Sony took the hardest blow from economic turbulence, says analyst

Sony got the worst out of economic turbulence, says EEDAR director of analytical services Jesse Divnich. Presenting his study of hardware and software trends to Gamasutra, the Sony brands were seen to be bottom-dwellers.

Looking back at the NPD results for October 2008, we already know who brought the bacon home big time. Nintendo’s Wii dominates the market, Xbox 360 outsells the PS3, and both the PSP and PS3 emerge as the bottom-dwellers. Jesse Divnich, EEDAR director of analytical services, shares his study with Gamasutra.

Divnich notes that he Xbox 360 is ahead of its year-to-date growth and the PS3 year-to-date growth is ahead of its year-on-year growth, saying that “the recent Xbox 360 price reduction and the current economic downturn have acted as a catalyst for driving Xbox 360 sales. For the PS3, however, we believe that its higher price point has hindered sales.”

Taking that in mind, it does not help that both PS3 and PSP are the highest priced hardware in their respective categories. “What I am suggesting, however, is that the current economic climate is likely playing a bigger role in hindering hardware sales for Sony than it is for Microsoft and Nintendo,” Divnich wrote.

Divnich leaves us with a graph, which is a theoretical representaiton of how the holiday season will turn out if the consoles receive the same boost they got last year. Divnich believes that Sony will continue to see more floor than ceiling, saying, “Sony’s PSPs and PS3 will perform significantly below these markers, again, indicating that the current economic climate is having a negative impact on the most expensive hardware units in our industry.”

• NPD US: Wii still king, Xbox 360 outsold PS3 in October 2008
• Pachter on October sales: Wii dominated, Xbox 360 outsold PlayStation 3
• Here’s to staying positive – Sony is fine with October NPD report
  

Via Gamasutra