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May NPD: Red Dead rustles up top spots, Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes third
Hoo-doggy! Look at them critters go! While video game hardware sales were down 20 percent month-over-month in May – yeah, we're looking at you, handheld sales – software sales were up! Sure, you're right, they're only up 4 percent month-over-month and the industry is down 5 percent in total, but can't you just relax and enjoy the vista? Red Dead Redemption sold 1.5 million units across both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms this month and Super Mario Galaxy 2 came in at 560 thousand units on the Wii. Even dear old Alan Wake made the grade, though his sales aren't listed. Find them all after the break. Of course, these numbers come courtesy of the monthly NPD report, which lists the top 10 selling games (stored after the break) and the hardware sales for North America. The DS continues its free-fall after dropping 37 percent last month, losing another 13 percent. Notably: It's still the best-selling console this month! The Wii is up 21 percent after a 50 percent dip last month, and the Xbox 360 is up 5 percent after last month's 45 percent drop. Unfortunately, Sony is bringing up the rear, with the PS3 down 15 percent and the PSP down 10 percent. However, NPD's Anita Frazier notes that "The PS3 platform has enjoyed the greatest percentage growth, with platform sales across hardware, software, and accessories up 32 percent for the month, and 28 percent year-to-date." A reminder that it's not always as simple as hardware sales. DS: 384K down 57K (-13%) Wii: 335K up 58K (+21%) 360: 195K up 10K (+5%) PS3: 155K down 27K (-15%) PSP: 59K down 7K (-10%)
April NPD: Sam Fisher's grim month
Apparently everybody was paying taxes last month instead of buying games, because despite analysts' expectations, sales for April were way down. As you can see below, sales dropped out on every single console that NPD tracked during April, with the Wii taking the biggest hit, down 50 percent from March. Hardware sales overall fell by 37 percent. Software sales didn't do any better -- Splinter Cell Conviction was a bright spot and Super Street Fighter IV just barely made the list (which you can find after the break), but otherwise it was all leftovers from March and previous months. NPD reports that last month's 11 percent industry drop-off was the "worst year-over-year decline...since July '09, and the fourth largest year-over-year percentage decline ever." The industry got rained on -- here's hoping April showers bring some May flowers. -DS: 441K260K (-37%) -Wii: 277K 281K (-50%) -360: 185K 153K (-45%) -PS3: 181K 133K (-42%) -PSP: 66K 54K (-44%) -PS2 sales are no longer being tracked by NPD -- goodbye, old friend. See the top 10 games after the break. (Note: Sales figures for the games ranked six through ten were withheld by NPD for unstated reasons.)
March NPD: Pokemon and Kratos catch all the money
The ill-timed announcement of the 3DS wasn't enough to scare consumers off from purchasing new DS systems. Thanks to the combination of a new hardware variant (the big, big, big DSi XL) and new Pokemon games, the dual-screened platform sold like gangbusters. Meanwhile, hardware shortages kept the PS3 from massive sales despite the fact that it had the best-selling game of March (God of War 3). Speaking of software, we've learned a lot about you from this month. For example, Final Fantasy fans strongly prefer PS3, Battlefield fans strongly prefer 360, and Pokemon fans' dollar votes went to SoulSilver over HeartGold by quite a lot. How do you even decide something like that? Seriously, one of the 1.78 million or so of you who bought it -- take us through your process! -DS: 701K88K (14%) -Wii: 558K160K (40%) -360: 338K>84K (-20%) -PS3: 314K46K (-13%) -PSP: 120K13K (-10%) -PS2: 118K16K (16%) See the top 10 games after the break.
February NPD: Xbox 360 and BioShock 2 sales heat up
Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg is thrilled with February's NPD numbers, and for good reason. The Xbox 360 took the top spot in home console sales last month, despite not being a Wii. According to the NPD, it's the first time this has happened since the Halo 3 launch in 2007. BioShock 2 seems to have had something to do with the boost, with the Xbox 360 version topping the software charts (and the PS3 version absent from the top ten). Other notable software milestones: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is now the third best-selling game of all time, and Just Dance seems to have made a better pact with Satan than even Dante's Inferno did. See the software top ten after the break. -DS: 613K191K (45%) -360: 422K89K (27%) -Wii: 398K68K (-15%) -PS3: 360K83K (30%) -PSP: 133K33K (33%) -PS2: 102K60K (143%)
January NPD: Mass Effect 2 debuts at #2, hardware is down
Sure, last month's NPD numbers post had all sorts of green arrows plastered all about its form -- this month, we knew things would go down. Little known fact: Christmas never occurs in January, and this year is no exception. Without Consumermas driving console adoption, numbers were down across the board; what's not so obvious is that numbers were also down year-over-year. That means that overall sales are down 13 percent since last January, way back in ought nine. Nintendo's consoles lost the most in sales, with the Wii dropping a hefty 88 percent; however, that still wasn't enough to knock the white wonder from its top spot. The Xbox 360 and PS3 continue their back-and-forth battle, with the Xbox reclaiming its number three spot again, having just reclaimed it in November. A good reason for the Xbox's "victory": the not-available-on-PS3 Mass Effect 2, which pushed an impressive 572,000 units in the six short days following its January 26 release. That still wasn't enough to dethrone New Super Mario Bros. Wii, though, which moved 657,000 units with a full month of sales propelling it. Beyond Mass Effect 2, the bottom of the software sales list is made up of similar newcomers: Army of Two: The 40th Day in 8th, Just Dance in 9th place, and Darksiders just making the cut. Really, universe? Just Dance made the top ten while the excellent MAG is nowhere to be found? Color us disappointed in all of you. -Wii: 466K3.34M (-86%) -DS: 422K2.89M (-85%) -360: 333K977K (-65%) -PS3: 277K1.08M (-74%) -PSP: 100K361K (-72%) -PS2: 42K291K (-86%) Check out the software sales chart after the break.
December NPD: Nintendo ends 2009 on a high note
It's time to find out how the US games industry ended the last decade, and the answer is "Nintendo." Wait, that's not a proper answer -- or is it? Consumers continued The Big N's fortunes in December, even in spite of some disparaging comments from third party partners. DS also sold remarkably well, and post-Thanksgiving sales of PS3 managed to surpass those of Xbox 360 by about 50,000 units. Wii software flew off the shelves, proving that Wii games sell ... as long as they're published by Nintendo. Six of the top 10 titles for December were published by the company. New Super Mario Bros. Wii continues to dominate at retail with nearly three million copies sold in December alone. It's joined in the top three by Wii Fit Plus (2.14M) and Wii Sports Resort (1.79M). Not surprising, given the number of Nintendo consoles sold in the final weeks of the oughts. -Wii: 3.81M2.11M (+202%) -DS: 3.31M2.05M (+95%) -PS3: 1.36M650K (+92%) -360: 1.31M490K (+60%) -PSP: 655K361K (+123%) -PS2: 333K130K (+64%) Check out the software sales chart after the break.
November NPD: Modern Warfare 2 sells 6 million, DS dominates hardware
The US games industry's performance numbers are out for November and, as expected, software sales were lead dominated by Activision / Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox 360 and PS3. The game sold 4.2 million copies during the month on Microsoft's console, while the version for Sony's machine sold 1.9 million. Coming in an extremely strong second was New Super Mario Bros. Wii at 1.4 million copies, proving that 1) people still love the plumber and 2) if a Wii game is published by Nintendo, it sells like crazy (well, unless it also has "Wii Music" in its title). Nintendo lead in hardware sales, with the number of DS units sold skyrocketing by 262% to 1.7 million units -- that's better than the same month last year. Wii sold over two million last November; this year it hit 1.26 million for the month, indicative of the year-long decline in sales the console's been experiencing. Its competitors, Xbox 360 and PS3, sold 820 thousand and 710 thousand units, respectively. -DS: 1.7M1.2M (+262%) -Wii: 1.26M753K (+149%) -360: 820K570K (+228%) -PS3: 710K389K (+121%) -PSP: 294K119K (+76%) -PS2: 203K85K (72%) Check out the software sales chart after the break.
October NPD: Uncharted 2 takes top spot while hardware sales slow down
After the last two months of price drop-fueled sales surges, it's almost comforting to see all these red arrows. Hardware sales are down 17% from last month and down 10% from the year prior, with only the Wii maintaining any upward momentum as we head into the two busiest shopping months of the year. The PS3 lost the highest percentage, but that's hardly surprising following last month's meteoric 134% spike in sales. On the software side of things, the exceptionally well-received PlayStation 3-exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves took top honors, selling 537K units in just the second half of October. Of course, Sony told us earlier today that the title has broken the coveted million mark (worldwide?) with November sales factored in. The multiplatform Borderlands makes a similarly impressive showing, taking third on Xbox 360 with 418K units sold; however, when you factor in the 113K units sold of the not-top-ten PS3 version (data provided graciously by NPD), you find an impressive 531K in cumulative sales, just missing the top spot. NBA 2K10 had a strong showing with 524K in cumulative sales, "outselling last year's NBA 2K9 by 60% in its launch month" reports the NPD, while last month's champ, Halo 3: ODST, dropped to sixth with 271K in sales. With just four days on shelves in October, Forza Motorsport 3 made a strong showing at #8 with 175K. Slightly less strong was Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days' ninth-place showing despite a full month on the shelf. And in last place is the worldwide phenomenon known as FIFA 10 (or, in North America, FIFA Soccer 10). While FIFA 10 may be the "fastest selling sports game ever" in Europe, selling 1.7m in its first week, over here we bought up just 156K copies in a little over a week. -Wii: 507K44K (+10%) -DS: 458K66K (-13%) -PS3: 321K171K (-35%) -360: 250K103K (-29%) -PSP: 175K15K (-8%) -PS2: 118K28K (-19%) Check out the software sales chart after the break.
September NPD: Obviously Destined to Sell Tons
The new, lighter (in both price and weight!) PS3 continues to enjoy renewed sales in its second month beating out every console except for the invincible DS -- and the PS3 got pretty close to that impossible victory. The PS3's sales more than doubled in the last month! In fact, just about everything enjoyed a boost in September, with all the home consoles benefiting from recent price drops, and the PSP launching new hardware (NPD's September sales period ran through October 3). The only "loser" is the DS, which fell in total sales, but still managed to sell more than anything else.In software (see the chart after the break), unsurprisingly strong debuts took place for both games with Halo on the box and games with Mario on the box. In fact, strong is a bit of an understatement for ODST's 1.52 million units sold. It's not quite 3.3 million units, but for a presumably lower-cost spinoff using an existing engine, it'll do. In a weird bit of cross-platform fickleness, The Beatles: Rock Band debuted in the top 10 for Xbox and Wii, but not PS3 -- while Batman: Arkham Asylum's PS3 version made a second appearance in the top 10 to the exclusion of the Xbox.-DS: 524K29K (-5%)-PS3: 492K282K (+134%)-Wii: 463K186K (+67%)-360: 353K138K (+64%)-PSP: 190K50K (+36%)-PS2: 146K40K (+38%)Check out the software sales chart after the break.
August NPD: PS3 sales soar as gamers go batty for Arkham Asylum in a Madden world
This year's August NPD sales numbers were, as usual, dominated by EA's monolithic Madden franchise -- but who's that creeping out of the shadows? "I'm Batman." Rocksteady, Warner Bros. and Eidos officially have themselves a critical and commercial hit in Batman: Arkham Asylum, with the game having sold more than half a million copies across PS3 and 360 in its first week on sale. Even the Joker can't laugh at sales like that.Hardware saw a slight increase for the month, with the exception of PS3, which saw an impressive 72% jump in sales, no doubt due to early sales of the lower-priced 120GB slim SKU. Wii is still the best-selling home console, but its numbers are gradually dipping down into "maybe we should consider a price cut, too" territory. Here's how sales of the stuff we play are games on stacked up: -DS: 553K14K (+2%)-Wii: 277K24K (+9%)-360: 215K12K (+6%)-PS3: 210K88K (+72%)-PSP: 140K17K (+13%)-PS2: 106K2K (-2%Check out the software sales chart after the break.
July NPD: Hardware sales slide, Wii Sports Resort soars
By now, you're already aware that Wii Sports Resort sold more than 500k copies in the US alone during July. Who would ever have thought that a Wii Sports sequel would do so well? Despite the game's success, the platform it calls home saw a 30% drop-off in sales for the month. In fact, see all that red down there? Sales of every console were down.-DS: 539K227K (-29%) -Wii: 253K108K (-30%) -Xbox 360: 203K37K (-15%)-PSP: 123K41K (-25%) -PS3: 122K42K (-25%) -PS2: 108K45K (-29%Check out the software sales chart after the break.
June NPD: Prototype rips apart the sales charts
You're sure going to see a lot of green arrows in the chart below. However, don't be fooled -- while sales have gone up from last month, overall sales are down from 2008. In fact, total industry sales dropped 31% year-over-year to a measly $1.17 billion.-DS: 766K132K (+20%) -Wii: 361K71K (+24%)-Xbox 360: 240K65K (+37%)-PS3: 165K34K (+26%)-PSP: 164K64K (+64%)-PS2: 153K36K (+31%)Check out the software sales chart after the break.
May NPD: UFC on top while DS, PS2 take a beating
THQ's probably quite happy it decided to return to the MMA ring (soon to be joined by EA Sports) with UFC 2009 Undisputed selling 1.01 million units across Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Other games didn't have it quite so good in their debut month, notably Punch-Out!!, which moved 150K copies on Wii.DS and PS2 were both down, but May was an up month for PS3 with sales rising 3 percent. Xbox 360 sales remained unchanged over April.-DS: 634K407K (-39%) -Wii: 290K50K (-15%)-Xbox 360: 175K -- 175K (0%)-PS3: 131K4K (+3%)-PS2: 117K55K (-32%)-PSP: 100K16K (-13%)Check out the software sales chart after the break.
April NPD: DS breaks a million, PS2 beats PS3
Everything old is new again. The DS makes a resurgence thanks to camera-enhanced DSi, while the PS2 makes substantial gains thanks to its price drop. Pfft? Current gen hardware? That's so passé. We can't wait until the N64 and Dreamcast surge back onto the NPD lists. - DS: 1.04M477K (+85%)- Wii: 340K261K (-43%)- Xbox 360: 175K155K (-47%)- PS2: 172K60K (+87%)- PS3: 127K91K (-42%)- PSP: 116K52K (-31%) See the software charts after the break. Warning! The list will feature some very old games.
March NPD: Capcom wins at software while consoles drop
Not too much movement this month in terms of NPD hardware sales. Well, there's a systemic downward movement, but in the relative terms that everyone really cares about, nothing. All the consoles are in the same "rank" relative to one another as they were last week. April should prove a bit more tumultuous, with the PS2 price drop and the DSi launch. Consider this the calm before the (report about the previous month's) storm.-Wii: 601K152K (-20%)-DS: 563K25K (-4%)-Xbox 360: 330K61K (-16%)-PS3: 218K58K (-21%)-PSP: 168K31K (-16%)-PS2: 112K30K (-15%)In software, however, there is big news. Between the PS3 and 360, Resident Evil 5 sold a million and a half damn copies. The other big time winner: Pokemans, of course! NPD's software top ten: let us show you it after the break.
February NPD: Street Fighter IV, Wii Fit battle as Nintendo dominates hardware sales
Zangief's always struck us as a perpetual sourpuss, but he -- and the rest of the Street Fighter IV crew -- must be cracking polygonal smiles right about now. So are Capcom's accountants, sans the polygons (we think). While Wii Fit was once again at the top of software sales for February, the combined total of SFIV copies moved for PS3 and 360 has the fighter closing in on 1 million units sold in its first two weeks (actually outselling Wii Fit by 205K copies). Reported sales of the PS3-exclusive Killzone 2 are at 323K after a mere 48 hours on shelves, landing it in 5th place. Finally, Wii Play has officially broken the 10 million sold mark in the US.On the hardware front, Nintendo seems to be doing pretty well with this "Wii" thing, selling almost 3/4 million of whatever they are. DS maintained its second-in-command spot for the month, followed by Xbox 360 and PS3 -- the latter of which only outsold its previous iteration by 79K consoles. Overall hardware sales were up considerably over January.Fun Fact: The analysts of EEDAR were a little off with their February software revenue and top 10 titles predictions, to the tune of $75 million in sales (NPD's final accounting was $733.5M, EEDAR had expected $659M).-Wii: 753K74K (+11%)-DS: 588K77K (+15%)-Xbox 360: 391K82K (+27%)-PS3: 276K73K (+36%)-PSP: 199K 27K (+16%)-PS2: 131K30K (+30%)Check out the software sales chart after the break.
January NPD: Industry up 13% over Jan. '08, handhelds down 80% from Dec.
With the 2008 holiday season behind us, this month's NPD sales data brings with it figures showing the inevitable -- and dramatic -- decline in hardware sold for the month of January '09. For instance, last December the Nintendo DS was the top-selling platform, with 3.04 million units moved that month alone. This month? 511K were sold. (It was still the second best selling hardware after the Wii.)In the battle to decide who's going to play second fiddle to Nintendo, 360 continues to lead PS3 in sales, but the gap isn't nearly as wide as last month (roughly 106K versus December's 714K). Handheld saw the most significant drop-off in sales, with DS and PSP declining 82% and 83%, respectively.Software-wise, there are only three platforms -- and companies -- to look at this month. Those would be the Wii, DS and 360 on the hardware representing the hardware on the backs of which EA, Activision and Nintendo rode to software sales success. EA's two most recent major releases, Skate 2 and Lord of the Rings: Conquest, both made it into the top 10. Fun Fact: Three of this month's top games have something in common other than their publishers: they all have "Mario" in the title and they're all a bit ... dated. Mario Kart DS hit in 2005, New Super Mario Bros. in 2006 and Mario Kart Wii in April of last year. That's-a some lasting power! -Wii: 679K1.47m (-68%)-DS: 511K2.5m (-82%)-Xbox 360: 309K1.1m (-76%)-PS3: 203K523K (-72%)-PSP: 172K848K (-83%)-PS2: 101K309K (-75%)Check out the software sales chart after the break.
May NPD: Nintendo still on top, industry sales up 49%
The latest US video game sales data, as compiled by the NPD group, indicates that the popularity of Nintendo's delightful money-printing machines shows no sign of, well, change. The DS and its host of pocket monsters dominated hardware and software sales in May, a month marked by a 49% increase in overall industry sales to $815.5 million. GameDaily BIZ reports that the considerable rise was due in part to console hardware sales climbing 79% to $221.4 million. The NPD has not yet provided a complete breakdown of hardware sales per platform, but the initial sales ranking gives more than enough food for thought. Sony's PSP grabs the number three spot behind the DS and Wii, trumping the PS2, the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Perhaps that early April price drop is paying off. We'll add the exact sales numbers into the ranking below as soon as they become available. As always, you'll find the software's top ten after the break. Nintendo DS: 423K Nintendo Wii: 338K Sony PSP: 221K Sony PlayStation 2: 187K Microsoft Xbox 360: 155K Sony PlayStation 3: 81K [Update: additional numbers added from a Bloomberg report.]
NPD: March belongs to DS, PS2
The sheer anticipation that builds up around the NPD Group's monthly video game sales data is like an immense fanboy volcano just waiting to erupt. Predictions are made, forum wars are waged and in the end, some worshippers are left in agony as the facts (here represented by hot molten lava) eat away at their pale flesh. But on to cooler topics -- total industry sales are up by 33%! The detailed GameDaily BIZ report reveals that total hardware sales rose by 69% in March to $370 million. Of that, console hardware raked in $257 million, making for an increase of 93%. NPD analyst Anita Frazier calls it an "outstanding month," though some console manufacturers might not share that particular sentiment. The North American console sales for March are as follows: Nintendo DS: 508K Sony PlayStation 2: 280K Nintendo Wii: 259K (2.1 million total) Microsoft Xbox 360: 199K (5.3 million total) Sony PSP: 180k Nintendo Game Boy Advance: 148K Sony PlayStation 3: 130K (1.2 million total) Nintendo Gamecube: 22K Microsoft Xbox: N/A
