Sony PS3 Set for Success

By Colleen Taylor -- 11/16/2006

Sony is set to launch its PlayStation 3 gaming system in the United States this Friday, but Microsoft's Xbox 360 is facing even greater pressure to produce a strong holiday season, according to the latest report from market research firm Strategy Analytics.

According to the firm, in order to meet its target, Microsoft must sell 4 million consoles over the gift-buying season.

Overall, the gaming industry will not be hurting in Q4, according to the firm's predictions. Indeed, Strategy Analytics expects global sales of nearly 9 million next-generation games consoles during the last quarter of 2006. The Xbox 360 will remain the leading system through most of 2007, but the PS3 will be catching up by the end of the year and is still set to become the dominant platform of the next generation, according to the firm.

In the long run, however, the firm said it looks like Sony will be the runaway winner in the next-generation gaming realm—despite its hefty price tag of around $500. The report predicts that more than 120 million PS3s will be sold through 2012, compared to 60 million Xbox 360s and 23 million Nintendo Wiis, which are set to hit U.S. shelves on November 19, two days after the PS3 launch, at a relatively bargain price of around $250. The firm said sales in the North America region will account for more than 50 percent of all console sales over this period.

"Sony will sell everything it can make of its new system," David Mercer, principal analyst at Strategy Analytics, said in a statement. "But Microsoft has already had a year in the market to cream off early adopters, so the next few weeks will demonstrate how much pent-up demand there really is for the Xbox 360, and how many disappointed PS3 buyers are willing to switch camps."

• For commentary on the PS3 launch, click here.

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