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PlayStation 3 Worldwide Sales Eclipse Xbox 360's

News

by Matt Helgeson on January 10, 2013 at 08:23 PM

30,489 Views

144

While the general perception is that this generation has been "won" by Microsoft -- largely due to the Xbox 360's dominance in North America -- analyst firm IDC's data now shows a slight advantage for Sony's PlayStation 3.

In a new report entitled "Worldwide Video Game and Entertainment Console Hardware and Packaged Software 2012-2016," IDC says that Sony passed Microsoft's worldwide numbers in the recent holiday season. PlayStation 3's worldwide sales numbers now stand at 77 million, compared to Xbox 360's 76 million.

This near dead heat is surprisingly, considering that Sony got a late start in this generation, and has struggled to catch Microsoft in the U.S. and Canada. It's also worth noting that -- despite the previous conventional wisdom -- the video game market in this generation was robust enough to support not one, but three, successful home game consoles (including Nintendo's Wii).

Source: IDC via Digital Trends

Email the author Matt Helgeson, or follow on Twitter, and Game Informer.

Filed under: News, Sony, Xbox 360, Microsoft, PS3, Playstation 3, Industry News, xbox, sales, Sony Computer Entertainment, consoles, worldwide

Comments

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by Sergeant Rex Power Colt (CMONEY) Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:28 PM

Point 1 to Sony.
by The Great Gonzo Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:28 PM

Awwwwww yeah!!!!!! LETS GO SONY FAN BOYS!!!!!PARTY ON THE GREAT GONZOS PAGE TONIGHT!!!!!! This has officially made my day.
by Luke Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:29 PM

I actually bought a PS3 on Black Friday, I still like the 360 better just going to use the PS3 for exclusives
by mordecai661 Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:29 PM

good for both consoles!! i cant wait for the new generation! i prefer the xbox but if its a good enough i would buy a PS4 and Xbox durango
by SHurvivor Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:30 PM

Congrats' Sony!
by Companion Cube Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:31 PM

And yet, Sony lost money on it... BTW, Europe, and to a lesser extent, Japan, was the main player in this.
by Chris Mcgrath Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:34 PM

Although this is good news, Sony is still struggling. Which sucks. Now we just need the Vita sales to rise. I don't want my Vita to be the next PSP that shall not be named.
by sir shart Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:34 PM

I peter prefer my Xbox over ps3. Still good news though. I like it when the industry does well.
by DeadBull Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:34 PM

Nooooooo!!!! Just kidding. I have a 360 and a Wii U and I'm not the type of person that would care about which company sold more systems.
by The Destroyer Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:35 PM

I admittedly wish I had a PS3, but only for about, 4 exclusives. So, I'll wait awhile before MGS4, Heavy Rain, and Beyond.
by Cesar Santiago Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:36 PM

Only 1 million in advantage, don't see much difference, good for both consoles that they sold very well though.
by Chronos545 Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:36 PM

Yay for PS3! Not too surprised, it just seems like a technically superior console with generally better games. The only Xbox has the influence it does in the U.S. is because it came out first and got a hold early, and then it branched out as people wanted to get the console their friends had. Note: I have nothing against Xbox, just by comparing the features and games PS3 seems better in most ways.
by Kai Atlas Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:36 PM

Playstation is HUGE in South America in terms of popularity, I'm sure it's also big but not as comparable in Europe.

Only if the sales matched its hype and popularity in South American countries then the numbers would have been immense. The video game industry has just left its foothold there though, comparative to North America and Japan.
by Dan Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:36 PM

The PS3's a pretty darn good system with some great games. I, however, will always prefer the 360 largely because its controller is so much more comfortable in my hands than the PS3's (plus I've never cared for that six axis stuff).
by hirschsc Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:37 PM

Not surprising. Since they jumped on the Kinect train, it's like Microsoft stopped caring about the Xbox 360 as a core gamer system. They lost some of their bigger exclusives and people are starting to see how much the Playstation Network has improved in the last couple of years.
by Paradigmthefallen Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:41 PM

So even more people can play multiplayer without using mics and thus not ever working as a team in Killzone 3/Resistance 3! SARCASTIC "YAY"!
by John Wrek Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:44 PM

Hmm...
by styx971 Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:44 PM

this is good news indeed ... specially since we all know a good chunk of those 360 sales were repurchases due to some type of hardware failure be it RRoD or ( my 3 time ) unreadable disc error.
by musicalham Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:47 PM

So funny. The people in another article were just talking about this.
by PIZZAKING92 Thursday, January 10, 2013 at 08:48 PM

Congrats to Sony, they deserve the sales. They have given their fans some of the best games of this generation.