May NPD: LA Noire makes the case, Xbox 360 stays on top

by Christopher Grant on Jun 13th 2011 6:54PM

Even though we hid the list of May's top software sellers in North America after the break, we have a suspicion that your unparalleled acumen and unmatched perception will provide the clues necessary to determine what the month's top seller was. Simple. Let's move onto harder stuff.

Without a solid historical basis, determining the month's top-selling console might be difficult. So we'll give you a hint: It's been the top selling console for 11 of the past 12 months. That's right, it's the Xbox 360 which managed to move 270,000 units according to Microsoft, representing 39% year-over-year growth and marking the "seventeenth month of year-over-year hardware sales increases," according to a now routine email boast from Redmond.

Overall video game spending is down 13% year-over-year, dropping from $829.4m to $718.8m; while hardware is only down 5%, video game software was down a whopping 19% from May 2010 to 2011. Looking at the list of top sellers, you'll see a few notable facts: the poorly received Brink managed to arrive in second place; there are two Lego games from two separate publishers; and perhaps most notably, there isn't a single Nintendo-published title on the list. Find the full software rundown after the break.

Top 10 best-selling games (US) for May 2011:

L.A. Noire (360, PS3)
Brink (360, PS3, PC)
Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)
Portal 2 (360, PS3, PC)
Mortal Kombat 2011 (PS3, 360)
Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC)
Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, 360, PS3)
NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC)
Just Dance 2 (Wii)
Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, NDS, 360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)

Tags: ds, LA-Noire, microsoft, nintendo, npd, npd-monthly, playstation, ps3, psp, sony, wii, xbox

Reader Comments (85)

Woah... When was the last time Nintendo didn't have a game in the top 10?

@Mcmax3000 I don't know what you're talking about... Nintendo has made really nothing lately, so why would stuff be selling in droves?

@XRZ36

I think he means this is the first time Nintendo hasn't dominated the charts in many years.

@XRZ36 Pretty sure Mario Kart Wii & NSMB Wii were on the charts loooong after release.

@Mcmax3000 the problem is that people are waking up to the fact that nintendo does nothing but recycle the same 5 games over and over, on top of that all nintendos 3rd party games are crap

@NMFK
Yes, I'm sooo happy everybody else in the industry is the impersonation of creativity and innovation while Nintendo totally has done nothing but recycling the same games for the past 25 years - without even changing them one bit.

/sarcasm

Come on, Nintendo is by far not the only sinner here and neither the worst. Troll harder!

@Burny86 well when you stop being a fanboy and face facts, im absolutely right

I think console sales are down because people are waiting for the next gen Xbox and PS4. Or maybe it's because of that whole 2012 thing...

@Mr Hett waiting for next Gen? Uhhhh no....That will cost more to get in at launch....might as well jump now

@Mr Hett

Console sales are down cause everyone and their mother finally have a Wii.

If people were waiting for the next Xbox or PS3 then the 360 wouldn't have seen yet another year over year sales increase.

Well, I'm half psychic so I'll try and use my powers to predict the future...

2012:
Loads of Next Gen Xbox rumors

Xbox 360 gets a significant price drop

New Xbox announced at E3

Modern Warfare 4, Gears of War 4, Halo 4, Fable 4

2013:
New Xbox launched in the Fall with enough power to play games @ 1080p60 w/8XAA, even in 3D

Year of the 5: Halo 5, Forza 5, MW5, Gears of War 5, Fable 5

@Mr Hett Arent 360s selling better than every now?

Ignore my mindless rant...

@Mr Hett console sales are down only b/c Wii sales are down. 360 and PS3 sales are up.

Brink is a shocker...its a fun enough game but I wont pay $60 for it...as soon as it hits $15-20...I'll pck it up on PS3....it Will be there on PC in no time

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

I'm glad to see Brink there.
Hopefully it sells well enough so that we can get a sequel that's good from the get go.

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

I think it's high sales were due to the hype and great marketing. My friends were trying to get me to buy it day one, but I luckily convinced them otherwise. Now they're grateful.

The guy at my local Gamestop said that game was such a POS that a ton of people traded it in day one.

I only wish all the great games weren't crowded towards the end of the year...sigh...

@Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi

Yeah I'm shocked it reached #2 as well. Especially cause it's pretty much MP only.

@FlashJS its a good enough game...but its limitations are lame...you have to start a whole new character when in a game like Team Fortress 2 you can easily max out all classes without having to create a new character or profile....its just not worth the full price to me with those issues AND the fact that it is essentially an online only game.....

@whylekat
speaking of MP on WTF happened to MAG man, I had hopes for that game. great teamwork systems. Chain of Command etc. that game took alot of thought and was executed well

Not just Nintendo, there isn't a single first party title to be found.

LA Noire deserves it. Great game.

inFamous 2 will conquer June though!

inFAMOUS 2 has Wii Play Motion to fend off.

@MLC
It's only on one console. So No.....it will not.

@MLC

as good as it is(got the platinum already) Duke will easily outsell it and make number 1 or 2....I suspect that inFAMOUS 2 will come in around 5th or 6th place....which wont be shabby

Per Neogaf:

Hardware
Xbox 360: 270K (+39%) [Best Selling Console]
PlayStation 3: 177K (+15%)

Make PS3 $199 and you can forget about the 360 being on top.

@Mustang Fanboy if the current PS3 that's $300 drops to $200, Microsoft will drop their $300 Kinect bundle to $200 to compete and it'll still be on top (at least in North America, probably not so in other territories).

@ravissimo
I agree +100

@Mustang Fanboy are you soo sure?

@Mustang Fanboy

By the time $100 comes off the PS3 MSRP the 360 "arcade" unit will sell for $99.

But Gamestop will sell you a refurbished 40 GB PS3 for $229.99. That good enough for ya?

@ravissimo
exactly because microsoft knows they can't compete against ps3 without dropping any prices.

@Mustang Fanboy

Lets take a moment and look back at that you proposed. Lowering the price of the PS3 so it can sell more than the 360 so they can "look" cooler than Microsoft? Am I correct.

The fact is they are selling the system at that price to make a profit. Lowering the price lowers the profit margin. While they may sell more than the 360 lower their price they still wouldn't be able to get as much as Microsoft selling their system.

While to you as a consumer the plan seems great and all honkey dorey in the business world their eyes are set on how much they can make

@ravissimo I can't see ms dropping the kinect bundle 100 bucks. I don't think Sony will do it either, although its more likely to happen. 250 is my guess for the next round of price drops. It would be interesting to see what would happen with a ps3 vita combo at 400.

@Mustang Fanboy

So you're saying the PS3 can still be good without a price drop either? Apparently not

@ravissimo

Actually XBOX 360 already sells at $150 in UK and some other EUROPEAN countries and weak dollar is helping them a lot, but you are correct, if SONY drops PS3 price, MICROSOFT will match it week later.

@mmmfishtacos

oh, i totally agree. i don't think it'll drop $100 that's just what the other poster said. even if PS3 drops $50 (it's had a lot of credits on Amazon for that amount), Microsoft won't have to reduce their Kinect bundle, because the base xbox is still $200.

Microsoft will likely only drop the price if they see a switch for more than a month with the PS3 on top. The first month it drops, the PS3 will most likely sell more than the Xbox. If it does it a second month though, Microsoft will need to respond.

Purportedly, the parenthetical ordering of platforms is according to revenue generated or copies sold.

@kgoo867

Barely

@kgoo867

please dont start the flamebaiting....sheeeeeeeeeeeeeesh....

It's funny that the ps3 is outselling the 360 everywhere but the US

@Mark morehead
I think it's funny that you mentioned that to make yourself feel better.

@Mark morehead

Which happens to be the largest market in the entire world and has allowed MS to have a steady 4 - 5 million unit lead over the PS3 for about 2 years now (it was larger before, but Sony caught up).

@Mark morehead

That's b/c the Europeans and Canadians are on average, smarter than the average American.

@Mark morehead

the 360 is outselling the PS3 in every english speaking country.
That includes the UK and Australia. And you can believe that because those countries have reliable sales tracking organizations.

Do not believe VGchartz, most of their EMEAA region numbers are crap. Their middle east / africa numbers are just there for them to pad PS3 sales numbers.

@Doomzdae

You've just been trolled

@Prboi but still, let's be real xbox is barely holding on.

@mmmfishtacos

Barely holding on? Ummm the Xbox 360 has been having increases in sales for the past few years now. I don't see how they're "barely holding on". PS3 may be doing better globally because Sony is selling their brand. People know Sony & they trust Sony (Well at least most of them used to). But now the Microsoft established themselves as a major competitor in the "console wars". I can see the next Xbox having a much larger initial install base than the 360 had.

Lovin' L.A. Noire, but inexplicably in the middle of loving it, I stopped everything, bought a used original Xbox just to play The Matrix: Path of Neo. Don't say anything. Just leave me be with my obvious psychosis. I'm pretty sure I need help..... I will go back to L.A. Noire though and want to pick up InFAMOUS 2, just needed a Path of Neo fix. Be kind!!

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L.A. Noire

May NPD: LA Noire makes the case, Xbox 360 stays on top

Reader Comments (85)

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:01PM Mcmax3000 said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:34PM XRZ36 said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:46PM Raffi256 said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 8:15PM creid8 said

Posted: Jun 14th 2011 12:45AM NMFK said

Posted: Jun 14th 2011 5:20AM Burny86 said

Posted: Jun 15th 2011 2:33PM NMFK said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:04PM Mr Hett said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:12PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:22PM Xcrucio said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 8:14PM Mr Hett said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 9:44PM AFATALERR0R said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 9:45PM Mr Hett said

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Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:10PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:14PM Jawmuncher said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:14PM FlashJS said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:43PM whylekat said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:44PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 8:49PM PSYCHOxKING said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:12PM Epoque said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:13PM MLC said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:18PM Epoque said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:37PM Doomzdae said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:39PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:17PM MaulerX said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:29PM Mustang Fanboy said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:36PM ravissimo said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:38PM Doomzdae said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:39PM vor said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:40PM Sidon said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:45PM Mustang Fanboy said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:46PM Stevetrop Man of Mystery said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:46PM mmmfishtacos said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:49PM Prboi said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 8:17PM pickupdoctor said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 10:21PM ravissimo said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:36PM Sidon said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:46PM Prboi said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:46PM Chris DPSN AggieCEO XBLThe Aggi said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:47PM Mark morehead said

Posted: Jun 13th 2011 7:59PM Doomzdae said

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