February NPD: Nintendo reigns supreme yet again
03-14-08, 11:09 AM
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February NPD: Nintendo reigns supreme yet again
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?op...=9547&Itemid=2
and
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/200...eme-yet-again/
So, I wonder if XBox 360 sales will be higher than the PS3 next month?
Chris
and
http://www.nintendowiifanboy.com/200...eme-yet-again/
Updated: Thursday, 13 March 2008
NPD: SALES TOP $1 BLN IN FEB
By Kris Graft
PlayStation 3 and Wii top Xbox 360 in February, a month that saw industry sales of over $1.3 billion, according to the NPD Group.Total videogame sales for the month of February topped out at $1.33 billion in the US, driven by a 47 percent increase in software sales, which hit $668.7 million. Overall hardware sales were up 19 percent to $480 million for the month, while accessory sales were up 36 percent to $185.3 million.
The top software title for the month was once again the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, followed by the Xbox 360 version of Devil May Cry 4 and the Wii Play/Remote bundle. (Top 10 software titles are listed below.)
"With several marquee titles still to come in the front half of the year, the industry is poised to achieve another year of record-breaking sales despite difficult economic condition," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in an e-mail.
Hampered by reported hardware shortages during the month of February, Microsoft sold 254,600 Xbox 360 hardware units, trailing the PlayStation 3 for the second month in a row. Sony's console sold 280,800 units during the month, while the Nintendo Wii sold a hefty 432,000 units.
But the biggest hardware seller in unit sales during the month was the $130 Nintendo DS, which sold 587,600. Handheld rival PSP sold a solid 243,100, while the aging PS2 still managed to outsell younger, more powerful consoles with 351,800 in sales.
Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg told Next-Gen in an interview Thursday that Xbox 360 shortages will be alleviated in time for the April 29 release of Grand Theft Auto IV.
He explained that the shortages are still hanging over from big hardware sales driven by September's Halo 3 launch. Greenberg said Microsoft's "number jocks" assumed that people who would typically buy Xbox 360s in November and December would instead buy them in September and October, closer to the Halo 3 launch.
"We were wrong. What happened was the normal seasonality. November was twice the size of October and December was twice the size of November," Greenberg said.
Microsoft is currently air-shipping product into the market to meet demand, a practice not typical in normal supply situations. "We're in a much better situation today than we were in February," he said.
Analyst Jesse Divnich with virtual stock market The simExchange believes PS3's sale are significant, even in light of Xbox 360 shortages. "Whether there is an Xbox 360 shortage or not, it is clear that the PS3 has gained considerable ground on its rival. Given these past two months and the momentum that the PS3 has gained, Microsoft must react quickly as the PS3’s momentum will only get stronger until Microsoft reacts.
"In the short-term, Microsoft’s only feasible and economical option is to look at reducing its hardware price in North America to at least slow down the PS3’s momentum until it can implement more long-term solutions to winning the next-generation console war."
February's console sales are as follows:
DS Lite: 587.6K +336K (134%)
Wii: 432K +158K (58%)
PS2: 351.8K +87.8K (33%)
PS3: 280.8K +11.8K (4%)
Xbox 360: 254.6K +24.6k (11%)
PSP: 243.1K +13.1K (6%)
Head on past the break for the software breakdown.
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) --296.2K
2. Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360) -- 295.2K
3. Wii Play w/remote (Wii) -- 289.7K
4. Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) -- 233.5K
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) -- 222.9K
6. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS) -- 205.6K
7. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360) -- 203.6K
8. Turok (Xbox 360) -- 197.7K
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) -- 183.8K
10. Rock Band (Xbox 360) -- 161.8K
NPD: SALES TOP $1 BLN IN FEB
By Kris Graft
PlayStation 3 and Wii top Xbox 360 in February, a month that saw industry sales of over $1.3 billion, according to the NPD Group.Total videogame sales for the month of February topped out at $1.33 billion in the US, driven by a 47 percent increase in software sales, which hit $668.7 million. Overall hardware sales were up 19 percent to $480 million for the month, while accessory sales were up 36 percent to $185.3 million.
The top software title for the month was once again the Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, followed by the Xbox 360 version of Devil May Cry 4 and the Wii Play/Remote bundle. (Top 10 software titles are listed below.)
"With several marquee titles still to come in the front half of the year, the industry is poised to achieve another year of record-breaking sales despite difficult economic condition," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in an e-mail.
Hampered by reported hardware shortages during the month of February, Microsoft sold 254,600 Xbox 360 hardware units, trailing the PlayStation 3 for the second month in a row. Sony's console sold 280,800 units during the month, while the Nintendo Wii sold a hefty 432,000 units.
But the biggest hardware seller in unit sales during the month was the $130 Nintendo DS, which sold 587,600. Handheld rival PSP sold a solid 243,100, while the aging PS2 still managed to outsell younger, more powerful consoles with 351,800 in sales.
Xbox 360 group product manager Aaron Greenberg told Next-Gen in an interview Thursday that Xbox 360 shortages will be alleviated in time for the April 29 release of Grand Theft Auto IV.
He explained that the shortages are still hanging over from big hardware sales driven by September's Halo 3 launch. Greenberg said Microsoft's "number jocks" assumed that people who would typically buy Xbox 360s in November and December would instead buy them in September and October, closer to the Halo 3 launch.
"We were wrong. What happened was the normal seasonality. November was twice the size of October and December was twice the size of November," Greenberg said.
Microsoft is currently air-shipping product into the market to meet demand, a practice not typical in normal supply situations. "We're in a much better situation today than we were in February," he said.
Analyst Jesse Divnich with virtual stock market The simExchange believes PS3's sale are significant, even in light of Xbox 360 shortages. "Whether there is an Xbox 360 shortage or not, it is clear that the PS3 has gained considerable ground on its rival. Given these past two months and the momentum that the PS3 has gained, Microsoft must react quickly as the PS3’s momentum will only get stronger until Microsoft reacts.
"In the short-term, Microsoft’s only feasible and economical option is to look at reducing its hardware price in North America to at least slow down the PS3’s momentum until it can implement more long-term solutions to winning the next-generation console war."
February's console sales are as follows:
DS Lite: 587.6K +336K (134%)
Wii: 432K +158K (58%)
PS2: 351.8K +87.8K (33%)
PS3: 280.8K +11.8K (4%)
Xbox 360: 254.6K +24.6k (11%)
PSP: 243.1K +13.1K (6%)
Head on past the break for the software breakdown.
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) --296.2K
2. Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360) -- 295.2K
3. Wii Play w/remote (Wii) -- 289.7K
4. Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) -- 233.5K
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) -- 222.9K
6. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS) -- 205.6K
7. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360) -- 203.6K
8. Turok (Xbox 360) -- 197.7K
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) -- 183.8K
10. Rock Band (Xbox 360) -- 161.8K
So, I wonder if XBox 360 sales will be higher than the PS3 next month?
Chris
03-14-08, 11:16 AM
#2
DVD Talk Legend
I think the PS3's bump might be more attributed to the death of HD DVD than anything else. Most people who were waiting to make a jump to HD media bit the bullet after Warner made their decision and the dominos continued to fall. I know several people who don't game at all that bought a PS3 as a Blu-Ray player. They have no intention of ever buying a game for it but had read that it was the best BR player out there for the money...which is still correct.
03-14-08, 11:23 AM
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And that will only help increase sales. I bought a PS3 in January (for video games and movies 
). Already in two months, I know three people who have purchased a PS3 after checking it out at my house. Two of them already have an Xbox 360, but they were that impressed with the PS3.
I think most people aren't aware of what a powerful and versatile machine the PS3 is. The more people that have them, the more people that will see them and then want one for themselves.
Sony did a very mediocre job of marketing this machine IMO.
). Already in two months, I know three people who have purchased a PS3 after checking it out at my house. Two of them already have an Xbox 360, but they were that impressed with the PS3. I think most people aren't aware of what a powerful and versatile machine the PS3 is. The more people that have them, the more people that will see them and then want one for themselves.
Sony did a very mediocre job of marketing this machine IMO.
03-14-08, 11:29 AM
#6
DVD Talk Legend
Originally Posted by shumway
Interesting to see Rock Band on 360 finally supplant GHIII on 360 in sales.
I think that separate drum kits finally being available helped a lot. Those of us with multiple guitars didn't need two more.
03-14-08, 12:21 PM
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This next month is going to be pretty crazy, but I think what is going to decide who is who, is how many units of each system are sold when GTA4 is released. That SHOULD give us a pretty good idea of who is building a larger fan base. Sure Devil May Cry was cross platform, but that has a smaller niche market compared to GTA4.
MS cutting the prices of their systems will give them the temporary boost they need, but eventually that will sputter out as well. MS blew up out of the gate, but now they are starting to loose momentum. They are slowly starting to get to the point where their base of potential customers without a 360 is drastically dwindling for a couple reasons. The most important reason being the loss of the format war. I know a LOT of people out there were waiting to see who was going to win the HD format war. Now that Sony has come out on top in that regard consumers are starting to lean to the PS3.
I am also pretty sure the closer we get to the release of MGS4 we will see sales on the PS3 raise more and more. I know the MGS series has a strong core following and that anyone who really loves the series already has a PS3, but this game is going to be big. I whole heartedly feel that MGS4 will sell numerous systems. This may very well be the year for Sony to bounce back so long as they fully grasp the opportunity they have right now. They NEED MGS4 THIS YEAR and they need something that is going to cornerstone them in this market for the later half of the year.
Nintendo is slowly starting to run out of ammunition as well. Smash Bro's is out now so the Nintendo Hype machine has started to die down. Couple that with the fact that the game is breaking systems AND they have ONE real attention grabbing game (Mario Kart) coming out later this year and no games that can't be done better on other systems could very lead to a loss of momentum for the Nintendo Juggernaut.
MS cutting the prices of their systems will give them the temporary boost they need, but eventually that will sputter out as well. MS blew up out of the gate, but now they are starting to loose momentum. They are slowly starting to get to the point where their base of potential customers without a 360 is drastically dwindling for a couple reasons. The most important reason being the loss of the format war. I know a LOT of people out there were waiting to see who was going to win the HD format war. Now that Sony has come out on top in that regard consumers are starting to lean to the PS3.
I am also pretty sure the closer we get to the release of MGS4 we will see sales on the PS3 raise more and more. I know the MGS series has a strong core following and that anyone who really loves the series already has a PS3, but this game is going to be big. I whole heartedly feel that MGS4 will sell numerous systems. This may very well be the year for Sony to bounce back so long as they fully grasp the opportunity they have right now. They NEED MGS4 THIS YEAR and they need something that is going to cornerstone them in this market for the later half of the year.
Nintendo is slowly starting to run out of ammunition as well. Smash Bro's is out now so the Nintendo Hype machine has started to die down. Couple that with the fact that the game is breaking systems AND they have ONE real attention grabbing game (Mario Kart) coming out later this year and no games that can't be done better on other systems could very lead to a loss of momentum for the Nintendo Juggernaut.
03-14-08, 12:55 PM
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Well, Mario Kart is coming out on April 27th, so that is about 5 weeks away.
And according to VG Chartz, these are the total console sales since launch:
Wii : 22,452,146
360: 17,499,259
PS3: 10,789,432
And as I said in this or another thread, I really believe the Wii is still going to be hard to find until probably Feb 2009.
Chris
And according to VG Chartz, these are the total console sales since launch:
Wii : 22,452,146
360: 17,499,259
PS3: 10,789,432
And as I said in this or another thread, I really believe the Wii is still going to be hard to find until probably Feb 2009.
Chris
Last edited by mrpayroll; 03-14-08 at 12:59 PM.
03-14-08, 01:18 PM
#9
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by mrpayroll
And as I said in this or another thread, I really believe the Wii is still going to be hard to find until probably Feb 2009.
They have truly mastered releases and when to divert extra Wiis to each territory. It's amazing.
03-14-08, 02:27 PM
#10
DVD Talk Legend
I just wonder if MGS4 is going to be as big as everyone says, thinks or hopes it will be. It's getting constant PR in magazines and such and most think it will save the PS3. But haven't the last releases been met with decent ratings but sort of an indifference? I remember when the first Splinter Cell came out and blew everyone away it seemed to take a lot of the MGS worship with it.
I am definitely interested in seeing if it lives up to the hype even though I have no interest in playing it all.
I am definitely interested in seeing if it lives up to the hype even though I have no interest in playing it all.
03-14-08, 02:48 PM
#11
DVD Talk Godfather
I know MGS4 is still huge, but personally it doesn't feel like the hype thats been around previously releases is still there. I think it'll be artificially raised just because it's the first killer exclusive game out on PS3 though.
Nintendo's release schedule has been pretty solid, as it seems like they've put out a AAA first party title every 4-6 months or so to keep things fresh.
Nintendo's release schedule has been pretty solid, as it seems like they've put out a AAA first party title every 4-6 months or so to keep things fresh.
03-14-08, 03:01 PM
#12
DVD Talk Godfather
I think MGS4 will sell great to current PS3 owners, I just don't see it being a system seller in the long run. A bulk of the diehard gamers that this game appeals to are already a part of the 10 million PS3 owners out there. I'm sure there will be a spike in PS3 sales the first couple of weeks but nothing outrageous. The stealth genre isn't known for being typically high selling, mass-market friendly. I don't see how the 4th in a franchise would suddenly turn that around.
Thing is, the pack-in throws a wrench into the mix. People will buy because there is a free game, not necessarily because it's MGS4. Motorstorm is one of the "highest selling" games on the system. Why? It came with the system. I'm sure if they put Uncharted or Ratchet in there the results would be the same. Any decent game is enticing as a bonus for your $500.
Thing is, the pack-in throws a wrench into the mix. People will buy because there is a free game, not necessarily because it's MGS4. Motorstorm is one of the "highest selling" games on the system. Why? It came with the system. I'm sure if they put Uncharted or Ratchet in there the results would be the same. Any decent game is enticing as a bonus for your $500.
03-14-08, 03:42 PM
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I guess hype sells. I wonder how many Wii's were sold because it's been sold out everywhere and people are buying them when they see them because they are so rare and think they must be the greatest thing ever.
03-14-08, 03:49 PM
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Originally Posted by Mopower
I guess hype sells. I wonder how many Wii's were sold because it's been sold out everywhere and people are buying them when they see them because they are so rare and think they must be the greatest thing ever.
Chris
03-14-08, 03:51 PM
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PSP numbers should be good in March, with the God of War and FFVII prequel out on the system.
The GT5 Prologue release should help move some PS3s, as will MGS4. I know a lot of people that are waiting on buying a PS3 for the bundle.
MS not adding a Blu-ray drive to the 360 could end up hurting them as HD media awareness spreads, and I'm still seeing new reports on how bad the RROD issue is. If the price drop comes to the US, though, they'll get a good spike of sales.
The GT5 Prologue release should help move some PS3s, as will MGS4. I know a lot of people that are waiting on buying a PS3 for the bundle.
MS not adding a Blu-ray drive to the 360 could end up hurting them as HD media awareness spreads, and I'm still seeing new reports on how bad the RROD issue is. If the price drop comes to the US, though, they'll get a good spike of sales.
03-14-08, 03:54 PM
#17
Banned by request
Originally Posted by Mopower
I guess hype sells. I wonder how many Wii's were sold because it's been sold out everywhere and people are buying them when they see them because they are so rare and think they must be the greatest thing ever.
03-14-08, 04:13 PM
#18
DVD Talk Limited Edition
Originally Posted by Suprmallet
Couldn't people have bought it because it was fun? Stores have Wii demos, plenty of people own the system, people can play it before they decide to buy it.
03-14-08, 04:17 PM
#19
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by Mopower
I guess hype sells. I wonder how many Wii's were sold because it's been sold out everywhere and people are buying them when they see them because they are so rare and think they must be the greatest thing ever.
03-14-08, 04:35 PM
#20
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Originally Posted by Save Ferris
Only one PS3 game in the top 10? Do they have any exclusives coming up that might break in?
Final Fantasy XIII
Gran Tourismo 5 Prologue
Gran Tourismo 5
God of War 3
Jak and Daxter
Killzone 3
Haze
Resistance 2
Tekken 6
Wipeout
03-14-08, 05:02 PM
#21
DVD Talk Hero
Originally Posted by SonOfAStu
And that will only help increase sales. I bought a PS3 in January (for video games and movies ). Already in two months, I know three people who have purchased a PS3 after checking it out at my house. Two of them already have an Xbox 360, but they were that impressed with the PS3.
I think most people aren't aware of what a powerful and versatile machine the PS3 is. The more people that have them, the more people that will see them and then want one for themselves.
Sony did a very mediocre job of marketing this machine IMO.
). Already in two months, I know three people who have purchased a PS3 after checking it out at my house. Two of them already have an Xbox 360, but they were that impressed with the PS3. I think most people aren't aware of what a powerful and versatile machine the PS3 is. The more people that have them, the more people that will see them and then want one for themselves.
Sony did a very mediocre job of marketing this machine IMO.
03-14-08, 07:39 PM
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Originally Posted by metalhead212
Nintendo is slowly starting to run out of ammunition as well. Smash Bro's is out now so the Nintendo Hype machine has started to die down. Couple that with the fact that the game is breaking systems AND they have ONE real attention grabbing game (Mario Kart) coming out later this year and no games that can't be done better on other systems could very lead to a loss of momentum for the Nintendo Juggernaut.
Originally Posted by Mopower
I guess hype sells. I wonder how many Wii's were sold because it's been sold out everywhere and people are buying them when they see them because they are so rare and think they must be the greatest thing ever.
The Wii was only about 100,000 systems short of outselling the PS3 and 360 combined!
March Wii numbers should be HUGE, with the release of Brawl.
03-14-08, 08:54 PM
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Originally Posted by CreatureX
March Wii numbers should be HUGE, with the release of Brawl.
Chris
03-14-08, 09:01 PM
#24
Originally Posted by cruzness
MGS4
Final Fantasy XIII
Gran Tourismo 5 Prologue
Gran Tourismo 5
God of War 3
Jak and Daxter
Killzone 3
Haze
Resistance 2
Tekken 6
Wipeout
Final Fantasy XIII
Gran Tourismo 5 Prologue
Gran Tourismo 5
God of War 3
Jak and Daxter
Killzone 3
Haze
Resistance 2
Tekken 6
Wipeout
03-14-08, 10:35 PM
#25
DVD Talk Godfather
Originally Posted by Mopower
I guess hype sells. I wonder how many Wii's were sold because it's been sold out everywhere and people are buying them when they see them because they are so rare and think they must be the greatest thing ever.