A new analytical report from the research and marketing firm IHS has sent out their estimates for what they think Sony and Microsoft will move based on early approximations of consumer interest and pre-order figures currently circulating about the interwebs.
VG 24/7 picked up the news from a press release they were sent, which rolled out quite a bit of details poring over the estimated sales of both Microsoft and Sony's seminal eighth generation consoles.
According to IHS, Microsoft will control the Americas the way they have with the Xbox 360, while Sony will take hold of most PAL territories and Japan. As noted in the press release...
“This different approach will influence the choice of some early adopters. The strength of exclusives will also be key to consumer adoption; at this time IHS believes that Xbox One’s exclusives are more formidable for a wider set of gamers, especially in the opening launch period.”
The firm has pinpointed – through a “myriad of factors” no less – that the PlayStation 4 will shift 2.4 million SKUs while the Xbox One will only move 2.2 million SKUs by the end of 2013 and the start of 2014. That paltry number would still mean that Nintendo and the little Wii U will have conquered both 2012 and all of the 2013 as the winner of the eighth gen of console gaming, two years running.
However, IHS dismisses Nintendo and their Nintendonites, stating that...
“We also believe that both Sony and Microsoft will continue to benefit from Nintendo’s Wii U weak sales, with some past Wii users adopting the latest consoles instead of upgrading to Wii U. IHS forecasts that Sony will sell-through 49 million PS4 consoles by the end of 2017, with Microsoft managing a smaller, but significant, amount of 38 million Xbox One consoles in the same time frame.”
Xbox One capitalize on the Wii U's “weak sales”? Are they serious? More than anything the Xbox One will continue to propel Wii U sales, just like they did back in May. That's not to mention that the Wii U has been exponentially multiplying its sales every week on end since Nintendo rolled out the new bundle packs that contain a highly sought after first-party title and the Wii U game console.
Anyway, given that many gamers have woken up and removed the blinders they had been wearing thanks to a lot of apologetic shade-shifting certain media outlets have used to keep gamers thinking that the Xbox One and PS4 are equal... it could lead to a startling revolt that results in massive sales for the PS4, Wii U and maybe even money reserved for the Steam Machine.
We'll soon find out just how much the conviction of the core gamer will come into play when the PlayStation 4 launches this weekend in North America and later on in the month in Europe. The Xbox One will be following in close pursuit with a launch at the end of the month as well, but at $100 more and a first-party launch title that sometimes drops down to 16 frames-per second, moving slower than Snoop Dogg raps. Epic fail.
(Main image courtesy of Digital Trends)
