Microsoft's Euro marketing exec for Xbox, David Gosen, is joining the chorus of suits starting to question the industry's overly Q4-focused release schedule. Speaking with MCV, Gosen points out that about 200 titles were released within three to four weeks last holiday -- with the third week of November (Thanksgiving in the States) being "crazy."
Sales for PS3 nearly quadrupled this week thanks to FF VII Advent Children Complete Bluray with FF XIII demo. Sales on other hardware fronts were mostly static, if down slightly.
PlayStation 3 - 62,527
PSP - 40,065
Nintendo DSi - 38,287
Wii - 13,221
Xbox 360 - 8,652
Nintendo DS Lite - 6,438
PlayStation 2 - 4,230
"Square Enix has revealed global sales figures for its biggest franchises, including those acquired following its buyout of Eidos. During a recent corporate strategy meeting the publisher said that sales of its bestselling franchise, Final Fantasy, have hit 85 million copies." Others: Dragon Quest - 47m, Kingdom Hearts - 12m, Tomb Raider - 30m, Hitman - 8m.
The go-to game industry analysts see the downward sales in March as a trend that could continue over the next several months. Wedbush Morgan's Michael Pachter notes that hardware sales were down 19 percent year-over-year and he doesn't see a reversal of software sales in the "near term."
Wii is in the lead among home consoles, of course, with 4.9 million units sold. The Xbox 360 is at 3.2 million, and the PlayStation 3 has sold 1.9 million units. The PS2 has sold 10 million in its eight-and-a-half year lifespan. In handhelds, the DS leads with 8.8 million sold, with the PSP at 3.2 million.
But how does the company itself view its progress? How does it see its business? To get those answers. Gamasutra spoke to Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing at Sony Computer Entertainment America, with additional commentary from SCEA corporate communications manager Julie Han.
When asked about motion control during a recent episode of GameTrailers TV, EA's Peter Moore said that he believed both Microsoft and Sony are likely looking at ways to implement and improve upon motion control. Moore spoke most specifically regarding Microsoft -- not surprising, given his former relationship with the company -- which he said is "constantly thinking three to five years ahead" about its consumers.
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