PlayStation 2 Holds Slight Edge in Sales Over Xbox
Sony Corp.’s year-old PlayStation 2 is leading the multibillion-dollar video game console race, followed closely by Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox and Nintendo Co.’s GameCube, according to a report released Monday by Credit Suisse First Boston.
Sony sold 962,000 PlayStation 2 consoles between Nov. 11 and Dec. 8, according to CSFB estimates based on figures compiled by research firm NPDFunworld. Microsoft, which launched Xbox on Nov. 15, sold 934,000 consoles. The GameCube, introduced Nov. 18, sold 602,000.
In the last few weeks, each company at separate times claimed to have the best console launch ever, using their own sales figures. Monday’s report by CSFB represents the first independent evaluation of sales data.
The report shows that although Xbox and GameCube have garnered the lion’s share of media attention, PlayStation 2 outsold its rivals, primarily because it had the inventory to meet demand, while Xbox and GameCube were limited by production constraints that delayed both launches.
“The bulk of the revenue for this category is still driven by Sony’s PS2,” said Sean Milne, vice president of research firm Soundview Technology Group in San Francisco.
Nintendo expressed optimism over the figures. “We are ecstatic,” said Beth Llewelyn, a Nintendo spokeswoman. “We’ve sold over 800,000 GameCubes in the U.S. to date, and we will ship 1.3 million units by Christmas.”
Microsoft spokesman David Hufford said, “Xbox has caught fire since launch.”
Analysts cautioned, however, that the contest is not so much a sprint but a costly, five-year marathon, and the winner may not necessarily be the fastest one out of the gate.
The fervor over short-term bragging rights eclipsed a larger trend--that video games as a whole have taken off, injecting billions of dollars into a soft retail environment.
Spurred by aggressive marketing campaigns that have plastered video game ads on everything from soda cans to late-night TV, sales of consoles, software and peripherals will surge 36% to $6.4 billion this year, according to estimates released Monday by NPDFunworld, a market research firm in Port Washington, N.Y.
“It’s additional proof that even in this economic environment, our brand of entertainment is resonating with consumers,” said Sony spokeswoman Molly Smith.
