5-week tracking month; Reporting Period 2/27/11 through 4/2/11
Software (New Physical Retail only)
2.5 Million combined White + Black
01. Pokemon White Version (NDS) Nintendo -
1.3 Million
02. Pokemon Black Version (NDS) Nintendo -
1.1 Million
03. Homefront (360, PS3, PC) THQ
04. Dragon Age II (360, PS3, PC)** Electronic Arts
05. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC)** Activision Blizzard
06. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) LucasArts
07. Crysis 2 (360, PS3, PC) Electronic Arts
08. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP, PC) Take 2 Interactive
09. MLB 11: The Show (PS3, PSP, PS2) Sony
10. Fight Night Champion (360, PS3) Electronic Arts
**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)
Hardware
Nintendo DS (Yes, DS) -
460k
Xbox 360 -
433,000 (Top Selling Console)
Nintendo 3DS -
Slightly Under 400,000
Wii -
290k
Top Ten 3DS games
01. Street Fighter 3DS -
~95,000
02. Pilotwings Resort
03. Lego Star Wars
04. Rayman
05. Tom Clancy Ghost Recon
06. Super Monkey Ball
07. Nintendogs+Cats G
08. Ridge Racer
09. Steel Diver
10. Nintendogs+Cats F
Analysis by NPD's Anita Frazier:
Anita Frazier said:
Overall
"We recently completed our estimate of the total consumer spend on the games industry in the U.S. for 2010 including both physical and digital format sales. We found that increases in some digital forms of content distribution offset the declines in new physical retail sales of software. 2010 saw a consumer spend on games content of $15.9 billion, which was essentially flat (down less than 1/2 of 1 percentage point) to 2009."
"While new physical sales of video game hardware, software and accessories are down 1% in the first quarter of 2011, the trends we've measured with regard to growth in digital formats like full game and add-on downloads, microtransactions, mobile apps and social network gaming will likely result in net industry growth when we release our full measure of the first quarter consumer spend on games in June."
Hardware
"The 3DS launched in the U.S. on 3/27, so seven days of retail sales are included in this months results. The 3DS launch compares quite favorably to that of the best-selling dedicated handheld gaming platform of all time, the Nintendo DS. While the 3DS sold about 100K units less than the DS did in its launch month, we must consider that the DS launched in November and had holiday seasonality and a price differential of about $100. Because of the price differential, the 3DS generated greater revenues than did the DS in its launch month in November 2004. In addition, the 3DS was launched in an environment where there are more devices that can support the portable gaming experience such as tablets and smartphones."
"The best-selling hardware platform for the month was indeed the Nintendo DS despite the launch of the 3DS at the end of the month."
"The PSP, Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms each enjoyed a unit sales increase over last March. The PSP benefitted from a $40/unit price reduction which occurred at the beginning of the reporting period."
Software
"Pokemon White is the best-selling Pokemon SKU in its debut month at retail of any Pokemon to date, and the Black version is third. Combined they break previous sales records held by Pokemon Silver and Gold in October 2000."
"New physical retail software sales declined significantly, and despite the great success of the Pokemon SKU's, software sales last year were marked by several marquee titles including Final Fantasy XIII, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and God of War 3 which were all million plus unit sellers in March 2010."
"The best-selling 3DS game is Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition from Capcom. Despite selling fewer hardware units in its debut month as compared to the DS, more units of 3DS software sold through retail this month than did DS software in November 2004."
"Now that we're reporting on games at the title rather than SKU level, it's important to note several that sold well and would have made the top 10 on a SKU unit sales ranking basis. Those include Just Dance 2 on Wii, Killzone 3 on PS3, and Zumba Fitness on Wii."
Accessories
"The number one accessory SKU for March 2011 was the $20 PS3 Network Card, which is the second time since its introduction in June '08 that it has ranked first. This is another indication of digital growth across consoles and how physical retailers are participating."
Other News:
Road said:
http://majornelson.com/2011/04/14/march-npds-xbox-360-remains-the-top-selling-console-of-2011/
Xbox 360 was the number one console in the U.S. in March 2011, based on console and software sales, as well as ongoing demand for Kinect, the fastest selling consumer electronics device in 60 days.
March NPD highlights include*:
Xbox 360 sold 433,000 units in March, maintaining the number one console spot in the U.S.
Xbox 360 console sales were up 28 percent year over year, the largest growth of any current generation console on the market.
Total retail spend on Xbox 360 platform (hardware, software and accessories) reached $457 million, still the highest among current generation consoles.
During the month of March, four of the top ten console game titles were for Xbox 360 including: Homefront, Dragon Age II, Crysis 2,and Call of Duty: Black Ops.
We expect this momentum to continue throughout 2011. In the coming months, Xbox 360 owners can look forward to the arrival of Kinect-enabled Hulu Plus, as well as a diverse catalog of new games.
*Source: NPD Group, March 2011
miladesn said:
Update
http://content.usatoday.com/communi...with-3ds-and-pokemon-white-and-black/1?csp=34
March was a banner month for Nintendo, it launched the new 3DS handheld, had the best selling video game system and the Pokémon releases for the Nintendo DS swept the top two spots in the top 10 selling games of the month, according to The NPD Group.
The surprise? "The best-selling hardware platform for the month was indeed the Nintendo DS despite the launch of the 3DS at the end of the month," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in a statement accompanying the monthly report issued by the firm.
Nintendo sold slightly less than 400,000 Nintendo 3DS units in March after the $250 system hit stores March 27, said Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime in an interview earlier today.
Total video game hardware sales in March were up 12% at $494. 5 million, compared to $440.6 million last year. "The PSP, Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms each enjoyed a unit sales increase over last March," Frazier says. "The PSP benefitted from a $40/unit price reduction which occurred at the beginning of the reporting period."
But overall video game sales for March ($1.54 billion) were 4% below last year, because sales of games dropped 16% -- from about $876 million in March 2010 to $735 million. "New physical retail software sales declined significantly, and despite the great success of the Pokemon (releases), software sales last year were marked by several marquee titles including Final Fantasy XIII, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and God of War 3 which were all million plus unit sellers in March 2010," Frazier said.
Other NPD video game sales news:
-- The best-selling 3DS game so far? Capcom's Super Street Fighter IV 3D Edition.
-- Several games would have made the top 10 in NPD's past listing method based on platform -- Just Dance 2 (Wii), Killzone 3 (PS3) and Zumba Fitness (Wii).
-- Sales of digital game content -- full game and add-on downloads, microtransactions, mobile apps and social network gaming -- will "likely result in net industry growth," Frazier says, when NPD releases its full measure of first quarter 2011 consumer spending in June. So far, new physical sales of games, hardware and accessories are down 1% in the first quarter of 2011. Last year, digital sales offset the slight decline at retail, less than half of 1 percentage point at $15.9 billion, she said.
miladesn said:
Update
This is the Sony PR:
http://twitter.com/jimreilly/statuses/58655721344077824
Sony NPD: "PlayStation saw double digit growth across hardware and peripherals, signaling continued momentum for the PlayStation platform."
"PlayStation peripherals have now achieved double-digit growth for 19 consecutive months, according to NPD."
miladesn said:
Update
Pokemon White more than 1.3m
Pokemon Black more than 1.1
http://press.nintendo.com/articles.jsp?id=28640
Full Nintendo PR
Nintendo said:
The new Nintendo 3DS system combined with the Nintendo DS family of systems to make last month the best-selling March in U.S. history for Nintendos portable hardware business, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States.
After only one week on sale following its March 27 launch, Nintendo 3DS sold just shy of 400,000 units. Propelled by sales of more than 1.3 million Pokémon White Version games and more than 1.1 million Pokémon Black Version games, the Nintendo DS family of systems topped all home and portable video game systems in March, with more than 460,000 sold.
Both Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo DS family had a strong month, indicating that Nintendo has something for everyone, said Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of Americas senior director of Corporate Communications. Nintendo provides people with the best video game experiences, from 3D visuals without special glasses to a touch-screen interface to motion controls.
Nintendos Wii console sold more than 290,000 in the United States in March, giving Nintendo combined hardware sales of more than 1.1 million for the month. The upcoming Wii Play: Motion game launches on June 13 and will have players smiling as they use their Wii Remote Plus controller (or Wii Remote with Wii MotionPlus accessory) in 12 new motion-controlled games. Wii Play: Motion comes packaged with a black Wii Remote Plus controller to deliver great value, precise motion control and immersive social fun that anyone in the household can pick up and instantly enjoy.
