say “you’ve gotta pay $70/year to play games online” and they’ll go for a PS3, even if it is slightly worse online.

   Reply
   1. 

      D.C.

      November 2, 2011 at 4:02 pm

      That’s a good point. Didn’t figure into my decision to buy one cause I’m not a massive multiplayer gamer, but free is mighty appealing. I generally prefer Live, but its true there’s a whole lot there that can’t be accessed without Gold.

      Reply
      1. 

         Raardvark

         November 2, 2011 at 4:16 pm

         I have a 360 and bought a PS3 exactly for this reason (free multiplayer).
         I like Live too, but I’m not paying $70 per year just so I can do what I can do on other consoles for free.
         So I used that money to buy a PS3

         Reply
   2. 

      M1557

      November 2, 2011 at 4:02 pm

      I couldn’t imagine / afford going out a buying a new release multiplayer game, only to get home and have to pay more to play it online.
      I stumps me why anyone would do this.

      Reply
      1. 

         Trjn

         November 2, 2011 at 4:12 pm

         Generally, it’s because most people who play online with an Xbox have an active XBL account so they only ever have to worry about paying every year or so.

         There’s a vast disconnect between paying for XBL gold and having to use XBL gold to play online. It’s more like paying your annual car rego, you don’t think about it until you have to pay it and you generally aren’t about to hop into the car when you realise your rego is due.

         Reply
         1. 

            N0NEoftheAB0VE

            November 2, 2011 at 10:02 pm

            Plus if you know where to get it it’s only $50 which is less than a month of Foxtel!

            Reply
   3. 

      Andrew H

      November 2, 2011 at 4:08 pm

      I have both but started using my ps3 again cause I don’t want to pay to do something I can do for free elsewhere The only difference in online from what I can see is there isn’t a party option on ps3 ..what else is there?

      Reply
10. 

    Blake

    November 2, 2011 at 4:11 pm

    When given the option I’ll always buy for my 360 (much prefer the controllers and system ui and the multiple sign in business) but the last few games I’ve bought were PS3 exclusives so it’s gotten more of a work out lately.
    For new buyers I’d say it all comes down to Blu-ray vs Kinect (nobody wants the move), and price differences.

    Reply
11. 

    Sam

    November 2, 2011 at 4:24 pm

    It never fails to shock me how many people prefer the 360 controller, I mean to each is own, no offense meant, but for me it’s one of the worst pads I’ve ever had the horror of holding, I’d barely rather use it over a NES pad.

    Reply
    1. 

       Ponton

       November 2, 2011 at 4:44 pm

       I’m not a fan of the 360 controller, tho I wouldn’t say it was the worst.
       My gripes with it are:
       – Battery pack eats into my fingers, leaving indents and minor discomfort.
       – D-Pad is bad… really bad.
       – asymmetrical analogue stick locations (I know I’m weird)

       My Ideal controller would have the PS3 design, XBox triggers and Wii-Classic Controller d-pad (with pressure sensitivity of the PS3)

       Reply
       1. 

          Adrian Milano

          November 2, 2011 at 5:24 pm

          360 controller fits my little hands fine but I find the symmetry better with ps3, plus I have 4 fingers on r1,r2,l1,l2 all the time so the Dual Shock works perfectly for me. I only have 360 for the very few exclusives. PS3 gets 20hours plus a week.
          Oh by the way, I’m a PC master Race guy so kb/mouse for the win lol (not trolling)

          Reply
12. 

    oggob

    November 2, 2011 at 4:26 pm

    Just for all the people that this has taken by surprise, the PlayStation brand inside AU is quite strong when comparing to the other two, more so here than some of the bigger countries around the world.

    I’ll have a search tonight, but I remember with GfK were still doing charts a few years ago and Wilegoose was updating the stats on a weekly basis, with the multiplatform battle there were times where the PS3 version was coming out on top.

    Another factor which might play a bigger part than we think is imports. Obviously importing has become a strong force inside the AU Gamers mind, the PS3 is region free, whilst the 360 CAN be a little bit more difficult to import games from overseas (depending on the game, but from the UK is generally fine).

    Reply
13. 

    Jeevesington

    November 2, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    Can you say price drop?

    Reply
14. 

    mobo

    November 2, 2011 at 4:33 pm

    I don’t really know what the fuss is about. Hasn’t the Playstation brand always done better in Australia/Europe? People seem to be forgetting the PS3 has been outselling the 360 worldwide for years, it’s just in the United States where Microsoft has made tremendous in roads.

    Reply
    1. 

       Arky

       November 2, 2011 at 6:57 pm

       Exactly Mobu. The price and lack of system-selling games kept people away initially, but now that’s over order has been restored. X-Box is strong in America (if I was unkind I would say it is the main console of the foul-mouthed American young male, mostly playing shooters) but PS3 has a stronger rep worldwide and more varied system-sellers.

       Is Kinect that big really, or is it a media darling like Second Life which seemed to get weekly media mentions in The Age despite its irrelevance?

       Reply
       1. 

          Sterlos

          November 2, 2011 at 9:53 pm

          Even though PS3 has come out on top this year in Australia (which I owe to that ridiculous price crash), historically, the 360 has been outselling the PS3 year in and year out for the past couple of years, although I believe the Wii was the leader. Either way, I definitely agree with Europe, they’ve had a huge PS market for a while now likewise with Japan (where the 360 could never get off the back foot and eventually failed).

          Overall, I’m pretty sure the 360 is still leading in AUS.

          Reply
15. 

    Jiff

    November 2, 2011 at 4:57 pm

    Never misses an opportunity to use marketing buzzwords, that Michael Ephraim..

    Reply
16. 

    James Mac

    November 2, 2011 at 5:03 pm

    STOP MAKING ME WANT TO BUY A PS3!

    YOU’RE NOT MY SUPERVISOR!

    Reply
17. 

    Adrian Milano

    November 2, 2011 at 5:33 pm

    Got my PS3 launch day, played it all the way to YLOD. Got a slim, still cranking it constantly… point being I love my PS3.

    Reply
18. 

    PiratePete1911

    November 2, 2011 at 6:47 pm

    I got a PS3 last year but I only use it for exclusives, the one thing that pisses me off above all else on the PS3 is not being able to install an entire game. It drives me mental trying to play MGS4 and having to watch snake smoke for several minutes every time I want to go back and forth between saves cross chapter. It came with a 250gb Hard drive, If I want to store a 40gb game on it then so be it! I love how with the 360 you can just install a game and then immediately benefit from improved load times.

    Reply
    1. 

       Arkayn – Adrian Milano

       November 2, 2011 at 7:17 pm

       Thats more of a Metal Gear thing done to save people having to wait an hour to play it. It’s not a PS3 thing, any other game with a mandatory instaill is a one time install.
       Now even though you can’t install the whole game it is done on purpose as there is no quicker loading like on 360 as devs use the HDD as more Ram, hene it can’t read the disc data from the HDD instead to cache to the HDD as Ram (it can’t be two things at once) So besides MGS4 there is no point so don’t feel it is a “missing” feature to upset you.

       Reply
       1. 

          PiratePete

          November 2, 2011 at 10:47 pm

          Thats a really interesting comment, I never would have known. I guess its cause I only play the exclusives!

          I do like my PS3 a lot. That was my only gripe :p

          Reply
19. 

    umz93

    November 2, 2011 at 6:54 pm

    Hey guys Ive had an xbox 360 for the past 4 years however the PS3 is starting to look really good. Do you think its too late in the consoles life to buy one now?

    Reply
    1. 

       Matt

       November 2, 2011 at 7:12 pm

       Hell no Never too late, Uncharted 2 FTW!

       Reply
       1. 

          Matt

          November 2, 2011 at 7:12 pm

          *Uncharted 3…..haha

          Reply
    2. 

       Arkayn – Adrian Milano

       November 2, 2011 at 7:14 pm

       Nope It’s only $350 for a machine with something like 20 AAA titles available (alot less than $40) to get your monies worth PLUS even though PS4 is a year or 2 away you prob wont get a PS4 launch day/year SO you will get more than 2years from it. Same as ps2 up untill 2/3 years ago having heaps of games for it. There’s nothing to regret getting one now. A wii on the other hand………

       Reply
20. 

    skeptic

    November 2, 2011 at 9:07 pm

    They are probably counting all the freebies they gave away with the TVs….and a lot were given away!

    Reply
21. 

    JK

    November 2, 2011 at 10:23 pm

    Even after that little incident, you know, when the PSN was “compromised”?

    Well done to them, though i don’t have a PS3 yet cause im on the 360 side of the fence, i recently acquired a PS1 though and also own a PSP. I would like to get a PS3 in the near-future.

    Reply
    1. 

       oggob

       November 2, 2011 at 10:45 pm

       That is a very good point also, obviously the price drop was a big factor, BUT with the account leakage, that was from mid April through to the start of June, sales probably weren’t the best there either with consumer confidence down.

       Obviously the public has short memories or they believe the Network to be very secure, secure enough to buy in.

       Reply
       1. 

          PiratePete

          November 2, 2011 at 10:49 pm

          Or many of the people buying had no intention of playing online. A surprising amount of people still get them just to play single player.

          Reply
22. 

    Mr Waffle

    November 3, 2011 at 12:19 am

    I imagine the continual drop in blu ray prices is a major reason. It’s the only reason I bothered replacing my first PS3 after it died on me a year after purchase.

    Reply