Sales of all hardware were feeling the hurt in August ... except for – what's that? – PSP, which saw a nearly 13% spike over July's performance. Guess there was a run on the current units due to their dimmer, less responsive screens and lack of built-in microphone? Xbox 360 was down, but nevertheless outsold PS3 for the first month since May (and this was beforelast week's price cuts).
On the software side, it's Madden, Madden, and ... more Madden topping the charts. Wii Fit was bumped down a couple of rungs, but still performed solidly despite not actually being available anywhere. Oh, and would you look at that – Too Human has made its first (and last?) appearance. Here are this month's NPD hardware sales figures:
After everyone saw gains last month (with one devilish exception), July's NPD figures revealed North American hardware unit sales declined across all companies, but otherwise the list is the same as it was in June. What's starting to unnerve us is Nintendo's data. To be able to say a company went from 666 to 555 (a difference of 111) is a bit creepy, dontcha think?
In terms of software, the Xbox 360 version of NCAA Football 09 barely eked out Wii Fit, while Wii Play w/remote still manages to move up a slot from 5 to 4 this month. Here are this month's NPD hardware sales figures:
The Nintendo DS, Sony PSP and PlayStation saw big gains in hardware sale over last month. Industry sales for June were worth $1.69 billion, compared with $1.1 billion last month. Our sneaking suspicion is that Metal Gear Solid 4, which netted 774,600 in its debut month, helped the PS3 in its success. Elsewhere, the Wii's numerical conclusion revealed its devilish, money-printing source of income.
Mercury News writer and Microsoft guru Dean Takahashi has published a memo penned by Microsoft games chief Don Mattrick, who expects that "Xbox 360 is on track to register the biggest year in video game history."
According to Mattrick North American hardware, software and accessory sales for Xbox 360 exceeded $3.5 billion, reportedly $1 billion more than Wii and $2 billion more than PlayStation 3. "When December data is added," he said, "we expect Xbox 360 in 2007 to have generated more calendar year revenue than any other gaming platform ever, including PS2 at its peak."
Mattrick's biggest claim comes in implicitly hailing the Xbox 360 as this generation's console winner. "History has shown that the eventual winner of each console generation was the console that generated the most 3rd party revenue, and according to the most recent NPD data, Xbox 360 generated more 3rd party revenue in 2007 than Nintendo and Sony combined."
Unsurprisingly not mentioned in the memo is the Xbox 360's performance in Japan. The memo also revealed some new Xbox Live statistics, including mention that the service has surpassed 10 million Xbox Live users, "over six months before our stated goal of July 2008 announced at E3 last year." We've compiled those after the break.
Thanks in no small part to a price drop and a new model, Microsoft's Xbox 360 scored a 260% sales increase in the United Kingdom from two weeks prior, according to ChartTrack (via MCV). The Elite model was released in the territory August 24 for £299.99, while the Pro and Arcade models received price drops to £249.99 and £179.99, respectively. The momentum is also likely to be helped by a certain Covenant-crushing behemoth set to deploy later this month.
Though Microsoft may be having its (VH1) Best Week Ever, Sony's PlayStation Portable had its worst. ChartTrack is reporting the PSP had its worst week of sales since its launch September 1, 2005. Both SCEE and ChartTrack blame the sales drop-off on the impending launch of the PSP-2000 model, coming September 14 (sansceramic white) and believe the redesign will boost the PSP's sales.
Chart-Track did not provide specific numbers for either console's sales.
Read -- 260% sales jump for Xbox 360 Read -- SCEE looks forward after worst week ever for PSP
Yesterday, the 60GB PlayStation 3 sales surged on Amazon following the $100 price drop. One day later and it still going strong, with a 2,700% increase in rank. It was previously number one on the charts but has since been taken over by the fragFX PS3 gamepad, seeing a 40,078% rise in rank. In fact, 13 of the top 16 sales movers are PlayStation 3 software and accessories. Last we heard, Sony was screen-capping the website and forwarding it to Konami.
[Update: the 2700% increase in sales is from sales rank - i.e. from 28 to 2 -- not sales. Sorry for the flub in phrasing.]
The PlayStation 3 has reached platinum in the PAL region, having sold one million units since its launch ten weeks ago, GameSpot reports. That report would put the console as faster selling than the PS2 and PSP. The top-selling games were Resistance: Fall of Man (600,000) and Motorstorm (500,000).
It is not clear if the data represents units sold to the consumer or units sold to retail chains (i.e. units shipped). The PAL region covers Europe and Australia. Sony's latest console also broke records at the UK launch, becoming the fastest-selling home console ever for the country with 165,000 units reportedly sold during its launch weekend beginning March 23.
The numbers are impressive for Sony, and serve as good news for the company that has lost market share since the last generation, but it probably won't deter calls for a price drop anytime soon.
[Image Context, "as graceful as a walrus falling upward with an anvil as parachute"]
Following yesterday's explosive release of the March NPD video game sales results, both Sony and Nintendo have predictably constructed and delivered finely worded press statements celebrating their astoundingly magnificent results. There's plenty of fun to be had on the merry-go-round, but spinning too much may lead to uncontrollable nausea and projectile vomiting. In the interest of shielding you from an unexpected Technicolor yawn, we've decided to slow things down a bit.
"Nintendo stays number one," declares the house of Miyamoto, rightly referring to the unstoppable DS. "Nintendo once again claimed the top two spots among the best-selling new video game systems in America in March, according to independent sales data gathered by the NPD Group." Hang on, weren't the top two spots shared by the DS and the PlayStation 2? Oh, the top two spots among the new video game systems, they say. Sorry PS2 pal, you only claim a spot among the old video game systems. An added bonus: Using this wording, Nintendo could claim the top two spots among new systems even if the the PS2 and original Xbox were to somehow become the best sellers for the month.
"Innovation is compelling both current gamers and new gamers to experience a new way to play. Nintendo is bringing gaming back to the masses," says Nintendo president and habitual posterior kicker, Reggie Fils-Aime. Ah yes, "the masses," they're the ones to blame for a critical Wii shortage. Remember, Wii systems are selling as fast as Nintendo can possibly crank them out. The 41% drop in sales since January, coupled with the promise here of "increased production" following the end of a successful financial year... isn't suspicious at all.
The sheer anticipation that builds up around the NPD Group's monthly video game sales data is like an immense fanboy volcano just waiting to erupt. Predictions are made, forum wars are waged and in the end, some worshippers are left in agony as the facts (here represented by hot molten lava) eat away at their pale flesh. But on to cooler topics -- total industry sales are up by 33%!
The detailed GameDaily BIZ report reveals that total hardware sales rose by 69% in March to $370 million. Of that, console hardware raked in $257 million, making for an increase of 93%. NPD analyst Anita Frazier calls it an "outstanding month," though some console manufacturers might not share that particular sentiment. The North American console sales for March are as follows:
The latest numbers escaping from poorly guarded NPD holding cells indicate that the gaming industry enjoyed a 27.8% sales increase in the month most closely associated with holidays and reckless spending. Strong hardware sales in December helped push the industry up to an annual $12.5 billion, a sizable increase compared to last year's $10.5 billion.
Contrary to the figures cited in a CNBC report earlier this month, the console winner of Christmas 2006 was not the Xbox 360, but the Playstation 2. Unsurprisingly, the Nintendo DS reigned supreme in the portable arena, as well as in overall sales.
NPD console sales for December 2006
DS: 1.6 million (9.2 million life-to-date)
PlayStation 2: 1.4 million (37.1 million life-to-date)
Xbox 360: 1.1 million (4.5 million life-to-date)
PSP: 953.2k (6.7 million life-to-date)
Game Boy Advance: 850.7k (35.1 million life-to-date)
Wii: 604.2k (1.1 million life-to-date)
PS3: 490.7k (687.3k life-to-date)
The top-selling game for December was Microsoft's Gears of War, followed closely by Guitar Hero II. Rounding out the top five are Madden NFL '07 (PS2) and both versions of The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess. Interestingly, the waggle-free version of Link's latest adventure sold around 13,000 more copies.
Check out the full Gamedaily Biz article for further details, numbers and invaluable fanboy ammunition.
Earlier this month, a whole slew of numbers escaped from the NPD's inadequate holding facilities and viciously assaulted gamers with all sorts of sales tallies and percentages. Having discovered an error in their historical data, the analytical group has seen fit to unleash the numbers again, though an important one is now somewhat smaller and thus, less dangerous. It was previously reported that year-to-date sales had risen 25% in November, when in fact, they had only risen by 16% (putting the industry at $8.76 billion). Please calm yourselves, we're as crushed by this dramatic reversal as you are.
Far more intriguing, however, is the now rectified install base data for consoles in the US. Be sure to use this information the next time you have a prolonged, ultimately pointless argument on the sleazy gaming forum of your choice:
PS2: 35.8 million
GBA: 34.3 million
DS: 7.6 million
PSP: 5.7 million
Xbox 360: 3.4 million
Wii: 476 thousand
PS3: 197 thousand
The full report on GameDaily BIZ also notes that Microsoft sold 42 thousand HD-DVD drives for the 360 -- that's only 1.24% of the total install base.
Shocking reports from Japan indicate that Nintendo's entry into the next-gen console wars (with Xbox 360 and Japan itself being the only combatants thus far) has shown absolutely no progress in the closely monitored sales ranking.
Esteemed analyst, Excelsior Bluffington, pointed out that "the Wii has shown little to no sales growth in the past few weeks. It's even been bested by the Xbox, and people only buy that thing to mess with the charts. Judging by my elaborate series of pie charts and lucid, LSD-induced dreams, it becomes painfully clear that the Wii will only see a marked improvement sometime in December."
A local psychoanalyst was quick to refute these claims, however, calling Bluffington a "delusional psychopath." With experts in conflict, we felt it best to enquire directly with Nintendo president, Satoru Iwata. His entirely cryptic response suggested that "Nintendo hasn't launched the system yet, you freaking [sic] imbeciles." A likely story. A likely story indeed.
Today Joystiq posted the Japanese hardware sales charts and, oh em gee, it was so crazy. My Nintendo was at the very top and the only other thing that had a green arrow was that big Xbox. Totally weird. I can't wait to show my friend Allan the numbers. He has one, but he only got it because of that game where the girls punch each other in bikinis. He's such a pervert, but I'm glad he's been hanging out with me every day since last week. We've been listening to Ayumi Hamasaki non-stop, I'm surprised he hasn't complained.
I have to feed the hamster. Oh, and here's the ranking, according to number of units that have totally been sold:
There are times when reading the Japanese sales charts can be a decidedly odd and disturbing experience, as if your mind suddenly becomes aware that all is not right in the universe. Like a homicidal clown lurking in a dark corner, this week's situation is certainly amusing, but it's not something you want to come into contact with on a regular basis. It's just wrong. The ranking, according to number of units sold:
Looking at the opposite ends of the list is like glancing into the cackling face of madness (it bears a vague resemblance to Groucho Marx). The DS Lite endures a minor slip, its older sibling takes a complete fall down a set of stairs and the original Xbox experiences the biggest improvement percentage-wise out of the whole lot. Did we enter into some sort of zone where normal things don't happen very often?
Oh, the horror. Be sure to keep angry fanboys and dubiously trained pet bulls away from the monitor this week, as it displays an awful lot of red. Even the mighty DS Lite experiences the strange sensation of slipping, possibly caused by the tight grip of an overweight sibling. The ranking, according to number of units sold:
As a commenter jokingly suggested last week, it's awfully difficult to resist the temptation of traveling to Japan and purchasing 10,000 Xbox consoles, just to ... exacerbate things.
89.7K (-14.75%)
31.3K (12.49%)
