Kotaku: Npd Group

NPD's PC Sales Charts June 22-28

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:30:00 MDT

Ten spots on the chart, five spots taken up by Maxis games. Dull, yes, but it can only get worse once Spore and Sims 3 are out. As for the rest, Age of Conan hangs on, as does Call of Duty 4, while the Diablo Battle Chest makes an appearance at #10. Next week's charts - the first since the Diablo III reveal - will probably see it crack the top five.

1. Spore Creature Creator
2. The Sims 2: IKEA Home Stuff
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
4. WoW Battle Chest
5. Age Of Conan
6. World Of Warcraft
7. The Sims 2: Freetime
8. The Sims 2: Kitchen
9. Call Of Duty 4
10. Diablo Battle Chest

[Pic]

NPD's PC Sales Charts June 15-21

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 01 Jul 2008 01:30:00 MDT

Few, if any, surprises here. After all, the Sporepedia didn't get to a gagillion monsters entered without people picking up the tools to enter monsters, so seeing the Spore Creature Creator at the #1 spot in the PC sales charts is a given. It also means Maxis have another game to clutter these charts up with. What, The Sims aren't doing enough business for you these days?

1. Spore Creature Creator
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. Age of Conan
4. WoW: Burning Crusade
5. World Of Warcraft
6. WoW: Battle Chest
7. The Sims 2 FreeTime
8. The Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
9. Call Of Duty 4
10. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures

NPD's PC Sales Charts: May

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 18 Jun 2008 23:30:00 MDT

No weekly PC sales charts this week. In their place: a monthly sales chart. The NPD group have released a list of the ten best-selling (at brick-and-mortars retail) games for the month of May, a list which while still lacking hard numbers does give us an idea of how well certain games performed. Like Age of Conan, which was the month's biggest-seller despite only launching halfway through. Or the bottom-feeding budget compilation "15000 Games", which scrapes into #10 despite failing to make any of the individual top-10 charts for the month. Guess it's a slow-burner.

1. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures CE
4. WoW: Battle Chest
5. The Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff Expansion Pack
6. World of Warcraft
7. WoW: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack
8. The Sims 2 FreeTime Expansion Pack
9. Sim City 4 Deluxe
10. 15000 Games

NPD Software Charts: #11-20

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 13 Jun 2008 20:20:00 MDT

We always post the month's ten best-selling games. The glory boys. The highlight reel. But what about the games that sell...okayish, but not well enough to make that top tier? The second division, the practice squad, the B-list? Today, well, today is their chance to shine. NPD have released the list of May's top twenty-selling games, giving us a chance to see how well games like We Ski, Game Party and Haze did.

11. Call of Duty 4 (Activision, 360)
12. Iron Man (Sega, PSP)
13. We Ski (Namco, Wii)
14. Mario Kart (Nintendo, DS)
15. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, DS)
16. God of War 2 (Sony, PS2)
17. Game Party (Midway, Wii)
18. Guitar Hero III (Activision, PS2)
19. Haze (Ubisoft, PS3)
20. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo, Wii)

What, no Boom Blox? Somebody at either EA or Nintendo (or both!)screwed up the marketing on that one.

[via Gamasutra]

Nintendo Responds To May NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 20:00:04 MDT

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.

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.

Microsoft Responds To May NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:30:00 MDT

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!

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!

Sony Responds To May NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 19:00:00 MDT

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.

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

Wii Nearly Overtakes Xbox 360 U.S. Install Base After Strong May Sales

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 18:00:58 MDT

The NPD Group has released hardware sales figures for the month of May, a month that saw Nintendo continue to dominate the competition with over 675,000 Wiis sold in the United States. That may be a drop from the previous month, but Nintendo DS sales more than made up for it.

While Grand Theft Auto IV continued to sell well, it didn't do anything to help hardware sales, as the Xbox 360 was down month to month and placed behind the PlayStation 3, which saw a small bump. PlayStation 2 data was not provided.

Wii - 675,100
Nintendo DS - 452,600
PlayStation 3 - 208,700
Xbox 360 - 186,600
PSP - 182,300

According to NPD data, the Wii install base in the U.S. is at about 10.2 million, nearly tying the Xbox 360's 10.27 million install base. Microsoft's looks like it'll be enjoying second place in the U.S. of A. when June's hardware numbers come in.

Total hardware sales amounted to $428.6 million USD, a 34% increase over May of 2007. That monthly figure makes the total hardware take for the year an impressive $2.27 billion USD.

The Wii and Nintendo DS enjoy their fourth month in a row in the top two spots, as NPD analyst Anita Frazier points out. She adds that "The continued success of GTA IV is not translating into big hardware sales for either the PS3 or the 360 but there may yet to be a lift in June due to gift-giving for Father's Day and Graduations."

I know one thing I'm certainly not getting my dad for Father's Day and it's GTA IV!

Thanks to the NPD Group for providing us with monthly sales.

GTA IV Still The U.S. Software Champ In May

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 12 Jun 2008 17:40:44 MDT

The adventures of Niko Bellic fought off two strong Wii competitors to hold onto the number one spot on May's best selling software chart, with over 1.3 million copies sold total. The Xbox 360 flavor outsold its PS3 peer by about two-to-one last month, the only game for both platforms to appear in the top ten. Wii Fit, unsurprisingly, had a strong debut, placing third behind GTA IV and Mario Kart Wii and pulling in some $62 million in sales for the month of May.

The list is full of familiar hits like Wii Play and Guitar Hero III, with some of May's more hyped new releases, like Boom Blox and Haze, failing to crack the top ten.

01. Grand Theft Auto IV (Xbox 360) - 871,300
02. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 787,400
03. Wii Fit (Wii) - 687,700
04. Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3) - 442,900
05. Wii Play (Wii) - 294,600
06. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) - 171,100
07. Iron Man (PS2) - 130,600
08. Guitar Hero III (Wii) - 116,800
09. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (DS) - 107,000
10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (DS) - 102,000

Total video game software spending was $536.9 million, up 41% year over year.

Comments from NPD analyst Anita Frazier reveal that the other game to take advantage of the Wii Fit balance board, We Ski, landed at number 12. She also points out that GTA IV has racked up 4.2 million in sales in the States and has a score update on the rhythm game genre.

"A lot of folks are interested in the battle of the bands," Frazier added. "Year-to-date, Guitar Hero III has sold 2.5 million units compared to Rock Band's 1.3 million which lands them both in the top 10 titles for the year so far."

Thanks one more time to the folks at NPD for the info.

NPD's PC Sales Charts May 25-31

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 10 Jun 2008 21:20:00 MDT

Last charts, Conan was popular. Conan is still popular, being the first non-Warcraft or Sims title to defend its #1 spot that my human brain can remember. It even held off a respectable debut from Mass Effect, which entered at #2. Goes to show what a conversion, and not a port, can do for sales. I'll also make cursory mention of Call of Duty 4 at #8 and Sins of a Solar Empire at #9, because the rest of the charts are, yes, Warcraft and Sims titles. BORING.

1) Age of Conan
2) Mass Effect
3) Sims 2 Double Deluxe
4) WoW: Battle Chest
5) Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath
6) WoW
7) Sims 2 Free Time
8) Call of Duty 4
9) Sins of a Solar Empire
10) WoW: Burning Crusade

[charts courtesy of NPD]

American Gamers Love Football, Guns

Michael McWhertor — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 17:40:41 MDT

A report from Forbes reveals that American gamers like football and shooting things, according to NPD Group data that lists the best selling games from the past fifteen years. In the number one spot is Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas which has moved an impressive 9.4 million units. Just behind that? Guitar Hero III somewhat surprisingly enough at 8.2 million. It pays to milk!

The list is similarly dominated by Madden in its various incarnations, whether they be Madden NFL 2005, Madden NFL 2006, Madden NFL 2007 or Madden NFL 2008. Halo 2 and Call of Duty 4's sales further prove that Americans like to shoot.

I'm currently hard at work on a video game about a football player that is given a guitar that shoots lasers and tasked with fending off a terrorist invasion. I'm calling it Admiral Shred's Terror Touchdown. Don't steal my awesome idea.

America's All-Time Favorite Videogames [Forbes]

NPD's PC Sales Charts May 18-24

Luke Plunkett — Tue, 03 Jun 2008 21:40:00 MDT

That tapping sound you hear? It's the devil, tapping his foot and tut-tutting. He's not happy. Never is when hell freezes over. For the week ending May 24, the top-selling PC game at retail was not a Sims title. Or a Sims expansion. Indeed, the highest-ranked Sims release is in fourth spot. Which for The Sims may as well be #400. So who's on top? Why, Age of Conan, which continues to surprise us with how damn popular it is. And that's just the standard edition. The CE came in at #3.

1) Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
2) World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest
3) Age Of Conan: Hyborian Adventures (Collectors Edition)
4) The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
5) The Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath Interior Stuff
6) World Of Warcraft
7) World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
8) Call OF Duty 4: Modern Warfare
9) The Sims 2 Freetime Expansion Pack
10) Crysis

US PC CHART: Conan rules roost [MCV]

NPD's PC Sales Charts May 4-10

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 21 May 2008 22:30:00 MDT

For the week ending May 10, the top-selling, boxed-copy PC game in the US was...The Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff. The second best-seller? The Sims 2 Double Deluxe. You can see where this is going. Seven spots for Sims and Warcraft titles, leaving naught but scraps for the rest to fight over. Good news for 13 year-old girls and those coming late to the Warcraft party, kinda sad news for everyone else.

1. The Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest
4. The Sims 2: FreeTime
5. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
6. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
7. World Of Warcraft
8. Sins Of A Solar Empire
9. Hoyle Card Games 2008
10. Warcraft III Battle Chest

[via Big Download]

Video Game Industry Has $1.2 Billion April, Confirms It's Made Of Money

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 15 May 2008 17:40:00 MDT

According to the latest NPD Group sales data, April 2008 was pretty darn good for the video game industry, with $1.23 billion dollars in sales in the United States. Yes, cigars are being lit with hundreds, champagne corks are being sabered and who knows what's being snorted off what based on the news. Oh, a refreshing Coors Light may even be knocked back. That billion-plus April is a big improvement—47% to be exact—over the previous April, which saw a paltry $839 million sum from American consumers. April's billion and change take contributes to a year-to-date $5.47 billion for the industry so far. In case you're wondering that's a lot of money.

Here's how it all breaks down. Brace yourself for more millions and more percentage growth talk.

Hardware - $426.2 million (+26%)
Software - $654.7 million (+68%)
Accessories - $154 million (+39%)

Wii Dominates April, PS3 & Xbox 360 In Dead Heat On GTA IV Sales

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 15 May 2008 16:40:00 MDT

Nintendo had an amazing April, pushing over 700,000 Wiis in the United States. That's a massive difference from its "current gen high definition console" competition, as the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were neck and neck, only a thousand units difference between the two. If you were expecting a big boost from Grand Theft Auto IV's release, you're going to leave disappointed. Maybe next month. Nintendo's other platform, the DS continued to impress, more than doubling sales of the PSP.

Wii - 714,200
Nintendo DS - 414,800
PSP - 192,000
Xbox 360 - 188,000
PlayStation 3 - 187,100
PlayStation 2 - 124,400

Totals were down across the board, with the Wii taking the least hit from March to April, each piece of hardware showing in the same position as the previous month. Despite that month to month drop, hardware was up 26% over April of last year.

Total hardware spending in April amounted to $426.2 million, compared to $339.2 million spent in April of 2007.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier pointed out that more Wiis at retail, obviously, means more Wiis sold. And while some Wii owners may bemoan a lack of new releases—Mario Kart Wii aside—Frazier writes that "With a couple of blockbuster games already in the market this year, and with Wii Fit and Rock Band still to come in the next two months, the pipeline of content to continue to drive hardware acquisition looks very good"

Frazier also points out that less than spectacular sales on PS3 and 360 hardware may not be indicative of underperformance, noting that "[S]ince the game was only in the market for 5 days during this reporting period, that sales lift could very well be evident in May data." To May, then!

NPD's PC Sales Charts April 20-26

Luke Plunkett — Mon, 12 May 2008 04:30:00 MDT

Three Sims titles, three Warcraft titles. That's fairly standard practise these days, a practise which leaves only four spots open for other non-Sims, non-Warcraft games to make some inroads. These week, those four games are Call of Duty 4, Assassin's Creed, Rainbow Six Vegas 2 and, yes, Sins of a Solar Empire, which has kept on keepin' on to the continued (but pleasant) surprise of, oh, everybody.

1. The Sims 2 Kitchen & Bath Interior Design Stuff Expansion Pack
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. The Sims 2 FreeTime Expansion Pack
4. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest
5. World Of Warcraft
6. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
7. Sins Of A Solar Empire
8. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack
9. Assassin's Creed: Director's Cut Edition
10. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas 2

NPD's Top 10 Best Selling PC Games [IGN]

Americans Now Spend $1 Billion A Year On Game Subscriptions

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:00:00 MDT

Whenever a developer who works for a company that doesn't make MMOs pipes up and says "PC gaming is dead", they really mean they just can't make money selling what they're selling. Maybe it's because of piracy, like many say, but hey, maybe it's also because they don't make MMOs, because NPD figures released today show that Americans spent over $1 billion on online subscriptions last year. That money came from an estimated 11 million subscribers, the majority of whom were obviously playing WoW, with RuneScape, LotRO, FFXI and City of Heroes following (in that order) in its wake. NPD say "it's clear that there is a sizable chunk of revenue being generated by PC gaming beyond what is reflected in retail sales", and really, none of us are in a position to argue with that.

Online subscriptions exceed $1 billion a year, says NPD [GI.biz]

NPD's PC Sales Charts Apr 6-12

Luke Plunkett — Wed, 23 Apr 2008 21:40:00 MDT

Please don't comment below saying "OMG no digital downloads list = fail" or something. You'll look like an idiot. We know these charts aren't the truest indication of what PC gamers actually paid money for a couple weeks back. But they're all we've got. And hey, you might even enjoy these ones, since for once they're dominated by real, proper PC games!

1) Assassin's Creed
2) WoW Battle Chest
3) Sins of a Solar Empire
4) Call of Duty 4
5) Sims 2 FreeTime
6) WoW
7) Sims 2
8) C&C 3: Kane's Wrath
9) WoW: Burning Crusade
10) Portal

See, Portal's in there, you happy now?

[via Voodoo Extreme]

Microsoft Responds To March NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:40:00 MDT

Not a bad month for MIcrosoft, all things considered. They beat the PS3, and at this stage of the console wars, that's probably all that matters to them. And yet, their NPD gloating for the month still feels...restrained. Defensive. Reliant on pointing out revenue, attach rates and supply shortages, all of which are boring.

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.

Sony Responds To March NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:30:00 MDT

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".

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

Nintendo Responds To March NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:20:00 MDT

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".

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.

Nintendo Takes March, 360 & PS3 Neck-And-Neck

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:05:00 MDT

Nintendo atop the monthly NPD hardware charts? You do. Not. Say. Nintendo consoles again kicked the collective asses of the competition, with the Wii coming in at #1 and the DS at #2. But that's not the interesting part. You knew that was coming. No, the interesting part comes in looking at the four non-Nintendo consoles. And how only 81,000 units separates third from last.

The 360 can't be in that short supply, as it sold 262,000 units, still managing to (just) beat out the PS3. The PS2, well it kept on being relevant, but all three were beaten by the resurgent PSP, of which 297,000 were sold during the month.

01. Nintendo Wii - 721,000
02. Nintendo DS - 698,000
03. PlayStation Portable - 297,000
04. Xbox 360 - 262,000
05. PlayStation 3 - 257,000
06. PlayStation 2 - 216,000

Total hardware sales were $551.3 million, up 46% from the same time last year, when "only" $377.9 million worth of consoles were offloaded onto unsuspecting customers.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier reckons "Nintendo's hardware figures this month are definitely noteworthy. Super Smash Brothers Brawl along with a greater supply of inventory helped the Wii to capture the highest single month unit sales of any platform outside the holiday timeframe. NDS sales were most likely spurred by a combination of increased retail promotional activity along with a greater supply at retail, which is now allowing some of that pent-up consumer demand to be satisfied".

Hmm, yes, I totally agree. Now it's back to my morning coffee and profuse nodding.

Smash Bros. Dojos Past The Competition To Take #1 Spot In March

Luke Plunkett — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 17:04:00 MDT

Yeah, dojos is now a verb. Live with it. Super Smash Bros. Brawl has not only beat out, it has final smashed the competition, selling 2.7 million units on its way to claiming the the title of top-selling game in the US for March. For reference, its nearest competitor - Rainbow Six Vegas 2 on the 360 - could shift "only" 752,000 units. And for perspective, Smash Bros. sold more than the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth and seventh best-selling games combined.

The rest of charts sees two surprise entries: MLB2K8 at #8 and the PS3 version of Army of Two (the only PS3 game in the top 10) sneaking in at #10. Meanwhile Wii Play continues its march towards sales immortality, notching up another 400,000 units, while previous two-time winner Call of Duty 4 hold onto a spot in the top of the charts with the 360 version managing to sell 237,000 copies.

01. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) - 2,700,000
02. Rainbow Six Vegas (360) - 752,300
03. Army of Two (360) - 606,100
04. Wii Play/w Remote (Wii) - 409,800
05. God Of War: Chains Of Olympus (PSP) - 340,500
06. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) - 301,600
07. Guitar Hero III (Wii) - 264,100
08. MLB2K8 (360) - 237,100
09. Call Of Duty 4 (360) - 237,000
10. Army Of Two (PS3) - 224,900

Software sales for the month amounted to $945 million, a rise of 63% over last year's March sales of "only" $579.1 million.

72% Of U.S. Plays Video Games

Mark Wilson — Wed, 02 Apr 2008 13:20:00 MDT

The NPD Group (those same people who bring us all the neat sales numbers) just published their annual results charting how much of the US actually plays video games. And yeah, we already gave away the punchline in the headline.

72% of Americans play some sort of video games (that's up from 64% last year). Of that 72%, only 42% play games online (that's up from 40% last year). And of that 42% of online players, 90% play online with their PC. Also of note, 50% of online console gaming was on the Xbox 360. And only 2-3% of NPD's respondents reported owning more than one console. How's that for some late afternoon watercooler fodder?

NPD: 72% Of U.S. Plays Games, Only 2-3% Own Multiple Consoles [Gamasutra][image]

Nintendo Responds To February NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 19:20:52 MDT

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!

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.

U.S. Game Industry Pulled In $1.33 Billion In February

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:40:24 MDT

February was what financial experts call a "damn good month" for the video game industry, with $1.33 billion in sales, according to the NPD Group. That's better than January's take and a 34% boost over the previous February. The billion-plus haul was made possible by $480 million hardware spending, $668.7 million in software spending and $185.3 million spent on accessories. That's a lot of millions.

The year to date sales, just January and February, are 12% above the same period in 2007, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier. Industry sales indicates things aren't slowing, even as the US economy shows signs of softening. And good for them, I say. Who doesn't love to see billions of dollars going to our entertainers?

Call Of Duty 4 Sheds No Tears, Holds On To Number One Software Spot

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 17:20:30 MDT

Infinity Ward continues to take down the competition on the software side, with Call of Duty 4 for the Xbox 360 narrowly outselling Devil May Cry 4 in February. Capcom's decision to go multiplatform for its newest stylish action game was clearly a smart one, with the 360 version outselling its PlayStation 3 sibling by a good 60,000 copies.

The month saw some impressive debuts, including strong sales for Lost Odyssey and Turok. Wii Play and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games continue to be lapped up by the masses, with Guitar Hero III and Rock Band taking the open slots on the top ten. Numbers are after this.

01. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 296,200
02. Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360) - 295,200
03. Wii Play (Wii) - 289,700
04. Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) - 233,500
05. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - 222,900
06. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS) - 205,600
07. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360) - 203,600
08. Turok (Xbox 360) - 197,700
09. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 183,800
10. Rock Band (Xbox 360) - 161,800

Total software sales topped a staggering $668 million, up 47% from last year. Just one more record setting month for the video game industry.

Considering the impressive line up of marquee titles released this month—Super Smash Bros. Brawl, God of War: Chains of Olympus, Condemned 2: Bloodshot, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, to name a few—expect March to outperform February's record-breaking take.

Nintendo Wins February Console War

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 16:40:59 MDT

January's NPD sales saw a bit of a shake up, as the post holiday hardware hangover hit Nintendo and Microsoft particularly hard. That lead to an atypical second place finish for the PlayStation 3, which outsold the Xbox 360 and Nintendo DS. February, however, sees a return to form, with the DS and Wii nabbing spots one and two, respectively, absolutely killing the competition. Just imagine if they could keep some of these things in stock...

Fortunately for Sony, the PlayStation 2 picked up the slack, selling an extremely impressive 351,800 units. As expected, and forewarned by Microsoft, the Xbox 360 trailed it's console competition, showing in second-to-last place. The full hardware numbers are after this.

Nintendo DS - 587,600
Wii - 432,000
PlayStation 2 - 351,800
PlayStation 3 - 280,800
Xbox 360 - 254,600
PSP - 243,000

Total hardware sales for February were at $480 million, up from the previous year which saw $402 million for the month.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier says, "I was most surprised by the PS2 hardware sales numbers this month. While it certainly has earned its spot among the now-gen slate of console systems because of it staying power in the marketplace, the fact that it realized such significant growth this month is really a testament to its broad adoption and the response of consumers to promotional activity at retail."

Word. That's totally what I was going to say but got distracted by this shiny gum wrapper. So shiny...

Mature Games Sell Very Well On Consoles

Mark Wilson — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 12:00:23 MDT

Not so long ago, we ran some ESRB figures revealing that games rated 'M' for Mature are only a very small portion of that which developers released in 2007. However, a new report in which Next Generation compiled some sales statistics from the NPD Group shows us that even though M-rated titles may be few and far between, they sell quite well when compared to their peers with less extreme content. Here you can see how well M-rated titles sold in a boom from 2006 to 2007 (driven by a few AAA titles, for sure).

Hit the jump and I'll show you what all that means when compared to the actual amount M-rated games were released in 2007.

What we see here is that while Mature games don't dominate the marketplace's overall selection, they are certainly doing their part in dictating what we buy. Note: the ESRB numbers include more than just console titles, so this comparison should NOT be taken as scientific. With that in mind, see that Mature's 6% of games sold 21% of overall game revenue. Hit the link for the whole story as told by Next Gen.

By the Numbers: M-Rated Games Rake It In [Next Generation]

Microsoft Responds To January NPD Sales, Seems Desperate

Luke Plunkett — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 19:30:00 MST

Following the release of yesterday's NPD hardware sales figures, in which the PS3 finally landed a few decent punches on its competitors, you could expect a few things to happen. One was that Sony would dance the happiest post-NPDs sales dance they've danced in a long time. The other was that Microsoft, relegated to the arse-end of the pack, would find putting a positive spin on their performance very, very difficult. Guess what? They found it very, very difficult. The end result is so timid that it inspires pity. Sympathy, almost.

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 replenish inventory.

Xbox 360 Owners Spend More on Games; Drives Industry Ecosystem

* In January, $297 million was spent on the Xbox 360 platform (hardware, software and accessories combined), compared to $244 million on Wii and $219 million on PS3. (U.S. NPD, January)
* $159 million was spent on Xbox 360 games alone in January compared to $131 million on Wii and $80 million for PS3. (U.S. NPD, January)
* Total customer spending on Xbox 360 life-to-date now reaches nearly $8.6 billion; this is more than double PS3 and Wii combined. (U.S. NPD, January)
* Six of the top 10 best selling games in January are on Xbox 360's platform. (U.S. NPD, January)
* After five months on the market, "Halo 3" continues to make the top 10 best selling games list according to NPD with 127,000 additional units sold in January. (U.S. NPD, January)

Games Play Better, Sell Better on Xbox 360

* "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" on Xbox 360 was the number one selling game across all platforms for the third month in a row. In January, the fourth edition of Activision's acclaimed war game sold more than 331,000 copies on Xbox 360 and outsold the PS3 version by more than 2:1. (U.S. NPD, January)
* Music fans love to jam on "Rock Band" and "Guitar Hero III" on Xbox 360! The Xbox 360 version of "Rock Band" sold more than 172,000 units in January and ranked fifth on the top 10 best selling games according to NPD. "Rock Band" on PS3 failed make it into the top 25 list for January. (U.S. NPD, January)
* Third party publishers made 61 percent of their retail revenue, this generation, on Xbox 360 compared to 20 percent on Wii and 18 percent on PS3. (U.S. NPD, January)
* Xbox 360 has 83 titles with a Metacritic review score of 80 or higher compared to just 42 for PS3 and 14 for Wii.

Looking forward, Xbox 360 will continue to be the destination for the best games with powerhouse franchises such as "BioShock," "Call of Duty," "Guitar Hero," "Halo," "Madden," "Mass Effect," and coming in April, "Grand Theft Auto IV." Whether you are an experienced gamer or a family looking for a night of fun, Xbox 360 is today's preferred gaming experience, where everyone is invited to play.

What Was January's Biggest Seller?

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 15 Feb 2008 16:20:00 MST

January may have gone to the Wii and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on the hardware and software sides respectively, but both were bested by an accessory as the biggest selling item, according to the NPD Group. The Wii nunchuk controller claimed that prestigious honor, selling an impressive 375,000 units in the United States.

At only $19.99, it's not surprising that Nintendo is pushing millions of these puppies out the door. All those people who snatched up Wii Play last year—4.12 million of them did—need to spend the earmarked Wii dollars on something. Wii Sports boxing is certainly no fun without it.

Sony Responds To January NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 18:20:52 MST

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.

PS3 Outsells Xbox 360; PlayStation Brand Outsells Competition Combined
PlayStation Hardware Momentum
PS3 Outsold Xbox 360: PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3 ) demonstrated continued momentum in January 2008 with 269K hardware units sold in January, 17% higher than Microsoft.

o PLAYSTATION Network total downloads exceeded 7.9 million in January 2008, well above the 6.6 million in December 2007. Currently in North America there are more than 2.9 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts and more than 52M total downloads life-to-date from PLAYSTATION Store.
o The best is yet to come: The influx of exceptional exclusive and third-party games like Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and Grand Theft Auto IV, not to mention later releases such as LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, SingStar, to name a few, combined with current momentum for Blu-ray, are expected to further enthusiasm for PS3.

PSP (PlayStation Portable) continued its sales ascent in January 2008 with 230K PSP hardware units sold in January; representing an increase of 9% over January 2007. Also, with its new partnership with Skype and great upcoming new games, such as God of War: Chains of Olympus, Patapon and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, further sales growth is expected in 2008.

PlayStation 2 (PS2) also had an excellent month in January with hardware unit sales reaching 264K units. Also, the PS2 sold more software units than any other console on the market.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio
According to NPD January 2008 sales data, the PlayStation brand generated the most U.S. retail dollars in the industry with $486 million, 25% higher than Nintendo and 61% higher than Microsoft.

o The PlayStation brand was #1 in both hardware and software in January.
o The PlayStation brand sold more hardware units than Nintendo and Microsoft combined (764K versus 530K and 230K, respectively).
o PlayStation total hardware revenue was $196 million in January; surpassing the total hardware revenue of Microsoft and Nintendo combined.
o PlayStation total software revenue in January was $224 million, 38% higher than Microsoft.

Industry Outlook
Coming off a great holiday sales season we see strong momentum behind PS3 in 2008, and feel confident about the year ahead. 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. Beyond that, we have Blu-ray emerging as the de facto high def standard, the developer community is hitting their stride, consumers are recognizing the tremendous value and innovative services such as PlayStation Home are all in the works, so this is definitely shaping up to be a breakthrough year for us.

- Jack Tretton, CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Call Of Duty 4 Holds On To Top Spot In US Software Sales

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:20:56 MST

Infinity Ward does it again. After a spectacular November and December in the US of A, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare sees a respectable January, securing the number one position on the software charts. 2007's number two seller, Wii Play, keeps its second place spot, beating out both Rock Band and Guitar Hero III with 298K copies sold.

Despite being a relatively down month for the Wii and Xbox 360 on the hardware side, the two consoles hold the top seven on the software side. Again, no PlayStation 2 info, but we're not sure if that's based on sales or just missing data. The top ten is after this.

01. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 330,900
02. Wii Play (Wii) - 298,100
03. Guitar Hero III (Wii) - 239,600
04. Rock Band (Xbox 360) - 183,800
05. Guitar Hero III (Xbox 360) - 182,700
06. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 172,000
07. Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360) - 144,100
08. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) - 140,000
09. Mario Party DS (DS) - 138,500
10. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS) - 133,000

Nothing in the way of surprises there, really, though it is interesting to note that both Assassin's Creed and Halo 3, big sellers in December didn't make the top ten.

Total software sales for the month amounted to 610.6 million US dollars. NPD analyst Anita Frazier points out that "Pricing again plays into the great performance of software. The average retail price of games is up 19% from last January and much of that can be attributed to Rock Band and Guitar Hero. In fact, 360 Rock Band was the top-selling game in dollar terms, bringing in $30 million in sales for the month."

PlayStation 3 Outsells Xbox 360, DS In January

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 14 Feb 2008 17:00:59 MST

There's a reason that Microsoft issued a preemptive damage control statement earlier today about its current supply issues with the Xbox 360—the console is sitting at the bottom of the NPD Group's January 2008 sales charts with an atypically low 230,000 units sold in the United States. We wouldn't be at all surprised if Nintendo chalks up less than mind-blowing sales of the Wii and Nintendo DS to similar supply problems later tonight. The post-holiday race looks pretty much like a dead heat.

Wii - 274,000
PlayStation 3 - 269,000
PlayStation 2 - 264,000
Nintendo DS - 251,000
PlayStation Portable - 230,000
Xbox 360 - 230,000

But lets give it up for the PlayStation 3. As I predicted in last week's episode of GameTrailers TV, the console outsold Microsoft's box last month, which makes me pretty much the smartest person in the room. Curiously though, no PlayStation 2 hardware numbers were provided by the NPD Group, and we hope to get the data from Sony themselves when they gloat.

Update: PlayStation 2 numbers added, provided by Sony Computer Entertainment.

NPD To Track Online Subscriptions

Mark Wilson — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 12:40:58 MST

The NPD Group tracks all sorts of consumer product sales, including video games (which you no doubt have heard before). Now they are tracking even more video games, expanding to report numbers of online game subscriptions, including MMOs, gaming sites and services like Xbox LIVE. Their reports will be released quarterly, detailing new subscriptions and renewals. It's a good idea, but what must it feel like to work for the NPD, sitting around in a think tank, cooking up new gaming sales data to track?

"You know, that WoW is kind of a big deal."
"Brilliant! Here's another bonus!"
"You know, Wendy's sounds great for lunch."
"Brilliant! Here's another bonus!"

NPD Launches Online Game Subscription Tracking Report [Gamasutra]

Who's Winning The Console War In The US?

Michael McWhertor — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:40:50 MST

One batch of numbers we didn't touch on from yesterday's NPD sales data figures were the 2007 year-to-date and lifetime-to-date console sales in the US. The figures reveal some enlightening, and for some, distressing, details about the current winners and losers in the US console war. For example, the Nintendo DS, which walked away with the #1 spot in '07, sold a total of 8.5 million units in the US last year, over twice that of the PSP and essentially doubling it's lifetime install base.

The rest of the annual sales are below (now with fresh Game Boy Advance numbers!).

2007 Total Hardware Sales

Nintendo DS - 8,500,000
Wii - 6,290,000
Xbox 360 - 4,620,000
PlayStation 2 - 3,970,000
PSP - 3,820,000
PlayStation 3 - 2,560,000
Game Boy Advance - 1,120,000

But who's currently reigning supreme in totals?

The PlayStation 2, of course, which won't be touched by any of its current generation competitors any time soon. The Wii, on the other hand, could easily overtake the install bases of both the Xbox 360 and PSP in a matter of months, if trends continue. That is dependent upon Nintendo meeting demand, naturally.

Here's how the market looks as of December 2007.

Lifetime-To-Date Total Hardware Sales

PlayStation 2 - 41,120,000
Game Boy Advance - 36,240,000
Nintendo DS - 17,650,000
PSP - 10,470,000
Xbox 360 - 9,150,000
Wii - 7,380,000
PlayStation 3 - 3,250,000

UPDATE: Nintendo was nice enough to forward on GBA figures, just so we can see how the other last-gen, still-on-the-market platform is holding up.

Nintendo Responds To December NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 19:00:00 MST

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.

INDEPENDENT DATA REVEALS NINTENDO SALES FOR 2007

Nintendo DS and Wii Finish as the No. 1 and No. 2 Best-Selling U.S. Systems

REDMOND, Wash., Jan. 17, 2008 - Nintendo DS™ and Wii™ finished strong in 2007, commanding sales in the holiday shopping period and finishing the year as the two best-selling video game systems in the United States, according to new data just released by the independent NPD Group. Nintendo DS was the top-selling U.S. system of 2007, with nearly 8.5 million sold, including more than 4 million in November and December alone. Wii placed second, with nearly 6.3 million sold through the year, more than 2.3 million of which sold in the final two months.

"By the end of 2007 we were 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 to core gamers, women, families, grandparents - and seemingly everyone in between," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of sales & marketing. "And that momentum continues here in the early weeks of 2008."

Some additional facts about Nintendo's 2007 performance in the United States (note: All figures are from NPD):

* Nintendo accounted for 52 percent of all video game hardware systems sold in 2007 - more than all other manufacturers combined.
* Since their respective launches, Nintendo has sold more than 17.6 million Nintendo DS systems and nearly 7.4 million Wii systems in the United States alone.
* Wii Play™, a collection of nine fun mini-games, finished 2007 with 4.1 million units sold.
* Super Mario Galaxy™ sold through more than 2.5 million copies since it launched on Nov. 12.
* The two games in the Brain Age® series each sold about 1 million copies in 2007.
* Half of the top 30 best-selling games of 2007 were made for Nintendo systems, including Pokemon® Pearl, Pokemon® Diamond, Mario Party® DS, Guitar Hero III™: Legends of Rock and Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games™.
* Nintendo continues to dominate the hand-held market: Of the top 30 best-selling portable games sold in 2007, 25 were made for Nintendo DS and another two were made for Game Boy® Advance.
* Sales of Nintendo DS systems grew 60 percent over those from 2006.
* In 2007, the video game industry grew by 43 percent over 2006. Nintendo is responsible for 60 percent of that growth.

Sony Responds To December NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:40:00 MST

Sony isn't going to let a sales drubbing from the Wii and Xbox 360 this past December get it down. The company did quite alright, by its own accord and thinks the best is yet to come, so says its NPD Group sales response. Sony points out PlayStation total hardware revenue was $714 million for the month, which is not pocket change, by any means and a figure that surpasses both Nintendo and Microsoft's hardware revenue.

Guitar Hero games are still selling better on the PlayStation 2, it says, as is Madden. We even get software info for the PlayStation 3 version of Call of Duty 4, which sold 522,000 copies to the Xbox 360's 1.47 million. Hang in there guys! Full statement after this.

PlayStation by the Numbers - December 2007

PlayStation® platforms had a great holiday season, based on NPD December 2007 sales data:

Hardware Momentum (PS3, PS2 and PSP)

* December 2007 was the biggest month for PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) since launch, with 798K hardware units sold in December; this represents an increase of 60% over December of last year. With upcoming titles like Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, Devil May Cry 4, Burnout Paradise, and HAZE as well as current momentum for Blu-ray, there is a great deal of enthusiasm for the PS3 as we enter the new year.
* PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continues to experience strong sales momentum with a new sleek design and the availability of entertainment packs. In December, 1.1 million PSP hardware units were sold; this is an 87% increase in sales over the previous month. Also, with our new partnership with Skype™ and great new games around the corner, such as God of War: Chains of Olympus, Patapon and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, consumer excitement will only continue to grow.
* With a current library of nearly 1,500 games, the PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had an excellent month in December with hardware unit sales reaching 1.1 million units. Also, the PS2 sold more software units than any other console on the market.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $714 million in December; surpassing the total hardware revenue of Microsoft and Nintendo.

Software Momentum (PS3, PS2 and PSP)

* PS2 Guitar Hero III was the 3rd best-selling game this holiday season across all platforms with 2.7 million units sold from October through December. Also, the PS2 version of Guitar Hero III is the best-selling version since the launch of the title.

* PlayStation total software revenue in December was $822 million, sales nearly doubled compared to last month's sales.

* PlayStation platforms had three software titles in the top ten list across all consoles for the month of December: Guitar Hero III for PS2 sold 800K units, Madden NFL 08 for PS2 sold 655K units and Call of Duty 4 on PS3 sold 522K units.

Microsoft Responds To December NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 18:20:09 MST

With solid sales of 1.26 million Xbox 360s this past December and impressive software sales from Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 on the console, Microsoft seems noticeably up on news from the NPD Group that it was responsible for a couple extra billion in revenue. In its response to recently released sales figures, the company points out it did $4.8 billion in sales on its platform, more than Wii, more than PlayStation 3.

Microsoft also mentions that the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 sales is widening, reminding everyone that multi-platform games like Assassin's Creed and Guitar Hero III are outselling their PS3 counterparts some more than two-to-one. The full MS strut, which includes another reference to Resident Evil 5 hitting this year, is after the jump.

Xbox 360 Drives the Video Game Console Industry in 2007: NPD data released today confirms consumers spent more dollars on Xbox 360 in 2007, with more than $13.7 billion in total consumer spending. Xbox 360 won 2007 with $4.8 billion in total consumer spend compared to Wii with $3.5 billion and PlayStation 3 with $2.2 billion. This wraps up a historic year, with NPD reporting consumers have spent nearly 45 percent of total industry figures on Xbox 360.

Here is a quick snapshot of what is driving revenue for Xbox 360, based on the latest reports from NPD and Microsoft data:

XBOX 360 WIDENS THE GAP OVER PS3 WITH CONSOLE SALES: According to NPD, Xbox 360 sold 1.3 million consoles in December alone, and has steadily widened the gap between Sony's PlayStation 3 console sales. In December, NPD stated that Sony sold 798,000 PS3 hardware units. Since PS3's launch in November 2006, Xbox 360 has outsold PS3 by nearly 2:1 on average, bringing a total U.S. Xbox 360 install base of 9.2 million consoles, compared to and installed base of 7.4 million Wii consoles and 3.3 million PS3 consoles.

GAMES DRIVE INDUSTRY GROWTH: Xbox 360 robust games portfolio spans across the highest-ranked AAA titles to the largest collection of "Everyone" and "Teen" rated games. According to NPD, of the top 20 best-selling titles in 2007 for this generation, 11 were on Xbox 360; while only seven were sold on the Wii and two sold on the PS3.

o NPD reported that this holiday's leading multiplatform blockbusters continue to sell better on Xbox 360:

§ "Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare" for Xbox 360 was the leading game last month with 1.5 million copies sold, outselling the PS3 version nearly 3:1.

§ "Assassin's Creed" for Xbox 360 was the fourth best selling title, having sold 894,000 units. It outsold the PS3 version more than 2:1.

§ "Guitar Hero III" outsold the PS3 nearly 2:1, having sold 625,000 copies.

§ "Rockband" continues to rock the charts, selling 463,000 units for the Xbox 360 platform, compared to 174,000 units for the PS3

o To date, 33 third party games on Xbox 360 hit the top 10 list across all consoles compared to five third party games on PS3, and four on Wii. These results confirm that third party partners create better games and reap more sales on Xbox 360 than any other platform.

o In its fourth month on the market, Halo 3 continued its strong performance and was the sixth best selling title in December, selling another 742,000. In 2007, NPD projects that Halo 3 has sold 4.8 million units in the U.S. since its launch in September.

o Xbox 360 continues to lead in number of games sold per console, setting another record with an attach rate of 7.0 games per console.

XBOX LIVE SETS NEW HEIGHTS: Xbox LIVE's network is 10 million members strong and growing, achieving membership goals six months ahead of schedule. Only on Xbox LIVE can members experience the largest catalog of on-demand, high-definition content in the U.S., including movies and television shows from our most recent partners: Disney-ABC Television Group and MGM Studios.

We're not slowing down in 2008. The next versions of powerhouse franchises like "Grand Theft Auto," "Resident Evil" and sports games like "Madden", "FIFA", and "Pro Evolution Soccer" open up a new arena for game play on Xbox 360. This year we will make great strides toward improving our brand appeal to consumers interested in more physical game play. With titles like "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock," "Rock Band" and "Scene It? Lights, Camera, Action" we're creating interactive experiences on Xbox 360 for the entire family.

Nintendo DS Bigger Than Jesus This Christmas

Michael McWhertor — Thu, 17 Jan 2008 17:20:00 MST

We won't trot out itprintsmoney.gif this time, because that animated image simply doesn't do justice to newly released hardware sales data from the NPD Group and the staggering figures coming out of Nintendo. The Nintendo DS sold an amazing 2.47 million Nintendo DS units to shoppers in December 2007, nabbing the number one spot and nearly doubling sales of its closest competitor, the Wii. Nintendo DS sales represent about a third of billion dollars in hardware sales alone.

The Wii also had a very good month, beating out console competition the Xbox 360 by a solid 90,000 and trouncing the PlayStation 3, who brought up the rear with a respectable six-figure showing. The December casualty report from the US Console War of 2007 is below.

Nintendo DS - 2,470,000
Wii - 1,350,000
Xbox 360 - 1,260,000
PlayStation 2 - 1,100,000
PSP - 1,060,000
PlayStation 3 - 797,600