Spinning the numbers.

Console sales data is always a hot topic at N4G, so it is no surprise that this article from Gamezine [UK based] is burning up the charts. What I find surprising [actually this should come as no surprise] is the ridiculous spin everyone puts on this type of data. For example,

Although it’s odd to tout that the PS3 wasn’t that far behind the Xbox 360 during the quarter, it’s surely relevant for those who toot the horn that the Xbox 360 is beating the PS3 with a stick.

Microsoft’s console only sold approximately 100,000 more units than Sony’s PS3 (since the numbers are rounded to the nearest 0.1, the difference could be as little as 20,000 units) and though neither have had a great quarter, the differing price points for the consoles might raise some questions for Microsoft.

Compare that to this article from Gameplayer [an Australian based site] that takes the same data and comes to a somewhat different conclusion.

While Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft all reported a fall in total profits, it was only the latter that still showed a year-on-year increase in the sale of its console. Where 8.7 million consoles were sold during the same period in 2008, 11.2 million made it out the door in 2009. By comparison the once dominant Wii has seen sales more than halved in Q1 of 2009, dropping from 5.17 million units in 2008 to 2.23 million this year. The PlayStation 3 followed suit although not as dramatically dropping from 1.6 million sales, to 1.1 million in a Q1 comparison.

No matter how you spin things, the Wii still has a substantial market share, the 360 is still dominating the next generation market, and the PS3 is still in desperate need of a price cut.

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