When the PlayStation 3 was announced at a starting price of $499.99 going up to $599.99, the general consensus was that the platform was destined to fail. Plus, adding the fact that profitability was nowhere in sight (especially after several price drops), it was difficult to disagree. While Sony themselves have said their flagship platform would win from the very start, just like the PSOne and PS2 did in their generations, more industry figures are placing their bets on the PS3.
According to the vice president of Strategy Analytics, David Mercer, the PlayStation 3 has yet to have peaked in sales while Nintendo Wii may have already peaked:
“Nintendo has done a great job with the Wii in bringing console games to new audiences. But its sales are now falling, particularly in mature markets, and its installed base will peak in 2011. Ownership of both the PS3 and the Xbox 360 will hit their highest points between 2012 and 2014.”
The analyst goes on to predict that the PS3 will achieve a lifetime sales number of 127 million units and that the derivation of this feat in this generation is the ten-year lifespan. Mercer believe that, when the competing platforms have peaked in sales and have release new consoles, the PS3 will still be around; just like the PlayStation 2.
[Source]
