Report: US game sales jump 25% in June [update1]

by Blake Snow { Jul 14th 2006 at 2:55PM }

According to games market researcher NPD, overall US video game sales jumped 25% in June to $844.5 million. The culprits? Nintendo's strong selling DS, THQ's Cars, and Microsoft's lack of Xbox 360 shortages. Game sales increased by 15% while hardware sales grew by nearly 33% over this time last year.

Nintendo led the US hardware selling pack with 593,000 units sold for the month, while the PS2 sold 312,000 units and the 360 sold 277,000 units respectively. All around a very healthy showing by all platforms given the usually slow selling summer. Maybe the outdoor recreation scene is tanking in response?

[update1: corrected spelling of "led" and PS2 (we can't wait!)]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Elvis @ Jul 14th 2006 2:58PM

PS3 sold 312,000???????

DIEGO @ Jul 14th 2006 2:58PM

i didn't know the ps3 was out yet...

Panadero @ Jul 14th 2006 2:58PM

So the PS3's sold that much before launching, eh? ;)

youcantbadmouthgoldeneye @ Jul 14th 2006 2:58PM

ps2 you mean? ps3 hasn't come out yet.

KilgoreTrout XL @ Jul 14th 2006 2:58PM

Hmm. The PS3 is selling quite well...

;)

NerdFury @ Jul 14th 2006 3:00PM

PS3 sold 312,000 units? That is some crazy 4th dimension sh*t right there.

Abuzar @ Jul 14th 2006 3:02PM

and here I was thinking ill have to wait till november to get a PS3

Free DS Lite @ Jul 14th 2006 3:04PM

Since everyone's already mentioned the PS3 typo, I'll ignore it. =P and the PS2 is still outselling the Xbox 360. Hell, I bet when the PS3 comes out, the PS2 will outsell it.

And it looks like the DS is finally going to get that surge of sales with the Lite it needs to give it a semi-significant lead over the PSP in the US.

KiFe @ Jul 14th 2006 3:05PM

Hey look! A TYPO!

LET'S GET HIM!

dkh @ Jul 14th 2006 3:05PM

Do you mean all Nintendo hardware units, including the SP, DS, DSLite, Gamecube, etc?

Ted D. Moncrief @ Jul 14th 2006 3:09PM

I don't think that PS3 typo would be such a big deal if everyone was *completely certain* that it was, in fact, a typo.

billychaos @ Jul 14th 2006 3:11PM

dkh, I'm almost certain it's just the DS and DS Lites. The DS is really doing well (a lot more than most expected). Unfortunetly, it's the only hardware selling well for nintendo right now.

32_Footsteps @ Jul 14th 2006 3:13PM

Actually, I wonder if it isn't a typo, and they're instead counting PS3 preorders. It wouldn't surprise me if they were.

Revolution @ Jul 14th 2006 3:13PM

Outdoor recreation is for the birds...especially here in Phoenix. Sun-haters unit!

MetaHuman @ Jul 14th 2006 3:14PM

That is no typo. The PS3 can time-travel.

@ DKH
The article sounds like it means DS Phat and Lite combined.

Clint @ Jul 14th 2006 3:15PM

They just released a new DS so that's the only reason it's selling. I guess the people embarrassed to be seen with the old ugly one can now buy yet another one so they can leave the house with the thing.

st3v3n @ Jul 14th 2006 3:16PM

i have an old, big ps2 (from launch), and im going off to college this fall. im planning on buying a slim ps2. so thats one person buying a ps2 and not a ps3 already..

that guy @ Jul 14th 2006 3:16PM

I have no idea what this story is about. All I know is that that picture of the guy having a nerdgasm is simply awesome.

Bertrand @ Jul 14th 2006 3:21PM

One of the reasons why people are still buying so many PS2s (apart from getting the slim one to replace a big one) is that their old one died. This is very very common.

spil @ Jul 14th 2006 3:39PM

"LOL" as interweb people would say, KiFe (#8)!

Give that guy/gal a star!

Probot @ Jul 14th 2006 3:42PM

While I certainly expected sales to be up, that opinion wasn't universal.

Analysts predict June gloom for games:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6153766.html

The only reason I bring this up is to make sure we don't forget that analysts don't have any more information than the rest of us. It's like when someone posted how far off analysts were with the price of the PS3.

Their opinions shouldn't be held higher than anyone else's, despite the amount of screentime they get on some sites, specifically Gamespot.

Ves @ Jul 14th 2006 3:47PM

Well I own a gamecube, an xbox and 360 and I haver seriously considered getting a PS2 recently. The reason why? Guitar Hero. That and the PS2 DDR experience is better for some reason. God of War would just be a bonus but really Guitar Hero would sell the system for me. Hopefully The 360 will have a shot at Guitar Hero 2.

crono141 @ Jul 14th 2006 3:50PM

Add "PSP" to the list of handhelds nintendo has "pwned"

DS has been outselling PSP in japan by 5-6 times, and now it looks like the DS lite will bring that trend stateside.

glitched @ Jul 14th 2006 4:11PM

http://videogamecharts.com/page3.html

For comparison to past months stats and a launch comparison graph.

man, I've been waiting for joystiq to post these numbers since i sent the tip last night! What took so long? ;)

youcantbadmouthgoldeneye @ Jul 14th 2006 4:25PM

@ #11 well there's only two markets out there for nintendo and its console and portable. Since the Ds is taking on the gba's market right now and you can say the same for the xbox and gamecube "Unfortunetly, it's the only hardware selling well for nintendo right now." isn't bad considering they only have two markets out there and gc/xbox is selling badly too.

DJ @ Jul 14th 2006 4:47PM

What's with all this "People are only buying PS2s to replace their broken ones" bs. Out of the 30 or so people i know with PS2s, not one has had their consoles break down. It's sad to see 360 fans become jealous enough to make such outlandish claims. Maybe the PS2 is selling better than the 360 because it has great games? There's still a huge amount of wonderful PS2 titles coming out through 2007 so I'm not surprised at the high sales figures. You think those are high? Wait till Final Fantasy 12 and God of War 2 come out. (btw, can't wait for Okami and Valkyrie Profile 2).

Brad Mecoli @ Jul 14th 2006 4:56PM

Is it just me, or is that guy playing on the right enjoying it a little bit too much? Perhaps getting a little extra action under the desk maybe?

georgedakota @ Jul 14th 2006 5:03PM

Before tons of people come in here and say ps2 is selling better than 360 ha ha... well this is normal considering 360 isnt even a year old yet and ps2 has hundreds and hundreds of titles plus it is 4 times cheaper. If you look at past console launches the older systems always sell better for about 1 year then things really tart to shift more. Come christmas there will major shortages and hardware failures on the ps3 and 360 will be on the shelves for everyone who is an impulse buyer too.

Darth Pixel @ Jul 14th 2006 5:57PM

Xbots:

"Only 4 people ever bought a PlayStation 2. They had to replace it 25 million times and that's how Sony sold 100 million units."

"PlayStation 2 keeps outselling Xbox 360 is not yet available on Mars, where gamers love Microsoft and everything Xbox."

Keep deluding yourself dudes, Xbox 360 keeps getting raped by PlayStation 2. Wait until PlayStation 3 comes out and you'll have to come with some new stories.

And Joystiq gets better and better at exciting fanboys in order to generate page views.

Bub @ Jul 14th 2006 6:07PM

The PS2 only runs at 297 Mhz but it has a 128-BIT-WIDE data path; it's beating xbox, which runs more than twice it's speed, to a pulp. It's safe to say that Sony future-proofed PS2, just as they are doing with PS3.

Bloo @ Jul 14th 2006 6:28PM

************************************************

The PS2 is selling more than the 360 so it is better!

************************************************

Also, Analog TVs are WAY outselling HDTVs so Analog TVs are better!!!

************************************************

And for the heck of it, Toyota Corollas are way outselling Toyota Avalons so Toyota Corollas are better!!!!!!

Anonymous Rep @ Jul 14th 2006 6:57PM

Which company do you think is doing better, from the perspective of sales?

Sony PS2 - 312,000 units - $40,000,000 in gross sales
Microsoft - 277,000 units - $100,000,000 in gross sales

Sony PSP - 221,000 units - $44,000,000 in gross sales
Nintendo - 593,000 units - $76,500,000 in gross sales

If you compare 2006 sales to previous years sales for PS2, you'll also find an interesting downward trend.

June '02 - 693,000
June '03 - 440,000
June '04 - 427,000
June '05 - 355,000
June '06 - 312,000

Comparing console sales is, in this case, like trying to compare vehicle sales from two disparate vehicles. You can attempt to state that you sold 312,000 Corollas for $12,900 each, and say that you're doing much better than Avalon, when they sold 277,000 for $37,500 each. Which one looks better to investors - the company with $4 billion in sales, or the company with $10 billion in sales?

And, of course, you're completely ignoring the reality that Microsoft should, by next month, reach the break even / profitable point on consoles themselves. That means that from August onward, Microsoft will actually be making money on the consoles - which puts them in position to, should they desire to do so, REDUCE the price on the console. Or be able to put more money from console profits into game and accessory developement - either way, it's going to put them a year or more ahead of Sony.

DJ @ Jul 14th 2006 7:03PM

Pft, Avalons are totally better than Carollas!! But seriously Bloo, anyone with a brain and an eye socket knows the 360 is more powerful than a PS2. =P We're just discussing the irony of the sales figures.

[-Z-] @ Jul 14th 2006 9:50PM

"And, of course, you're completely ignoring the reality that Microsoft should, by next month, reach the break even / profitable point on consoles themselves."

You got reference on that above statement?

DownloadingData @ Jul 14th 2006 9:52PM

You forgot about the other console sales figures. Here's a table:

US NPD Console sales for June 2006:

Console | Monthly Sales | Approx. Weekly Sales

1. NDS ~ 593,000 (118,600)
2. PS2 ~ 312,000 (62,400)
3. 360 ~ 277,000 (55,400)
4. PSP ~ 221,000 (44,200)
5. GBA ~ 189,000 (37,800)
6. NGC ~ 51,000 (10,200)
7. XBX ~ 24,000 (4,800)

Source: www.next-gen.biz

ipodfanboy @ Jul 14th 2006 10:39PM

Yippie the psp finally outsells the GBA in the U.S. That must have been embarresing months ago when the GBA outsold the psp monthly basis here in the states, I guess the psp is gaining in mainstream appeal to the average casual gaming American idiot. I still dont get how the psp sells eventhough the psp dont have no appealing titles unless people are buying psps because it has the playstation name on it or if people are buying psp as an non-dedicated MP3 player instead of a dedicated mp3 player like the ipod. Yes the DS finally outsells the psp stateside, I hope the DSlite appeals to millions of casual gamers the way the psp appeals to them. Its sad to see GBA sales go down it was one of the most popular handhelds in America right now. American NPD numbers are sick and revolting. Ps2 outsells the xbox360 again, thats crazy, what can these casual gamers be playing on thier ps2s. I guess most of those ps2s are probably replacement ps2s purchases by careless and clumsy casual gamers and from soccer moms who cant control thier freaking kids that break things like ps2s. Ps2 will probably outsell xbox360 until next year. Xbox360 bieng outsold by the ps2 reminds me of the dreamcast being outsold by the ps1 6 years ago. Xbox360 sold well in june I think. I still dont know which one of these two consoles are dead. Gamecube has been outselling the xbox regularly for the past few months however xbox has more software titles coming out for that console however those titles dont get much attention as the crapstation2 version. Can some1 tell me which one of these consoles are dead, gamecube xbox or both. I just cant belive Americans or too enamored with playstation, to bad Mainstream Americans wont be enamored with 500-600 price tags. Wii60 here i Come.