As it was predicted, the Xbox 360 and the PlayStation 3 are finally easing themselves into the grave while the newer generation of consoles, Xbox One and PlayStation 4, soar in terms of sales and game compatibility.
In November, it will be 10 years since the Xbox 360 was released and nine years since PlayStation 3 followed suit. Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are steadily getting a foothold on the gaming market as the older-gen consoles start crawling to their deathbed with NPD sales results for July already out.
CNET reports that even though overall game hardware, software, and accessories grew 6 percent in July, the statistics of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 are constantly fluctuating exponentially. On a percentage basis, the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 experienced double-digit declines, while the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 start to offset the losses.
NPD analyst Liam Callahan says in a statement that the sales of the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have been astonishing, clearly outshining the feat that Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 pulled off when they started on the market.
“After 21 months, combined Xbox One and PS4 hardware unit sales are close to 50% higher than the combined sales of Xbox 360 and PS3 after 21 months on the market.”
The International Business Times reports that the PlayStation 4 is sitting at the top of the market for two consecutive months now, with Xbox One gaining a 44 percent increase in sales from last year’s figures. That is in terms of hardware sales. In software sales, while the PlayStation 4 continues to dominate the race, it’s interesting to note that Xbox 360 games sales are running just behind the PlayStation 4.
If Xbox 360 games are selling so well, why are gaming analysts predicting the death of the old-gen console? Callahan believes that the spike in Xbox 360 games sales is only brought by the announcement of the backwards compatibility of the Xbox One console. Since Xbox 360 games are still cheaper than Xbox One games, and with a majority of the Xbox One buyers comprised of old Xbox 360 users upgrading to the newer-gen console, gamers are seeing it wiser to invest in Xbox 360 games that they know they could still use when they upgrade to Xbox One.
Ubisoft has already let go of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 support, and newer games coming out are already following suit. Even huge game GTA V announced last May via Motoring Crunch that they are not releasing further DLCs for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 after their Heist DLC was released.
Microsoft has been very vocal about the end of their support for Xbox 360 in 2016, and we’re already months from this dreaded doom. There are also rumors circulating that PlayStation 3 is following in Microsoft’s footsteps soon. With the continued strength of the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 and the death of support for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, there is no other choice for gamers but to finally let their older consoles get the peaceful rest they have earned.
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