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NPD: Industry Numbers Up, Halo 3: ODST And PS3 Make A Killing
If you’ve been crying yourself to sleep every night over the sorry state of the video game market, the NPD has some good news for you. Things appear to be slowly turning around for the industry. Though the revenue has only raised one percent from $1.27 to $1.28 compared to last September, it marks the cessation of the monthly year-over-year losses. Even if you’re only making a little money, it sure beats losing it.
The turn of fate is owed heavily to the games hitting store shelves. Halo 3: ODST moved 1.5 million units, raising software sales five percent to $649.32. The PS3 version of Batman: Arkham Asylum also clings to the top sellers, outselling the 360 version with exclusive Joker-themed content to thank, perhaps. Also, the 360 version of The Beatles: Rock Band beat out competitor Guitar Hero V for the same console. Mario & Luigi carry the handheld torch in spades, holding down 258,100 units sold.
1. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360) - 1.52 million
2. Wii Sports Resort w/MotionPlus (Wii) - 442,900
3. Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360) - 289,600
4. Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story ( NDS) - 258,100
5. The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360) - 254,000
6. Madden NFL 10 (PS3) - 246,500
7. Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 - Fusion (Xbox 360) - 236,000
8. Batman: Arkham Asylum (PS3) - 212,500
9. Guitar Hero V (Xbox 360) - 210,800
10. The Beatles: Rock Band (Wii) - 208,600
Not much has changed in the placement of consoles on the sales charts when compared to last month, with the only marked shift being the PS3’s vertical leap. With the PlayStation 3 being reduced to $299 and the slim version hitting shelves, the console passed up Nintendo’s motion-control juggernaut in sales.
Nintendo DS: 524,200
PlayStation 3: 491,800
Wii: 462,800
Xbox 360: 352,600
PlayStation Portable: 190,400
PlayStation 2: 146,000
The recent console price cuts aided each manufacturer, with Sony benefitting by 87 percent, Nintendo by 33 percent, and Microsoft by 32 percent. Despite the Xbox 360 seeing the smallest increase by percentage, Microsoft’s console “contributed the most to the industry unit and dollar…,” according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier.
The US retail game market has so far reached a princely $10.36 billion, but is still down 13 percent from last year’s revenue at this time, $11.85. Software slid 12 percent to $5.36 billion, and hardware down 16 percent to $3.57.
Hope is still in the air for the remaining months of the year, with analysts crossing their fingers for holiday sales to narrow the discrepancy compared to last year. With so many amazing games releasing these upcoming months, and consoles all time low prices, we seem to have a good chance on paper.
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