The PS3 Is Clawing Back Market-Share Worldwide.

Increased sales, a fairer attitude, an entirely new marketing campaign – there’s no doubt that the Playstation 3 is making somewhat of a comeback. It’s a thought emphasised in a report by Research & Markets, which suggests the system is gathering steam worldwide.

According to the report, “The PS3 is dominant in Japan and Korea and as of June 2008, has begun to outsell the Xbox 360 in Europe. It is also steadily increasing its market share in all other regions across the globe, including in the North American market.” While the report notes Sony are yet to do too much damage in the American region, they’re certainly gathering speed.

While the Wii is still able to outsell everyone with ease, it’s nice to see the PS3 re-enter the battle. And it’s well deserved too. Sony’s strategy has been stellar these past 12 months.

Playstation 3 Is Likely To Have Had A Strong January.

Hardly a surprising revelation, but one analyst believes that Playstation 3 will see the greatest YoY growth in next week’s January NPD report.

Arvind Bhatia of Sterne Agee reckons that the PS3 will keep its momentum throughout January and “will have the best year-over-year growth in January among all consoles.”

This is on the back of the PS3 Slim’s release, and some much stronger marketing presence from Sony in the American region.

Dude's Got Balls For This. Big Balls.

Stocks in the ever-increasing portfolio of video games analyst Michael Pachter just shot up, with the premiere of his new GameTrailers show, Pach$Attack — a segment in which the buoyant business-man talks games industry numbers (and his undying appreciation for Microsoft’s corporate strategies).

Check the show through here. It’s hilarious.

Professionals Cite High Profile Releases Such As God Of War III Will Push PS3 Past Its Competition In 2010.

Industry boffins reckon that the Playstation 3 will have more success in 2010 than rival consoles the XBOX 360 and Nintendo Wii. It sounds like a bold claim, but a poll conducted by industry professionals on GamesIndustry.biz saw 34 per cent of boffins backing Sony’s powerhouse, citing major releases such as Gran Turismo 5, Heavy Rain, God Of War III, and of course, Sony Playstation Motion Controller as a reason to be excited.

Interestingly, the professionals have predicted that Nintendo’s Wii is likely to be less successful than the Apple iPhone this year, a prediction we can’t quite get behind.

Still, with Sony expectations seemingly sky-high (double to what they were last year when GI conducted this poll), there’s definitely some positive buzz around camp-Playstation right now which makes for a tasty change. Here’s hoping Sony can capitalise right through the year with some shrewd releases and announcements.

Pachter Predicts Glad Tidings For Sony This Christmas.

Pulling out his crystal ball for, presumably, the last time this year; seasoned American analyst Michael Pachter reckons Sony shifted 700,000 PS3 consoles in the last month. That’d be up 85% on Sony’s performance in the same period last year.

“We [Pachter's organisation, Wedbush Morgan] estimate sell-through of 1,050,000 Wii hardware units (down 49% from last year), 650,000 Xbox 360 (down 22% from last year), and 700,000 PS3 consoles (up 85% year over year),” said the analyst.

700,000 sounds like an awful lot doesn it? The NPD’s official numbers release on Thursday.

It's Been A Tough Time For Jack Tretton & Playstation, But The Light Is At The End Of The Tunnel.

So, Sony didn’t make the Wii. They made the Playstation 3 instead. The Wii has been an absolute runaway success. So what in the world leads analysts DFC Intelligence to the conclusion that the Wii saved Sony. It’s quite simple really – by keeping Microsoft’s XBOX 360 in touch.

“The main danger Sony faced was that the Xbox 360 would become embedded as the system of choice. Instead consumers flocked to the Nintendo Wii. The Xbox 360 had solid sales, but they have not been enough to give Microsoft anywhere near a breakout market position,” the report explains.

With the Wii starting to show little glimpses of fatigue, and the Playstation 3 seemingly powering along now with a great price point and numerous exclusive games, the report notes that Sony are finally in a position to capitalise on mainstream consumers. EEDAR’s Jesse Divinch agrees, suggesting they can leverage themselves on the strength of the brand.

“People who purchase a PS2 are more likely to purchase a PS3 in the future. Consumers, believe it or not, are pretty loyal.”

Jesse also notes that blu-ray is now becoming a viable format for cinema buffs, suggesting, “This holiday season Blu-ray movies are finally getting a major focus at retail … Blu-ray clearly now becomes a strong selling point for the PlayStation 3.”

The DFC report closes with a rather stark warning to Sony however, “The cards are in Sony’s favor and now is the time to make the most of them … Now is the time for Sony to shine … or else.”

It’s nice to see people being positive about the Playstation 3 though. We’ve been writing this site for nearly a year now, and we have to say, perception has changed massively over the past two months. Perception is probably the biggest hurdle Sony had to climb.

Michael Pachter Reckons There'll Be A New GTA Game Next Year!

Michael Pachter is back with another famous Pach-attack! This time he reckons that a new Grand Theft Auto game will launch in “calendar 2010″. However, Pachter doesn’t expect the game to launch before the end of the fiscal year (i.e. October 31st, 2010) noting, “While we still expect a GTA game in calendar 2010, it is not clear that the game will be released before the end of Take-Two’s fiscal year ending October 31.”

Other analysts have been quick to put their thoughts on the line, with Anthony Gikas of Piper Jaffray hinting that he expects to see a new GTA in Fiscal 2011 — that’s in the 12 months beginning November 1st, 2010 to you and me folks.

We don’t expect to hear anything about a new GTA for a while. But you can be sure when some tid-bits do inevitably drop, it’s going to be massive.