Sony Responds To June NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

In typical Sony fashion, their NPD response is heavy on combined sales, heavy on percentage increases. You don't need to know exact figures, you need to know how much money they're making, and how much more money it is compared to this time last year! And for Sony, that news is all good, with both hardware and software sales strong across the board.

To recap, MGS4 topped the software charts. And it propelled the PS3 to a big win over the 360, and an even bigger win over their June 2007 PS3 sales, which are up - according to Sony's crack numbers team - by around 300%. PSP sales were great, PS2 sales were, relatively, great, and all around, it was a good month for Sony.

Cue Jack Tretton, who enthuses "The PlayStation brand is truly hitting its stride on its long-term opportunity across all three platforms". For the rest of Jack's take on the June numbers, click through.

Nintendo Responds To June NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

You think Nintendo care that none of you lot were terribly interested in their E3 performance? Seeing as they just overhauled the 360 to become this generation's top-seller, they couldn't give a rat's arse. The June hardware charts were topped yet again by Nintendo's two consoles, while on the software side, six of the top ten games were on Nintendo consoles, with three of them first-party titles.

You couldn't wipe that ear-to-ear grin from executive vice president of Sales & Marketing's Cammie Dunaway if you tried, as she gushes "Wii was created with the goal of expanding the gaming universe through its intuitive motion-sensing controller. As we have demonstrated this week during the E3 Media & Business Summit, Wii continues to pioneer new ways for people to interact with their video games and with one another".

Want to join in on all the cash-counting and high-fiving? Nintendo's official gloat is after the jump.

Nintendo Responds To May NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

With over 1.1 million hardware units sold in the United States in May, Nintendo has a right to be pleased. Coincidentally, it is! It's also relatively measured in talking about its success, describing excellent software sales of Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii "healthy" and indicative of a "strong consumer response."

With seven of the top ten titles on Nintendo platforms and six of those published by the big N itself, we think Nintendo of America’s EVP of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway could stand to sex up sales talk beyond "continued consumer response." But, hey, we don't run the place.

Other things Nintendo seems pleased about besides May's performance is its U.S. lifetime to date sales, with 10.2 million Wiis and over 20 million DSs in American hands. And 5.8 million copies of Wii Play in the wild? We expect the majority of games to have "Wii," "We" or "Oui" in the title by Summer 2009.

Full and classy Nintendo gloat after the break.

Microsoft Responds To May NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

The Xbox 360 may have been outsold by the competition in May, with the console looking to lose its first place position in the U.S. to the Wii any second now, you'd think the boys in Redmond would be bummed. On the contrary! They're pleased as punch, at least according to the May NPD sales corporate response.

As expected, Microsoft brags about the performance of GTA IV on the 360, which "outsold the other platform’s version 2:1." In fact, it's all about third-party power ($110 million in May!) and attach rates (7.7 per Xbox 360!) for MS. Third parties have raked in $3.9 billion on the platform since launch. That's almost four billion dollars!

Sure, boasting of "more playing time" on the Xbox 360 among 10-26 year olds may smack of desperation and demographic cherry picking, but when the Nielsen Games GamePlay Metrics service shows that the Xbox 360 "gets roughly 75 hours of use per month," buddy, you get a pass!

Also, just you wait until E3, Microsoft says, as the company has "quite a few aces left up our sleeve." Oh, do tell!

Sony Responds To May NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Sony fired first with a set of carefully chosen numbers that highlight its U.S. sales performance for the month of May. Responding to NPD sales data, the company was quick to point out that the PlayStation 3 eclipsed Xbox 360 hardware sales, achieving 155% year over year growth. Sony sounded pleased with PSP and PS2 sales, revealing that the latter moved 132,000-plus units in May.

The reason it had such a "solid" month? Enthusiasm! Specifically, enthusiasm for games like Grand Theft Auto IV, Singstar and (wait for it...) Haze. All told, 1.26 million units of PS3 software were sold, with Sony boasting that 32% of PS3 owners have picked up GTA IV.

Other notable Sony percentages include 234%, 6%, 6.7%, 46%, 98%, 20.4%, and 19.2%. Impressive!

Jack Tretton, president and CEO of SCEA said "momentum" twice and bragged about the "prized exclusive" Metal Gear Solid 4 in his official statement. Handcrafted corporate gloating, Sony style, is after the jump.

Sony Responds To April NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

The PlayStation 3 may have finished (well) behind the Wii and (a smidge) lower than the Xbox 360 for the month of April, but that doesn't mean that we'll bat an eyelash when Sony sends us a statement that kicks off with "PS3 Continues Blockbuster Year." Fortunately for SCEA, it has triple the hardware representation, letting it flex carefully chosen figures like "total PlayStation hardware sales" topping 505,363 units sold in April.

Sony compared much of its performance to itself—well, its former self—as it touts 127% year-over-year sales growth on the PS3 hardware, with software up 410% over the previous April. That looks impressive! In other crazy percentages, Sony notes that 23.6% of PS3 owners bought a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV in April, a "29.0% higher attach rate for the title than Xbox 360." Stop! I'm getting dizzy!

"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," said SCEA prez Jack Tretton. "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.” Enjoy the full statement after the jump.

Microsoft Responds To April NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Despite just narrowly beating out its higher priced, current gen high definition console competition, Microsoft sounds like it's pretty pleased with its April performance, at least on paper. And despite being outsold near four to one by the standard definition competition, the Xbox 360 manufacturer sounded almost ecstatic about its Grand Theft Auto IV numbers.

Microsoft's favorite numbers were its games per console attach rate (7.6!), spending to date on the "Xbox 360 experience" ($9.7 billion) and the roman numeral "IV" which it tossed around an impressive eight times in a post NPD release statement.

It even busted out review scores, saying "Not only are we selling more games, games play better on the Xbox 360. Xbox 360 has 91 titles with a Metacritic review score of 80 or higher, compared to just 50 for PS3 and 22 for Wii." Alright! Let's party! First place in the U.S. ain't gonna last much longer.

Nintendo Responds To April NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

With such stellar Wii and Nintendo DS sales, Nintendo has a right to gloat. Even the almighty God would look the other way if Messrs. Fils-Aime and Iwata exhibited a bit of pride today. Nintendo was so pleased with its U.S. sales performance for April—in which it sold over 700,000 Wiis and 400,000 Nintendo DSs—that it distributed its statement before NPD figures were released. That's either confidence or a desire to leave the office by 5 PM at the latest.

Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America EVP of Sales & Marketing said in a statement “Our belief in appealing to a broad, diverse audience of players continues to resonate with consumers, and we look forward to continuing our outreach to an expanded audience with the launch of Wii Fit next week.” Representative mascot Duffman said, "Duffman!"

Nintendo also noted in its statement that Super Smash Bros. Brawl passed the 3 million units in sales in the U.S. last month. Gosh! People really like that Smash Bros.! Quoted statement follows.

Microsoft Responds To March NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Sony Responds To March NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Bit of an up-and-down month for Sony. The fact the PS3 couldn't quite repeat last month's performance, and slid back behind the 360, must sting in some sensitive places at Sony HQ, but then the strong performance of the PSP and the continued staying power of the ol' PS2 go a long way towards making up for that.

In terms of today's victory spin, Sony's decided to take a slightly different approach, and rather than relying on combined, Predaking-esque sales figures has instead invoked the terrible power of the Sony brand name itself, with SCEA's Jack Tretton saying "It is proof that, in these economically challenging times, consumers recognize the long-term value of our platforms and the tremendous heritage of our brand in delivering the best entertainment experience".

Nintendo Responds To March NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

March was a big month for Nintendo. Then again, every month is a big month for Nintendo. Not only did they once again take the #1 & 2 spot on the hardware charts, but they also had the top-selling game for the month in Super Smash Bros. Brawl. As you'd expect, the constant winning has dulled their celebratory urges, with this month's victory speech sounding a little familiar.

Last month, Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing, was all about "momentum". This month? She's all about "momentum", saying "Nintendo systems represented 58 percent of all video game hardware sold in March in the United States. We expect our momentum to continue with big upcoming game launches like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fi".

EA Employees Now Pleased As Punch To Be Working At EA

Working at EA isn't as soul crushing and relationship ruining as it was just three years ago, according to internal survey results provided to GameDaily. You may remember that the work environment at the super-publisher was nothing short of a bleak wasteland not too long ago, during the "EA Spouse" years, the dark times of unpaid overtime, when rank and file employees were unaware of corporate goals and toiled away without "commitment." All in the past. Mostly.

EA says its employee survey results point to improved morale under the new city-state (aka label-division) structure, with a "positive" work experience, improved "knowledge sharing" and more respect. It's possible that a new batch of Successories brand motivational posters aided in the change.

For the full, feel-good report, make the jump to hear from human resources at EA. While you do that, we'll keep checking the tips line to see if anyone calls bullshit on this with an @ea.com host name.

Exclusive: Internal EA Survey Shows Boosts in Employee Satisfaction & Morale [GameDaily] [Image Credit]

Sony Responds To February NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

The PlayStation 2 certainly went beyond our own expectations last month, but even Sony says that its February sales from the NPD Group were a "surprise and delight." On the PlayStation 3 front, the company rubs its PlayStation 3 sales in Microsoft's face, starting off its statement with mention of the "sales eclipse" the console had over the Xbox 360. Great, kid. Don't get cocky.

Some quick addition on Sony's part reveals that, with the help of the PSP, 875,969 hardware units across the PlayStation family were sold to gamers in the US of A. It capitalizes on another carefully chosen figure, pointing to $511 million in sales across the brand, more than Microsoft and Nintendo.

The official statement puts a big focus on the future, with CEO Jack Tretton quoted as saying "Consumers are recognizing the tremendous value of PS3 and we believe that Blu-ray becoming the high-def format of choice was the tipping point for many consumers. With monster titles like Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Grand Theft Auto IV launching in April and Metal Gear Solid 4 in June, we're demonstrating this is the year for PS3." Hurrah! The whole thing is below.

Microsoft Responds To February NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Well, maybe "pleased" isn't the right word, as the official statement from Microsoft reads a bit flustered, urges calm, reiterating its "supply constrained situation" with the Xbox 360. MS argues that what makes a winning platform isn't just console sales—it's consoles, content and community. Feel better?

If not, the numbers are still solid, with $332 million of February's spending going toward Xbox 360 product. That, Microsoft says, represents 39% of the generation's "ecosystem." Yes, PR does sound like fun, you're not imagining things. Microsoft also touts its spectacular software to hardware attach rate (7.2 to 1, if you're keeping track) which is double that of the PlayStation 3 and Wii.

The company knows that its software sales are where the real action is, pointing out its presence in the top ten and $184 million in Xbox 360 game spending. The whole statement, which prides itself on providing insight on "the gaming ecosystem from a different perspective" is after this.

Nintendo Responds To February NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

With over a million hardware units sold across the Wii and Nintendo DS, nearly half of all hardware, Nintendo seems to be pretty stoked about the February it had. Software-wise, the company's own Wii Play continues to astound, pushing big Wii remote numbers. Sega and Activision saw big numbers on its DS and Wii platforms, respectively, which means another big fat third party royalty check is on its way.

Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing seemed most excited about everyone's favorite unquantifiable measurement, "momentum."

Nintendo reveals a handful of new numbers, showing that gamers snapped up 3.6 million Nintendo DS games and 2.9 million Wii games last month. Approximately 1.7 million accessories were purchased for Wii, with 1.2 million for the DS. That's an amazing amount of styli. Congrats, Nintendo!

Microsoft Responds To January NPD Sales, Seems Desperate

Sony Responds To January NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Microsoft may have suffered heavily on the hardware side this January due to stock shortages, but Sony isn't going to put an asterisk by its win over Microsoft. It starts off its corporate statement on last month's U.S. sales by pointing out that the PlayStation 3 outsold the Xbox 360 by 17%, boasting of "continued momentum" for the console. Increased PlayStation Network downloads and nearly 3 million PSN accounts, corporate says, illustrate that momentum.

The rest of the statement covers not just the PS3, but the PlayStation "brand" which, Sony says, was number one in both hardware and software in January. The company also chose to focus on its upcoming library, with SCEA CEO Jack Tretton commenting "We have an exceptionally diverse lineup of exclusive games, from Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Resistance 2 to more mainstream games such as LittleBigPlanet and SingStar." What? No Killzone 2, Jack?

For the full statement, packed with selective data, read on.

Nintendo Responds To December NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

There's absolutely no doubt that Nintendo is pleased as punch with its performance in the US this past holiday season. It is, no doubt, ecstatic. The Nintendo DS and Wii were the two best-selling platforms stateside not just for the month of December, but for the entirety of 2007. Highlights from the statement we just received include awesome sales of Wii Play, both Brain Age titles and Super Mario Galaxy. Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo's new EVP of sales & marketing says the company is "sold out of virtually all hardware, and much of our stock of software and accessories was sold out as well, thanks to the broad appeal of Wii and Nintendo DS."

Look, it's just good news across the board for the folks in Kyoto and Redmond. The full statement is below. Try not to get too depressed that you don't own any Nintendo stock.