Microsoft: PS3 sales boost "a short term bump"
"You have to question if their business model is sustainable," says Greenberg
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg has said that he fully expects the PlayStation 3 to have outsold the Xbox 360 in September, but Microsoft will still outperform its console rival in the long-term.
Speaking ahead of the release of NPD data for the month – since moved back until Monday due to processing issues – Greenberg also said that price cuts on rival hardware was of no concern to Microsoft.
"It is not a real concern to us – in fact, I can tell you to that when NPD releases September sales... we fully expect PlayStation 3 will come in as the console with the most units sold for the month," Greenberg told Game Informer.
"This is frankly not a real surprise to us or the analysts that follow this industry, as it is typical to see a short term bump following the introduction of new hardware and pricing into the marketplace."
Since Sony introduced a new slim PlayStation 3 and a price cut, the company sold over one million units in three weeks. The entire industry in the US is expected to have rebound during September, after six months of slumping sales.
Despite being outsold in September, Microsoft is looking at the long-term view, said Greenberg.
"What I can tell you is we remain confident that Xbox 360 will not only outsell PS3 for the full calendar year, but for this entire generation."
Greenberg pointed to Sony losing money on sales of PlayStation 3 hardware, asking if it was a sustainable business, and stating that Microsoft has diversified to attain profitability.
"It’s about the entire ecosystem and investing in the future; something we are very focused on," he said.
"There is also the whole financial side of the equation that people rarely seem to pay attention to. Sony, for example, has publicly noted that they lose money on every console they sell and with the price cut, they’re now losing even more money – so even with the PS3 in the market today at $299, you have to question if their business model is sustainable.
"I believe this generation Microsoft has really diversified the business model and the economics of the industry today is that our business is about not just hardware, but also software and services.
"These multiple revenue streams provide not only economies of scale for us and our partners, but award us the benefit of having a profitable business, which in turn allows us to continually invest in the future and remain focused on delivering new experiences and expanding our audience," he added.