Despite having a year's head start, Sony has managed to overtake its Microsoft counterpart by out shipping more PlayStation 3's than the Xbox 360.
According to a study from the International Data Corporation, Sony's 77 million shipments of PS3 surpassed Microsoft's 76 million shipments of the 360 as of December last year.
Also of note, whereas going digital and streaming movies have more than killed off the rental market where movies are concerned, gamers aren't as quick to move in the same direction. The same study that reported Sony's outshipping, the Worldwide Video Game and Entertainment Console Hardware and Packaged Software 2012-2016 Forecast, is also concluding that "Discs will remain the console game revenue mainstay for years to come."
According to the report, "The console ecosystem is in a state of flux since these platforms need to support an ever-growing array of non-gaming features and services at the same time that game distribution and monetization is moving in a digital direction," said IDC gaming research manager Lewis Ward in a statement. "At the same time, it doesn't appear that alternative platforms--set-top boxes from cable companies, Web-connected smart TVs, and so on--are positioned to materially disrupt the trajectory of the 'big 3' console OEMs in 2013 or 2014."
The study also predicts good news for Nintendo, saying despite current sales reports comparing Wii U sales with its predecessor, the Wii, the new console will eventually "find an audience." The IDC expects global shipments will exceed 50 million in the next three years.
"2011 and 2012 were tough for many console game disc developers and publishers," Ward said. "With the advent of eighth-generation consoles, starting with the Wii U, historical norms strongly imply that game disc revenue will stop bleeding in 2013 and rise substantively in 2014.