April NPD: Sony aims at exploding PS3 and software sales

News by Patrick Garratt Founder & Publisher (Former)

Published on May 16, 2008

Sony's post-NPD statement last night was full of big figures, saying that PS3 sales for April 2008 were up 127 percent, with more than 2 million pieces of PS3 software sold representing a year-over-year growth of 410%.

Despite being soundly beaten in the GTA IV sales stakes, SCEA said the PS3 version attached better to the console than the 360 SKU did to Microsoft's machine, with "23.6% of U.S. PS3 owners purchasing a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, a 29.0% higher attach rate for the title than Xbox 360."

Full thing after the break.

PlayStation by the Numbers
April 2008

PS3 Continues Blockbuster Year:

PS3 Hardware Sales Growth Exceeds 127% Year-Over-Year; PS3 Software Sales Up 410% Year-Over-Year

Total PlayStation Hardware Sales Top 505,363 Units

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued its benchmark year with 187,071 hardware units sold in April (according to NPD April 2008 sales data). This represents a year-over-year sales growth of over 127%. More than 2 million software units were sold for PS3 in April, representing a year-over-year growth of 410%.

* Spurred by the tremendous legacy of the Grand Theft Auto franchise on PlayStation, over 1 million copies of Grand Theft Auto IV for PS3 were sold in April in North America, with 23.6% of U.S. PS3 owners purchasing a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, a 29.0% higher attach rate for the title than Xbox 360. Enthusiasm for Grand Theft Auto IV combined with the launches of Haze and SingStar for PS3, is expected to continue to lift PS3 hardware sales through May.
* Grand Theft Auto IV and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue mark the beginning of a monster 2008 software line-up for PS3, including the highly-anticipated exclusive titles Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation, Resistance 2, and LittleBigPlanet to name a few. These blockbusters promise to further drive PS3 sales through to the holiday season.
* Fueled by the launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on the PLAYSTATION®Network, approximately 6 million pieces of content have been downloaded from the PlayStation®Store in North America since this time last month, with more than 73 million pieces of content downloaded from PLAYSTATION Store in North America to date. There are currently over 3.9 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts in North America.
* The recently introduced DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller for PS3 also proved to be a hot-seller, with sales exceeding $10.9 million in April.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued to boast strong sales in April with 192,696 PSP hardware units sold, representing a sales increase of 5.4% year-over-year. Fueled by enthusiasm for the exclusive blockbusters God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, the top two selling titles the platform of the month, more than 1 million software units were sold for PSP in April.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had another strong month in April with hardware unit sales reaching 124,376 units. More than 42 million PS2s have been sold to date in the U.S.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales, earning $387 million in April.

· Year to date (Jan-April), the PlayStation brand generated over $1.9 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 17.6% year-over year.

· PlayStation total hardware revenue was $126.2 million in April, representing a year-over-year growth of over 19.4%.

· PlayStation total software revenue in April was $215.1 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 68.6%.

CEO Perspective

“Clearly, the tremendous legacy of Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation, combined with the blockbuster launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue packed a one-two punch with consumers at retail this month. The proof is in the numbers and, in April, PlayStation 3 hardware sales experienced a 127% increase over April of last year. PS3 momentum is fueled by enthusiasm for Blu-ray as the definitive high def standard and the growing number of consumers gearing up for some of the most anticipated titles of the year, exclusively for PS3, including the June release of Metal Gear Solid 4, and other great exclusives in the second half on the year, such as Resistance 2, SOCOM: Confrontation and LittleBigPlanet to name a few. With exciting PlayStation Network innovations and our strongest console-driving titles of the year still on the horizon, PS3 remains on pace for a breakthrough year.”

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