Gizmodo: Sales

Wii is Now the Number One Console in the U.S.

John Mahoney — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 10:30:00 EDT

After outselling the Xbox 360 3:1 in June (660,000 vs 219,800), the Wii eeked ahead in the total U.S. sales race by 500,000 consoles, despite the 360's one-year head start. NPD is also reporting a 53% increase in game and hardware sales across the industry compared to this time last year. [Information Week]

Apple Now #3 U.S. Computer Maker, Behind Only Dell and HP

matt buchanan — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 10:40:00 EDT

Last Friday might've been the most important day of the year for Apple, but today's looking pretty shiny too: Gartner estimates that sales of 1.4 million Macs last quarter effectively make it the number three computer maker in the US, trailing only Dell and HP, thanks to a swoopy 38 percent growth in Mac sales.

Mac's marketshare is up two percent from last year, claiming 8.5 percent of the overall market (Dell comfortably holds 31.9 percent to HP's 25.3 percent). To take home the bronze, Apple slipped past Acer by 65,000 units. While it won't move out of third anytime soon, you definitely can't deny Mac's got the mojo right now. [AppleInsider]

Wait to Buy! HDTVs About To Get Even Cheaper

Benny Goldman — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 16:55:00 EDT

Wait on buying your TV. Fresh off a round of price-cuts barely two months old, Mitsubishi, Sharp, Panasonic and Samsung will drop prices on their sets by as much as $400 in the coming weeks.

With too much inventory and not enough demand, the HDTV makers are cutting prices yet again to clear out stock. After these guys finish slashing, you can expect other bigwigs like Pioneer, LG and Sony to follow suit. So before you shell out for that sweet new LCD or plasma set, make sure you're not overpaying and check out the chart of everything we know so far. [HD Guru]

*Note: The following are "minimum advertised prices". Street pricing, or what they actually charge in store after sales, etc., is usually much less.

PSP Update: It's Dominating Japan

Jason Chen — Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:40:00 EDT

Remember the post we had late last year pondering how the PSP could overtake the DS (and the companion piece pondering why it wouldn't)? Well, it's done just that for the first six months of 2008. Famitsu's publisher claims that the PSP has sold 1.9 million units in Japan so far this year, leading the Wii with 1.7 million and the DS with 1.6 million. This is partially due to Monster Hunter Portable 2nd G, which is a Japan-only RPG that has been moving PSPs like cakes that have been heated somehow. Will Sony be able to keep up the momentum, or will Nintendo be able to churn out a few more Pokemon and Mario titles to reclaim the lead? [Mainichi via PSPhyper via Kotaku]

PC Gamers Pirating 20x the Games They Buy?

Mark Wilson — Fri, 27 Jun 2008 08:29:00 EDT

Crytek, makers of the game/PC benchmarking software Crysis, have reported that they believe that the piracy rate on the game is somewhere between 15:1 and 20:1.

That means for every one game sold, people download 15 to 20 pirated copies. It's an amazing number when you realize that as of February, the game had sold 1 million copies and it could alter who makes PC-exclusive games going forward. In other words, just look for console gaming to get even bigger Mr. I Spent Too Much On My Computer But It Glows."

Then again, 20:1 is probably fairly paltry when compared to the free download rate on Adobe products...yes, we're looking into your computers and we can see their black, stolen hearts. [IGN via Maxconsole]

Prezenter PSR Two-Touchscreen Laptop: Travelling Sales Pitches Go High-Tech

Kit Eaton — Thu, 19 Jun 2008 05:57:00 EDT

I've never encountered a traveling salesperson, so I've not had someone trying to push a "revolutionary" product on me from the comfort of my home. But if the Prezenter PSR is anything to go by, traveling sales is about to get high-tech. It's a custom notebook PC, designed to fold so that a 14-inch screen faces the ~~victims~~ audience, while a 7-inch touchscreen faces the seller. The small screen controls the presentation, and the audience can draw stuff on their screen. Apart from that it's a standard laptop, with 3.5 hours of battery if you're using Wi-Fi, and it's on trial in the US market. When it's for sale, it'll cost you $1,800: presumably you won't have to watch a two-hour sales pitch to buy one. [Cnet]

Best Buy's Salesmen Will Do Anything To Close a Deal

Brian Lam — Mon, 26 May 2008 23:54:34 EDT

This was taped in January, but it falls under the category of "Timeless sales pitches." From the Best Buy sales person's handbook: Never take no for an answer, entertain lower offers, hump the floor if it helps sell even just one more car stereo. [Funny or Die]

PlayStation 3 Surpasses Xbox 360 In Europe

Mark Wilson — Wed, 07 May 2008 10:30:00 EDT

With 5 million PS3s sold on the continent, Sony has announced that they've overtaken the 360 in Europe. And not only that, but Sony has been outselling Microsoft in the market since October.

While Sony's PlayStation 3 has gotten off to a shaky, late start, Sony has always claimed that the console was doing well through Europe (which includes many markets that don't have public sales figures available). And that makes sense, since the PlayStation brand is incredibly strong there—48 million PS2s have been sold there, along with 12 million PSPs.

With this European data in hand, it's looking more and more like the Xbox 360 is an American trend (since their sales in Japan are virtually nonexistent). But Sony still has a good deal more ground to cover before they can claim second place in the console wars, even from the worldwide perspective. [BBC via Kotaku]

Amazon Sues New York to Stop Collecting Sales Tax

Benny Goldman — Thu, 01 May 2008 20:11:38 EDT

Amazon has filed suit against the state of New York in response to the law passed last week that requires the company to collect sales tax on purchases made by New Yorkers. They say the law, which demands any web retailer with affiliates in the state to charge sales tax, is vague and unconstitutional. The company also says they've been unfairly targeted since lawmakers dubbed the bill the "Amazon Tax." I hope they're right and the law gets repealed; I'm not spending 8.375% more of my hard-earned money than I should until this is worked out. [NYT]

Blu-ray Domination Pushes Hardware Sales to 93% After CES

Jason Chen — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 19:00:48 EST

If all the talk of HD DVD's demise wasn't enough to actually convince you that it's all but over for HD DVD, take a look at these numbers from the research group NPD. The two formats sold almost neck and neck in the week leading up to CES, but Blu-ray completely knee-to-groined HD DVD in the week of CES's shenanigans with a 92.53% hardware sales rate. Our only question is: what the heck is that 7.47% thinking? [Electronista]

The Console Wars: 2007 Update

Mark Wilson — Sat, 19 Jan 2008 15:00:12 EST

We don't keep you updated with every Wii sold like our friends at Kotaku, but the NPD's 2007 sales numbers have been released, so we thought that the occasion merited a rundown to fuel your fanboy flame wars. Here are the total consoles sold in the United States during 2007:

Nintendo DS - 8,500,000
Wii - 6,290,000
Xbox 360 - 4,620,000
PlayStation 2 - 3,970,000
PSP - 3,820,000
PlayStation 3 - 2,560,000

So what about the total cumulative US sales numbers to date? Those numbers paint a slightly different picture:

PlayStation 2 - 41,120,000 Nintendo DS - 17,650,000 PSP - 10,470,000 Xbox 360 - 9,150,000 Wii - 7,380,000 PlayStation 3 - 3,250,000

Our reaction: it's so easy to underestimate the success of the PSP hardware (and it's currently selling like hotcakes in Japan). [kotaku]

Dealzmodo: MacMall has Mac Sales Until the New Year

Jason Chen — Fri, 28 Dec 2007 14:00:16 EST

The cheap and the unlucky who didn't get anything from Apple for Xmas this year (that'd be us) will be happy to know that MacMall is holding a sale on just about all their stock from now until the end of the year. You can pick up some MacBooks for 7% off, iMacs for up to 13% off, MacBook Pros for up to 26% off, and iPods for a scant 7% off. It's not much, but saving money is better than not saving money. Who's with me!? [MacMall - Thanks Michael!]

Avoid Getting Screwed by Post-Holiday Clearance Deals

Adrian Covert — Sun, 23 Dec 2007 19:00:40 EST

About.com has a good feature about what to look for when determining if those after-Xmas deals are worth buying. Overstock clearance deals and soon-to-be clearance price slashing are considered the best and safest for consumers because the product is expected to work properly. Open box deals and display products receive a red flag, because they could be missing parts, an expiring warranty or be older than you think. [About]

Nintendo Losing Out on $1 Billion from Holiday Wii Shortage?

Mark Wilson — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 10:30:09 EST

Nintendo has already gone on record stating that the Wii shortages have been a detriment to the company—that they've lost out on potential sales since much of Nintendo's target casual gaming audience won't bother with it down the line—even if this NYT article has statements that differ. But while we knew Nintendo had screwed up, we had no clue just how much this mistake cost them in real, speculated dollars. James Lin, senior analyst at the MDB Capital Group, puts the estimated lost sales at $1.3 billion stating that, "They could easily sell double what they are selling." That's the price of success, I guess. [nyt]

Nintendo Wii Passes Lifetime GameCube Sales Already (In Japan)

Jason Chen — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:10:22 EST

Showing both that they've learned their lesson and just how lousy GameCube sales were, the Wii has passed the latter's lifetime sales in just about a year's time. In the time period between November 27, 2006 and now, the Wii has sold about 4 million units while the GameCube has sold only about 3.9. And the GC came out on September 10, 2001. In comparison, the DS has sold just about the same amount of units as the Wii, with the GBA actually selling more than either of them. More fancy charts if you follow the link. [JoshuaJamesSlone via Go Nintendo via Kotaku]

Australian Rental Chains Side with Blu-ray

Mark Wilson — Tue, 04 Dec 2007 08:48:54 EST

HD DVD takes another blow on the chin today as Australian movie rental chains Video Ezy and Blockbuster have both decided to offer Blu-ray exclusively. Actually owned by the same parent company, Franchise Entertainment Group, the combined franchises have 870 stores in all. And while that number isn't massive, remember that if each store were to buy but one hi-def disc, that amount of volume would double sales. We kid! But their reasons for siding with Blu-ray may be a little wonky.

While Blu-ray players have outsold HD DVD players nearly 4:1 in Australia, a major reason cited for this decision was the dispersion between regular DVD releases and their HD DVD counterparts. Unfortunately, I don't think that the Blu-ray camp has their release schedule ironed out either. Who else is still waiting for Pan's Labyrinth? [smh via theregister] [image]

8 Reasons the PSP Will NEVER, EVER Overtake the DS

Mark Wilson — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 15:00:30 EST

Our own pantsing expert Jason Chen recently wrote up 8 Reasons Why The PSP Might Overtake the DS. It was a fascinating article with some worthwhile arguments. But alas, he was completely, entirely wrong. Jason's logic is the consumer electronic equivalent of Zeno's Paradox, perfect in theory...but clearly fallible in real world testing. So here are my 8 reasons the Sony PSP (though a great handheld system), will never, ever take over the might Nintendo DS.

• PSP Slim sold more in first two months only because DS Lite couldn't.The PSP-2000 may have reinvigorated the platform, with Sony shipping 2 million units in the first two months. And that's impressive, especially since total DS figures were only 1,828,621 over the same period of time. The difference? Nintendo didn't sell/ship more because they were out of hardware—DSs were sold out everywhere. And it didn't start with the DS Lite, either. From hardware importer Play Asia at the DS launch:

Hardware supply of the Nintendo DS™ has been tight since end of 2005, most shops were completely sold out for weeks and once supply arrived, all units were sold out like hot cakes. When Nintendo announced the new Nintendo DS™ Lite in the end of January, everyone was hoping for a hold back and increased supply upon release of the improved hardware...

• As long as we're talking about sales, the DS has topped 40 million units worldwide. Sony has, respectably, reached 25 million. Both numbers look big, but remember, Nintendo already has a nearly 2:1 lead. And that's plenty of breathing room when you...

• Nintendo has the one-two brand punch of Wii, which is the leading home console in the world. Since its launch, the Nintendo Wii has not been outsold for a month worldwide ever by the Xbox 360 or PS3. There's simply no stronger brand right now in video games than Nintendo.

• The PSP doesn't offer an alternative experience so the PSP will inherently always battle the PlayStation brand for market share. What do I mean? The PSP is exactly what it promises to be: a portable PlayStation. And while that's great, the lack of a different interface on the PSP means that other than its portable nature, there is little gaming-wise drawing consumers to the product. In other words, Sony is essentially selling oranges and smaller oranges. Nintendo, in its two screens and use of touch, is selling oranges and apples. While this was a gamble originally, the public likes the unique taste of both flavors of gaming. Buying a Wii cannot replace the experience of buying a DS, or vice versa. So people are more tempted to buy both.

• The DS supports more than just the DS through backward compatibility. Sure, the PSP is great at playing PSP games. But with the DS, Nintendo took a lesson from Sony's PS2 and made their portable compatible with Game Boy Advance titles (GBA). Is it a huge deal? Maybe not. But one thing's for sure: backwards compatibility never hurt a console's sales, especially when it supported such a large library.

• DS games sell better. Way better. Let's turn away from consoles sold for a minute and look at the software moved—a stat just as important for the success of a platform. The PSP has no titles whatsoever in the top 100 of all time video game sales charts. Their best selling title is Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories which has moved a meager 4.5 million units...at least when compared to the success of the DS. From my count, the DS has 8 titles in the top 100 charts, with Nintendogs breaking the top 10 with 15.41 million copies sold worldwide. And it's not the only title to move more than 10 million copies. Oh, and Mario and Pokemon and case closed.

• The casual market is the real deal. Whether you love it or hate it, casual gaming exists and it's big. We've seen estimates as high as $2.5 billion a year (even if that number is a little questionable). Bottom line: the DS attracts both casual and "hardcore" gamers. Does the PSP do the same? I don't think so.

• The DS just had the most successful week in history with Black Friday. Nintendo moved 653,000 DS units, the most consoles in one week ever.

So while the PSP is a wonderful machine and probably doesn't get enough credit—honestly, it looks like two handhelds can get by just fine in this market—the PSP is not dethroning the DS. Sorry, it's just not happening (see above). But a future PSP2 or PSPP or whatever? Who knows? Sony has done pretty well during their first foray in the portable industry.

[all sales data taken from vgchartz]

Motorola Drops to Third Place Behind Samsung, Nokia - Nobody Wonders Why

Jason Chen — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 16:20:55 EST

In news that surprises no one, Motorola's dropped to third place in global cellphone sales behind Samsung and Nokia, thanks to inventory issues and "an unremarkable product lineup". That's code for too many RAZRs and RIZRs, in case your decoder ring's in the shop. In comparison, Moto's down from 21% to 13% of the market in just one year, compared with Samsung's 15% and Nokia's 38%. Beyond that, there's Sony Ericsson, LG, and everyone else. Unless Motorola comes out with a phone that's a big a hit as the original RAZR was, we don't see any kind of upturn in the next year, either. [PC World]

Nintendo DS Sets New Record, Wins All of World's Gold

Mark Wilson — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 09:19:26 EST

This just in: Nintendo is making boatloads of cash. Despite pumping out 1.8 million Wiis a month, they can't keep the unit on shelves—and this is one year since the system's launch. But the story this week is about their portable system, the Nintendo DS. It's just set a game console sales record for Thanksgiving week, moving 653,000 DS units. Yes, you read that number correctly. So for those anxiously awaiting Nintendo price cuts, think again. And be happy they're not raising the price on the public. [kotaku]

Online sales on Cyber Monday were up 21 percent ...

AddyDugdale — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:39:04 EST

Online sales on Cyber Monday were up 21 percent to $733 million, according to comStore Inc, a marketing company that tracks internet sales and traffic.

Sony Ships 1 Millionth New PSP

Mark Wilson — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 08:47:49 EST

Sony's updated PSP Slim (PSP-2000) may not have been an upgrade anywhere near the metamorphosis from Nintendo's DS to DS Lite, but it's reinvigorated the Japanese consumer nonetheless. Sony has officially broken the 1 million barrier in these new units shipped to retailers, and has accomplished the feat in just about 2 months of time. Once again, not Nintendo DS numbers, but being second to the Flash in a footrace doesn't mean you're slow. [sony via kotaku]

Zune Outsells Every Player on Amazon

Jason Chen — Tue, 13 Nov 2007 14:45:21 EST

Thanks to the Zune 2 firmware update and the $89 deal, the Brown Zune is outselling every other player (flash or hard drive) on Amazon. [Amazon]

Amazon Customers Vote Will Get You Goodies For Pennies

Haroon Malik — Sun, 11 Nov 2007 18:45:00 EST

Last year, Amazon ran a promotion called Customers Vote, which let the consumers vote on discounts they would like to receive. The scheme culminated in ridiculous, basement priced deals, including an Xbox 360 Core for $100! This year, Amazon returns with the very same promotion, and the potential savings return once again. What will it be? A Wii for $50? We couldn't say, but voting has not even started yet. The promotion initially resulted in Amazon's site becoming crippled by the surge of punters that wanted to grab a bargain. To make things more stable, Amazon has refined the rules, but the system is still looking sweet for great prices. The rules are a little complicated, so put your thinking cap on and jump in.

On November 15th, eighteen products will be revealed and voting shall open. Voting shall take place across six rounds. Each vote shall set three products against one another. The winner from each round shall then be made available at a discount, to randomly selected customers who chose the winning item in that round. The votes for all six rounds will be cast in one go, the total votes will then be added up to determine one ultimate winning product. The baby that triumphs is going to be made available at a serious, crazy discount. Again, only randomly selected individuals who voted for the overall winner shall be selected to purchase. The two runner-up positions will also be offered at (slightly lower) discount prices.

Phew! Anyway, crux of this is; make sure you cast your vote come the 15th for a chance at the potential huge savings. If you are picked, drop us a line and tell us all about it. [Amazon via I4U]

HD DVD Player Sales Top Blu-ray Again, Win Netflix Users As Well

Jason Chen — Thu, 11 Oct 2007 16:30:06 EDT

In a not-so-surprising turn, standalone HD DVD players have regained their lead on Blu-ray sales in September, giving the overall year-to-date figures (in which HD DVD has always been ahead) as 53% HD DVD, 44% Blu-ray, and 3% dual-format. Although this may give you the impression that HD DVD is in the lead, the numbers don't include the PS3, which dwarfs sales of standalone HD DVD and Blu-ray players by quite a large margin (based on June figures).

Things are also interestingly murky over on Netflix. When looking at their published numbes, Blu-ray has about twice as many people looking at the category, but only about 1/3 as many choosing it as their preference. We're not sure exactly what's going on, but our theory is that PS3 owners who got a Blu-ray player as part of the bargain are only marginally interested in its features, which explains the increased overall views. HD DVD owners, who either bought a standalone player or an add-on for the 360, knew what they were getting into, and thus have a higher preference for the format. Sounds good to us. *slaps hands together, then wipes on pants* [DailyTech via Crunchgear]

Video Business

OLPC Releases Details of Christmas Sales Initiative

Haroon Malik — Sun, 23 Sep 2007 22:00:00 EDT

The XO laptop will soon be available for purchase in the US via OLPC's "Give 1 Get 1" program. The business model is interesting; essentially, the cost of ownership shall be $400 for one XO laptop. The price shall also provide funding for a second XO laptop that will be donated, on your behalf, to a qualifying child in a developing nation.

Orders shall be taken for two weeks, between the 12th-26th November, 2007, which shall guarantee delivery in time for Christmas. Though the intention is super, is it not slightly patronizing to force customers to donate to charity? Your thoughts, oh trusted readership? [OLPC News]

Despite only having a PS3-amount of playable ...

Jason Chen — Wed, 22 Aug 2007 17:35:15 EDT

Despite only having a PS3-amount of playable games, the Nintendo Wii has just passed the Xbox 360 in worldwide sales. Which means the 360's winning the race for 2nd place. [VGChartz]

Japan to Wii - You are So Yesterday

Mark Wilson — Fri, 10 Aug 2007 09:02:07 EDT

While Nintendo's Wii has so far been a 1,000-ft unstoppable super lizard invading Japan, the country is already losing its fever for the console/giant monster. Because over the past month, Japanese Wii sales have dropped nearly 50%.

Four weeks ago Nintendo was moving around 110,000/week. Since, that number has steadily declined to just over 60,000. While it's still number two (behind the DS, I might add), now that inventory has been replenished in Japan, it's clear that the Wii is not a magical superproduct poised to break all laws of physics/logic and sell to infinity. The DS on the other hand—that just might.

Japan Weekly Sales Chart in full:

DSL: 135,729
Wii: 61,498
PSP: 33,886
PS3: 24,289
PS2: 12,784
Xbox360: 2,691
GBM: 413
GBASP: 228
DS: 75
GC: 68
GBA: 0

UPDATE: Admitted, this is at least, in part, due to normal market fluctuation. Still telling.

[Media Create via Kotaku]

Xbox 360 Price Drop Brings Sales Way Up On Amazon

Jason Chen — Wed, 08 Aug 2007 16:50:15 EDT

People like cheap things. Just like the PlayStation 3 price drop caused its sales to tent, the Xbox 360's slash made the Xbox 360 Premium rocket to #11 in sales in video games. The other two, Elite and Core, also went up as well. Forza 2, the 360's racing game, also benefitted from the price drop, launching all the way to #1 from #94. [Amazon]

Xbox 360 Passes Wii as Most Googled Console, May Turn Sales Around?

Jason Chen — Mon, 30 Jul 2007 13:50:56 EDT

As of a couple days ago, the Xbox 360 has officially passed up the Wii as the most searched for console (in internet searches) since early November of last year. This wasn't due to the Wii interest dropping lately (it's been more or less constant since January 2007), but more because of a gradually growing interest in the 360 since April.

Hitwise, the company that's been tracking these terms, says that an increased search rate is usually indicative of a higher amount of future sales for that product. Since the Xbox 360 has been sluggish in sales despite a really good game library, it makes us wonder why there's an upswing in searches now. Could it be because of the rumors of the impending $50 price drop? Could it be because of all the failures and warranty extension data? Hitwise says it's not (it wasn't in the top 10 searched terms), and only appeared at #13 and #15 in the list. Not quite large enough to make a significant impact at only about half a %. [Hitwise]

Next Gen SlapFest: HD DVD Responds to Blu-ray's Target Exclusivity

Jason Chen — Thu, 26 Jul 2007 16:50:48 EDT

Who'd have thought the next-gen format spin war would be full of half truths and twisted facts? Oh, right, EVERYONE. It all started from Sony's statement that Target stores will feature Sony's BDP-S300 as the exclusive high-definition player, and AP's article picking up on it saying Target was exclusively featuring Sony's player in lieu of selling any HD DVD players. That's exactly not true. Here's what Sony really said:

Beginning this fall and continuing at least through the holiday season, Target will feature Sony® Blu-ray Disc® players as the exclusive product in the emerging category of high-definition home video systems, as well as an expanded assortment of Blu-ray Disc movies.

That sentence is vague enough that you can say Sony claimed to be the exclusive high-definition product sold at Target, both in terms of standalone players and overall. Sony's the exclusive standalone high def player, but not the exclusive high def player period. Target's still selling Xbox 360 HD DVD players. The HD DVD camp struck back today in a statement saying:

Target will continue to carry the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive as well as HD DVD titles so we don't see much of a change in their plans to carry both formats. In fact, they continue to sell Toshiba HD DVD players on their website. Sony appears to have bought an end cap, just as HD DVD has in retail stores such as BestBuy and Circuit City.

This is true too, however Sony didn't say that they were going to feature only Sony Blu-ray movies, just the Blu-ray players. What Sony actually did was pay Target for the right to "end caps," which are prominent displays at the end of aisles. Putting BD players there means it's right in prime real estate for sales.

Target itself is saying it's not picking sides in the war and continues to offer both types of discs even while only choosing the BDP-S300 as the sole standalone player.

What does this mean to you? Not a whole lot, in the end. You can't pick up Toshiba standalone HD DVD players at Target proper, but you can still buy them on Target's website. You'll still be able to pick up the now discounted Xbox 360 drive in brick and mortar stores if that interests you. The lesson to take away from this is not to trust either camp entirely, but to look at what both are saying and make up your own mind. [Mercury News]

Sony Statement

HD DVD Statement:

Target will continue to carry the Xbox 360 HD DVD drive as well as HD DVD titles so we don't see much of a change in their plans to carry both formats. In fact, they continue to sell Toshiba HD DVD players on their website. Sony appears to have bought an end cap, just as HD DVD has in retail stores such as BestBuy and Circuit City.
What's important is that standalone HD DVD players are still much more affordable than Blu-ray players, plus they offer a better experience—just compare titles appearing in both formats like "300" or "Blood Diamond." Ultimately consumers will be the ones that determine what format provides the greatest value.

Xbox 360 Sales Down an Unexpected 61% Thanks to Wii, PS3, Faulty Hardware

Jason Chen — Mon, 23 Jul 2007 15:40:46 EDT

In the Microsoft Earnings statement last week, the Entertainment and Devices Division revealed that they had a loss of $1.16 billion thanks to flagging Xbox sales. Instead of shipping 1.8 million Xbox 360s like they did in the fourth quarter of 2006, they shipped 700,000, which is a dramatic fall-off this early into a console's life cycle. What gives?

It's definitely not a lack of games, seeing as the Xbox 360 has a much higher library of titles to choose from compared with both the PlayStation 3 and the Wii. The two factors we can point to are one, the faulty hardware that led to a three year warranty from Microsoft, and two, the fact that both the Wii and the PS3 weren't on the market yet this time last year. Both combine together to push down sales of the 360 into six digits. We'll see if Microsoft can pull itself out of this one when Halo 3 comes calling. [Information Week via MTechXP]

Microsoft Sells a Million Zunes!

Jason Chen — Fri, 20 Jul 2007 14:51:11 EDT

Woooo! Woooooooooooooooooooooooo! Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!!!!! Yeaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah!!! Yipeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!! YESSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!! RAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAARGH! FAAAAAART!! [Zune Insider]

Sony's $100 price drop on the PS3 bumped ...

Jason Chen — Tue, 10 Jul 2007 12:00:01 EDT

Sony's $100 price drop on the PS3 bumped the console up to #1 in the video game sales chart on Amazon. [Amazon]

iPhone eBay and Craigslist Watch: It's a Buyer's Market

Jason Chen — Sun, 01 Jul 2007 15:23:53 EDT

Even though most AT&T stores sold out of iPhones on the first day, many Apple stores still had them in yesterday (as well as today). So why are people putting up iPhones for $700-$900 on Craigslist? And why are auctions on eBay ending at higher than retail?

It's hard to say. Looking through completed auctions on eBay, you see lots of phones selling for around $650 with free shipping, which means you're getting a phone for just about retail. There are a few that went for crazier amounts ($700+), but those are pretty rare. So it looks like a buyer's market on eBay. If you live in a state without an Apple store, you can definitely score one here for close to retail.

Our guess is that on Craigslist, where you can't see completed listings, has a similar story. Especially here, in San Francisco, where there ought to be tons of Apple stores and tons of stock. Why would someone meet up with a stranger just to get a phone that you can hop down the street and get one from an Apple store?

This is of course moot if you have the patience to wait 2-4 weeks to get one from the online Apple store. Those seem to still be in stock as of right now, but ships in 2-4 weeks, which is way too long for most geeks to wait.

Apple Store

Recording Industry Bleeding Cash, Album Sales Down for Seventh Straight Year

Charlie White — Fri, 05 Jan 2007 11:41:19 EST

Is the glass half-empty or half-full? Album sales dropped again, but the saving grace of the music industry was digital downloads, up 65% from the year before. Conventional music sales were down 4.9%, with Disney's teenybopper favorite High School Musical soundtrack topping the motley list.

Of course, the sleazy grandma-suing record companies will blame pirates for poor sales, which is much easier than actually signing competent artists who don't crank out shitty music year after year. Most of the steaming heap is not even worth stealing. – Charlie White

Digital sales boost music industry [Variety]

DVD Wars: Amazon Puts HD-DVD Ahead

Jason Chen — Thu, 07 Dec 2006 17:30:50 EST

Home theater buffs still undecided about which next-gen DVD they should buy should visit thedvdwars.com, where they use Amazon as a data source to determine which format is "winning" the dvd wars right now.

However, data by itself only gives part of the picture. But it's an important part. As of today, HD DVD is winning

in the number of DVDs that can ship today (125 vs. 107), number of DVDs that can be purchased today (154 vs. 152), the average salesrank of the top 10 products (854.2 vs. 2924.5), and the number of discs in the top 1000/10000. The only category HD DVD is losing in is price, with an average price of $24.60 vs. $21.80. You should know that there are some collector's packs like Mission Impossible for $64 that may be throwing off the price.

The amount of players/drives in existence is still uneven, with the PlayStation 3 being impossible to find and the HD DVD drive for the Xbox 360 attaching quite well to the widely available Xbox 360. Once this disparity evens out, then we'll see who the true "winner" is. – Jason Chen

The DVD Wars [DVD Wars]

Zune's Marketshare Isn't Quite What It Seems

Jason Chen — Thu, 30 Nov 2006 22:15:13 EST

Despite the Zune being declared #2 in sales by NPD Group, the figures aren't quite what they seem. We have a tip about how it was done, and why the numbers could possibly make the Zune look worse, or better, depending on the unknowns.

Here's a list of things that could possibly move the Zune's share up or down.

Up: The study included both flash and hard drive players.
Uncertain: They didn't include "club stores" like Costco and Wal-Mart.
Down: Data was US only. Zune's not out in other countries.
Uncertain: Black Friday data wasn't included, and won't be until mid-December.
Uncertain: Apple only reports monthly data, and not weekly data. This could possibly move the Zune share down.

Three uncertainties, one up, and one down. Even if they had all this data, the Zune's probably still #2—and hasn't dropped to #3—but the share could be higher or lower by a few percentage points. – Jason Chen

Thanks to the tipster!

Zune #2 In Sales Behind iPod

Jason Chen — Wed, 29 Nov 2006 18:00:10 EST

Despite the fact that the Zune was only #18 on Amazon's sales chart (it's #17 now)—behind 12 varieties of iPods—Microsoft's doing quite well this holiday season. Statistics released by NPD Group says that while the iPod is still number one, the Zune's leapfrogged everyone else and claimed 9% of sales and 13% of total dollar share. Impressive, until you compare it to the iPod's 63% of sales and 72.5% of dollar share.

Looks like Microsoft's 100 million dollar marketing spree is taking hold, at least enough for the Zune to beat everyone else except the iPod. Still, it wasn't enough to let us find a Zune buddy at the airport. – Jason Chen

iPod vs. Zune Update [SFGate via MacNN]

Woot Launching Nothing on Black Friday

Jason Chen — Thu, 23 Nov 2006 19:30:03 EST

Woops, sorry. I didn't check and it seems to be a fake. My bad. Nothing to see here. Move along.

Sony To Chuck Classy Living

tgrumet — Mon, 06 Feb 2006 12:00:42 EST

Though most of us think of Sony as solely an electronics company, you may be interested to know that the Japanese giant also owns large stakes in what it calls "non-core" businesses as well. These include importer-retailer Sony Plaza Co., cosmetics maker B&C Laboratories Inc., French-restaurant chain Maxim's de Paris Corp., and mail order firm Sony Family Club Inc., which were acquired long ago by late Sony founder Akio Morita. But recently, in an effort to focus on its core CE business, Sony has decided to sell sizeable stakes in these luxury markets to bring in several tens of billions of yen, and become leaner, meaner and more able to fight off competition like Apple.

Though not exactly at the top of its game recently, a surge of activity in the LCD market has given the company a second breath of life, so it will be interesting to see what this means for us as consumers in the coming year.

Sony recently pulled their QRIO and AIBO robot lines as well as their high-end electronis brand experiment, Qualia.

Sony in talks to spin off 4 non-core units: source [Reuters]