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NPD Sales Results for December 2008

Linkhero1 said:
Anyone else surprised that Mario Kart DS made it in the top 10?

Someone in another thread was complaining that Nintendo was advertising it :lol



I said it last month, but this month proves it again.

December 22
+ Wii
+ PS2
+ RB 2

=
Harmonix LOL


Good sendoff for PS2. I wouldnt be surprised if NPD stopped sharing its sales next year, especially if Sony refuses to lower the price. However, a 99, 89 or 49 PS2....it would beat even the 360
 

DogWelder

Member
Microsoft PR:

December NPD results are in and Xbox 360 highlights include:

* December ’08 was the biggest month for Xbox 360 in history
* Xbox 360 sold more consoles, games and online entertainment experiences in 2008 than any previous year
* In the all-important holiday quarter, Xbox 360 outsold PS3 by more than 2:1

Despite a decline in overall consumer spending during the holidays, video games continued to shine as a bright spot, with Xbox 360 registering record-setting numbers in December, selling 1.4 million consoles in the U.S. (December NPD data).

Not only did the Xbox 360 see its weekly sales run rate increase 38 percent compared to November, it also continued to outperform the PS3 by two-to-one for the third month in a row (December NPD data).

With third-party game sales for Xbox 360 increasing from $298 million in November to $504 million in December, it’s no surprise that Xbox 360 has generated more life-to-date dollars at retail for third-party publishers than the PS3 and Wii combined. “Gears of War 2,” “Call of Duty: World at War,” “Grand Theft Auto IV,” “Madden NFL 09,” “Left 4 Dead” and the critically acclaimed “Fable II” were some of the hottest Xbox 360 games in 2008. Three Xbox 360 games appeared on the top 10 list in December, including “Call of Duty: World at War,” “Left 4 Dead” and “Gears of War 2.” (December NPD data)

“Our goal for 2008 was to reach new audiences by bringing ground-breaking games and entertainment to Xbox 360,” said Don Mattrick, senior vice president of the Interactive Entertainment Business at Microsoft. “Looking forward, new waves of innovation will extend our position as the global leader in interactive entertainment.”

As announced by Microsoft last week, Xbox LIVE continues to experience rapid growth; online transactions over Xbox LIVE grew 84 percent in 2008 over 2007. More than 40 million downloads took place through the LIVE Marketplace in December alone (Microsoft internal data). With consumer appetite for immediate online entertainment growing exponentially, Xbox LIVE is poised for another great year in 2009.
 

ThatHurt

Member
Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

blackout.jpg




Despite a decline in overall consumer spending during the holidays, video games on the Wii continued to shine as a bright spot,

Fixed the typo
 
lowlylowlycook said:
Those are slightly outdated numbers. Even so you can see that the total profit for Sony's game division are less that those from just adding 1998 and 1999, 2 years that come from before the PS2 launch.
I believe his point was comparing the Sony and Microsoft numbers. Within their current generation, Microsoft have lost ~$3 billion. Within theirs, Sony have lost about ~$3 billion. If you're going to predict different futures for their gaming divisions, the total dollar amounts can't be your basis.
 

FrankT

Member
cvxfreak said:
Does anyone have any clue what Halo 3's LTD or latest total might be?

I want to see how it measures up to Brawl and MKWii.

I would love to know, but it seems they are just sitting on the numbers. Got to be close to 9 million or so at this point.
 

MisterHero

Super Member
WOWEE WOW WOW @ MarioKart Wii and DS

In December, Nintendo titles filled 20 of the top 30 spots on the best-seller list. Six games made for Nintendo systems placed in the top 10, including Wii Music™ for Wii (No. 9), which has now sold 865,000 units following its launch in October 2008
WiiMusic redeemed!

^_____________________^
 

Grecco

Member
Also both Wii Music and Animal Crossing coming back from claims of bomba status and selling really well, are hilarious to me.
 

Gotchaye

Member
You can't just start adding up Sony's reports from the PS3's launch to the present to figure what it lost the company, though. PS2 and PSP profits are lumped in there, and both have been profitable since the PS3's launch. R&D costs on the PS3 also extend back before its launch. It's pretty obvious, with conservative estimates for the profit from the PS2 and PSP, that the PS3 has lost Sony more money than MS lost with the original XBox, and easily more money than they made with the PS2.
 

Dash

Junior Member
Even though I didn't particularly enjoy Mario Kart Wii, it puts a smile on my face that it will beat out both versions of GTA4 combined.
 

donny2112

Member
TJ Spyke said:
donny, no it's not the same. It is part of the Wii series, it's not like with the N64 where companies would just add "64" to games. Wii Fit is not a new IP.

So the prequel to Wii Fit was ... Wii Chess? If I want to get more Wii Fit goodness, I need to pick up a chess game?

There is definitely a case to be made that Wii Fit is part of a line of "lifestyle" titles from Nintendo. However, it is also a new IP within that line of titles.
 

manueldelalas

Time Traveler
Something in the OP is bothering me:

MGS4 didn't chart in the top ten best selling games for the year.

So we could say that MGS4 sold 1.5M in NA (aprox.).
Japanese sales of the game were 600k.
This are numbers we know, so 2.1M for Japan + NA.

Because I'm a nice guy, and I don't really know about the European sales except it sold 1 million on the first week, I'm going to say the game got 1.6M in Europe.

Adding all, I get 3.7M units.

But a Konami financial report says they sold more than 4 million until September 2008 (probably sold to retailers, not consumers), how is this possible?

I said a long time ago in another thread that MGS4 was below 4 million, and that it sold similar to MGS3, but I got nearly killed by people saying that it sold more than 4 millions for sure; why is people so sure of this? magical european sales? Konami's report?
 
The extent to which Nintendo is dominating the videogame industry is nearly unbelievable to me. It's like everyone else in the industry is playing single A baseball, with Nintendo being the only professional team. They're playing on a level entirely above the rest of the industry.
 

schuelma

Wastes hours checking old Famitsu software data, but that's why we love him.
manueldelalas said:
But a Konami financial report says they sold more than 4 million until September 2008 (probably sold to retailers, not consumers), how is this possible?

I said a long time ago in another thread that MGS4 was below 4 million, and that it sold similar to MGS3, but I got nearly killed by people saying that it sold more than 4 millions for sure; why is people so sure of this? magical european sales? Konami's report?


shipped?
 

RSTEIN

Comics, serious business!
Dec_NPD_Chart.jpg


Honestly, this is the pie chart of the century. All previous pie charts bow down to its greatness. In one simple image, as if communicating its unquestionable superiority wasn`t sufficient, Nintendo went the extra distance to demonstrate that its competitors, combined, are actually meaningless flecks of dust.
 
Gotchaye said:
You can't just start adding up Sony's reports from the PS3's launch to the present to figure what it lost the company, though. PS2 and PSP profits are lumped in there, and both have been profitable since the PS3's launch. R&D costs on the PS3 also extend back before its launch. It's pretty obvious, with conservative estimates for the profit from the PS2 and PSP, that the PS3 has lost Sony more money than MS lost with the original XBox, and easily more money than they made with the PS2.
I did count back before the launch for both consoles. Yes, the PS3 alone probably has lost over $4 billion.

My point was that simple sums like this don't represent a good foundation for prediction. To wit: Sony made ~$4 billion in profit on PS2, and has lost it all on PS3. Microsoft lost ~$4 billion on the Xbox, and they've lost ~$3 billion on the 360. If all you looked at was those sums, you'd be far more inclined to assume Microsoft would be leaving the market any second, not Sony. You have to bring a lot more data to the table than this to describe the two companies' current fortunes.
 
markatisu said:
From IGNConsumers Prefer Gimped Rock Band

January 15, 2009 - The Wii and PlayStation 2 versions of Rock Band (released in June 2008 and December 2007, respectively) were mere shadows of their former Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 selves. Most of the key features had been gutted, there was no online play or downloadable content, no character creation, and they weren't too easy on the eyes. The masses didn't seem to mind, though, as the Wii and PS2 versions of the original game outsold both Rock Band and Rock Band 2 on the other systems last year.

According to data from the NPD group, the Wii version of Rock Band was the franchise's best-selling SKU last year with over a million units sold. The PlayStation 2 version was right behind it. Rock Band Wii and PS2 were the 29th and 31st best-selling games of the year, respectively.

The original Xbox 360 Rock Band came in at just under 800,000 units. Rock Band 2 on 360, available since September, sold just under 600,000 units.

The NPD data isn't clear which SKUs are Special Editions and which are the game only. Rock Band 2 on Wii was released right at the tail end of the year and moved just over 150,000 units.

Some people get enjoyment after seeing PS3 due badly after Sonys cocky attitude regarding the price.

I get enjoyment from Harmonix getting slapped in the face every single month, not just by Guitar Hero, but by their lousy ports.


Why am I bitter?

Harmonix made big money on GH1, GH2 and GH80s on PS2. Two of those are PS2 exclusive. Screwing over PS2 owners with their terribly late and gimped ports was a major fuck up, and its nice to see karma money bite them in the ass.

Maybe next time around, theyll get RB Beatles launched on the same day on PS2 and Wii? And perhaps as a version that doesnt suck?
 
manueldelalas said:
Something in the OP is bothering me:

MGS4 didn't chart in the top ten best selling games for the year.

So we could say that MGS4 sold 1.5M in NA (aprox.).
Japanese sales of the game were 600k.
This are numbers we know, so 2.1M for Japan + NA.

Because I'm a nice guy, and I don't really know about the European sales except it sold 1 million on the first week, I'm going to say the game got 1.6M in Europe.

Adding all, I get 3.7M units.

But a Konami financial report says they sold more than 4 million until September 2008 (probably sold to retailers, not consumers), how is this possible?

I said a long time ago in another thread that MGS4 was below 4 million, and that it sold similar to MGS3, but I got nearly killed by people saying that it sold more than 4 millions for sure; why is people so sure of this? magical european sales? Konami's report?

You already answered your question. Konami does not sell directly to consumers.

MGS4 has sold better than MGS3 (certainly in the US, and it did similarly in Japan; Europe is an unknown). But it already reached the 4 million sold mark, while MGS3 hasn't even reached that yet according to wikipedia.
 
donny2112 said:
So the prequel to Wii Fit was ... Wii Chess? If I want to get more Wii Fit goodness, I need to pick up a chess game?

There is definitely a case to be made that Wii Fit is part of a line of "lifestyle" titles from Nintendo. However, it is also a new IP within that line of titles.

Yeah, its called Touch Generations.

The touch is a DS holdover, but the label is also applied to the Wii casual games
 

markatisu

Member
jamesinclair said:
Harmonix made big money on GH1, GH2 and GH80s on PS2. Two of those are PS2 exclusive. Screwing over PS2 owners with their terribly late and gimped ports was a major fuck up, and its nice to see karma money bite them in the ass.

Maybe next time around, theyll get RB Beatles launched on the same day on PS2 and Wii? And perhaps as a version that doesnt suck?

And you know regardless of all the proof in the world they will release RB Beatles later on the PS2 and Wii
 
Liabe Brave said:
I did count back before the launch for both consoles. Yes, the PS3 alone probably has lost over $4 billion.

My point was that simple sums like this don't represent a good foundation for prediction. To wit: Sony made ~$4 billion in profit on PS2, and has lost it all on PS3. Microsoft lost ~$4 billion on the Xbox, and they've lost ~$3 billion on the 360. If all you looked at was those sums, you'd be far more inclined to assume Microsoft would be leaving the market any second, not Sony. You have to bring a lot more data to the table than this to describe the two companies' current fortunes.


But MS is making a profit now while i believe sony isn't, and in an interview a MS executive said that the gaming division will be profitable from now on.
 

Haunted

Member
manueldelalas said:
Something in the OP is bothering me:

MGS4 didn't chart in the top ten best selling games for the year.

So we could say that MGS4 sold 1.5M in NA (aprox.).
Japanese sales of the game were 600k.
This are numbers we know, so 2.1M for Japan + NA.

Because I'm a nice guy, and I don't really know about the European sales except it sold 1 million on the first week, I'm going to say the game got 1.6M in Europe.

Adding all, I get 3.7M units.

But a Konami financial report says they sold more than 4 million until September 2008 (probably sold to retailers, not consumers), how is this possible?

I said a long time ago in another thread that MGS4 was below 4 million, and that it sold similar to MGS3, but I got nearly killed by people saying that it sold more than 4 millions for sure; why is people so sure of this? magical european sales? Konami's report?
Konami sold = sold to retailers. That and slightly higher European sales along with some smaller territories could account for most of the difference.
 

Blame!

Member
RSTEIN said:
Dec_NPD_Chart.jpg


Honestly, this is the pie chart of the century. All previous pie charts bow down to its greatness. In one simple image, as if communicating its unquestionable superiority wasn`t sufficient, Nintendo went the extra distance to demonstrate that its competitors, combined, are actually meaningless flecks of dust.

nintendo wins. sony loses. clear and simple.
 

Mamesj

Banned
RSTEIN said:
Dec_NPD_Chart.jpg


Honestly, this is the pie chart of the century. All previous pie charts bow down to its greatness. In one simple image, as if communicating its unquestionable superiority wasn`t sufficient, Nintendo went the extra distance to demonstrate that its competitors, combined, are actually meaningless flecks of dust.


something about "other" is just so damning. They won't even bother splitting it up between those worthless dirt specks :lol
 
markatisu said:
And you know regardless of all the proof in the world they will release RB Beatles later on the PS2 and Wii

There bread and butter is still on the 360/PS3. every single week they get a constant flow of money coming in from DLC. HMX is probably the most successful company this gen in regards to DLC.

I bet most of those GHWT sales on Wii are 1 and done purchasers. RB2 and GHWT on 360/PS3 are getting people to spend 5-10$ and in some cases with full albums up to 20$ on there platform EVERY WEEK.

Your getting people to buy your game and then commit a small portion of money every week until they are done releasing DLC.

From recent reports a huge percentage of online DLC purchasers are on 360/PS3.
 
I love how NPD has turned into a thread comprising of posters with a month worth of pent up fanboyism going wild the same GIF's every month. But w/e :lol

It does seem like Microsoft took the cake this month though. They got the momentum swinging their way with a price cut. Xbox 360 selling 1.44m units seems more impressive to me then Wii selling a little over 2 mil. Sony relinquished any chances of high sales by not having a price cut. And I'm sure the Wii could've sold more if more was on the shelf. It boggles my mind how to this day Nintendo can't meet the demand of the consumers.

But all this Sony gloom and doom is short sighted. No one expects a PS2-esque performance anymore. That chance flew out the window when the Wii took off. But 700k units with no system seller this holiday is respectable to say the least. It's a shame LBP never found the mass market audience and R2 say what you will wasn't a hit among the hardcore. But MGS4 does show that when good exclusive software does come people gravtitate towards PS3. But this is the only game so far for the PS3 that has done this.

Sony doesn't need to worry about price of the PS3 but worry more about perception. Get the AAA games out, these delays are really killing them. Convince 3rd parties to develop with PS3 as lead sku (which is almost impossible nowadays but go bribe the devs with japanese hookers if they need to :D .) And stop doing PSP bundles and give it a real price drop with an 4 GB stick and market it as a PS1 portable then flood the market with downloadable PS1 games. Anything to jump start an otherwise dead PSP software situation. A game like Resistance Retribution that comes around every 8 month does jack shit for the system.

DS seems to have the best eco system though. Huge install base with hardcore, casual, budget titles all having a share of the pie. Still have no idea how DSi would do for the US market at $180. Unless there's strong software support I don't see it usurping the DS lite.
I'll probably upgrade though.
 
I hope, hope, hope, that Microsoft and Sony do not choose to take the path of Nintendo in hopes of Nintendo like sales for the next generation. I know it's tempting boys, but don't do it.
 

Mindlog

Member
mikekennyb said:
I hope, hope, hope, that Microsoft and Sony do not choose to take the path of Nintendo in hopes of Nintendo like sales for the next generation. I know it's tempting boys, but don't do it.


Perhaps they won't take they Nintendo route step-for-step, but I Believe™ it's a safe bet that we won't be getting launch hardware at such a large discount again.
 

jetjevons

Bish loves my games!
RSTEIN said:
Dec_NPD_Chart.jpg


Honestly, this is the pie chart of the century. All previous pie charts bow down to its greatness. In one simple image, as if communicating its unquestionable superiority wasn`t sufficient, Nintendo went the extra distance to demonstrate that its competitors, combined with most of its third party publishing partners, are actually meaningless flecks of dust.

Fixed?

Yes I'm j/k for the cheap seats.
 
mikekennyb said:
I hope, hope, hope, that Microsoft and Sony do not choose to take the path of Nintendo in hopes of Nintendo like sales for the next generation. I know it's tempting boys, but don't do it.


Even though there are more Toyotas sold than BMWs, that doesn't mean they stop making BMWs.
 

Cipherr

Member
Wii Fit? You're seriously suggesting that buyers don't want the game but are instead just buying it to use for a handful of Balance Board-compatible titles.

This basically, trying to call Wiifit hardware makes no sense and is a PoV that is really inarguable.

discopantsman said:
Oh, in case you missed it - Nintendo didn't develop Guitar Hero

The sarcasm :lol I lol'd

HK-47 said:
DS is at least worthy of the sales

:lol :lol Oh you..

The Faceless Master said:
did you stop playing to post from your PS3 browser, or did you just use your PSP?

viciouskillersquirrel said:
He posts in a thread he isn't reading because he's playing all these amazing games.

Oh god Im dying :lol

amtentori said:
You forget quickly.

What happened to the wii only sells because of wii sports?
What happened to its an impulse buy?
What happened to people play it for a few minutes then put it away and never buy games?
What happened to it only sells because of its price?

It clearly sells because people want to play the games that are available for it.

So the goal posts offically move from the above excuses to flat out "Wii cant sell third party games"

Mrbob said:
It still a hardware purchase akin to the Wii hardware. Wii Hardware sells because of Wii Sports...which is an included software package. It is the same thing with Wii Fit. Outside of Wii Fit, the balance board doesn't matter. It shouldn't be considered a software purchase.

Do you consider Wii hardware as a software purchase as well? People are buying it in droves for Wii Sports.

Dude what the hell, I think your confusing yourself, you arent making any sense. At all.

Mrbob said:
:lol

I love the gaming side forum.

It was just a suggestion to get more numbers on the top 10 list. They could still get their Wii Fit and Wii Play numbers fix in the hardware section. I figured people would be in favor of this, but I guess not.

Sales age, serious business!

It was a really poor comment that didnt make sense at all, thats why people hopped on you, has nothing to do with serious business.

Nintendo Release said:
* Activision’s Guitar Hero® III: Legends of Rock and Guitar Hero® World Tour, and MTV Games/EA’s* Rock Band Special Edition Bundle all sold more units on Nintendo platforms than any other platforms in 2008.
* More 3rd party units were sold for Wii than any other home consoles in December for the 2nd consecutive month.

The goalposts had a very very short stay, time to get them uprooted and on the move again.

Jag22 said:
How much 3rd party software that is being sold on the Wii shovelware?

This should do nicely for a while.

RSTEIN said:
Dec_NPD_Chart.jpg


Honestly, this is the pie chart of the century. All previous pie charts bow down to its greatness. In one simple image, as if communicating its unquestionable superiority wasn`t sufficient, Nintendo went the extra distance to demonstrate that its competitors, combined, are actually meaningless flecks of dust.

Theres a lot of spin in that chart though, spin just like Sony and MS does. All three of them do the same petty stuff, that chart is nearly meaningless other than to bring a few chuckles.

markatisu said:
And you know regardless of all the proof in the world they will release RB Beatles later on the PS2 and Wii

If they still refuse to show a little respect to their strongest customers who are spending the most money on their games (at the very least the Wii version) after all that has happened with the Wii and these games then I will be speechless, at some point you have to stop blaming the Wii hardware and Nintendo and hold the developers and publishers responsible.
 

Mardak

Member
  • DS: 3.04m +1.47m (+94%)
  • Wii: 2.15m +110K (+5%)
  • Xbox 360: 1.44m +604K (+72%)
  • PSP: 1.02m +599K (+142%)
  • PS3: 726K +348K (+92%)
  • PS2: 410K +204K (+99%)
So it's most likely Wii was supply constrained? How many more units would Nintendo have sold if there were enough Wiis for December? Up to 70% more like everyone else? At least 3.5m?
 
Mindlog said:
Perhaps they won't take they Nintendo route step-for-step, but I Believe™ it's a safe bet that we won't be getting launch hardware at such a large discount again.

That's one perspective. Another would be: maybe we won't be getting launch hardware at $500-$600 again. If they're smart, they'll launch at $400 and keep their costs in line to reduce to $300 after all of us rabid hardcore launch buyers have ponied up our cash.
 

Xisiqomelir

Member
jetjevons said:
Fixed?

Yes I'm j/k for the cheap seats.

It's uhhh, their fault. I don't really see how that's a dig at Nintendo, especially when Nintendo gave them a blank holiday slate so they didn't have to compete with "omg overwhelming first party!1"
 
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