This head start also means that there are more game titles available for the Xbox 360 because developers had a full year more to sell these games. These video game consoles are not cheap by any means, and once a person had bought an Xbox 360 and its games, it was unfeasible to spend a similar amount to change over to the PS3 just more than a year after that.

Total sales of Xbox 360 currently stand at around 50 million units, and this includes all the different types of Xbox 360 consoles. On the other hand, worldwide sales of PS3 are around 43 million units. These are approximate figures, and they are from the month of September 2010, and these may have changed considerably by now. Let us see information about PS3 vs Xbox 360 – sales.

Sales of PS3 vs Xbox 360

A PS3 vs Xbox 360 comparison is something that many new buyers carry out, and in this area the PS3 edges out the Xbox 360 easily. The added advantage of the console being a Blu-Ray disc player also helps. Moreover, Xbox Live requires members to pay a certain fee to carry out online gaming, whereas the PlayStation Network can be used free of cost. Though Xbox Live is better, the fact that the rival offers a similar service for free works against it to a certain extent.

When you analyze PS3 vs Xbox 360 – sales it is also necessary to take the major markets into consideration. There are 4 primary markets where these video game consoles are sold, and these are the United States, United Kingdom, Europe and Japan. This PS3 vs Xbox 360 sales chart will show you the figures for sales in these specific markets.

As you can see, the UK and Europe and the US prefer the Xbox 360. This is simply because it was released before. Japan, on the other hand, recognizes the value of the PS3 and that is why it comfortably outsells the Xbox 360 there.

Competition and the Future

While Sony and Microsoft were fighting each other, the Nintendo Wii came along and stole a major chunk of the market. Worldwide sales of the Wii are close to 80 million units, and this is because the Wii offered something new with its unique motion sensing controller. They opened up a whole new market of gamers, and exploited this segment very well. Today, Sony has released the Move controller and Microsoft has released the Kinect (where ‘You are the Controller’), and they are looking to tap this market as well.

According to reports, the Sony Move has sold 4.1 million units since its release while the Microsoft Kinect has sold close to 3 million units. This is an inaccurate assessment of the consoles though, since many people are just buying the Move or Kinect packages and are upgrading their consoles, and not buying brand new ones. But these releases have certainly pushed the Nintendo Wii firmly into the background. Also see which is better – PS3 or Xbox 360 and PS3 Vs Xbox 360: Graphics Comparison for more information.

Video games are developing at an alarming rate today, and this market has a lot more potential that is still untapped. The PS3 vs Xbox 360 sales to date figures show that the Xbox 360 is doing better, but this is only because it was released a year earlier. There are many bugs with the Xbox 360 that are still not fixed, and the PS3 also acts as Blu-Ray player. So if you are looking to buy a new console, we suggest you opt for the PS3.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was originally launched in 2005 and has now sold over 39 million units (as of January 6th 2010), whereas Sony’s PlayStation 3 originally launched in 2006 and has sold well over 27 million unites (as of September 2009).

According to Microsoft’s senior director of Xbox product management, the Xbox 360 still has a lot to offer, therefore Microsoft is in no rush to release a next-gen console.

Microsoft plans to keep pushing barriers with the Xbox 360 by releasing software and hardware updates for the console, and obviously one major addition will be Project Natal. (In other words, they are going to try to give people more reasons buy the Xbox 360, other than Halo.)

As for the PS3, it is hard to say how it will adapt. I personally think that Sony need to concentrate on their software more than anything else; improving software will unlock the consoles full potential in my opinion. And a new console doesn’t seem all that likely since Sony is already going to be putting out a new PSP console called the NGP.

Personally I would be very surprised if either Sony or Microsoft announces a new console within 18 months, it all depends on just how much these current consoles still have to offer.