PS3 Informer

Why is the Xbox 360 Still Outselling PS3 in North America?

Sony has had a tremendous year with its Playstation 3 console. Thanks to a renewed marketing push, a series of blockbuster exclusives and a very strong E3 conference, the company looks set to dominate retail once again in this console generation. But despite all of the great headlines, why do sales of the PS3 continue to lag behind Microsoft's arguably under-powered console?

This past month the Xbox 360 managed to outsell Sony's competing Playstation 3 console by some 145,000 units in the United States. The total number of 360 consoles sold at retail was 451,700 and this number was undoubtedly helped along by the launch of Microsoft's new slim version of the 360 hardware (See June NPD results here). Revealed at E3, The Xbox 360 slim comes with a 250 GB hard drive and built-in wifi, but doesn't really add anything new that the PS3 slim doesn't have. Microsoft did give its new product a solid (if uncreative) marketing push, which helped to drive sales in a month that is traditionally fairly slow for video games.

The company chose a fairly straightforward tactic to market the new hardware, choosing to focus mainly on the slick and shiny design of the box as well as its diminutive size (see video below). We actually rather like the new design, and it gives the machine more of a high-end consumer electronics look than the old computer-case colored predecessor. But again, this is something that the PS3 console has been doing for several years already.

Microsoft has its eyes on the even more lucrative holiday shopping season which begins in late September. The company hopes that its new Kinect motion controller will help drive even more sales:

"Retail demand for the new Xbox 360 250GB console remains high, and retailers continue to order as many units as Microsoft is able to supply. Collectively, Microsoft has also heard from retailers around the US that Kinect and its related games are a top priority this holiday," the company said in a prepared statement.

We'll see if Microsoft can hold on to its sales lead in North America, but if ever there was a moment for Sony to turn the tables on its competitor, this is it.