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July NPD: Xbox 360 takes the lead, first time since Sept. '07
Compared to last year, July's NPD numbers are fairly static, with overall video game industry sales down just 1% from $850.6m to $846.5m. While software sales were down a sizable 8% with newcomer NCAA Football 11 bringing in the top two spots for a combined 667K units sold, hardware sales were up a hefty 12%, mostly on the back of the newly redesigned (and, ostensibly, fixed!) Xbox 360 S. Looks like there was "unprecedented demand," like Microsoft said. Most notably, that July sales surge resulted in a minor 2% drop in Xbox sales while every other console suffered double digit drops. This, as you can see in our lineup below, has earned the Xbox 360 the rare opportunity to best the Nintendo DS as the best-selling piece of video game hardware last month. To put things in perspective, NPD analyst Anita Frazier notes, "It's the first time since September '07 (Halo 3 launch) that the 360 was the top-selling hardware platform." While the list of software sales only charts console and portable SKUs, there is one other game that deserves to be mentioned: StarCraft 2. Despite just five days on the market in July, the much-anticipated RTS sold an impressive 721K units at retail in July. Of course when you factor in digital and global sales, it sold a lot more than that. 360: 444K, down 9K (-2%) DS: 398K, down 113K (-22%) Wii: 254K, down 169K (-40%) PS3: 215K, down 90K (-30%) PSP: 84K, down 37K (-31%)
EA Sports Online Pass redeemed by 60% of users, says EA
During EA's Q1 financial conference call, COO John Schappert discussed the success of the company's "Online Pass" initiative. According to Schappert, early results from NCAA Football 11 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 indicated that "sixty percent to seventy percent of online connected users" have redeemed a code for Online Pass. He noted further that "the level of online play is up" over last year, as is revenue from paid downloadable content. When asked how Online Pass has impacted used game sales, Schappert noted that it's "too early to tell" but that EA is "encouraged by" the number of people playing online, and that the "extra gift" offered by Online Pass is "driving some of that adoption." EA announced its Online Pass program earlier this year -- bundling a code with new copies of NCA Football 11 and Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11 -- which allows access to online features like multiplayer (among other things). Those who choose to buy used copies of the games can purchase an Online Pass for an additional $10. The Online Pass program operates as part of "Project Ten Dollar," created to stop losses generated by the used game industry. Based on the numbers touted by Schappert, as well as those reported by EA for the quarter, the strategy just might be working.
Review: NCAA Football 11
When it comes to football games -- heck, the sport in general -- it seems you're either on Team NFL or Team NCAA (sorry, XFL stalwarts), and that's a preference that bleeds into your decision of which football game you get invested in. I've always been a Madden guy myself, but in my time with NCAA Football 11, it's been made abundantly clear that I've done myself a great disservice ignoring the college series. %Gallery-97229%
NCAA Football 11 not touching down on PSP
For the dozens of you interested in the NCAA Football franchise returning to PSP in 2010, today's news of the 2011 iteration of the game not heading to Sony's handheld is likely a pretty major bummer. On one hand, you were probably expecting it when yesterday's announcement of Tim Tebow as the cover athlete didn't include the PSP on its list of consoles (also absent was the Nintendo Wii), but on the other hand, there's been a PSP release for the last two years. IGN confirmed the lack of a PSP version release with EA, who subsequently confirmed an iPhone App Store release. So there's something, right? Right? Hey guys, where are you going? [Via Kotaku]
Tim Tebow named NCAA Football 11 cover star
Who knows where ex-University of Florida QB Tim Tebow will end up in the upcoming NFL draft, but one thing's for certain: he's landed himself on the cover of NCAA Football 11. The celebrated quarterback ends his collegiate career with one last highlight before going pro -- an honor bestowed on just 18 others in the history of the series. Tebow is known for his decorated college football career, having won the Heisman Trophy is 2007 as a sophomore (the first to do so) and the Davey O'Brien award in the same year for being "the nation's best quarterback." But did you know that he was born in the Philippines? Bet you didn't know that! How about the fact that he spent his final three summers as a high school student in his country of birth helping his father with missionary work? Also true! And now, well now he's on the cover of NCAA Football 11.
Medal of Honor, APB dated for Summer 2010
According to EA's list of upcoming titles in its latest earnings report, a couple of high-profile games are going to be released this summer between July 1 and September 30: Realtime Worlds' crime-themed MMO APB (which is likely to be the "major MMO" to whose spring release John Riccitiello referred to previously), and ... a "TBA" Medal of Honor title -- possibly the one with the beard. EA did say that game would be out before March 2011! The summer release is listed for consoles, PC and handhelds. Also due out in the quarter: the expected spate of annual sports franchises (Madden, FIFA, FIFA Online, NHL), a Monopoly game for consoles and handhelds, and a new MySims title -- we're guessing MySims Sky Heroes.
