Sony’s newest home console gained market share in terms of global sales in the first quarter of 2010. PS3 sales reached 2.2 million units, out of a total for the three main rivals of 7.2 million, giving it a 31% share. This compares to an 18% share a year earlier, and 28% in the previous quarter, Q409. In spite of declining sales, the Wii actually maintained its market share in Q1, with 49% of sales. It was the Xbox 360 which lost share compared to the previous quarter, selling 1.5 million and giving it 21% of global sales. This was, however, an increase in a year ago, when the 360 had 19% of the market. The companies’ data remain pretty much in line with Strategy Analytics’ own projections for full year 2010 performance, as published in March 2010 in our report, “Taming the Waves: Games Console Life Cycles and Platform Competition”. There are three major uncertainties for 2010 sales: the extent of the decline in sales of the Wii; whether system enhancements can improve the performance of the Xbox 360 in the second half; and whether improvements in the PS3’s sales can be sustained through the rest of the year. For the moment we continue to predict global PS3 sales of 14.0 million in 2010, compared to 17.5 million Wiis and 10.5 million Xbox 360s. This will represent an overall decline in current generation console sales of 9%. David Mercer Client Reading: Taming the Waves: Games Console Life Cycles and Platform Competition