The Official May NPD Thread (Data released 6/12 at ~6:30 PM EST)

[Esmoreit]

PooperScooper said:

Jackson50 said:
I believe that the Ps3 being equal with the 360 in NA and not particularly dominate in other areas to be a victory for the 360. Considering the way the Ps1 and Ps2 sold, this has to be mildly disappointing for Sony.

You keep thinking that.

1. 360 had a full year head start

2. Sure Sony may not be ontop here but the Ps1 Ps2 type domination is still going strong with the wii,

I like to look at the bigger picture here. Microsoft managed to release a console in a heavily contested market and make a name for itself. Not many companies can do this. Not many companies manage to out a product and sell millions of units right at the bat. Even more admirable is the fact that they manage to get marketrecognition for games (Mass effect, BioShock and certainly Halo.) Granted, they only made profit this year so almost any other company other then MS would have probably been out of business but still, it takes a lot of strategic thought to sell a product so rapidly even if it's first place.

Then consider Sony that went from megaprofits and being synonymous to gaming to "runner-up" and losing millions. I call that blatant blundering.

Calling one console a loser whilst the other is not faring much better is hardly a cause for debate.  

celine said:

Nintendo’s NPD response - 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.
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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
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@ Jack Tretton

Tretton makes me laugh. I was also nearly spot on with my predictions - I remembered in bed that I should have mentioned the PSP. Most amazing is that Sony manages to mention Microsoft and Xbox an umpf number of times yet do not mention Nintendo or Wii anywhere. Whilst Nintendo manages to edge out PS3 in almost any number they mustered - with fewer words even.

Microsoft Spin: (I got this from Wire)

 

April 2008 NPD: Microsoft's Take

By: César A. Berardini - "Cesar"

Share This Article

May. 15th, 2008 7:25 pm

 

Microsoft sent the following press statement after The NPD Group released its April 2008 U.S. video game sales report:

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has sold 10.1 million units in the U.S., making it the first current generation gaming console to break the 10 million barrier in the U.S., and contributing to global sales of over 19 million. (April NPD data)

By the numbers: Xbox 360 is the most significant contributor to industry spending and growth

• 188,000 Xbox 360 consoles were sold in April. (April NPD data)
• Xbox 360 has a record-setting attach rate of 7.6 games per console, the highest attach rate in history for a console at this point in its lifecycle. (April NPD data)
• Consumers have spent more than $9.7 billion on the Xbox 360 experience. (April NPD data)
• Xbox 360 titles accounted for $186 million of all third party game sales this generation, or 53% of share. (April NPD data)
• Xbox 360 games accounted for three of the top ten games in April, and secured the #1 spot with “Grand Theft Auto IV.” (April NPD data)
• Not only are we selling more games, games play better on the Xbox 360. Xbox 360 has 91 titles with a Metacritic review score of 80 or higher, compared to just 50 for PS3 and 22 for Wii.

“Grand Theft Auto IV” on Xbox 360 snags top spot in April, boosts LIVE memberships to over 12 million

• In its first five days on the market, the Xbox 360 version of “Grand Theft Auto IV” sold 1.8 million units, outselling the other platform’s version by nearly 2:1 in the U.S., and making it the top selling game in April. (April NPD data)
• Gamers eager to experience “Grand Theft Auto IV” online helped boost Xbox LIVE global membership totals to over 12 million this month. Fueled by an unparalleled combination of access to friends and family, the best online gaming features and the best entertainment content, the Xbox LIVE service has doubled in membership in only one year’s time.
• Microsoft sales data shows Xbox 360 consoles saw a 54% lift week-over-week as a result of “Grand Theft Auto IV,” and retailers are reporting that roughly four out of every 10 Xbox 360 consoles sold included the sale of a copy of “Grand Theft Auto IV.” (Microsoft internal data)
• Beginning this fall, Xbox LIVE will be the only place gamers can go for exclusive “Grand Theft Auto IV” episodes.
  
  “Grand Theft Auto IV” marked the beginning of what promises to be another landmark year for the Xbox 360 platform, with an all-star games line up in 2008 including “Gears of War 2,” “Fable 2” and “Viva Piñata: Trouble in Paradise.” Stay tuned for more announcements in the coming months.

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Quick notes: I find it amazing how MS can spin the fact that they lost the majority of the market and still manage to "make it a market-leading number".

Secondly: Quality over quantity MS? How many of those are multi-platform?  

Still, kudo's for even mentioning the Wii ;).