In 2013, we said goodbye to one of the most memorable generations of gamers. PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Wii formed a battle of manufacturers that was intense until they took the baton. Until now, we didn’t have specific data on the number of units that Sony has released to the market. It remained to close the wheel, with the help of which it was possible to find out who won the generation in terms of hardware. The last released PS3 let us know the data. After 11 years, we already have a winner.
Xbox 360, a historic launch full of great games
The launch of the Xbox 360 was a scandal. It came out ahead of the competition and received timed exclusives from the likes of Bioshock, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Mass Effect. The muscle that other teams gave him added to the waterline of Redmond’s first portfolio. Halo had its best years between the third installment and Halo Reach; Gears of War was born, revolutionizing the third-person shooter; Forza stood out in the low hours of Gran Turismo and changed the arcade scene forever with its new trend alongside Motorsport: Horizon.
Obviously, this is a quick summary of the console’s highlights, which were few and far between. The power of the independent scene was born in the mainstream market thanks to programs like Xbox Live ArcadeFor example. A change in strategy with the introduction of the Kinect in 2010 meant that exceptional efforts in the final third generation were focused on the device. Its star sagas continued to appear on the front lines, but not all of its teams were dedicated to the traditional experience, which led the brand to attack the dominant position that PlayStation held until then in the desktop PC market.
Six different console models were produced between 2005 and 2013. According to Statista, Microsoft shipped 85.7 million units, just over half in the United States alone. Some market analysts, such as ZhugeEX, note that this figure would have increased to overtake the PS3 in 2015, but Microsoft has not updated the data.
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PlayStation 3, the comeback that saved the brand
Sony felt the other side of the coin. The Japanese company achieved a generational change, breaking all records with the PlayStation 2, which is currently the best-selling console in the history of the medium (followed by the Nintendo Switch). The position was extremely dominantso when they moved to the PS3 they tried to crack the market with a price that is still relevant: $599.
The price, along with the complexity of developing based on the Cell chip, one of the console’s tips, and its arrival a year after the Xbox 360, made the early years difficult. The unit was on the verge of collapse before the arrival of the slim model along with a price cut to $299.. The first catalog was also followed in the second half of its run by titles such as Uncharted 2, The Last of Us, Little Big Planet, God of War 3 Infamous 2 and Gran Turismo 6, among many others.
Thanks to a photo by a Sony employee, we were able to find out how many PS3s were released. The number rises to 88.1 million in the three models that were produced. (not counting different drives or the original retro model). The figures are in line with the latest published sales figures, which put them at just over 87 million.
Wii, the console that got your grandma playing tennis
The Wii’s market penetration was unmatched in its generation. The revolutionary concept of the Wiimote at the time made the mainstream public accept the console as another element of the living room. The inclusion of Wii Sports in each set as an in-game demonstration of its potential was one important step. It was a game that got the whole family to pick up a virtual racket.
Although some of the enthusiastic public regretted that there were not more hardcore titles, The Wii had titles of tremendous quality. Two parts of Super Mario Galaxy, Super Smash Bros Brawl, New Super Mario Bros Wii. Xenoblade Chronicles, Donkey Kong Country Returns or The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (despite the fact that the GameCube is related to generations) are some examples of the great bombs they have achieved. All of them remained parallel to the top-selling software titles such as Wii Sports Resort, Wii Fit (Plus) and Wii Play.
Three different Wii models were produced. Nintendo managed to place 101.6 million consoles during its business cycle between 2006 and 2017.
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