March NPD Sales Numbers
04-16-09, 06:25 PM
#1
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
March NPD Sales Numbers
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=23244
Consoles
Wii - 601,000
DS - 563,000
Xbox 360 - 330,000
PS3 - 218,000
PSP - 168,000
PS2 - 112,000
Software
1. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, Xbox 360) - 938K
2. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo, DS) - 805K
3. Halo Wars (Microsoft, Xbox 360) - 639K
4. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, PS3) - 585K
5. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (Nintendo, Wii) - 541K
6. MLB '09: The Show (Sony, PS3) - 305K
7. Killzone 2 - (Sony, PS3) - 296K
8. Wii Play w/ Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 281K
9. Mario Kart w/ Wheel (Nintendo, Wii) - 278K
10. MLB 2K9 (Take-Two, Xbox 360) - 205K
Pretty nice take for Resident Evil 5. Looks like Halo Wars sold decently.
Video game industry sales slumped 17 percent in the U.S. during March to $1.43 billion, according to NPD Group.
It's the first time since September 2008 that NPD Group reported a drop in overall industry sales, when a tough comp against September 2007's Halo 3 led to a 7 percent revenue dip.
But NPD analyst Anita Frazier said it's not a time to panic that the recession resistant games industry is beginning to implode.
"While it might be tempting to jump to the conclusion that the sky is starting to fall on the video games industry given this month's results, it's important to remember that two very big things are different this year than last," she said. "First, Easter fell in March last year whereas it fell in April this year, and last March included the release of Super Smash Bros.: Brawl, which went on to become the fourth best-selling game in 2008."
Hardware sales were down 18 percent to $4.55 million, with Nintendo once again leading with the Wii and DS.
Software slid 17 percent to $792.83 million, with Resident Evil 5 driving sales. Across PS3 and Xbox 360, the game sold over 1.5 million units in March, its opening month. Frazier noted that it was a "record-breaking launch for that property."
It's the first time since September 2008 that NPD Group reported a drop in overall industry sales, when a tough comp against September 2007's Halo 3 led to a 7 percent revenue dip.
But NPD analyst Anita Frazier said it's not a time to panic that the recession resistant games industry is beginning to implode.
"While it might be tempting to jump to the conclusion that the sky is starting to fall on the video games industry given this month's results, it's important to remember that two very big things are different this year than last," she said. "First, Easter fell in March last year whereas it fell in April this year, and last March included the release of Super Smash Bros.: Brawl, which went on to become the fourth best-selling game in 2008."
Hardware sales were down 18 percent to $4.55 million, with Nintendo once again leading with the Wii and DS.
Software slid 17 percent to $792.83 million, with Resident Evil 5 driving sales. Across PS3 and Xbox 360, the game sold over 1.5 million units in March, its opening month. Frazier noted that it was a "record-breaking launch for that property."
Wii - 601,000
DS - 563,000
Xbox 360 - 330,000
PS3 - 218,000
PSP - 168,000
PS2 - 112,000
Software
1. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, Xbox 360) - 938K
2. Pokemon Platinum (Nintendo, DS) - 805K
3. Halo Wars (Microsoft, Xbox 360) - 639K
4. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, PS3) - 585K
5. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (Nintendo, Wii) - 541K
6. MLB '09: The Show (Sony, PS3) - 305K
7. Killzone 2 - (Sony, PS3) - 296K
8. Wii Play w/ Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 281K
9. Mario Kart w/ Wheel (Nintendo, Wii) - 278K
10. MLB 2K9 (Take-Two, Xbox 360) - 205K
Pretty nice take for Resident Evil 5. Looks like Halo Wars sold decently.
04-16-09, 06:37 PM
#2
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
RE5 outsold Killzone 2 by nearly 2-to-1 on the PS3. That's a little surprising to me.
Oh wait, I thought we weren't allowed to talk about sales numbers anymore.
Oh wait, I thought we weren't allowed to talk about sales numbers anymore.
04-16-09, 06:56 PM
#3
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
04-16-09, 07:36 PM
#4
DVD Talk God
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Damn. 1.5 million for RE5. Not bad at all. Apparently the demo didn't turn people off from buying it.
04-16-09, 08:17 PM
#5
DVD Talk Gold Edition
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Actually it didnt, Killzone 2 sold 323k the last 2 days of Feb, so if you total that with this months numbers it is over 600k. The most surprising figure is MLB09 sales.
04-16-09, 08:51 PM
#6
DVD Talk Legend
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Edit: Actually VGchatz paints a different picture. The show GTA selling steadily and already being over 200K. If it has the legs of most DS titles it probably will be a slow burn and head steadily over a million. Granted I have no idea where their numbers come from.
Last edited by darkside; 04-16-09 at 08:55 PM.
04-16-09, 09:01 PM
#7
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
This seems to paint a fairly poor picture
Although honestly, versus the other games in the series I didn't really see any marketing for the release on DS.
04-16-09, 09:02 PM
#8
DVD Talk Hero
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Where did the 89K number come from?
04-16-09, 09:15 PM
#9
DVD Talk Legend
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
NPD. Joystiq posted it. http://www.joystiq.com/2009/04/16/gt...nits-in-march/
04-16-09, 09:18 PM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
http://kotaku.com/5215529/report-gra...ales-are-awful
This seems to paint a fairly poor picture
Although honestly, versus the other games in the series I didn't really see any marketing for the release on DS.
This seems to paint a fairly poor picture
Although honestly, versus the other games in the series I didn't really see any marketing for the release on DS.
04-16-09, 09:37 PM
#11
DVD Talk Hall of Fame
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Wonder if it’s the economy finally catching up or just coincidence. Looks like every console except the 360 is down from last March.
System – March 2009 – March 2008 – change
Wii – 601,000 – 721,000 – down 120,000
DS – 563,000 – 698,000 – down 135,000
360 – 330,000 – 262,000 – up 68,000
PS3 – 218,000 – 257,000 – down 39,000
PS2 – 112,000 – 216,000 – down 104,000
PSP – 168,000 – 297,000 – down 129,000
Software’s not as bad, if you discount for the fact that last year saw Smash Brothers Brawl do 2.7 million. That’s pretty much $135 million of the $152 million drop in sales.
System – March 2009 – March 2008 – change
Wii – 601,000 – 721,000 – down 120,000
DS – 563,000 – 698,000 – down 135,000
360 – 330,000 – 262,000 – up 68,000
PS3 – 218,000 – 257,000 – down 39,000
PS2 – 112,000 – 216,000 – down 104,000
PSP – 168,000 – 297,000 – down 129,000
Software’s not as bad, if you discount for the fact that last year saw Smash Brothers Brawl do 2.7 million. That’s pretty much $135 million of the $152 million drop in sales.
Last edited by maxfisher; 04-17-09 at 09:56 AM.
04-16-09, 11:04 PM
#13
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
I'm very surprised that RE5 sold so much better on the 360. I figured it would have been like Tomb Raider Underworld, where it made its name on the Playstation consoles and reflected that in sales.
04-16-09, 11:57 PM
#14
DVD Talk Hero
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Better comparison is probably Devil May Cry, which sold better on the PS3 worldwide (1.26m vs 1.11m), but sold 200,000 more copies on the 360 vs. PS3 in the US.
Last edited by RichC2; 04-17-09 at 12:00 AM.
04-17-09, 07:35 AM
#17
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Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
[QUOTE=darkside;9392554
Edit: Actually VGchatz paints a different picture. The show GTA selling steadily and already being over 200K. If it has the legs of most DS titles it probably will be a slow burn and head steadily over a million. Granted I have no idea where their numbers come from.[/QUOTE]
Dear lord I wish people would stop using numbers from VGcgartz... They get data from ONE small retail store, and they make up thee numbers for the rest of the country... NPD gets data from every major place (except Wal-Mart), so NPDs numbers are solid
Edit: Actually VGchatz paints a different picture. The show GTA selling steadily and already being over 200K. If it has the legs of most DS titles it probably will be a slow burn and head steadily over a million. Granted I have no idea where their numbers come from.[/QUOTE]
Dear lord I wish people would stop using numbers from VGcgartz... They get data from ONE small retail store, and they make up thee numbers for the rest of the country... NPD gets data from every major place (except Wal-Mart), so NPDs numbers are solid
04-17-09, 07:52 AM
#18
Political Exile
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
The Wii is more significant, because a year ago they were only manufacturing around 1 million units per month, and now they are manufacturing around 2 million units. So effectively they were still sold out this time last year, whereas now they are (finally) sitting on the shelves.
04-17-09, 08:39 AM
#19
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Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Halo Wars is a bit of a surprise. I wonder if the DSi will make a big difference next month for the DS numbers.
04-17-09, 08:45 AM
#20
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
04-17-09, 08:47 AM
#21
DVD Talk Hero
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
That really isn't true, unless they integrated Halo plot into the Yaris universe. Mind bottling.
04-17-09, 08:49 AM
#22
DVD Talk Godfather
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
First it wasn't a free map pack since the LE was $10 more than any other LE. Second, you don't honestly believe 640k people dropped $80 just for the maps do you? We would have to see how the standard and LE were split, sales-wise to determine that percentage.
04-17-09, 08:50 AM
#23
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Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
I doubt it, word about that kind of thing gets around.
Halo Wars was a pretty damn fine implementation of an RTS in the Halo universe.
04-17-09, 11:22 AM
#24
DVD Talk Godfather
Thread Starter
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Some other notes as far as M rated games go -
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=23255
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/new...hp?story=23255
Sega and Platinum Games' violent stylized action game Madworld sold 66,000 units in the U.S. following its March 10th debut, NPD Group told Gamasutra.
Sales performance for the Wii-exclusive was modest, increasingly typical for Mature-rated games (ages 17 and up) that appear on Nintendo's generally family-friendly console.
Madworld's gameplay is purposely over-the-top, with vibrant red blood splattering across a virtually all black-and-white environment, complete with cursing -- a far cry content-wise from top-selling Wii software such as Wii Fit and Mario Kart.
Madworld has been well-received by game reviewers, earning an average score of 82 percent on Metacritic.
In February, Sega's other gory M-rated Wii game, the light gun shooter House of the Dead: Overkill, sold 45,000 units in its debut month in the U.S., according to NPD.
Sales performance for the Wii-exclusive was modest, increasingly typical for Mature-rated games (ages 17 and up) that appear on Nintendo's generally family-friendly console.
Madworld's gameplay is purposely over-the-top, with vibrant red blood splattering across a virtually all black-and-white environment, complete with cursing -- a far cry content-wise from top-selling Wii software such as Wii Fit and Mario Kart.
Madworld has been well-received by game reviewers, earning an average score of 82 percent on Metacritic.
In February, Sega's other gory M-rated Wii game, the light gun shooter House of the Dead: Overkill, sold 45,000 units in its debut month in the U.S., according to NPD.
04-17-09, 11:24 AM
#25
DVD Talk Godfather & 2020 TOTY Winner
Re: March NPD Sales Numbers
Okay, so I exagerated (a little). My point was that the sales numbers for Halo Wars had FAR more to do with Halo's popularity than the quality of the game (which is pretty good for a console RTS game). If the game were not associated with the Halo universe, it would play exactly the same and sell about as well as Tom Clancy's Endwar, I'sd suspect.