Useless sales metrics...

This gamepro magazine here repeats what I consider to be a completely useless sales metric…

http://www.gamepro.com/news.cfm?article_id=93388 (Link Dead)

The PS2 is outselling the Xbox360. 

It’s useless, because it is comparing a previous generation, now casual game system to a modern game system for more hardcore gamers. It’s also comparing a system that costs nearly half what the other one costs. Of course the casual, 3rd-gen game system which costs $129 will sell more units than a 1st to early 2nd generation game system that costs $299-399.

Of course, this also applies to sony’s competitors too. 

http://www.slipperybrick.com/2007/01/wii-outsells-playstation-3-in-japan/

The Wii is also a casual gamer system with 3rd generation games and last-generation hardware, and it keeps being compared to the PS3 which like the 360 is a next generation game with 1st gen games and a price about double that of the Wii. Of course the system that is cheaper and with an architecture the developers have had more time with will make polished games and win out in the raw sales market, at least until the other system moves to the casual gamer market in 3-4 years. Neither comparison is valid.

Really, we can’t even compare the PS2 to the Wii yet, because the Wii is still supply-constrained. We don’t actually know how well it will do until the current demand bottleneck clears up. Once that happens, we’ll have a real, valid sales comparison to do. Wii vs. PS2.

Xbox360 to PS3 as next generation systems, Wii to PS2 as Casual gamer systems (Is the Xbox1 even in production anymore?) and PSP to Nintendo DS as handheld systems… (Barring MS deciding they want to stick games on the Zune.