Microsoft's response also notes worldwide sales of Fable II, now over 1.5 million copies. Gears of War 2 also gets touted for its 2 million copies sold and 1.5 million log ins via Xbox Live. The company is also careful to remind you that some games you won't buy at anywhere nearly that rate — You’re in the Movies and Lips — are coming out.

The usual numbers are trotted out — the attach rate, the third party success, the ship date of the New Xbox Experience. You know the drill. If not, hit up the official statement. It's gloaty!

Xbox 360 outsells PS3 nearly 2:1 in October, Fable II debuts at #1

Xbox 360 hardware sales continue to surge after price drop

With 371,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold in October and a 33% increase in average weekly run rates from September, the Xbox 360 outsold PS3 by nearly 2:1 this month. Consumers are eager to get the most affordable next generation video game and entertainment system on the market, just in time for the New Xbox Experience, which launches next Wednesday, November 19 (October NPD data).

“Fable II” debuts exclusively on Xbox 360 with a record-setting pace

· Since its U.S. launch on Oct. 21, “Fable II” has sold more than 1.5 million units worldwide for Xbox 360 in the first two weeks of retail, making it the fastest selling RPG on Xbox 360 and the most popular game, across all platforms, in the US in October. (October NPD data and Microsoft Internal Data)

“Gears of War 2” has a blockbuster opening weekend

· Following its Nov. 7 launch, 2 million copies of “Gears of War 2” sold worldwide during its first weekend of availability. The sequel to the fastest-selling video game of 2006 and one of the most popular games in Xbox history is setting the pace again for blockbusters this holiday. (Microsoft Internal Data)

· More than 1.5 million people logged into “Gears of War 2” on Xbox LIVE during its first weekend, racking up a total 15 million hours of game play, helping set a new record for concurrent LIVE players
Xbox 360 blockbusters are flying off shelves and ready for holiday gamers

This holiday season, the Xbox 360 blockbusters are here and we have something to excite everyone. October NPD numbers show a record software attach rate of 8.1 and industry leading software spend reaching $244 million this month on the Xbox 360, thanks to a slew of new titles. Xbox owners are flocking to blockbuster titles such as “Fable II,” “Gears of War 2,” and “Fallout 3.” And we know Xbox 360 owners will also be eager to get their hands on social games like “Lips” and “You’re in the Movies” when they debut in the coming weeks. With a line up like this, it’s no surprise Xbox 360 games had half of the top ten slots this month.

Third-party publishers have blockbuster success on Xbox 360

· Third-party publishers helped Xbox 360 reach $171 million on third-party game spend in October, further boosting Xbox 360’s total third-party game sales this generation to $4.5 billion, or a 57% share. (October NPD data)

· After an Oct. 28 launch, “Fallout 3” is off to a hot start with the Xbox 360 version taking the no. 3 software spot in October. (October NPD data)

· Also earning a debut on the top 10 games list for October is the Xbox 360 version of “Saints Row 2” at no. 6. (October NPD data)

And of course just days from now, on Nov. 19, the New Xbox Experience will launch in time for the holiday shopping season, which will completely recast the Xbox 360. Look for an enhanced user experience including the ability to enjoy hit movies from Netflix instantly and in high definition exclusively on Xbox 360, a bold new User Interface, avatars, and LIVE parties. We’re optimistic for a great holiday season with an entertainment system that has something for everyone.

And Wii Fit? Chalk up 2.83 million in the U.S. alone in six months. I can't even imagine how fit we're going to be in a year's time.

Ms. Cammie Dunaway, who Wii Balance Boards with the best of 'em, does her economic downturn best, pointing out that Nintendo "provides consumers with the best value not only among video games, but also among most entertainment options." Oh, the value of it all!

Nintendo News

Wii and Nintendo DS Top October U.S. Sales

Wii™ and Nintendo DS™ topped the U.S. sales charts and combined to sell more than 1.29 million units in October. Nintendo sold 803,210 Wii consoles and 491,176 Nintendo DS systems in October, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. These figures bring the lifetime U.S. sales for Wii to more than 13.35 million and Nintendo DS to more than 23.02 million, extending their leads as the best-selling hardware of this generation.

Nintendo’s total hardware unit sales represent a 25.7 percent increase over October 2007. They also account for 59.3 percent of the industry’s total hardware unit sales.

Wii Fit™, the game that combines fun and fitness, sold nearly half a million copies in the United States in October, six months after it launched. The lifetime U.S. sales for Wii Fit now total more than 2.83 million.

“Nintendo provides consumers with the best value not only among video games, but also among most entertainment options,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Nintendo also provides an incomparable range of experiences that everyone can enjoy, whether you’ve been playing for years or are just getting into video games.”

Three games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top five best-selling games of the month, including Wii Fit™ at No. 2 with 487,234 copies sold, Mario Kart Wii™ at No. 4 with 289,869 copies sold and Wii Play™ at No. 5 with 281,844 copies sold.

Sony's internal take on October? It wasn't so bad, as it entered the holiday season with "consistent momentum." And PlayStation 3 sales were definitely up year over year (56 percent!) with 30 new titles launched in October alone amounting to 2.3 million units of software sold.

There's also some 14 million registered PSN accounts, 43 million PS2s out there and Don’t Mess with the Zohan on the PlayStation Video Store. And for the year, $4.4 billion in revenue isn't so bad. So why no quote from SCEA president Jack Tretton? :(

PlayStation by the Numbers: October 2008

PlayStation Enters the Holiday Season with Consistent Momentum; PS3 Sales Up 56% Year-Over-Year

The PlayStation Brand Generated $369 Million in October

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued its positive momentum in October, with 190K hardware units sold, a 90% growth year-to-date. This represents an increase of 56% when compared to October 2007, during which SCEA introduced a price cut for PS3. Fueled by an unmatched line-up of first-party and third-party titles, PS3 software sales also increased almost 200% year-over-year, with 2.3 million units sold in October.

* Nearly 30 new titles were launched for PS3 in October, including first-party exclusives such as LittleBigPlanet, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and SOCOM: Confrontation and third-party blockbusters including Dead Space, Guitar Hero World Tour, Midnight Club Los Angeles and Fallout 3.
* With the holiday shopping season officially kicking off in November, strong software sales are expected to continue with ongoing momentum on LittleBigPlanet and the launch of Resistance 2.
* The PLAYSTATION®Network also experienced tremendous growth in North America with its total user registration increasing by 166% since January (source: SCEA Internal Data). There are currently more than 14 million registered PlayStation Network accounts worldwide and more than 270 million pieces of content have been downloaded to date (source: SCEA Internal Data). Newly launched and downloadable content in October included exclusive games such as SOCOM: Confrontation and Linger in Shadows, original content such as Qore: Episode 5, and new blockbuster additions to the video delivery service such as The Happening and You Don’t Mess with the Zohan.

The PlayStation Portable (PSP) continued to be a popular choice for entertainment on the go, with 193K hardware units sold for the month. This represented a year-to-date growth of 9%.
PlayStation®2 (PS2) hardware unit sales maintained solid ground in October, with 136K hardware units and 1.7 million software units sold. The PS2 has reached an installed base of over 43 million units in the U.S. as of October 2008.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand showcased growth across all three platforms, generating $370 million in October.

* Year-to-date (Jan-Oct), the PlayStation brand has generated almost $4.4 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 18%.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $131 million in October, and $1.7 billion year-to-date, representing a growth of 19%.
* PlayStation total software revenue in October was $209 million, and $2.2 billion year-to-date, representing a growth of 23%.

The Africa-set first-person shooter for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PC has been getting pretty good marks here and elsewhere. Seems like most Far Cry 2 players like it for its fire effects, not so much its extended driving sequences.

The PS3, it says, is "setting the stage for a solid holiday season." Exciting news, what with LittleBigPlanet and Resistance 2 planned to arrive on that stage later this year.

Also solid? The company's "footing" according to SCEA president Jack Tretton, who says "If the impressive pre-sale numbers and ratings for LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, and Resistance 2 are any indication, we anticipate hardware and software sales to continue to lift in October as we officially kick off the broadest and deepest software line-up this holiday."

PS3 Sales Setting the Stage for a Solid Holiday Season; Total PlayStation Sales Up 20 Percent Year-Over-Year

PlayStation 3 Hardware Unit Sales Top 232,408

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) again experienced consistent momentum in September 2008, with 232,408 hardware units sold according to The NPD Group, an increase of over 94% year-over-year and an increase of more than 25% over the previous month. Additionally, software sales for PS3 experienced year-over-year growth of 130% with 1.72 million units sold.

* Software sales are expected to continue their upward projection in October as SCEA kicks off the holiday season with the highly anticipated launches of LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: U.S. Navy SEALs Confrontation, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, and NBA ’09: The Inside.
* PlayStation®Network remained a popular destination with newly added games and entertainment content such as WipEout HD, Linger in Shadows and PAIN: Amusement Park. There are currently more than 12 million registered accounts worldwide and over 240 million pieces of content have been downloaded worldwide.

PSP also experienced strong sales, with 238,056 hardware units sold.
Fueled by enthusiasm for the limited-edition LEGO Batman: The Videogame PlayStation®2 (PS2) Pack, PS2 generated solid sales in September, with 173,527 hardware units sold, 20% growth from last month. An impressive 42.9 million PS2s have been sold in the U.S. as of September 2008.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand experienced strong sales across all three platforms, earning $379 million in September.

* Year-to-date (Jan-Sept), the PlayStation brand has generated $4.03 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 20% year-over-year.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $160.5 million in September, representing a year-to-year growth of 11%.
* PlayStation total software revenue in September was $180 million, representing a year-to-year growth of 17%.

CEO Perspective

“We remain confident that our footing is solid as we enter the holiday season this year. Our new 80GB PS3 model has made its way to retail shelves and into consumers’ living rooms as the best value for both their gaming and entertainment needs. If the impressive pre-sale numbers and ratings for LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, and Resistance 2 are any indication, we anticipate hardware and software sales to continue to lift in October as we officially kick off the broadest and deepest software line-up this holiday, including LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and NBA ’09: The Inside.

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

And while Nintendo rarely needs to manipulate numbers to put a positive spin on the performance of the Wii and Nintendo DS, it decides to point out that the Wii enjoyed the "biggest monthly unit sales increase with 234,000 more units" in September compared to August. And that's a fact!

The theme for Nintendo's reponse is "unique controls" with executive VP of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway reminding us that “The four Wii games in the top 10 all feature controls just not possible on other video game systems" and that "Consumers have truly responded to this variety of entertainment options.” The whole thing is just really swell.

Nintendo News: Unique Controls Put Wii at No. 1 for September NPD; Nintendo DS at No. 2

Backed by a variety of unique interfaces, Nintendo’s Wii™ console topped the U.S. video game hardware sales charts with nearly 687,000 units sold in September, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Nintendo DS™ was the No. 2 best-selling system, with nearly 537,000 sold.

Wii enjoyed the biggest monthly unit sales increase with 234,000 more units sold in September than August. Wii also saw a year-over-year increase of more than 37 percent over September 2007.

Four games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10 best-selling games of the month, including Wii Fit™ at No. 2 with nearly 518,000 sold, Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 4 with more than 353,000 sold, Wii Play™ at No. 7 with nearly 243,000 sold and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed for Wii at No. 8 with more than 223,000 sold.

“The four Wii games in the top 10 all feature controls just not possible on other video game systems,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The Wii Balance Board and Wii Wheel give players new ways to interact with their games, while the Wii Remote controller transforms into a pool cue, table tennis paddle or lightsaber. Consumers have truly responded to this variety of entertainment options.”

Microsoft also seems pretty pleased about the performance of music games on its system, pointing out that Rock Band has sold "almost 1 million more than the competition combined" on the Xbox 360. It's amped for both Guitar Hero World Tour and its very own Lips.

We got confirmation that the company is pleased earlier today, from Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, who, when asked if he was pleased, said "Absolutely." Full corporate gloat after the jump.

Xbox 360 turns up the volume with a 42% sales surge following price cut and launch of Rock Band 2

347,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold in September following our U.S. price cut on Sept. 5 contributing to a U.S. install base of 11.3 million (September NPD data). Xbox 360 is now the most affordable next generation console on the market—$50 less than the Wii and half the price of the PlayStation 3.

Backed by September sales data, which showed $326 million in total consumer spend in the U.S. and a record software attach rate of 8.1 (September NPD data), we know Xbox 360 owners will continue to flex their buying power in the coming weeks when blockbusters like “Gears of War 2,” “Lips,” “Fable II,” “You’re in the Movies” and “Scene It? Box Office Smash” hit shelves.

Xbox 360 is the preferred stage for this holiday’s hottest music games

New music tracks for popular games like Rock Band and Guitar Hero extend every music experience so every party feels like a new party. Xbox LIVE has delivered more than 80% of the downloadable songs for music games, currently averaging 3.8 million music downloads per month. In total, Xbox 360 users have enjoyed more than 45 million music downloads. (Microsoft internal data)

In addition to leading the online music game market, Xbox 360 sells more copies of the world’s favorite music franchises. To date this generation, in the U.S., nearly 2 million copies of the Rock Band franchise have sold on the Xbox 360, almost 1 million more than the competition combined. Life-to-date sales of the Guitar Hero franchise on Xbox 360 top 4 million, securing more than 50% of franchise sales this generation (September NPD data).

“Rock Band 2” debuts exclusively on Xbox 360

· Since its U.S. launch on Sept. 14, “Rock Band 2” on the Xbox 360 sold 363,000 copies in September, making it September’s #3 selling game.

· This holiday, Xbox 360 will continue to sell more third-party games like “Rock Band 2” than the competition. In September alone, Xbox 360 generated $167 million in third party game sales.

Calling all shower singers, wanna-be rappers and pop princesses – “Lips” hits the stage in November

· “Lips” will have music fans singing their favorite tunes this holiday season as this totally new singing IP lands around the globe. “Lips” lets people sing the music they want with breakthrough wireless motion-sensitive microphones, backed by master tracks and original music videos. “Lips” hits in mid-November, exclusively for Xbox 360 from Microsoft and iNiS.

“Guitar Hero® World Tour” drops on Oct. 26 with a cooperative band experience, newly redesigned controllers and in-game Music Studio music creator

· “Guitar Hero World Tour” launches on Oct. 26. Xbox 360 gamers worldwide have early access to an R.E.M. track pack featuring three songs from the band’s new album, and Metallica’s highly anticipated full-length album, “Death Magnetic,” was offered to music fans around the world as downloadable content on Xbox LIVE in its entirety on the same day the record was released.

At the Tokyo Game Show last week we announced that the New Xbox Experience will launch worldwide on Nov. 19. For the first time in the history of the internet, 14 million consumers across 24 countries will all tune in at the same time to watch their Xbox 360 completely reinvent itself, for free, with the New Xbox Experience.

From the best music games and blockbuster titles, to LIVE Parties, photo sharing and access to a movie and TV show library 30,000 deep through the New Xbox Experience, Xbox 360 has something for everyone this holiday.

While EA was trotting out numbers, it wanted to mention that some 25 million things have been uploaded to the Sporepedia, a figure we'll presume includes all the goodies uploaded via the Spore Creature Creator. So, now you know!

Sony counters a million Madden 09s on the Xbox 360 with a 1.1 million figure across the entire PlayStation brand — and they're nice enough to not even count the Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack. That would just be rubbing it in.

This month's best percentage manipulation? A 38% higher attach rate for Soulcalibur IV on the PS3. And they even spell the name of the game right! This is veteran stuff.

CEO Jack Tretton caps it off nicely, saying that Sony's August performance "validates that consumers are indeed recognizing the long-term value that PS3 offers as both a gaming and home entertainment device." Couldn't have said it better if we had a dozen corporate communications staffers on our side.

PS3 Posts Strong Sales; PS3 Software Sales Up 92 Percent Year-Over-Year

Total PlayStation Hardware Unit Sales Top 582,533

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued to generate impressive sales in August 2008, with 185,353 hardware units sold. From January to August 2008, more than 2 million PS3s have been sold in the U.S., representing a year-to-date hardware sales growth of more than 92%. Software sales were also strong for PS3, with 1.6 million units sold, representing a year-over-year growth of 92%.

* Electronic Arts Sports’ Madden NFL 09 proved to be a hot seller on PlayStation platforms in August, with more than 1.1 million copies purchased by PlayStation customers, not including the Madden NFL 09 ® (PlayStation® Portable) Entertainment Pack. 643,000 units of the popular sports title were sold for PS3 alone, a 33% higher attach rate than Xbox 360 and representing an increase of 90% year-over-year when compared to Madden NFL 08 sales for PS3 in August 2007.
* Following its launch on July 29, more than 263K copies of the weapon-based fighting game Soulcalibur IV were sold for PS3 in July and August, a 38% higher attach rate than Xbox 360.
* PLAYSTATION®Network continued to be a popular destination for new and original forms of entertainment, including exclusive content such as the full game of The Last Guy and the Warhawk expansion pack, as well as TV shows like Xam’d: Lost Memories.

Fueled by enthusiasm for the Madden NFL 09 PSP Entertainment Pack, 253,012 PSP hardware units were sold. This represents a year-over-year growth of 67%.
PlayStation®2 (PS2) hardware unit sales were again solid in August, with 144,096 hardware units sold. Since launch, more than 42.7 million PS2s have been sold in the U.S. as of August 2008.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand generated strong sales across all three platforms, earning $365 million in August.

* Year-to-date (Jan-Aug), the PlayStation brand has generated almost $3.7 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 21% year-over-year.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $147.3 million in August, representing a year-to-date growth of 42%.
* PlayStation total software revenue in August was $178 million, representing a year-to-date growth of 25%.

CEO Perspective

"We had yet another strong month for PlayStation in August, which validates that consumers are indeed recognizing the long-term value that PS3 offers as both a gaming and home entertainment device. We also began shipping the new 80GB PS3 model in late August to address any short term inventory transitions from the 40GB to 80GB model. We're looking forward to a solid holiday season and are excited to offer a string of unmatched content to consumers in the coming months with LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, Resistance 2, and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift."

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

And then there's the software. More Wii Play, more Mario Kart, more Wii Fit. Stop this merry-go-round of consistency! We want to get off!

We don't know how Nintendo’s executive VP of sales and marketing Cammie Dunaway can keep coming up with things to say, in the light of such positivity. We're wondering if the corporate response will ever just consist of a shrug and a head-cock. Your corporate gloat awaits you.

NPD Says Nintendo DS and Wii Finish 1 and 2 in August U.S. Sales

Nintendo DS™ and Wii™ again topped the hardware sales charts for August, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. In August, more than 514,000 portable Nintendo DS systems sold in the United States, bringing the lifetime U.S. total to nearly 22 million. In August, more than 448,000 Wii consoles sold in the United States, bringing the lifetime U.S. total to nearly 12 million and extending its lead as the best-selling video game console of this generation.

Five games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10 best-selling games of the month, including Wii Fit™ at No. 4 with nearly 395,000 sold, Mario Kart® Wii at No. 5 with nearly 329,000 sold, Wii Play™ at No. 6 with more than 200,000 sold, Madden NFL 09 All-Play for Wii at No. 9 with nearly 116,000 sold and Guitar Hero: On Tour for Nintendo DS at No. 10 with more than 111,000 sold.

“The positive public response to Nintendo DS and Wii has stayed strong throughout 2008,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “New titles like Madden NFL 09 All-Play for Wii have joined top 10 veterans like Wii Fit, demonstrating the wide and long-lasting appeal of Nintendo games.”

Microsoft seems pretty pleased with its fourth place hardware showing, bringing its established U.S. install base to 10.9 million. But it's positively beaming over August's EA Sports-driven performance, with a million Maddens and 56,000 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09s sold in garish green DVD cases.

It also feels good, in a corporate sense, about its attach rate, now an even 8.0. This post's official Microsoft response attach rate is a measly 1.0 in comparison. :( We're working on it!

We’re on track for a record-breaking holiday with a new sweet spot in pricing and the launch of the New Xbox Experience this fall. At $199, Xbox 360 offers the greatest entertainment value available, with the leading online service, the best games, and the greatest selection of downloadable movies and TV shows.

Weekend sales post-price cut up over 100% (Microsoft internal data)

· Coming off the Sept. 3 price drop announcement, the weekend retail results are in: Console sales across all Xbox 360 models were up over 100% between Friday, Sept. 5 and Sunday, Sept. 7. The Xbox 360 Arcade system, now the lowest priced next generation console on the market at $199, showed the largest lift, selling at six times the rate it was the weekend before. (Microsoft internal data)

· According to NPD, 195,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold in the U.S. in August, contributing to life-to-date spending of $10.7 billion on hardware and software, and a U.S. install base of 10.9 million units. (August NPD).

With the best-selling line-up of sports games on the market, sports fans have spoken: Xbox 360 owns sports. Here are some specifics:

“Madden NFL 09” on Xbox 360 secures #1 game in August
· Over one millions copies of “Madden NFL 09” sold on the Xbox 360 platform in August since its launch on Aug. 12. Madden fans helped contribute to Xbox 360’s record-breaking software attach rate of 8.0 games per console. (August NPD)

“Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09”
· Xbox 360 players hit the greens with Tiger’s latest installment, purchasing 56,000 copies of “Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09” in the five days it was on the market, more than on any other platform. (August NPD). Xbox 360 gamers eager to watch Tiger walk on water contributed to the $94 million spent at retail in August for third-party publishers on the Xbox 360 platform, or 45% of share. (August NPD)

“NCAA Football 09”
· The kick-off of the college football season didn’t stop Xbox 360 gamers buying 460,000 copies of “NCAA Football 09” since it launched, more than PS3 and Wii versions combined. (August NPD)

From sports games and music titles to the biggest blockbuster games this holiday, the best games are on Xbox 360

· Xbox 360 games secured three spots in the list of top 10 selling games in August: “Madden NFL 09” at #1, “Too Human” at #7 and “Soul Caliber IV” at #8. (August NPD)

· Beginning last month with “Madden NFL 09,” Xbox 360 has a string of blockbuster titles, each expected to sell at least a million units, launching in the coming months including “Gears of War 2,” “Fable II,” “Guitar Hero IV,” “Rock Band 2,” “Fallout 3” and “Lips.”

Xbox 360 continues to move more games for third party publishers than any other platform

· With $94 million in third party game sales in August, Xbox 360 generated more dollars at retail for third party publishers than any other console, to date generating $4.1 billion, or 58% of share. (August NPD)

On the qualitative side, Microsoft touts "more than $10.4 billion" worth of Xbox 360 spending since launch, a 34% software sales share in July, and four games in the top ten. It's also got those attach rate figure updates for you, with 7.9 games per Xbox 360 sold.

The Microsoft version of corporate gloating sadly does not feature an executive quote. :( See how sad you've made us, faceless corporation?

July was a solid month for Xbox 360. We dominated the E3 landscape, took home 11 Game Critics Awards and closed out a profitable year with $2.1 billion in growth in our Entertainment & Devices Division (Microsoft internal data).

Just this week, G4TV, unveiled its fan-voted G-Phoria Award winners for 2008 and G4’s audience made it emphatically clear that Microsoft offers the most impressive gaming lineup in the industry, naming Xbox 360 Console of the Year, “Halo 3” the overall Game of the Year, and “Mass Effect” the Best Role-Playing Game of the Year. “Halo 3” earned an additional four nominations in the Best Shooter, Best Online Multiplayer Game, Longest Lasting Game, and Best Downloadable Content categories.

Overall, Xbox 360 garnered the most honorees with 15, followed by the Playstation 3’s 14, while Nintendo’s Wii offered only four winning titles. The Xbox 360’s strengths were apparent as it was the only platform to offer all five nominees in the Best Downloadable Content category, and four nominees (including the winners) in both the Best Online Multiplayer and Best Shooter categories.

And we’re projecting 2009 will be even bigger – we’ll sell more consoles, sell more games, and continue to grow our online community at Xbox LIVE.

The NPD Group issued its July 2008 sales data today showing Xbox 360 as the current generation leader in consumer spend, game sales and software attach rate. Here is a snapshot:

· Since its launch, consumers have spent more than $10.4 billion on the Xbox 360 platform in the U.S., capturing 49% of share. (July NPD data)
· 205,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold in July. (July NPD data)
· Xbox 360 titles accounted for $129 million, or 34% share, in game sales in July. Of that, Xbox 360 generated $121 million at retail for third-party publishers, or 42% of share. (July NPD data)
· Xbox 360 games accounted for four of the top ten games in July. (July NPD data)
· Xbox 360 has a record-setting attach rate of 7.9 games per console, the highest attach rate in history for a console at this point in its lifecycle. (July NPD data)

The announcements we made at E3 come to life beginning this fall with the new Xbox experience which will evolve and deepen the experience for hardcore gamers while inviting a whole new audience to come and play. Couple that with our exclusive partnership with Netflix and a blockbuster games library boasting more than 1,000 titles including “Lips,” “You’re in the Movies” and Best Action Game of E3 “Gears of War 2” (Game Critics Awards), and Xbox 360 is on track to deliver a record-breaking holiday and keep the momentum going into 2009.

The first percentage of note is the 99% year-to-date hardware sales growth of the PS3. SCEA also wows us with a 206% figure, which one can apply to year-to-date software sales on that platform. Stop! We're already getting dizzy!

We'll just let the soothing words and overhyphenating of CEO Jack Tretton finish the post off. He says "Our year-to-date sales growth of 99% for the PS3 reaffirms that consumers are indeed embracing PS3 as their entertainment hub-of-choice with its feature-rich offerings like Blu-ray and our recently announced video delivery service." Full percentage peppered gloat after the jump.

PlayStation by the Numbers - July 2008

PS3 Continues to Experience Strong Momentum; PS3 Demonstrates Hardware Sales Growth of 99 Percent Year-to-Date; PS3 Software Sales Growth Exceeds 206 Percent Year-to-Date

Total PlayStation Hardware Unit Sales Top 602,176

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) again posted strong sales in July 2008, selling 224,900 hardware units, driven by the continued popularity of the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 bundle. From January to July 2008, more than 1.8 million PS3s have been sold in the U.S., representing a year-to-date hardware sales growth of 99%.

* Fueled by the introduction of 10 new first and third-party titles to the PS3 Greatest Hits program — including blockbusters such as MotorStorm, Warhawk, Resistance: Fall of Man and others — PS3 software sales showed growth of 206% year-to-date.
* SCEA will introduce an unmatched software line-up this holiday season and fiscal year with more than 140 first and third-party titles on Blu-ray disc for PS3, including SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation, Resistance 2, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, NBA ‘09: The Inside, and the award-winning LittleBigPlanet.
* The popularity of PLAYSTATION®Network continued to grow in July with the new PLAYSTATION Network video delivery service on PLAYSTATION®Store, the release of the Qore's Episode 03 and the launch of highly-anticipated games such as PixelJunk Eden and Siren: Blood Curse. As of June 2008, there are more than 10 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts worldwide and approximately 200 million pieces of content downloaded worldwide.

PSP experienced solid sales in July with 221,651 PSP hardware units sold, spurred by continued sales of the God of War: Chains of Olympus PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) bundle. This represents a year-to-date growth of 16%.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had a solid month in July, selling 155,510 hardware units. More than 42.5 million PS2s have been sold in the U.S. as of July 2008.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales across all three platforms, earning $388.6 million in July.
· Year to date (Jan-July), the PlayStation brand generated almost $3.3 billion in revenue, representing an increase of more than 22% year-to-date.
· PlayStation total hardware revenue was $608.7 million in July, representing a year-to-date growth of 23%.
· PlayStation total software revenue in July was $183.6 million, representing a year-to-date growth of over 28%.

CEO Perspective

"Our year-to-date sales growth of 99% for the PS3 reaffirms that consumers are indeed embracing PS3 as their entertainment hub-of-choice with its feature-rich offerings like Blu-ray and our recently announced video delivery service. With an unmatched software line-up that includes LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, Resistance 2 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, and the anticipated launch of our new 80GB PS3 model, we're confident in a strong second half of the year and look forward to quickly addressing any inventory shortages due to the transition.

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

According to Nintendo gloat data, the Wii was responsible for 49% of all console sales, the DS claiming 73% of all handheld sales in July.

Unfortunately, Nintendo of America EVP of Sales & Marketing Cammie Dunaway was rather low key with her quoted statement, saying “Various types of games for the Nintendo systems are represented in the top 10, demonstrating how we continue to break down the barriers between veteran and new players.” Adequate, but please punch it up for August, Cammie. Please?

NPD Data Shows Nintendo’s Summer of Fun Isn’t Done

Nintendo products kept people entertained in July, whether they wanted to get fit, rock out or just play around. According to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States, Nintendo DS™ and Wii™ again claimed the top two hardware spots for July, with more than 608,000 DS units and more than 555,000 Wii units sold. Wii claimed a 49 percent share of all console sales in July, and extended its lead as the best-selling console of this generation. Nintendo DS represented a 73 percent share of hand-held sales in July.

Five games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10 best-selling games of the month, including Wii Fit™, with 369,603 units sold at No. 2; Guitar Hero®: On Tour for Nintendo DS, with 309,695 units sold at No. 3; Wii Play™, with 284,035 units sold at No. 4; Mario Kart® Wii, with 174,464 units sold at No. 7; and Rock Band for Wii, with 162,886 units sold at No. 8.

“Great hardware goes hand-in-hand with great software,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Various types of games for the Nintendo systems are represented in the top 10, demonstrating how we continue to break down the barriers between veteran and new players.”

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.

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™), led by the launch of the highly anticipated Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 bundle, continued to experience tremendous momentum in June 2008, selling 405,488 hardware units – 84% higher than Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (according to NPD June 2008 sales data). PS3 year-over-year hardware sales growth exceeded 311% in June, with month-over-month growth exceeding 94%.

Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, exclusively for PS3, was the best-selling title on any platform in June 2008, with 774,647 units sold. More than 2.4 million software units were sold for PS3 in June, representing an increase of more than 300% from this time last year. (Software totals do not include software units sold as part of the Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 retail bundle).

* The launch of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots kicks off the beginning of a blockbuster software line-up for PS3 in the back-half of the year, including highly-anticipated exclusive titles such as SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation, Resistance 2, Motorstorm: Pacific Rift, NBA ‘09: The Inside and LittleBigPlanet to name a few. These monster titles promise to further drive PS3 sales into the holiday season and beyond.
* The PLAYSTATION®Network community continues to grow in popularity with more than 10 million registered accounts worldwide and 180 million pieces of content downloaded worldwide.

Fueled by enthusiasm for the launch of the God of War: Chains of Olympus PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) bundle, PSP experienced strong sales in June, with 337,356 PSP hardware units sold. This represents a sales increase of 85% month-over-month.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had a solid month in June, selling 188,798 hardware units, an increase of 42% from May. The popular console continued to experience strong software sales, with 3.9 million software units sold. More than 42.4 million PS2s have been sold in the U.S. as of June 2008.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales, earning $626.7 million in June.

· Year to date (Jan-June), the PlayStation brand generated almost $2.9 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 24% year-over year.

· PlayStation total hardware revenue was $265.5 million in June, representing a year-over-year growth of 90%.

· PlayStation total software revenue in June was $298 million, representing a year-over-year growth of over 52%.

CEO Perspective

"The PlayStation brand is truly hitting its stride on its long-term opportunity across all three platforms. Our strong June numbers serve as proof to the continued momentum of the PS3 and affirms that we’re exactly where we expected to be. This month’s success can be attributed to the exclusive blockbuster Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and we’re poised for continued growth into the back half of the year with a much anticipated line-up, including LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, Resistance 2, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, and NBA ’09: The Inside. Additionally, the new PlayStation Network video delivery service will be a big driver for the PS3 and PSP, allowing consumers to extend their multi-media and entertainment experience.”

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

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.

After 20 Months, NPD Data Shows Wii Emerges as the No. 1 U.S. Home Console

Equaling its status on a worldwide basis, Wii™ has become the best-selling video game console in the United States. According to independent sales tracking information from the NPD Group, more than 666,000 Wii consoles sold for the month of June, and nearly 10.9 million Wii consoles have been sold in the United States in the 20 months following its November 2006 launch. The system is credited with breaking down the psychological barriers between gamers and non-gamers.

“Wii was created with the goal of expanding the gaming universe through its intuitive motion-sensing controller,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “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.”

The portable Nintendo DS™ finished as the top-selling U.S. video game system in June, with more than 783,000 units sold. To date, more than 20.8 million Nintendo DS units have been sold in the United States.

The report also shows that six out of the top 10 best-selling games for June are made for Nintendo systems, including Guitar Hero® On Tour (No. 2), Wii Fit™ (No. 4), Wii Play™ (No. 5), Mario Kart® Wii (No. 6), LEGO® Indiana Jones™: The Original Adventures for Wii (No. 7) and LEGO® Indiana Jones™: The Original Adventures for Nintendo DS (No. 9).

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.

NPD Figures Show Strong Consumer Response to Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit

Two Nintendo video games designed to appeal to both novice and expert gamers posted healthy numbers in the May sales charts, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks sales of video game products in the United States. Mario Kart® Wii and Wii Fit™ finished No. 2 and No. 3 for the month, demonstrating continued consumer response to new controls and experiences.

“The Wii Wheel and Wii Balance Board accessories make game play fun for new gamers while presenting new challenges for those who have been playing a long time,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The diversity of the seven Nintendo games represented in NPD’s top 10 for May demonstrates how Nintendo has something for everyone.”

Other highlights from NPD’s May U.S. sales report include:

* Wii™ (675,089 sold) and Nintendo DS™ (452,608 sold) again emerged as the two top-selling video game systems.
* Wii represented 63 percent of all current-generation consoles sold in May, while Nintendo DS had a 71 percent share of the portable market.
* Lifetime sales of Wii now stand at nearly 10.2 million.
* Lifetime sales of Nintendo DS are now at more than 20 million.
* Wii Play™ sold more than 295,000 in May, bringing its lifetime sales to more than 5.8 million.
* Of the top 30 best-selling games of May, 19 are made for Nintendo systems, including third-party hits like Guitar Hero™ III: Legends of Rock from Activision, We Ski™ from Namco Bandai, Game Party™ from Midway and Boom Blox™ from Electronic Arts.
* Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness combined to sell more than 208,000 in May, with lifetime sales of more than 613,000.

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!

NPD has released its May retail sales data, and Xbox 360 continues to lead the current generation of gaming consoles. Highlights include:

“Grand Theft Auto IV” continues blistering pace on Xbox 360 platform, beating the other platform version by 2:1

· With 871,000 total unit sales in May, “Grand Theft Auto IV” on Xbox 360 outsold the other platform’s version 2:1. (May NPD data)

Xbox 360 generates more dollars at retail for third party publishers

· With $110 million in third party game sales in May, Xbox 360 continues to move more third party games than any other console. Lifetime-to-date Xbox 360 has generated $3.9 billion dollars at retail for third party publishers, or 59% of the total in this generation. (May NPD data)

· 21 of the 25 top selling third party franchise titles with releases this generation, like “Grand Theft Auto IV,” sell best on Xbox 360. Eighteen of those franchises were previous best-sellers, and two were exclusives, on the PlayStation 2. (May NPD data)

· Only Xbox 360 is providing an improved software attach rate for third party games generation-over-generation. Xbox 360 continues to lead the industry with a record-breaking software attach rate of 7.7. (May NPD data)

Xbox 360 games outsell, outplay the competition

· Xbox 360 games rank higher than the competition with 12 games with a Metacritic score of 90 or higher, more than PS3 and Wii combined.

· Top-ranking games helped drive sales of 187,000 consoles in May contributing a global install base of more than 19 million. (May NPD data and Microsoft internal data)

· Game sales contributed to $214 million in total consumer spending on the Xbox 360 platform in May. Lifetime-to-date spending on Xbox 360 tops $9.9 billion, or 51% of share. (May NPD data)

Among 10-26 year olds, Xbox 360 gets more playing time than the Wii and PS3

· As reported in Nielsen’s Consumer Insight newsletter, a summary of Nielsen Games GamePlay Metrics service (which electronically tracks console usage) from April 2007 to February 2008 shows that among 10-26 year olds, Xbox 360 gets on average over twice the game play as the Wii with younger gamers, likely due to a record software attach and a blockbuster games library. The Xbox 360 gets roughly 75 hours of use per month. Wii users spent just 35 hours per month gaming during the same time period.

· Xbox 360 gamers in this age range also play more than their counterparts on PS3, who spend about 53 hours per month gaming.

Xbox 360: E3 bound

· Last month we showcased an all-star lineup of games including “Gears of War 2,” “Fable 2,” “Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts,” “Viva Piñata 2,” and “Too Human.” We still have quite a few aces left up our sleeve; see you at E3 next month!

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.

PlayStation by the Numbers
May 2008

PS3 Eclipses Xbox 360 Hardware Sales; PS3 Hardware Sales Growth Exceeds 155 Percent Year-Over-Year

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued its break-out year, selling 208,709 hardware units in May. 22,106 more units than Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (according to NPD May 2008 sales data).

Spurred by enthusiasm for Grand Theft Auto IV and the exclusive releases of SingStar for PS3 and Haze, 1.26 million software units were sold for PS3 in May, representing an increase of 234 percent from this time last year.

* 442,910 of copies of Grand Theft Auto IV were sold for PS3 in May, with more than 1.4 million of copies of the game sold for PS3 in the U.S. to date. More than 32 percent of U.S. PS3 owners have purchased a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, a 6 percent higher attach rate than Xbox 360.
* PS3 hardware sales momentum is expected to continue in June, spurred by the highly anticipated launch of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, exclusively for PS3, as well as the introduction of the special edition Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 bundle.
* Popularity of the PLAYSTATION®Network continues to rise, with more than 20 million pieces of content downloaded from the PlayStation®Store in May (11.6 million for North America), including the monster hit echochrome. There are currently more than 9 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts worldwide (nearly 4.2 million in North America) with more than 160 million pieces of content downloaded from the PlayStation®Store to date.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued to boast solid sales in May with 182,310 PSP hardware units sold. In June, SCEA launched an exclusive God of War: Chains of Olympus PSP bundle including the Superbad UMD and a PSN voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops, which will further increase sales of the handheld.
PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had another strong month in May with hardware unit sales reaching 132,708 units, up 6.7 percent over the previous month. More than 42.2 million PS2s have been sold to date.
Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales, earning $331.6 million in May.

* Year-to-date (Jan-May), the PlayStation brand generated close to $2.27 billion in revenue, 46 percent higher than Microsoft, and representing an increase of more than 17 percent year-over-year.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $133 million in May, 98 percent higher than Microsoft, and representing a year-over-year growth of over 20.4 percent.
* PlayStation total software revenue in May was $159 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 19.2 percent.

“Leading into a pivotal season packed with blockbuster titles and unique online service offerings, consumers have chosen the PS3 as their home entertainment console of choice - showcased by its year-over-year sales growth of 155 percent. With its commanding line up of software titles and enhanced movie playback capabilities, the PS3 has seen phenomenal momentum with a software sales increase of more than 234 percent and additional studio support of delivering content in the Blu-ray format. The dual platform release of the much anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV title reaffirmed its legacy on the PlayStation platform with a 6 percent higher attach rate than Xbox 360, reinforcing consumer choice of PS3. Poised for continued momentum, PS3 is delivering on its breadth and depth of exclusive titles to its gaming fans with today's prized exclusive title launch of Metal Gear Solid 4. The media have hailed 2008 as the year of the PS3, and with solid sales and growth opportunities ahead, we feel consumers are saying the same.”

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

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.

PlayStation by the Numbers
April 2008

PS3 Continues Blockbuster Year:

PS3 Hardware Sales Growth Exceeds 127% Year-Over-Year; PS3 Software Sales Up 410% Year-Over-Year

Total PlayStation Hardware Sales Top 505,363 Units

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued its benchmark year with 187,071 hardware units sold in April (according to NPD April 2008 sales data). This represents a year-over-year sales growth of over 127%. More than 2 million software units were sold for PS3 in April, representing a year-over-year growth of 410%.

* Spurred by the tremendous legacy of the Grand Theft Auto franchise on PlayStation, over 1 million copies of Grand Theft Auto IV for PS3 were sold in April in North America, with 23.6% of U.S. PS3 owners purchasing a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, a 29.0% higher attach rate for the title than Xbox 360. Enthusiasm for Grand Theft Auto IV combined with the launches of Haze and SingStar for PS3, is expected to continue to lift PS3 hardware sales through May.
* Grand Theft Auto IV and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue mark the beginning of a monster 2008 software line-up for PS3, including the highly-anticipated exclusive titles Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation, Resistance 2, and LittleBigPlanet to name a few. These blockbusters promise to further drive PS3 sales through to the holiday season.
* Fueled by the launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on the PLAYSTATION®Network, approximately 6 million pieces of content have been downloaded from the PlayStation®Store in North America since this time last month, with more than 73 million pieces of content downloaded from PLAYSTATION Store in North America to date. There are currently over 3.9 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts in North America.
* The recently introduced DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller for PS3 also proved to be a hot-seller, with sales exceeding $10.9 million in April.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued to boast strong sales in April with 192,696 PSP hardware units sold, representing a sales increase of 5.4% year-over-year. Fueled by enthusiasm for the exclusive blockbusters God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, the top two selling titles the platform of the month, more than 1 million software units were sold for PSP in April.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had another strong month in April with hardware unit sales reaching 124,376 units. More than 42 million PS2s have been sold to date in the U.S.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales, earning $387 million in April.

· Year to date (Jan-April), the PlayStation brand generated over $1.9 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 17.6% year-over year.

· PlayStation total hardware revenue was $126.2 million in April, representing a year-over-year growth of over 19.4%.

· PlayStation total software revenue in April was $215.1 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 68.6%.

CEO Perspective

“Clearly, the tremendous legacy of Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation, combined with the blockbuster launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue packed a one-two punch with consumers at retail this month. The proof is in the numbers and, in April, PlayStation 3 hardware sales experienced a 127% increase over April of last year. 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. 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.”

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

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.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has sold 10.1 million units in the U.S., making it the first current generation gaming console to break the 10 million barrier in the U.S., and contributing to global sales of over 19 million. (April NPD data)

By the numbers: Xbox 360 is the most significant contributor to industry spending and growth

* 188,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold in April. (April NPD data)
* Xbox 360 has a record-setting attach rate of 7.6 games per console, the highest attach rate in history for a console at this point in its lifecycle. (April NPD data)
* Consumers have spent more than $9.7 billion on the Xbox 360 experience. (April NPD data)
* Xbox 360 titles accounted for $186 million of all third party game sales this generation, or 53% of share. (April NPD data)
* Xbox 360 games accounted for three of the top ten games in April, and secured the #1 spot with “Grand Theft Auto IV.” (April NPD data)
* 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.

“Grand Theft Auto IV” on Xbox 360 snags top spot in April, boosts LIVE memberships to over 12 million

* In its first five days on the market, the Xbox 360 version of “Grand Theft Auto IV” sold 1.8 million units, outselling the other platform’s version by nearly 2:1 in the U.S., and making it the top selling game in April. (April NPD data)
* Gamers eager to experience “Grand Theft Auto IV” online helped boost Xbox LIVE global membership totals to over 12 million this month. Fueled by an unparalleled combination of access to friends and family, the best online gaming features and the best entertainment content, the Xbox LIVE service has doubled in membership in only one year’s time.
* Microsoft sales data shows Xbox 360 consoles saw a 54% lift week-over-week as a result of “Grand Theft Auto IV,” and retailers are reporting that roughly four out of every 10 Xbox 360 consoles sold included the sale of a copy of “Grand Theft Auto IV.” (Microsoft internal data)
* Beginning this fall, Xbox LIVE will be the only place gamers can go for exclusive “Grand Theft Auto IV” episodes.

“Grand Theft Auto IV” marked the beginning of what promises to be another landmark year for the Xbox 360 platform, with an all-star games line up in 2008 including “Gears of War 2,” “Fable 2” and “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise.” Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming months.

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.

Nintendo’s Wii Sits Atop April U.S. Sales

Wii™ emerged as the top-selling console in April, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks U.S. video game sales. Wii sold more than 714,000 units in April alone, bringing its lifetime sales in the United States to more than 9.5 million.

“Wii sales were buoyed in part by the strong launch of Mario Kart Wii, which sold more than 1.1 million units,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “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.”

Other Nintendo highlights from April’s NPD report include:

* Mario Kart® Wii finished as the No. 2 game of the month.
* Six of the top 10 games of the month are for Nintendo systems: Mario Kart Wii (No. 2), Wii Play™ (No. 4), Super Smash Bros.® Brawl (No. 5), Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (No. 7), Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (No. 8) and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (No. 9).
* Super Smash Bros. Brawl crossed the 3 million sales mark in the United States.
* Wii and Nintendo DS™ again finished as the two top-selling hardware systems.

For more information about Nintendo, please visit www.Nintendo.com

The parts not dealing with said shortages and attach rates read less like a post-coital NPD cigarette and more like an advertisement for GTAIV, with the company crossing their hearts and hoping to die that not only will they have plenty of consoles out to retailers for the game, but that the promise of XBL multiplayer and DLC will help them shift a bucketload of 360s in April. Which is all well and good, but we're talking about March's NPDs here, Microsoft, not April's. Keep on topic, please.

Consumers continue to make the ultimate vote for Xbox 360 as the console of choice by investing $9.4 billion to date this lifecycle in the Xbox 360 experience, far outpacing that of other game consoles. (March NPD data)

Going into March, some key U.S. retailers were still experiencing the trickle down effect of Xbox 360 console shortages. By the end of March, supply issues had improved and we expect retailers to be fully stocked with Xbox 360 consoles in time for the "Grand Theft Auto IV" launch. According to NPD, 262,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold in March, reclaiming the #2 position in the next-gen console category.

In just two weeks, Xbox 360 will extend its industry lead with the year's most anticipated game launch, GTA IV. Launching April 29, GTA IV will be coming to Xbox 360 on day one. GTA IV will feature the first ever online multiplayer for the franchise and Xbox 360 is also the only place you can earn GTA IV Achievements and increase your gamerscore.

Starting this fall, only Xbox 360 owners will have access to exclusive GTA IV episodic content. Whether it's the results of online polls or data from pre-sells, consumers have made it clear that the benefits of Xbox LIVE and exclusive access to GTA IV episodic content are making Xbox 360 the chosen place to play GTA IV.

Xbox 360 drives industry growth with record attach rates

· March NPD data shows a new U.S. Xbox 360 software attach rate of 7.5, a record for any game console.

· In Europe, Xbox 360 continues to enjoy the highest software attach rate of any game console with more than 7.0 games sold per console (PS3: 3.8; Wii 3.5) after 27 months on the market..

· Xbox 360 sales in Europe have more than doubled in the wake of recent retail price changes, solidifying its leadership position as the number one next-generation console in EMEA, owning 42% of the market in terms of life-to-date revenue. (Microsoft estimates based on ChartTrack and Gfk data).

· Third party publishers find more success on Xbox 360. In March, Xbox 360 accounted for $220 million of all third party game sales this generation, or 49 percent of share. Third party publishers win on Xbox 360 more than any other platform. (March NPD data)

· Games for the Xbox 360 platform accounted for four of the top ten games for this generation. (March NPD data)

Xbox 360 most widely used system for online gaming

· Xbox 360 delivers social entertainment experiences to more than 10 million Xbox LIVE gamers around the globe. (Microsoft internal data)

· On April 2, NPD released a study called "Online Gaming 2008" which reported that 42 percent of people aged six to 44 play video games online. Their console of choice? Xbox 360. Half of online gamers prefer the Xbox 360 over other current-generation gaming consoles. ("Online Gaming 2008")

· Xbox LIVE now delivers 4,800 hours of TV and movie entertainment including family favorites like "Hannah Montana," "Lost," and "Superman III."(Microsoft internal data)

Xbox 360 is the gaming platform of choice—our great games and exploding online community will help keep it that way.

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".

PS3 Sales Up Nearly 100% Year-Over-Year; PS3 Momentum Continues

Total PlayStation Hardware Unit Sales Top 770,794

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued the strong momentum with 257,120 units sold in March. (according to NPD March 2008 sales data). This represents a year-over-year sales growth of over 98%. More than 1.9 million software units were sold for PS3 in March, representing a year-over-year growth of 139.2%.

* The Season of Monster Titles Has Begun: The April releases of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Grand Theft Auto IV kick off the waterfall of blockbusters coming to PS3 this year, including the exclusive titles Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 and SOCOM: Confrontation to name a few. These mega hits combined with enthusiasm for Blu-ray promise to further drive PS3 sales throughout 2008.

* PLAYSTATION®Network Continues to Thrive: In North America, there are over than 3.7 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts and more than 67 million pieces of content have been downloaded from PLAYSTATION Store to date.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued to boast strong sales with 297,011 PSP hardware units sold in March, up 22.1% over the previous month and representing a sales increase of 65% growth year-over-year. Sales were fueled by the of recent exclusive blockbuster releases of God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, the two best-selling handheld games in the month of March.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had an excellent month in March with hardware unit sales reaching 216,485 units. The PLAYSTATION exclusive hit title MLB® 08 THE SHOW™ debuted as the top-selling title for PS2 in March.
Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales, earning $552.2 million in March.

* Year to date (Jan-March), the PlayStation brand generated over $1.55 billion in revenue, representing an increase of nearly 13% for the same period last year.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $186.2 million in March, representing a year-over-year growth of over 23%.
* PlayStation total software revenue in March was $304.7 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 25%.

CEO Perspective

"Our sales momentum continues to defy what is traditionally a sluggish sales month. PS3 continued the strong momentum with a year-over-year sales growth of over 98%. 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. PSP expanded the portable market with more than 297,011 in hardware sales this month, driven by the monster releases of the two best-selling handheld games in March, God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. This further proves the trend that 2008 is the year for PlayStation."

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

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".

NPD Reports Nintendo Finished March with Top Game, Top Hardware In March, Nintendo again defined industry momentum in both home and portable video games sales, according to the independent NPD Group, which monitors retail activity in the video game industry. More than 720,000 Wii™ systems sold in March, representing the highest monthly sales total outside of holiday months (November or December) to date, while Nintendo DS™ also sold through nearly 700,000 systems.

Nintendo also finished with the top-selling U.S. game of March. Super Smash Bros.® Brawl, which launched March 9, came in at No. 1 with 2.7 million units sold.

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

Other March U.S. statistics, according to NPD, include:

* Three Wii games finished in the top 10, including Super Smash Bros. Brawl at No. 1, Wii Play™ at No. 4, and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock at No. 7.

* Nintendo DS has now sold more than 19 million units in the United States alone since it launched in November 2004.

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]

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.

PS3 Sales Eclipse Xbox 360 for Second Straight Month; Year-Over-Year Sales More Than Doubled

Total PlayStation Hardware Unit Sales Top 875,969

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) outsold Xbox 360 for the second straight month with 280,841 hardware units sold in February, 10% higher than Microsoft (according to NPD February 2008 sales data). Year-over-year this represents 120% sales growth.

* Wait, There's More... Next month will see the introductions of heavyweights Grand Theft Auto IV and PS3-exclusive Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, and June will usher in the monster 2008 title Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. And let's not forget DUALSHOCK®3 rumbles to North American retailers in April. The arsenal of 2008 blockbusters including LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, MotorStorm 2, and SingStar, combined with current momentum for Blu-ray, will further PS3 enthusiasm throughout the year.

* PLAYSTATION®Network Is Burgeoning: Currently in North America there are more than 3.3 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts and more than 56 million total downloads life-to-date from PLAYSTATION®Store. PLAYSTATION Network total downloads exceeded 6.3 million in February 2008, compared to 6.6 million at the peak of the holiday season in December 2007. Only on PLAYSTATION Network can you find innovative games like Calling All Cars, Everyday Shooter, fl0w, PAIN, Tekken 5, Warhawk and Super Stardust.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued its trend of strong sales with 243,115 PSP hardware units sold in February, representing a year-over-year increase of 38%.

* If You Think February Sales Were Good... Rave reviews of God of War: Chains of Olympus, wipEout® PULSE and Patapon are already pouring in, not to mention the highly anticipated debut of Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII on March 25, which are expected to further PSP sales growth.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) continues to surprise and delight mainstream audiences with hardware unit sales reaching 351,787 units. Additionally, for the third consecutive month PS2 sold more software units than any other console on the market, not only a testament to the staying power of PlayStation products, but also the incredible PlayStation software library.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand generated the most U.S. retail dollars in the industry for the second consecutive month with $511 million in sales, 52% and 6% higher than Microsoft and Nintendo, respectively.

* Year to date (Jan-Feb), the PlayStation brand generated nearly $1 billion in the U.S. market, 56% and 15% higher than Microsoft and Nintendo, respectively.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $204 million in February, 125% and 11% higher than Microsoft and Nintendo, respectively.
* PlayStation total software revenue in February was $247 million, 32% and 5% higher than Microsoft and Nintendo respectively.

CEO Perspective

"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."

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

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.

February Monthly NPD Update

For February's NPD reporting period, Xbox 360 remained in a supply constrained situation. The situation is improving and we are confident consumers will soon be able to find the Xbox 360 SKU they seek, in time for the launch of "Grand Theft Auto IV", which we expect to be one of the biggest titles of the year with huge impact on the Xbox 360 platform.

What makes a winning platform? It's more than console sales. It's about consoles + content + community.

As you do your reporting this month we thought we'd provide you with what we believe is a complete picture of a healthy console ecosystem, and how Xbox 360 is contributing:

Consoles:

* $332 million was spent on the Xbox 360 platform this month, capturing 39 percent of the generation's ecosystem, $235 million was spent on the PS3 and $283 million was spent on the Wii. (February NPD data)
* The Xbox 360 platform now has a U.S. installed base of 9.6 million; the PS3 has 3.8 million, the Wii has 8.1 million. (February NPD data)
* February NPD data shows a new Xbox 360 software attach rate of 7.2, nearly twice that of the PS3 or the Wii. (February NPD data)
* 255,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold during the month of February. (February NPD data)

Content:

* Xbox 360 leads in games, with six out of the top 10 best selling console games in February. (February NPD data)
* Xbox 360 "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" (Activision) was the best-selling console game across all platforms, outselling the PlayStation 3 version by 2:1. (February NPD data)
* Xbox 360 has the top selling games on its platform. According to February NPD, Xbox 360 sold $184 million in games, with PS3 selling $97 million and Wii $130 million.
* Third party partners find more success on Xbox 360. In February, Xbox 360 accounted for $159 million of all third party game sales this generation, or 45 percent of share. (February NPD data)
* Xbox 360 has more games available than any other platform, and more than twice the games available on PS3. (February NPD data)

Community:

* Xbox LIVE is the largest online gaming community currently over 10 million strong worldwide, and growing. The PS3 online network is only 2.9 million (U.S. data only) and the Wii has only four million (this number includes North America and Japan). (Microsoft internal estimates)
* Xbox LIVE is opening doors to help turn its 10 million gamers into developers. Last month, Xbox 360 announced community games for Xbox LIVE and will be widely available this fall.
* Today, we are announcing Xbox LIVE experienced 750,000 downloads of seven new community games on Xbox LIVE. They were made available for free, for less than a week. (Microsoft internal estimates)

When you look at lifetime performance of all three consoles, Xbox 360 continues to lead:

Lifetime Ecosystem Performance (US NPD Data):

* To date, $9.0 billion have been spent on Xbox 360 in the U.S, which is more than the competition's retail dollars combined. This is nearly $6 billion more than consumers have spent on PS3 and approximately $4.5 billion more than Wii.
* Third party publishers make 60 percent of their revenue at retail on the Xbox 360 platform this generation.

Xbox 360: Extending the Lead

* Xbox 360 has six of the top 10 best games, ranked by quality. (Metacritic)
* No other game platform delivers downloadable digital entertainment, with family favorites like "Hannah Montana" and "Lost."
* No other platform delivers interactive online experiences to more than 10 million members around the globe.

Now that you've seen the gaming ecosystem from a different perspective, we look forward to hearing your thoughts.

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!

NPD Reports Nintendo's Solid U.S. Sales for February

The latest video game industry sales figures reported by the independent NPD Group show that Nintendo DS™ and Wii™ topped the U.S. charts for February. Nintendo DS sold nearly 587,600 units and Wii sold nearly 432,000.

"Our momentum has not let up since the holidays and we expect it to continue throughout the year," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We have the industry's strongest lineup of games for everyone from core to casual gamers."

February sales, according to NPD, in the United States:

* Nintendo sold more than 1 million hardware units combined, accounting for nearly half (47.6 percent) of all hardware sold.
* Nintendo DS games topped all software sales, with more than 3.6 million units sold. Consumers purchased nearly 2.9 million software units for Wii. Four of every 10 games sold were for Nintendo systems.
* Three games in the top five sellers for February play on Nintendo systems, including two from third-party publishers.
* Nearly 1.7 million accessories were purchased for Wii, more than for any other system. More than 1.2 million accessories were sold for Nintendo DS as well.

Sure, David Dennis did his best when he claimed hardware shortages, but nobody was really buying that. Instead, the official spin relies mostly on software sales and abstract revenue figures, like the fact people spent twice as much money on 360 games in January than they did on PS3 games, or that third-party publishers are enjoying better success on the 360 than on other platforms.

The full, exhaustively cherry-picked statement is below:

January NPD Update

Today we have an update from NPD on console, accessory and software sales for January 2008 and it demonstrates that whether you are a consumer, retailer, or a publisher there is no better platform for games than Xbox 360.

Xbox 360 experienced a record-setting holiday that has not slowed down in 2008. NPD today reported that in January, Microsoft sold 230,000 Xbox 360 consoles. Our retailers are telling us that Xbox 360 is selling as fast as they can restock, but due to this high demand, Xbox 360 is experiencing temporary shortages. We are working as quickly as we can to