Software Sales Ratios (Attach Rates) by Console

[sinha]

Joystiq:

Comparing current hardware to software sales ratios shows Xbox 360 leads with nearly seven games sold for every system. PS3 and Wii, in terms of this ratio, are practically equal, although the Wii has sold 2.6 million more units. The hard numbers:

• Xbox 360: hardware to software ratio: 6.59 (hardware total sold = 6.8 million; software total sold = 44.8 million)
• PlayStation 3: hardware to software ratio: 3.58 (hardware total sold = 1.9 million; software total sold = 6.8 million)
• Wii: hardware to software ratio: 3.44 (hardware total sold = 4.5 million; software total sold = 15.5 million)

The data can be manipulated in numerous ways, but the one factor we feel obligated to point out is Wii Play's impact. Wii Play is considered "software" on the sales chart even though it's essentially an extra for purchasing a Wiimote (the difference between this bundle and a Wiimote without the game is $10 -- should downloadable games count too?). Wii Play has sold between 250K and 300K copies every month since its introduction in the States, accounting for a few million units of the console's software total. Removing that data from these ratios leaves the Wii hovering around 3 games sold per system.