Achievement unlocked: pointless commercial milestone #453. Microsoft has announced that total sales of the Xbox 360 will overtake those of the Wii in the UK in a matter of weeks.
That's despite a "major push" from Sony's marketing team, apparently. "Ten years ago, to think we would be the leader in our second generation is an achievement," Microsoft regional boss Jon Grimes told MCV. "We have great people that have been with us a long time, and now it's about strengthening that team."
Will Microsoft manage it third time round? Only time will tell. "What has got us to where we are today is not going to be what gets us through the next ten years," Grimes added, rather suggestively. "Now we've also got to start from scratch when thinking about the future. Driving creativity, whether around marketing, retail or new business models, is key for us."
The mention of "new business models" could imply many things. It could be a reference to the growing importance of free-to-play software on console, or software supported by micro-transactions. It could also refer to Microsoft's recent trial run of a $99 Xbox supported by smartphone-style monthly Xbox Live payments. What do you think?
Grimes isn't worried about the widely rumoured imminent reveal of the PlayStation 4 - most pundits claim it'll take place at special Sony event on 20th February. "Whatever gets announced on February 20th, the majority of UK consumers won't know," he said. "They'll still want to buy the devices out there. Our job is not to get lost in the industry chatter, but to ensure that the consumers going into stores, going online, still experience Xbox.
"The announcement is important for the industry, but it is also important to remember who is buying right now."
7 comments so far...
CunningSmile on 14 Feb '13 said:
TRANSLATION: We really really want to finish number one, so we hope no one will notice the PS4 launch and keep buying yesterdays news
zelda-legend93 on 14 Feb '13 said:
Am I the only one who really doubts that this will be the case? Out of all of the 7th generation home consoles, the Xbox 360 is the lowest selling with approximately 76 million units sold worldwide, yet the Wii has sold nearly 100 million units worldwide and has been out for a year less. To predict that the Xbox 360 will sell another 25-30 million in the next two years leading up to the release of the new console is beyond ludicrous.
OXM ETboy on 14 Feb '13 said:
That's a boo-boo of mine, I'm afraid - the DFC prediction covers US sales, not worldwide. Edited.
delpoi on 14 Feb '13 said:
I don't listen to all this waffle I will admit I have always been an xbox player I always will I even own the kinect so either way ill be buying it when it comes out despite advertisements and each company taking a pop at each other all my mates play xbox I love xbox I have converted some PS players over to xbox I just wish they would reveal it so I can drool
Thos. on 14 Feb '13 said:
Wonder if this could have anything to do with those stats:
http://www.nofussreviews.com/survey-results-2012
</trollmode>
mezjefeld on 14 Feb '13 said:
Well that's not suprising - I've been through three consoles this generation. In all, with Xbox Live and games thrown in, I've thrown over £2500 at the damn things this generation, which is shocking. I might not play it as much, but i've never had a hardware problem with my Wii in more than 6 years.
Seriously, with their terrible hardware stability and the moratorium on used games, I'm tempted to steer clear of Microsoft this coming generation. I've already got a Wii U, am interested in what Sony will put out on the 20th, and am tempted by the Ouya and steambox too. With so much to play, the 720 with it's draconian marketing policy and no release date in sight is barely registering for me right now.
Come on Microsoft, don't you dare try to pretend this is some big market victory. I'm willing to bet at least 25% of those sales have been replacements for broken systems.
MasterChiefJ117 on 14 Feb '13 said:
I believe that although the XBOX 360 had the 'red-ring-of-death' problem at the start
the system has gotten better and better over time. I had an Xbox 360 premium at launch which sounded like the vacuum cleaner with it's noisy fan, had no hdmi and got red- ring-of-death, then another lol. I then traded up to an elite with a quieter fan and hdmi but no built-in wifi and finally my beloved Halo 4 slim that is quiet looks amazing ( blue lights 
) and has hdmi and wifi built in. In contrast the PS3 has just gotten cheaper and cheaper looking with the current super slim having a sliding lid !!!!! To put the games in like an 80s CD player 
I still have my 'slim' PS3 
.For Christmas I also got a Wiiu for the family and have to say as I already have an iPad 4 and use the smart glass app that I am really under whelmed by the wiiu controller and the rather average launch games. So much so that we have already gone back to playing mario kart and wii sports resort for family fun rather than Nintendo land, and Zombie-U is a very 'marmite' game for ADULTS only which you either love or hate, to me the revolution with the wii was the controllers not the system as it wasn't much different to the game cube before it, I think Nintendo have dropped the ball or not gotten lucky again as they did with the wii. I wouldn't be surprised at there being a lot of truth in this article especially with the Xbox 360 having in my opinion the best controller for Fifa 13,Black Ops 2 and driving games (Forza et al) thanks to it's size and proper triggers. Of all the many consoles I have owned over the years from Atari, SEGA, Nintendo and Sony the Xbox 360 has definitely been my favourite THANK YOU Microsoft 
Also based on NAME alone I can't really see me wanting a console called the 'OUYA' or the 'STEAM BOX' 