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First PS3, XBox HD DVD Add-On Sales Numbers

Thu Dec 14, 2006 at 02:25 PM ET
Tags: High-Def Gaming, Industry Trends, Hardware, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 (all tags)

The first sales numbers for the Blu-ray-backed PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360 HD DVD add-on have come in, with encouraging results for high-def.

GameDaily Biz is reporting new data from industry tracking firm The NPD Group, which shows an expected console sales bump of over 69 percent for the year ending in November.

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For us high-def enthusiasts, of course, the bigger news is the actual number of Blu-ray-driven PS3s and Xbox HD DVD peripherals sold. NPD reports that the PS3 has sold 197,000 units in the U.S. so far -- a total sellout of all domestic shipments Sony was able to deliver to retailers through November.

Meanwhile, Microsoft's HD DVD add-on for the Xbox has moved 42,000 units since its launch in mid-November (the company has not released total number of units delivered to retailers, preventing any sold-versus-shipped comparisons).

On the surface, this data would seem to indicate that Blu-ray's game console footprint (via the PS3) has a sizable lead over the Xbox/HD DVD combo by a healthy five-to-one margin. But in the add-on camp's favor is that those purchasing the drive are much more likely to be high-def movie watchers -- why buy the HD DVD drive otherwise? The same is not necessarily so for the PS3 -- there is no telling how many of the eager gamers who plunked down over $500 for a new console are actually using it to watch Blu-ray movies.

As far as we're concerned, the real proof will be in the software pudding. Though it is good to finally get some hard PS3/Xbox HD DVD add-on sales numbers, it will be disc sales over the next weeks and months that will paint a far better picture of who's really "winning" the high-def format war.

In any case, this is all encouraging news for high-def in general, as in the space of only a few weeks, we've seen the installed base for Blu-ray and HD DVD jump significantly. And the strong hardware sales should only continue as Sony and Microsoft ship more units of their consoles and add-ons this month and over the next year. Stay tuned!

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Related links:
Game Industry Up 16% through November [GameDaily Biz]


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