I always hear this nonsense about sales not being important... but lets be realistic, if a console does not sell a good amount of hardware and software, then it's not going to get much support from devs. Sure people can use the Wii as example for this not being the case, but the Wii did sell a lot of games... just the wrong kinds of games. It was intended for a different audience. A good example of successful development platforms are the PS2 and 360, high selling consoles that sold a ton of core software and were treated very well by third parties. So when people say sales don't matter in reference to something like the Vita... they are completely wrong or in denial. Vita is tanking in hardware and software sales and its future with third parties and in general is at serious risk right now. phonemug
Yes, sales matter for companies looking to make money and for developers looking to sell games, etc. But that isn't really how most people, especially here on SW, talk about sales.
For the most part sales = success. So if you aren't selling more than the competition, your console is an abysmal failure and people question whether or not the company will pull out of the race. But even the third place selling PS3 is selling well and can be considered a success right now if you are willing to look at it logically. Just like how last gen, the last place selling Xbox, which lost millions and never saw a single dime in profit, could be argued as a success for MS because it built marketshare and brand recognition helping them this gen.
You make the exact same mistake in your own post. You want to say sales matter because the PS2 (the single biggest console EVER and it is extremely unlikely any console will ever come close to its success) and the 360 (barely holding off second place, RROD, etc). You forget that getting a lot of games isn't JUST about sales but development costs and in many cases, how much money the console maker is willing to put up front to subsidize the game. What does some developer care if their game doesn't sell if Sony or MS has bought rights to it and that extra money covers any potential losses from poor sales? In these cases it is as much about politics and business than it is just plain old sales numbers.
And if you are talking about the future of a platform, then NO console this gen is a failure. They are all making money (for the most part), all selling quite well despite still very high price points this late in the gen, and all supported by developers. Their future always has been and continues to be very much certain.
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