Chris Kohler
Culture

The Big Three Spin The March NPDs

You’ve read the numbers — now take a look at Nintendo’s, Microsoft’s, and Sony’s respective PR spins on March’s sales numbers. NPD Group’s videogame industry sales report for the month of March showed a dominant Nintendo, with sales of each of its consoles in the 700,000-unit range, far above the rest of the game machines […]

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You've read the numbers -- now take a look at Nintendo's, Microsoft's, and Sony's respective PR spins on March's sales numbers.

NPD Group's videogame industry sales report for the month of March showed a dominant Nintendo, with sales of each of its consoles in the 700,000-unit range, far above the rest of the game machines on the market -- and representing 58% of all game hardware sales.

But regardless, according to the spin, every company won the console war. Again. For the nth month in a row.

Nintendo lets the numbers do the talking: Not only has it got the top-selling consoles, Super Smash Bros. Brawl is the month's number-one game with a bullet. It outsold the #2 SKU, the Xbox 360 version of* Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six 2 Vegas*, by over two million copies. With numbers like that, who needs spin?

NPD Reports Nintendo Finished March with Top Game, Top Hardware

In March, Nintendo again defined industry momentum in both home and portable video games sales, according to the independent NPD Group, which monitors retail activity in the video game industry. More than 720,000 Wii™ systems sold in March, representing the highest monthly sales total outside of holiday months (November or December) to date, while Nintendo DS™ also sold through nearly 700,000 systems.

Nintendo also finished with the top-selling U.S. game of March. Super Smash Bros.® Brawl, which launched March 9, came in at No. 1 with 2.7 million units sold.

"Nintendo systems represented 58 percent of all video game hardware sold in March in the United States," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We expect our momentum to continue with big upcoming game launches like Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit."

Other March U.S. statistics, according to NPD, include:

  • Three Wii games finished in the top 10, including Super Smash Bros. Brawl at No. 1, Wii Play™ at No. 4, and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock at No. 7.
  • Nintendo DS has now sold more than 19 million units in the United States alone since it launched in November 2004.

__Microsoft __did outsell PlayStation 3 this month, only just barely. But even it has to reach a little further in March to paint itself as the winner. Usually, as with last month's NPD numbers, Microsoft can point to the fact that consumers spent more on Xbox 360 than any other platform -- which of course is mostly because of the fact that Xbox 360 consoles, games, and accessories cost so much more than Wii's. But this month, they can't even say that -- their claim that Xbox "continues to lead the industry" is supported merely by the fact that consumers have, life to date, spent more on the brand.

They also point out that Europe sales have doubled since the recent price cuts, although I am not quite sure what that has to do with the price of tea in China, if you get my drift.

Consumers continue to make the ultimate vote for Xbox 360 as the console of choice by investing $9.4 billion to date this lifecycle in the Xbox 360 experience, far outpacing that of other game consoles. (March NPD data)

Going into March, some key U.S. retailers were still experiencing the trickledown effect of Xbox 360 console shortages. By the end of March, supply issues had improved and we expect retailers to be fully stocked with Xbox 360 consoles in time for the “Grand Theft Auto IV” launch. According to NPD, 262,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold in March, reclaiming the #2 position in the next-gen console category.

In just two weeks, Xbox 360 will extend its industry lead with the year's most anticipated game launch, GTA IV. Launching April 29, GTA IV will be coming to Xbox 360 on day one. GTA IV will feature the first ever online multiplayer for the franchise and Xbox 360 is also the only place you can earn GTA IV Achievements and increase your gamerscore.

Starting this fall, only Xbox 360 owners will have access to exclusive GTA IV episodic content. Whether it’s the results of online polls or data from pre-sells, consumers have made it clear that the benefits of Xbox LIVE and exclusive access to GTA IV episodic content are making Xbox 360 the chosen place to play GTA IV.

Xbox 360 drives industry growth with record attach rates

  • March NPD data shows a new U.S. Xbox 360 software attach rate of 7.5, a record for any game console.
  • In Europe, Xbox 360 continues to enjoy the highest software attach rate of any game console with more than 7.0 games sold per console (PS3: 3.8; Wii: 3.5) after 27 months on the market..
  • Xbox 360 sales in Europe have more than doubled in the wake of recent retail price changes, solidifying its leadership position as the number one next-generation console in EMEA, owning 42 percent of the market in terms of life-to-date revenue. (Microsoft estimates based on ChartTrack and Gfk data).
  • Third party publishers find more success on Xbox 360. In March, Xbox 360 accounted for $220 million of all third party game sales this generation, or 49 percent of share. Third party publishers win on Xbox 360 more than any other platform. (March NPD data)
  • Games for the Xbox 360 platform accounted for four of the top ten games for this generation. (March NPD data)

Xbox 360 most widely used system for online gaming

  • Xbox 360 delivers social entertainment experiences to more than 10 million Xbox LIVE gamers around the globe. (Microsoft internal data)
  • On April 2, NPD released a study called “Online Gaming 2008” which reported that 42 percent of people ages six to 44 play video games online. Their console of choice? Xbox 360. Half of online gamers prefer the Xbox 360 over other current-generation gaming consoles. (“Online Gaming 2008”)
  • Xbox LIVE now delivers 4,800 hours of TV and movie entertainment including family favorites like “Hannah Montana,” “Lost,” and “Superman III.”(Microsoft internal data)

Xbox 360 is the gaming platform of choice—our great games and exploding online community will help keep it that way.

Sony points out that PlayStation 3 -- excuse me, PLAYSTATION®3 -- sales have doubled since last March, which if you remember last March was not exactly difficult. Other than that, the best part of this release is the quote from Jack Tretton, in which he calls 2008 for PlayStation.

PS3 Sales Up Nearly 100% Year-Over-Year; PS3 Momentum Continues

Total PlayStation Hardware Unit Sales Top 770,794

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued the strong momentum with 257,120 units sold in March. (according to NPD March 2008 sales data). This represents a year-over-year sales growth of over 98%. More than 1.9 million software units were sold for PS3 in March, representing a year-over-year growth of 139.2%.

  • The Season of Monster Titles Has Begun: The April releases of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Grand Theft Auto IV kick off the waterfall of blockbusters coming to PS3 this year, including the exclusive titles Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2 and SOCOM: Confrontation to name a few. These mega hits combined with enthusiasm for Blu-ray promise to further drive PS3 sales throughout 2008.
  • PLAYSTATION®Network Continues to Thrive: In North America, there are over than 3.7 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts and more than 67 million pieces of content have been downloaded from PLAYSTATION Store to date.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued to boast strong sales with 297,011 PSP hardware units sold in March, up 22.1% over the previous month and representing a sales increase of 65% growth year-over-year. Sales were fueled by the of recent exclusive blockbuster releases of God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, the two best-selling handheld games in the month of March.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had an excellent month in March with hardware unit sales reaching 216,485 units. The PLAYSTATION exclusive hit title MLB® 08 THE SHOW™ debuted as the top-selling title for PS2 in March.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales, earning $552.2 million in March.

  • Year to date (Jan-March), the PlayStation brand generated over $1.55 billion in revenue, representing an increase of nearly 13% for the same period last year.
  • PlayStation total hardware revenue was $186.2 million in March, representing a year-over-year growth of over 23%.
  • PlayStation total software revenue in March was $304.7 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 25%.

CEO Perspective

"Our sales momentum continues to defy what is traditionally a sluggish sales month. PS3 continued the strong momentum with a year-over-year sales growth of over 98%. It is proof that, in these economically challenging times, consumers recognize the long-term value of our platforms and the tremendous heritage of our brand in delivering the best entertainment experience. PSP expanded the portable market with more than 297,011 in hardware sales this month, driven by the monster releases of the two best-selling handheld games in March, God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII. This further proves the trend that 2008 is the year for PlayStation."

- Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Game|Life's spin on the NPDs will be arriving just as soon as we can manage.

Image: dharmabox/Flickr