Being an avid gamer myself, the topic of console war is always close to my heart. Before I reveal which camp I belong to, let us take a look at the new dashboard I have created using figures from www.gametrader.sg. Approximately 60,000 game posted on the platform from Jun 2010 to Aug 2015 are visualized in this dashboard.
Some key points to note on launch date of some consoles in Singapore:
- Feb 2012: PS Vita launched in Singapore
- Jan 2013: Wii U launched in Singapore
- Dec 2013: PS4 launched in Singapore
- Sep 2014: Xbox launched in Singapore after a year it was launched in US and Europe.
Who is leading the console war? Our 3 charts below can provide some indication:
1. Market Share
Based on the number of posts on GameTrader.SG, market shares of PS4 has increased tremendously from 2014 to 2015. It is now at 44% of the combined numbers of posts of PS3, PS4, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. Xbox One is the tiny portion over at the bar chart for 2015 which account for 2.58%.
A point to note is that PS4 has close to a year head start compared to Xbox One which was release in Sep 2014. Desperate for getting their hand on a next gen-console, gamers may not have the patience to wait a year for Xbox One and have move on with PS4.
2. Price
Price of PS3 and Xbox 360 games have been declining steadily over the years. With the launch of the new PS4 console, we see a greater drop in PS3 game pricing. The average PS3 games also cost about 35% of a PS4 game.
While Xbox 360 game is the lowest among the XBox and Playstation family, Xbox One game remains slight pricer than PS4. Could price be a reason why PS4 popularity is higher? Anyhow, a quick check on Qisahn for the game Watch Dog shows that Xbox One and PS4 price is the same at $39. Perhaps the data could be bias since trading for PS4 game is a lot more than Xbox One.
Nonetheless, it is good to know that game prices are decreasing over the years!
3. No. of Game Titles
The number of game titles definitely plays a part in the popularity of a console. Again, we see the number of titles traded on GameTrader.SG for PS4 is about 4 times more than Xbox One. Without a doubt PS4 titles are stronger than Xbox One. However, most big titles Metal Gear Solid V, Grand Theft Auto 5 and Final Fantasy 15 are usually available on both platforms. At least what we can conclude is that more titles are being traded on GameTrader.SG for PS4 compared to Xbox One.
Other findings
If you have time to play with the dashboard, you will be able to find other interesting insights. For example, pre-owned game cost about 35% less than the brand new counter part and average of preowned PS3 game can be as low as $22. Of course, some games are even cheaper depending on the seller.
Have fun with this dashboard! You can try it here.
PS: You should be able to guess which camp I am now 😛