Analyst: Xbox 360 lead is only temporary

According to the NPD Group results, the Xbox 360 got a huge boost in sales last month, as everyone expected, because of the release of Halo 3 but it seems that, according to analysts, the success may be short lived. More specifically, they predict that while Microsoft will continue to be solid in the market, it will not maintain its lead over the Wii.

Analysts were practically unanimous in predicting that Halo 3 would drive up sales of the Xbox 360. However, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan comments that other analysts may have seen the console as dropping by as much as 7% if it wasn’t for the presence of Halo 3.

As for himself, Pachter believes that with Halo 3, the Xbox 360 is in an advantageous position for the holidays – and even afterwards – because Microsoft was able to strut their stuff to developers and consumers alike:

Although sales of Halo 3 accounted for all (and then some) of the growth during the month, the game clearly drove hardware sales that will position the industry for even greater sales in November and December, when many Halo players will be ready for a new challenge. […] The industry is on solid footing, and investor confidence has grown.

The prediction is similar to Mike Hickey‘s, who said that the Xbox 360 could outshine the Wii during the holidays. Pachter doesn’t extend his forecasts to say that the 360 would beat the Wii, but Pachter’s prediction certainly gives Hickey’s strength so it won’t be surprising if the 360 would be able to steal the show for the holidays.

Jesse Divinch of simExchange expresses the same sentiments saying that the Xbox 360’s victory “is expected to be short lived with the Wii regaining the top spot for the remaining months in 2007.” He also expects that the 80 GB price cut for the PS3 will not affect the PS3’s market share by the end of the season. Divinch puts his faith in the Wii:

In a way, the Wii is still victorious. The Wii faced many obstacles in September, including: hardware constraints, strong first party titles on other consoles, no strong releases of its own platform, and announcements of software bundling and price cuts from its competitors.

Via Gamasutra

According to the NPD Group results, the Xbox 360 got a huge boost in sales last month, as everyone expected, because of the release of Halo 3 but it seems that, according to analysts, the success may be short lived. More specifically, they predict that while Microsoft will continue to be solid in the market, it will not maintain its lead over the Wii.

Analysts were practically unanimous in predicting that Halo 3 would drive up sales of the Xbox 360. However, Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan comments that other analysts may have seen the console as dropping by as much as 7% if it wasn’t for the presence of Halo 3.

As for himself, Pachter believes that with Halo 3, the Xbox 360 is in an advantageous position for the holidays – and even afterwards – because Microsoft was able to strut their stuff to developers and consumers alike:

Although sales of Halo 3 accounted for all (and then some) of the growth during the month, the game clearly drove hardware sales that will position the industry for even greater sales in November and December, when many Halo players will be ready for a new challenge. […] The industry is on solid footing, and investor confidence has grown.

The prediction is similar to Mike Hickey‘s, who said that the Xbox 360 could outshine the Wii during the holidays. Pachter doesn’t extend his forecasts to say that the 360 would beat the Wii, but Pachter’s prediction certainly gives Hickey’s strength so it won’t be surprising if the 360 would be able to steal the show for the holidays.

Jesse Divinch of simExchange expresses the same sentiments saying that the Xbox 360’s victory “is expected to be short lived with the Wii regaining the top spot for the remaining months in 2007.” He also expects that the 80 GB price cut for the PS3 will not affect the PS3’s market share by the end of the season. Divinch puts his faith in the Wii:

In a way, the Wii is still victorious. The Wii faced many obstacles in September, including: hardware constraints, strong first party titles on other consoles, no strong releases of its own platform, and announcements of software bundling and price cuts from its competitors.

Via Gamasutra