April NPD: GTA IV million seller on PS3, hardware sales close to 360

by Andrew Yoon on May 15th 2008 8:33PM

NPD figures for April have finally come in and this time, it's a close call between Xbox 360 and PS3. According to the NPD, PS3 sold 187,071 hardware units last month, which represents a year-over-year sales growth of 127%. More importantly, software sales have gone up 410% from last year, with over 2 million software units sold in April. A large portion of that figure comes from Grand Theft Auto IV, which sold over one million copies on PS3 in North America. The PS3 version had a higher attach ratio, although the Xbox 360 version still outsold the PS3 version almost 2:1. Predictions that PlayStation loyalty from the PS2 era would help PS3 sales were incorrect.

While Sony's home console didn't win any sales contests this month, it has gained a tremendous amount of momentum, especially when one remembers the console at the same time last year. The newly released rumble-ready DualShock 3 controller also sold incredibly well, with sales exceeding $10.9 million in April. By our calculations, that means over 200,000 controllers were sold in April alone. Not bad, huh?

Jack Tretton, president and CEO of SCEA, responded to this month's numbers: "Clearly, the tremendous legacy of Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation, combined with the blockbuster launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue packed a one-two punch with consumers at retail this month. The proof is in the numbers and, in April, PlayStation 3 hardware sales experienced a 127% increase over April of last year. PS3 momentum is fueled by enthusiasm for Blu-ray as the definitive high def standard and the growing number of consumers gearing up for some of the most anticipated titles of the year, exclusively for PS3, including the June release of Metal Gear Solid 4, and other great exclusives in the second half on the year, such as Resistance 2, SOCOM: Confrontation and LittleBigPlanet to name a few. With exciting PlayStation Network innovations and our strongest console-driving titles of the year still on the horizon, PS3 remains on pace for a breakthrough year."

- Wii: 714.2K

6.8K (0.94%)
- DS: 414.8K

283.2K (40.6%)
- PSP: 192.7K

104.3K (35.1%)
- Xbox 360: 188K

74K (28.2%)
- PS3: 187.1K

69.9K (27.2%)
- PS2: 124.4K

91.6K (42.4%)

April Software

1. GTA IV – Xbox 360 – 1.85 million*
2. Mario Kart Wii – Wii – 1.12 million
3. GTA IV – PS3 – 1.00 million*
4. Wii Play w/ remote – Wii – 360K
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl – Wii – 326K
6. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – PS3 – 224K
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness – DS – 202K
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time – DS – 202K
9. Guitar Hero III – Wii – 152K
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Xbox 360 – 141K*

* includes bundles, collector's editions, GOTY editions

Tags: grand-theft-auto-iv, npd, ps3, sales

Reader Comments (49)

Sony missed out on GTA IV

Every television show's advert break showed that brilliant GTA IV advert with Niko walking and then you see the 360 logo. Every newspaper i read showed a picture of Niko, Shotgun and the 360 with a £200 price tag.

i wish Sony put more effort into the marketing of what is certainly going to be the best selling game this year.

Off topic: Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – PS3 – 224K

Wait a sec... http://playstation.joystiq.com/2008/03/15/gran-turismo-5-prologue-pre-orders-reach-1-million-in-europe-alo/

I thought Prologue had reached 1 million pre-orders...why are sales only at 224k?

Surely 75% of people didn't just stop their pre-order?

Pretty sure these numbers are north america only, thats why the xbox still outsold the ps3 in terms of hardware and software.

To be honest, I dont ever see the PS3 winning in NA. Being close is all we can hope for, the rest of the world is where the numbers will matter.

whats wrong with you yanks. ;)

That's in Europe

Regarding GT5:P...I believe NPD numbers only relate to the US. The article you linked is related to pre-orders in Europe.

I'm pretty sure this data is taken from the North American market only.

a million in europe, the npd is just for the US not worldwide... smh..

Thats weird every GTA commerical i saw on NBC showed the PS3 version and no mention of 360 version.

True, every ad I've seen was for 360 no wonder. I'm most of those were casuals who also went for the DLC. But meh, not bad although it could have been better.

Ah right, cheers for clearing up the GT5:P for me *thumb up*

Maybe in America there was more advertising of the PS3 version because in america they prefer xbox. Likewise in Europe, there was more advertising of the 360 version because more people prefer the PS3.

And yeah i don't think Sony did bad, they could of just done better.

Oh and 1 mil pre orders were Europe only.

God knows why America prefers xbox.

It's cuz Halo, duh.

Proving to the world they're experts at making bad choices?

It is not because of Halo. IMO Gears of War is the top dog on 360.

@The other dude, America isn't bad at making decisions, don't sterotype us.

Some people go to restaurants that serve all kinds of foods and others go to specific restaurants that serve one type of food.

PS3 does have a great overall package with everything included. But if you are solely a gamer and movies don't really matter to you or matter less than gaming then the 360 becomes a more enticing meal than the PS3.

Just because I bought a PS3 because of its ability to play blu-ray AND games doesn't mean there aren't other people out there that prefer having more AAA games to choose from. Frankly put the 360 does have a better library than the PS3, and to some people thats more important.

Don't stereotype Americans please.

America likes taking the worst thing , like Bush for example .

Hey! We're not all like that. Just the vast majority... sigh.

"Predictions that PlayStation loyalty from the PS2 era would help PS3 sales were incorrect."

You say that based on the 5 days GTA4 was available this month. I'm not saying those predictions were true but I don't think there is enough data to say that they were incorrect. I think it's incorrect on your part to make that kind of statement without hard facts. I suggest waiting till the May NPD data comes out for you to say that.

Again, I'm not saying the May data will prove that brand loyalty with the ps2 helped ps3 sales. I'm just saying it's too early to reach a conclusive opinion. You should've said that it seems that the predictions were wrong but not that they were wrong.

DAve, given that the PS3 had dramatically higher attach rates for GTA4 than the 360, the claim that Playstation brand loyalty didn't help is flat out wrong. It obviously made a huge difference. Don't forget how many PS3s are just used as blu-ray players. The higher attach rate is really quite staggering, and worldwide, there's reason to believe the PS3, which is already outselling the 360 by a wider and wider margin, will move for GTA4 product than the 360 (still unlikely, but it will be much closer).

This site is just bashing the PS3. Again.

The worldwide news about the PS3 is extremely favorable. Why is this site relying only on US numbers, when those are the only ones that can be twisted to portray the PS3 negatively? PS3fanboy could do a better job of promoting the PS3... sometimes it even seems like they are doing the opposite.

Xbox may have sold more GTA games therefore PS3 sold more consoles, about 130,000 more over the last 2 weeks. Not to mention GTA sold more on the PS3 in Europe... so technicaly speaking PS3 won Europe and sold more consoles while Xbox won America but didnt sell as many consoles but sold 800,000 more GTA games...so...I guess we could call this battle a tie?

Thaaaaa 360 sold 2 to 1 sales of GTA 4. I guess those people thought that the PS3 would do better were dead wrong.

In the US dick. I know you like to think you're the whole world, but you're not.

I kind of figured. When I was in line at midnight, most were walking out with the 360 version.

Not that big of a deal IMO.

*sigh*

Can you all at least be fanboys here and say the PS3 tied with the 360? Because it statistically did. 900 console difference, 3,000 console margin of error.

Anyway, y'all, it's time to pack it in, Wii wins this Gen. It won't go below 700K units per month again unless something really off the wall comes through.

The market cannot support two (almost) similarly spec'ed consoles right now, and 360 and PS3 will finish close when this gen is over.

Fanboy wars have to stop, Nintendo will ride this through, and if (since) they are good enough, they will outsell the PS2 if(when) they continue like this.

I hate to be negative here guys, I love my PS3, and I wish it would have gotten more love, but all those saying there is still a chance, are fooling themselves.

Unfortunately, fanboyism is causing issues, mainly between 360 and PS3. It's time to put it all aside and really hope for a MS/Sony console next gen to compete with Nintendo's momentum they have and will have. Imagine if Halo and Gears of War were on a Sony Console, imagine if MGS4 were on a MS console. With Sony's specialty in Hardware and MS's ability with Software, who knows what could be accomplished. Instead of having to buy 2 $400 consoles to play games, one would only be needed. Most people cannot and do not want to have 2 different consoles unfortunately.

Afterall, aren't we all just gamers?

Vote me down if you will, yell at me if you want, and I know this is called PS3 Fanboy, but this is the cold hard truth. Look for a similar post in the 360 Fanboy story when they post it.

Sorry =[

There's no reason whatsoever that the 360 and PS3 can't coexist, the first couple of years of major new platforms are bound to be a bit shaky.

This is no different to every other generation. Hell, the last generation had the Dreamcast, which /had/ to go to make room for the Xbox.. There's definitely space for PS3/360 - they both appeal to different gamers.

They dont have to win the exact same market share to finally make a profit. Sony aren't going to back down and neither are MS, and that's the way it should be!

There are so many reasons why a combined Sony/MS console would suck, both companies make very clear, very opposing decisions and design choices. Sony are am eccentric risk-taker and perfectionist, MS are a very well-oile bulldozer. I'd rather see systems fall by the wayside and become Sega Saturn-like novelties than have the companies combine their efforts. Competition is good for gamers - we have a great diversity of genres, but the games are rightly split between the machines which suit them..

If people really can't stomach owning more than one machine that's nobody's problem but their own. :) As long as they keep buying for their chosen system though, all is well.

The Sound...what kind of fanboy are you?? You ought to be ashamed of yourself....grow some ba**s!! LOL...seriously tho....I'm an unashamed PS3 fanboy...and I'm not conceding the console war to anybody yet....I could go out and buy a 360 tommorow..I really can't justify it because of time constraints...money is not an issue. Additionally the 360 for all its pros (and there are pros) just isn't that compelling to me. When I bought my PS3...I bought it as an investment in the future of gaming. I bought it to "play b3yond"...LOL...seriously tho Sony knows what they're doing....certainly they've made mistakes...they've been slow to release functionality that we all feel should've been out....but they've delivered on their strategy time and time again.....and I think you're seeing that strategy play out right before our eyes again. In the meantime we shouldn't get too caught up in the business side of things.....there are too many great exclusive and multi-plat games to play.

Take heart fellow fanboys....they will win a few battles...but we will win the war....Godspeed!!!

No offense, but now you're just being thick.

I have gotten into many arguments with my friends over this, I love my PS3, and just got off playing warhawk splitscreen with my bro and it's almost 1 in the morning and I have school tomorrow and work too. I want Sony to win, of course, who doesn't, but this is ridiculous.

The Wii has had two, yes the last TWO months over 700K for consoles, that's 1.4 million in two months in one territory.

Fanboyism is one thing, Blind fanboyism on the other hand...

I want to see Sony win next gen. They can still be powerful, throw in a faster, more powerful Cell in there, more memory, and it's all set. Blu-ray is here to stay, Cell will be proven and Devs will be used to it, and it is powerful enough to substitute a graphics card (if they use two, which they could). Next gen could be very Rosy if they play their cards right. =D

Well considering the xbox : ps3 ratio is skewed in favour of the xbox, I'd thought the numbers would suggest ps3 version did well considering the smaller install base... ? :)

Yes, PS3's attach rate is better.

Roughly 1 in every 4 PS3 owners owns the game

Roughly 1 in every 5-6 360 owners own the game.

I guess that math isn't one of your stronger subjects.

Well its funny how numbers constantly change. Last year Everyone thought the PSP was dead, but its kicking the crap out of half the systems out there (even nintendo in Japan). So you never know when a system suddenly becomes popular, like who knew that the Wii would sell like that.
As far as 360 domination in U.S., thats pretty normal. Americans don't like to think too much (I know, because I'm one of them) and tend to go with the most basic products or just do what TV tells them to do. In this case TV said buy halo and buy Wii, and everyone did.
When sony came out with the power points showing the cell processor power and all blu-ray, everyone turned away and said, hey look, you can wave your hands on that one, and bought a a Wii.

Exactly. My fellow americans... *shakes head*

i know cuz while everyone was watching tv, i was reading those powerpoints

I think the main reason the PS2 fanbase isn't bolstering the PS3 market enough is because a vast majority of them bought the console when it was at the $150-$200ish mark and spending $400 on a new one just isn't going to fly. They're not loyal to the brand, they're loyal to the cheap, and that's why a lot of them are moving to the Wii, thus why the Wii hardware is doing so well (but they're used to the quality of PS2 games and thus aren't buying the shovelware games on the Wii).

I don't think they're helping the 360, either, so there's that, at least.... though the cheap looking price on the Arcade version might draw them in.... $269 vs $399 is a huge difference to the average joe who doesn't know he's shooting himself in the foot for later

^ Agreed.

bleah...this pattern mimics that of the whole PC vs Mac debate.

People in the U.S. don't care about quality of the product, the bottom line is always the driving factor in the majority.

Well according to that poll on IGN "who will win the war" PS3 won with 490,000 votes 2nd Xbox with 310,000 and on 3rd the Wii with 200,000 votes... so im very confidant that PS3 will win. After all PS3 is like the DKM Bismarck of the console world and Xbox is more like the HMS Hood it was good back in the days but not anymore.... and the Wii... a paddle boat its small, weak but it keeps you active.

Think a big factor is that even w/ the PS branding and fan loyalty, you can't help but tell yourself that in a United States going through a recession, you'd pick up the console that can give you GTA & save you a couple bucks.

Cuz ya know, money problems is increasing for many people that have to pay bills, mortgage, gas just to drive to work, etc. A $100 or so is enough to sway a frugal buyer.

Im sick of trenton wheeling out the % increase number from last year as we all know the 125% increase was on rubbish sales last year

Sony must be bitterly disappointed that the best selling game ever on PS2 did not result in any increased sales for PS3 sales from the previous few months

Like someone said on page 1, this data only takes into account the first 3 days GTA4 was on sale. May will be more definitive, I think.

The trouble is that MS and Sony are fighting over scraps. The real business is being done by Nintendo. MS and Sony cannot ignore the Wii any longer, these figures just confirm that the dominance of the Wii is starting to have a negative effect on sales of the other consoles.
If the sales of PS3 and 360 go down in the month of GTA4, the biggest, best, most hyped game in years, then it doesn't matter which came out on top, they're both losers.

the wii is not victorious. It will end up being a piece of crap that EVERYONE has...

no game

no graphics

no decent online solution

the wii is a great tool for nintendo to get ready for the next gen. But this gen, unless they get some titles that people really want to play they will fail

i still feel its a novelty and a phase. Limited supply has stretched out this phase but its a phase none the less. MS and Nintendo are looking to next gen to compete with the pS3... which should be here for quite some time...

North America is the biggest market in the world. Sorry to piss all you americaphobes. Companies truly to give a crap about whether their product does well here. Nice for all of you to hate America and its people until you need us. Sadly we do come to aid those that spit on us in the back but I guess its cool to do that now.

That attitude is exactly why people can't stand America now - that nationalist elitism. Calm down man. Most of the criticism levied against the U.S. is legit.

Im from america, born and raised, and you my friend are a douchebag. In fact, its douchebags like you that make everyone think that america is a douchbag country.

go play your halo and next time check out this site instead

http://xbox.joystiq.com/

"Clearly, the tremendous legacy of Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation, combined with the blockbuster launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue packed a one-two punch with consumers at retail this month."

This guy is such a boob. Coming off like he is a genius that knew all along what gamers wanted. Since we bought the console we have been asking for great games, exclusives if at all possible. The reason this console doesn't sell is because of the lack of great games. It has a few now and it is selling better, who'd a thunk?

I think it is more important to note that no matter how popular or mainstream Nintendo's Gamecube 1.5 has become, the highest ever entertainment earner, is not on it.

Nintendo's cold shoulder to the hardcore gamer CAN have a backlash.

Clearly, Nintendo didn't even need it though! For GTAIV not to put a dent in Nintendo's business says a lot. And I don't see how the Wii is giving a cold shoulder to the hardcore. There ARE hardcore games on they system.

With Microsoft coming out saying they sold 20 million 360s and then saying they have 12 million uses for Live it really makes me wonder. 20 million sold isn't a very good number when you claimed to sell 12 million in the first year. It means that year over year performance is much worse.

Microsoft never said if they did or did not count RROD consoles as new consoles. I still think they do. Is there anyone who actually owns a XBOX360 that is not signed up for Live. Even if you never play online don't you still have to sign up for Live to get updates. I have a hard time believing that there are 8 million XBOX buyers that never signed up for Live.

I'm sure Balmer and Gates have warehouses of 360s that they bought personally to shore up the mumbers. Every month they probably buy at least 50k consoles. Hell its pocket change for them. Bill can always donate them to charity for a nice tax writeoff.

The Wii vs PS3 really doesn't matter. Almost anyone who can afford a PS3 will proabably get a Wii as well. I did so I could play a few games and my fiance loves it. Wii hardware might outsell everyone but games are another story. The PS3 will always sell more software even with a much smaller installed base.

Wow. What's up with taking shots at americans? Just because majority seems to like 360 better than PS3? So if Wii's dominating the market worldwide, are you saying that the whole world likes taking the worst thing? I guess that kinda true.

How come whenever I reply to someone's comment when logged in as myself it gives me a message that an email has been sent to confirm (which it shouldn't because I'm logged in) and then when I check my email there's nothing there.

Yet, at the same time, if I don't specifically click to reply to someone it posts fine. Can we please just have a consistent comment system already?

@Ken,

Not in this thread it's not. "Stuff only sells more over there because everyone over there is st-st-stupider than us". C'mon, you expect 15 repeats of that same ludicrous statement to just go by unnoticed?

Elitist? C'mon, there's definitely one side being elitist as all hell in this thread, and it's those folks who know that OBVIOUSLY their opinion is right about taste in games and OBVIOUSLY everyone that likes different types of games is just a bunch of stupid oafs that OMG LOVE TEH HALOZ when Halo is fighting just to stay relevant over here.

Besides, the Wii is selling in gobs anywhere, so I don't really see the point in regards to the Wii unless they're calling themselves artards as well.

In spite of their similarities the 360 and the PS3 each have very different strengths both in the features they flaunt and in the types of exclusive games they have. Personally I went for both because I want it all, but those who can't afford both pick the one that suits their tastes better, and let's not sit here and pretend that masterpieces like Bioshock and Mass Effect are directed at brainless oafs who don't know how to think, no matter how many times your countrymen blindly repeat it.

April NPD: GTA IV million seller on PS3, hardware sales close to 360

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