In 2008, the PlayStation 3 picked up speed largely due to the new $499 price cut. The first true price cut was in October 2007 when they sliced $100 off. The PS3 appeared to do a permananent price cut on its 60GB model, but it later turned out it was only to clear out hardware in preparation for a new 80GB model. The Xbox 360 had its first price cut in the United States on August 2007, in preparation of Halo 3. Its PlayStation 2 console was virtually tied with the Xbox 360 in 2007 with nearly 4.5 million units sold. Not all was doom and gloom for Sony however. Altogether, it sold 1.3 million less in its first full year than the Xbox 360's debut year. It reached a low point of 82,000 in April and May. The high price, uncertainty of the Blu-ray Disc format, and low availability of exclusive video games turned people away from the system. This shortage would continue until 2009, nearly three years after its release.Īfter the initial launch hype subdued, one of the biggest stories of 2007 was the subpar sales of the PlayStation 3. Although supply met demand in January 2007 for the PS3, the Wii surprisingly continued with shortages well into 2007. Sony experienced a blue laser diode shortage which led to only ~200,000 units being available at launch. The Wii and PS3 releases were met with great demand. With a one year lead on the other consoles, the Xbox 360 gained a 2,892,000 advantage before the mid-November release of the Wii and PlayStation 3 (worldwide, the advantage was around 10 million). As a result, it only managed 607,000 in 2005. The gray market was riddled with Xbox 360 selling on Ebay for many months after its release. The Xbox 360 was plagued by severe stock shortages. The seventh generation began on November 2005 with the release of the Xbox 360.

Market share (image courtesty of ChartGet!)Īligned launch of three consoles ( source)Ĭonsole market share through April 2009 (courtesy of ChartGet!)

Ps3 console id generator 2018