Tag Archives: september npd

September 2011 saw a six percent decrease in physical sales compared to the same period one year ago, according to the NPD’s monthly sales track report, making it the fourth month in the row to post a decrease.

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We’re very lucky. We can go to sleep, and a writer in Northern Ireland magically writes up the entire NPD.

Want all the detail on American sales in September? You, love, are in the right place.

• September NPD – Slight YoY increase reported, second best September since ’07
• September NPD – ODST wins on software front
• September NPD – PS3 bested only by DS in the US
• September NPD – Wii Play bestselling game decade-to-date
• September NPD – Microsoft focusses on ODST success
• September NPD – Sony “continues to redefine entertainment”

This is very similar to last month’s but this time Gamasutra’s stepped up to the plate. If you have already forgotten; 360 beat PS3 whilst Wii outsold them both combined and Force Unleashed lorded over the software sales.

Anyway, nice graphs we reckon, so check them out.

By Mike Bowden

NPD’s published PC games sales charts for September, with Spore topping the list. WAR came second, a fact likely to not even shock your mother. There’s not even faux shock here. There is no shock.

List below. More on Shacknews. Thanks, Kotaku.

1. Spore
2. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning
3. The Sims 2 Apartment Life
4. Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning Collector’s Edition
5. Spore Galactic Edition
6. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest
7. Crysis Warhead
8. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
9. World Of Warcraft
10. Spore Creature Creator
11. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade
12. Civilization IV: Colonization
13. Warcraft III Battle Chest
14. Civilization IV / Firaxis
15. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff
16. Diablo Battle Chest
17. StarCraft Battle Chest
18. Hot Wheels: Beat That
19. Crysis
20. S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Clear Sky

Sales took an apparent beating in the US month, thanks to the comparison to the launch of Halo 3 last September, but things are still “buoyant,” so that’s fine. Everything you need from last night’s release of September NPD data is below. Sleep is for stupid people.

• September NPD – Wii pulls ahead, 360 takes PS3
• September NPD – Force Unleashed lords over software sales
• September NPD – Raw data released
• September NPD – Figure-happy Nintendo points to “unique controls” for success
• September NPD – Microsoft points to 42% post-cut hardware surge
• September NPD – Sony talks “solid footing,” PS3 sales up 95% YoY
• September NPD – Big PC releases noted against console software drop
• September NPD – US games sales drop 7% to $1.27 billion thanks to Halo 3 comparison

Nintendo focused on “unique controls” as the reason its hardware destroyed the competition in the US again last month. The scene at Nintendo of America’s office but be one of boredom by this point – “What shall we talk about now?” “May as well do the controls this time, innit.”

From the release:

Backed by a variety of unique interfaces, Nintendo’s Wii™ console topped the U.S. video game hardware sales charts with nearly 687,000 units sold in September, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Nintendo DS™ was the No. 2 best-selling system, with nearly 537,000 sold.

“The four Wii games in the top 10 all feature controls just not possible on other video game systems,” said NoA’s Cammie Dunaway.

“The Wii Balance Board and Wii Wheel give players new ways to interact with their games, while the Wii Remote controller transforms into a pool cue, table tennis paddle or lightsaber. Consumers have truly responded to this variety of entertainment options.”

Full thing after the link. For the rest of our NPD coverage, hit this.

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Microsoft focused squarely on post price-cut Xbox 360 hardware sales in its post-NPD press release last night, saying figures had risen 42 percent in the wake of the US drop.

“347,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold in September following our U.S. price cut on Sept. 5 contributing to a U.S. install base of 11.3 million (September NPD data),” said a PR titled, “Xbox 360 turns up the volume with a 42% sales surge following price cut and launch of Rock Band 2″.

“Xbox 360 is now the most affordable next generation console on the market—$50 less than the Wii and half the price of the PlayStation 3,” the release added.

Get the full thing after the break. For the rest of our NPD coverage, hit this.

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Sony issued a serious business press release for a serious business situation in the wake of last night’s September NPD figures, using words like “solid,” “footing” and “confident” to describe PS3′s performance and position as it moves into the Christmas period.

“We remain confident that our footing is solid as we enter the holiday season this year,” said SCEA boss Jack Tretton.

“Our new 80GB PS3 model has made its way to retail shelves and into consumers’ living rooms as the best value for both their gaming and entertainment needs.

“If the impressive pre-sale numbers and ratings for LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, and Resistance 2 are any indication, we anticipate hardware and software sales to continue to lift in October as we officially kick off the broadest and deepest software line-up this holiday, including LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift and NBA ’09: The Inside.”

PS3 sold 232,408 units in September in the US, up 95 percent on the previous year.

Full thing through the link. For the rest of our September NPD coverage, hit this.

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Although software sales dropped back in the US on a year-for-year basis in September, thanks in the main to the release of Halo 3 in 2007, NPD noted in its press release last night that two major PC releases were worth considering in the month.

PC games are not normally included in the NPDs monthly stats.

“Although PC games sales are not included in these numbers, there were two that should be pointed out,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

“Spore realized sales of 406,000 units and Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning sold 274,000 which would put them both in the top 10 list of combined console, portable and PC games sales for the month,” Frazier continued.

More on Shacknews. For the rest of our September NPD coverage, hit this.

US games sales dropped 7 percent year-on-year in September – down from $1.35 billion to $1.27 billion – thanks to a hard comparison with the launch of Halo 3 last year, said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

“This is the first true monthly decline the industry has experienced since March of 2006,” she said. “It’s important to keep in mind, however, that this month’s 7 percent decline is against a month (September 2007) that itself was up 75 percent from the prior September. Last year, Halo 3 released in September 2007 and that game had a huge impact on hardware and software sales.”

Frazier added: “Overall, the health of the video games industry remains quite strong despite the rocky economic conditions. Tracking against typical industry seasonality, the U.S. video games industry is positioned to realize $22B or more in revenues for the year (does not include PC Games).”

Hardware sales were down 9 percent compared to September 2007, dropping from $545.67 to $497.98.

Software, too, saw a significant drop compared to last year, down 6 percent from $656.53 to $616.09 million.

For the rest of our September NPD coverage, hit this.

The Force Unleashed on 360 was the biggest selling game in the US last month, according to NPD figures, with big name Nintendo franchises and a couple of EA games making up the rest of the top 10.

Get the rest of the raw NPD data here.

1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – (360, LucasArts)
2. Wii Fit – (Wii, Nintendo)
3. Rock Band 2 – (360, MTV, EA)
4. Mario Kart – (Wii, Nintendo)
5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – (PS3, LucasArts)
6. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – (360, EA)
7. Wii Play – (Wii, Nintendo)
8. Madden NFL 09 – (360, EA)
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – (Wii, LucasArts)
10. Madden NFL 09 – (PS2, EA)

Nintendo console sales again flattened the competition in the US last month, with 360 comfortably ahead of PS3 following a heavy price cut. Find all the raw NPD data here.

• Wii – 687.0K
• Nintendo DS – 536.8K
• Xbox 360 – 347.2K
• PSP – 238.1K
• PlayStation 3 – 232.4K
• PlayStation 2 – 173.5K

NPD’s released its September figures. Everything below:

Hardware Unit Sales

• PlayStation 2 – 173.5K
• PlayStation 3 - 232.4K
• PSP – 238.1K
• Xbox 360 – 347.2K
• Nintendo DS – 536.8K
• Wii – 687.0K

Software

1. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – (360, LucasArts)
2. Wii Fit – (Wii, Nintendo)
3. Rock Band 2 - (360, MTV, EA)
4. Mario Kart – (Wii, Nintendo)
5. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – (PS3, LucasArts)
6. Mercenaries 2: World in Flames – (360, EA)
7. Wii Play – (Wii, Nintendo)
8. Madden NFL 09 – (360, EA)
9. Star Wars: The Force Unleashed – (Wii, LucasArts)
10. Madden NFL 09 – (PS2, EA)

Dollar Sales sep-07 sep-08 CHG YTD Sept 07 YTD Sept 08 CHG
Video Games $1.35B $1.27B -7% $9.38B $11.82B 26%
Video Games Hardware $545.67M $497.98M -9% $3.65B $4.22B 16%
Video Games Software $656.53M $616.09M -6% $4.46B $6.07B 36%
Video Game Accessories $157.50M $152.59M -3% $1.27B $1.53B 21%

By Mike Bowden