CRank: 5Score: 4720

Why The Extra Countries WILL Matter For Xbox One

Lately, there's been a lot of discussion about the sales gap between PS4 and Xbox One. Some people have brought up the FACT that PS4 is currently available in 72 countries, while Xbox One is available in only 13.

It seems that most of the Sony supporters on N4G have concluded that the extra countries are irrelevant because the Playstation brand is strong, and the Xbox brand has historically been weak, in those countries. Not only that, but it seems that anyone who brings up the difference in available countries is attacked and ridiculed for daring to mention it. However, if you look at historic console sales, there's still a large significance to be had from releasing in those extra countries.

Remember, right now PS4 is selling "X" amount of consoles in those countries, while Xbox One is selling ZERO. ANY Xbox One sales will close the deficit, even if Xbox One sells significantly less than PS4 there.

Here's a recent post from a Sony supporter trying to downplay the importance of the extra countries:

"Based on 360 numbers

North America = ~57% of 360 sales
Europe = 31%
Japan = 2%
Other = 10%

Since XBO is fully released in its NA regions we have:

North America = ~3m
Europe = ~1.6m
Japan = 105k
Other = 530k
Total = ~5.2m"

Here's the link - http://n4g.com/news/1498359...

So, let's extrapolate. According to his figures 10% of 360's sales were from "other" countries, and, so far, 10% of Xbox One's sales are from "other" countries.

MS has currently shipped 5.1 Xbox One's, which is right in line with the figures quoted above. So, if MS gets another 10% from the countries that it has yet to release Xbox One in, that means around 510,000 more consoles.

Considering the sales gap between PS4 and Xbox One is currently around 2.2 million, that extra 510,000 would immediately shave off nearly 25% of PS4's lead. Anyone want to argue that 25% isn't significant? Heck, even 15% or 20% would be a significant chunk. Makes the 2:1 sales margin that Sony fans are hoping for seem way out of reach now.

Nobody is claiming that Xbox One needs to outsell PS4, or even come close to PS4's numbers in the countries in which Xbox One hasn't been released. All it needs to do is continue to match it's historic numbers (10%) to remain competitive. PS4 is currently running unopposed in many parts of the world, and that's a big factor in it's EARLY lead. Some people don't want to believe it, but it's true. Once Xbox One is fully released, PS4 will still have the lead, but it won't be by nearly as much.

Here's another quote from a Sony supporter in the same article:

"then what hope does the X1 have in territories that are already PS4 dominated territories and won't bring in a fraction of the sales of the 13 it's in already?"

Once again, there's downplaying of the extra countries because Xbox One may sell only a "fraction" of what it does in the U.S. and U.K. Well, that "fraction" will be enough to quickly eliminate a large percentage of the current worldwide sales deficit.

So, fear not loyal Sony fans - your console will still be in the lead even after the Xbox One launches in the same countries PS4 is currently in. The lead will simply be smaller. However, trying to pretend that those extra countries won't matter is simply naive, and attacking anyone who's capable of doing the math (and seeing the truth therein) is nothing short of desperation.

DragonKnight4315d ago

I'm going to be able to end the discussion of this blog simply by clarifying a point you are mistaken on.

"It seems that most of the Sony supporters on N4G have concluded that the extra countries are irrelevant because the Playstation brand is strong, and the Xbox brand has historically been weak, in those countries."

No. It isn't that the Playstation brand is stronger in those countries, it's that those countries don't make up significant sales for any of the consoles. The bulk of console sales are in 3 territories. U.S., Europe (mostly U.K.) and Japan. Every other territory never matches even close. So the fact that the PS4 is for sale in 72 countries and the Xbox One isn't even in 20 does make a difference, but not a big difference. And when the Xbox One launches in those territories, it won't move the gap in any meaningful for the Xbox One.

Your math is irrelevant because it's purely speculative. Your extrapolations aren't based on any observable fact, merely the quote of another user who didn't provide his sources and seemed to be giving a rough estimation to try and explain his real point, that being that the other territories are miniscule compared to the other major territories. This means your data is inherently flawed and based on nothing.

doolin_dalton4315d ago (Edited 4315d ago )

You are accusing me of speculation by using speculation of your own.

Sales numbers from North America, Europe, and Japan are pretty easy to come by. So are total worldwide sales. Therefore, subtracting the sales from those three territories from the worldwide numbers gives a pretty accurate number of sales (and the percentage) in the smaller territories.

I believe that the 10% number is quite accurate, and I quoted it from that person's comment because he's a well known Playstation supporter. Therefore, I don't have to worry about other Playstation supporters claiming he's somehow biased towards Xbox. Even VGChartz shows that 9.6% of 360 sales (nearly 8 million) came from outside of North America, Europe & Japan, and eight years of data exists to support that number. That's hardly what I'd call "miniscule", nor is 500,000 into a gap of 2,200,000. It's quite significant actually, and the data supports that conclusion.

Not to mention, Xbox One is outpacing 360's sales for the same time period in each of their lifecycles. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume (though I didn't in this case) that Xbox One may even exceed the historic 10% mark. In any case, no data exists to make a reasonable person think that it will be any less than 10%.

I presented data and used math to form my conclusions, you didn't. You just used very vague terminology and assumptions to try to downplay the potential impact of Xbox One releasing in the same number of countries as PS4. You are doing exactly what I'm talking about - using biased opinions or wishful thinking in place of actual data.

DragonKnight4315d ago (Edited 4315d ago )

You're calling cgoodno a well known Playstation supporter. Not only is that a comment of extreme bias, it's also a comment of ignorance because it's born of the fact that your sole interactions with him are in and around comments about Playstation.

You presented nothing. You quoted a comment made by another, which means it's not your own data. What you quoted are numbers for which no source was given, which means you're guilty of not fact checking what you are basing your entire argument on.

What I said isn't speculation, it's a well known fact that N.A. EU, and Japan are the largest markets in the gaming industry, with the highest and most consistent support throughout the entirety of any given generation of consoles.

You even mention VGChartz, a site known for being inaccurate at the best of times.

Basically, your bias is the entirety of your argument and not one lick of fact.

doolin_dalton4314d ago (Edited 4314d ago )

You've still provided ABSOLUTELY NO data to prove me wrong - just your own biased opinions.

Here's a link that shows the same numbers I quoted:

http://www.vgchartz.com/ana...

Remember, the 360 numbers are from the past, so they've already been adjusted to match officially reported numbers.

I'm not questioning the fact that NA, JAP, & EU are the largest markets. Everybody knows that. What you can't seem to understand is that the other 10% of the world still represents a large amount of potential sales. PS4 has already seen it's share of those sales, and Xbox One will see it's share soon. That 10% will mean a half million Xbox One sales just to start, and will mean a significant reduction in the sales gap between PS4 and Xbox One. It's not bias, it's reality.

It's funny that last generation Sony fans were complaining that "it's not fair to count 360's first year because PS3 wasn't even out yet". Now, they have no problem counting sales from countries where PS4 is available and Xbox One isn't. Then, they brag about the sales gap, which is inflated due to the discrepancy in countries.

Also, the article from which I quoted cgoodno is an article about the Xbox One, NOT a Sony article. He decided to be critical of the Xbox One's sales while at the same time making excuses for PS4's lower than anticipated Japan sales.

DragonKnight4313d ago

I don't need to provide any data if your original data is completely subjective and based on sourceless data.

And you're using vgchartz. Everyone, even casual gamers not interested in sales, knows that that is the worst place to get sales metrics from.

The other 10% of the world is insignificant, that's why so many countries of that percentage only make up a total of 10% of the market. That means that 90% of the market is divided in between the largest markets of NA, EU, and Japan. Common sense and logic dictates that the lower the percentage is, the less significance it will have, and so that should be enough for anyone who actually uses common sense and logic to understand that those countries in which the PS4 is for sale and the Xbox One is not DO NOT matter and won't matter when the Xbox One is launched there.

If those countries mattered to Microsoft, they would have launched there. MS knows better than you or I do what kind of sales they normally generate there and they decided not to put any effort into launching there until much later. So now all of sudden you seem to think that the measly 10% of the market is going to dwindle the gap? And you base this off of nothing but a comment made by a user you CLAIM is a Sony supporter, a comment with no sources I might add, and vgchartz? You call that proof?

NewMonday4310d ago (Edited 4310d ago )

@doolin_dalton

sorry quoting VGCharts proves your whole argument wrong. but lets try to play along..

yes a world wide release will boost XB1 numbers but not by much, in my country the XB1 has not launched officially but the console is available in ALL game-stores and cheaper than the PS4 even.

something you need to know about world wide market zone is that most game business runs as an import business, if something is not distributed locally the store would import it from another market, so when I go to a store I find games released from both the Europe and NA zones.

another factors most early adopters already got a PS4, so what is left is those who want the XB1 as the second console, and that would be rich people in 3rd world countries.

Automatic794310d ago

I agree with everything you say but lately these Sony supporters can't take off there glasses to rationalize even when the proof is in there face. What's is even more sad is the denial and hypocrisy that goes on to bash Xbox. But when Sony does something that is equal or similar all of a sudden its okay.

osprey194310d ago

@michaellito79
You sir, have said what I have been saying to people all along. When Sony does it. 'no problem it's fine'. Microsoft does something very similar. 'greedy mega corporation, how dare they!'.

People with that logic cannot be reasoned with or have any kind of non biased arguement, even when prove is staring a them in the face, they just denial, ignore vital points or resort to trolling and getting deeper into their fanboy mentality. And this site is chock a block full of them.

SilentNegotiator4309d ago (Edited 4309d ago )

@Michael and osprey

Generalizing an entire game community won't change any of the facts. You can't just shift every conversation to the "hypocrisy" of teh soni fanbois.

+ Show (4) more repliesLast reply 4309d ago
Godmars2904315d ago

"So, fear not loyal Sony fans - your console will still be in the lead even after the Xbox One launches in the same countries PS4 is currently in. *The lead will simply be smaller.*"

Okay - so what are you even attempting to argue about?

If MS fails to get over their seeming bad position yet still pick up sales in these new territories they're still going to fall behind compared to Sony, as you very well point out, but so what?

So long as the 8th console gen doesn't resemble the 6th where the gap between the PS2 and Xbox was 60 million - which was honestly humiliating - WHO THE F*** CARES!?

Ken854310d ago (Edited 4310d ago )

But what about the cost it takes to ship the X1s to all the new countries? I'm no accountant or anything but I'm sure that that will cost a decent chunk of change. So if they spend all this money to ship, and if they dont sell well then they might just lose money! So there' isn't just a positive turnout for this.

Software_Lover4310d ago

If you're an accountant, you should know that it has been figured into the price.

Ken854310d ago

I said I'm no accountant, and yeah it has been figured but what I'm saying is what if they sell lower than they figured?

Software_Lover4310d ago

I apologize, I read your comment wrong.

Software_Lover4310d ago

Doesn't matter to me. Doesn't matter to me if the PS4 sells in more countries.

Sales will not make Halo any better or worse. Will not make Haze any better of a game. Will not make Uncharted trash. Will not change how I feel about Killzone.

People care too much. What place did your washer come in?

XabiDaChosenOne4310d ago

But you cared enough to comment.

KwietStorm_BLM4310d ago

Yea he commented and made a great point, while you used tired, tried and true internet rhetoric. Sadly, nothing will change.

XabiDaChosenOne4310d ago

@KwietStorm
Give it a rest, what great point is he making by using a tired tired statement as "sales don't matter"? Who has not heard this tired statement before?

SilentNegotiator4309d ago

Even the slightest familiarity with his posting history and you know that he cares.

XabiDaChosenOne4310d ago

"Considering the sales gap between PS4 and Xbox One is currently around 2.2 million"
No they did not, that would require them to have sold 5 million units, they have shipped 5 million and sold around 4.2 million so far. The lead is only going to get worse from here. The sooner you accept that the easier this generation will be for you.

osprey194310d ago

And u got these numbers from where? What's your source? Now we all know that ps4 has sold 7million and xb1 have shipped 5million, you have no way of knowing the exact sales figures that weren't released to the public.

I suspect you are merely speculating. And therefore the very type of person who this very article calls out.

BitbyDeath4310d ago (Edited 4310d ago )

Financials stated they overshipped and would likely have to either slow down production or halt it all together.

It would make sense that this overshipping was caused by the new Titanfall bundles which were expected to sell a far larger number than they had.

Xabi's numbers are actually generous in this retrospect as last time we had known a difference between sold and shipped it had been 900k and not only does his number display less it also doesn't take into account the results of the financials.

Also keep in mind it is around this time of the month when PS4 passes another million milestone and if it has then we will likely hear about it in the next couple of weeks.

Automatic794310d ago

@osprey

Remember a few years ago when Sony used shipped and added PS2/PS3 combined sales to fluff there sales perfect example of how well they accepted whatever Sony said but now it bad to use shipped or in the month of March to sell 311,000 units. I truly don't get Sony supporters logic.

Note: sales don't mean much to me but the hypocrisy is annoying.

XabiDaChosenOne4310d ago

Its called math, add up the sales of the Xbox one by each month and VOILA!!
@MichealLito79
"Remember a few years ago when Sony used shipped and added PS2/PS3"
Random much? What does this have to do with anything that is being said here? Vent your bottled up frustrations else where.

MightyNoX4309d ago

It's funny, because when the PS4 and the Xbox one were at 4 mill vs 2 mill, the difference was 2 million. Fast forward a couple of months and the difference is STILL 2 million.

That means, by the broken, math deficient, intellectually bankrupt logic of people around here...For every PS4 sold, the Xbox has been selling a unit as well. Pound for pound, unit for unit, hour by an hour...leaving the difference to remain static and exactly the same!

Brilliant. Math be damned!

BitbyDeath4309d ago

@MightyNox,

That never happened.
At the end of 2013 PS4 was at 4.2 million and MS was at 3 million. The difference has grown since then.

+ Show (2) more repliesLast reply 4309d ago
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