<div class="billede"><img src="pictures/mini-ps3xbox360.jpg" alt="Xbox 360 and PS3 hit 70 million sales"></div>PS3 & Xbox 360 sales hit 70 million each after 7 years

PS3 & Xbox 360 sales hit 70 million each after 7 years

20 Nov 2012 | Rasmus Larsen |

The Xbox 360 came first but both consoles have hit sales of around 70 million units. The milestone proves that the game consoles are still alive but what about the future?

140 million living room game consoles

The Xbox 360 was released in the end of 2005 and the PlayStation 3 arrived in the end of 2006. Microsoft recently revealed that sales had hit 70 million and Sony has just announced the same number of sales. The battle for high-end gaming in the living room is split.

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Over the years the two game consoles have been repositioned as living room media devices, with Microsoft taking the most holistic approach. The game console part is still essential but video streaming is now more important than ever with services such as Netflix, HBO, Hulu and many more.

The Future

New games are still being developed and in the last few years we have seen blockbusters and more sophisticated games than ever. Still, it is fairly evident that what we are seeing now are incremental improvements in gameplay and graphics. No revolutions. The current game consoles are starting to feel a bit long in the tooth.

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At the same time the game consoles are facing competition from an unexpected corner. Smartphones and tablets have already taken over the mobile gaming arena as Sony and Nintendo are seeing dwindling sales with their dedicated mobile game consoles. Now competition is moving upwards. Smart TVs, media boxes such as the Apple TV, Roku and especially the OUYA are being positioned as more than just media streamers. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 game consoles have entered the video streaming arena but the opposite is also happening for media streamer boxes. They want a piece of the gaming market.

What will the future of game consoles hold? Media boxes have started outselling game consoles. Something needs to happen soon. We hope that 2013 will bring news.