Sony must create more first-party gaming titles

Numbers suggest consoles may not be flying off the shelves

15 January 2007 11:24 GMT / By Amber Maitland

Sony's PS3 may not be selling like hotcakes as they were at launch because of a lack of first-party titles and franchises, says an analyst at IDC.

Billy Pidgeon's comments came just after NPD's games sales figures, which show healthy sales of both the PS3 and PS2, were released.

“The PlayStation brand doesn't appear to be helping the PS3. If NPD's numbers are correct, there are over 300K PS3s on retailers shelves”, said Pidgeon to GamesIndustry.biz.

“That is not good for a console launch of only a million, and it's not good for publishers with PS3 software.”

He suggested that Sony's sales of the PS3 would be healthier if gamers could look forward to upcoming known franchises; although first-party PS3 games Heavenly Sword and Motorsport are coming out soon, Pidgeon said, “They're new and less anticipated”.

“Sony needs more must-have first party titles to sell consoles. Gamers know Halo 3 is coming on the Xbox 360, and they can expect Mario on the Wii, but there are no established first party franchises coming to the PS3 except Gran Turismo – and that is delayed.”

In related Sony news, the company finally has something to rejoice about, as it achieved the number one total TV market share in the US for 2006, boasting 5% more dollar market share than its closest competitor.