40 percent of Xboxes sold in the US last month were new “Short” systems, Pachter told investors in a report (summarized by GamesIndustry.biz), with $150 Arcade systems accounting for another 35 percent. That leaves various bundles, also discounted by $50, as the other 25 percent of the month’s sales.

“It is clear that the sales spike for the 360 was largely temporary, as clearance items accounted for around 60 per cent of total sales,” Pachter concluded, “and it is not clear that software attached heavily to these purchase.” Those discounted Xboxes would account for an even higher percentage by volume!

Discounted original Xbox 360s outsold new ‘S’ model in June originally appeared on Joystiq on Tue, 20 Jul 2010 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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While one million copies in two months (41 days of NPD reporting time) is impressive, it doesn’t approach the level of success enjoyed by the first Super Mario Galaxy, which broke a million in its first month on the market, only 12 days of which counted for NPD. (The fact that its first month was November may have had something to do with that strong start.)

Nintendo also announced that DS hardware sales have reached “nearly 42 million,” with Wii sales “closing in on a cumulative milestone of 30 million units sold in the United States alone.” Both systems enjoyed sales spikes last month.

Super Mario Galaxy 2 passes 1 million sold in US originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 21:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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According to a statement issued by Sony yesterday alongside the publication of the NPD Group’s June sales report, the PS3 shortages cited by GameStop in its Q1 earnings report have been “resolved.” No explanation for the resolution was given in said statement, though we imagine it has something to do with making more consoles and delivering them to stores at a faster pace.

Perhaps this particular resolution had something to do with the PS3′s 97 percent rise in sales during the month of June. Then again, every piece of gaming hardware saw pretty significant increases in sales last month. Was everyone experiencing a recently resolved shortage? We’re super glad we stocked up early.

Sony: PS3 retail shortages have been ‘resolved’ originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 16 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The new model of Xbox 360 caused a good deal of console sales in the month of June, but discounted old hardware sold more.

Microsoft’s redesigned box accounted for 40% of the 451,700 Xbox 360s it sold in June, said Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter in a note to investors on Friday.

But, he pointed out, nearly as many sales — 35% — were of the inexpensive Arcade model, which Microsoft reduced to a clearance price of $150. The retailer Wal-Mart offered a $50 gift card with each Arcade purchase, thus temporarily lowering the effective price of the hardware to a rock-bottom $100.

The balance of Xbox 360 console sales were made up of Pro and Elite units, which were also reduced in price by $50 as Microsoft clears them off shelves to make way for the $300 Slim box. So the price drop that spurred the majority of Xbox sales last month won’t last.

Microsoft has not announced a package for the redesigned Xbox 360 at the $200 price point.

Photo: James Merithew/Wired.com

Take-Two Interactive CEO Ben Feder recently mentioned that Red Dead Redemption “sucked the oxygen out of the room” at retail upon its release — wow, he wasn’t kidding. Data provided to Joystiq by the NPD group shows that high-profile releases Alan Wake and Split/Second sold 145K and 86K units in the US during May, respectively. In comparison, Red Dead Redemption sold 1.51 million copies. All three games launched on the same day in the States.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier explains, “What I found interesting about Red Dead is that it is the second game in the franchise. First game got middling review scores and sold good but not great — 920K life-to-date. I applaud it when a publisher can take a franchise with solid results and improve on it significantly next time out the gate.”

Perhaps when (if?) Alan Wake and Split/Second receive sequels, they’ll have better sales luck (and no oxygen-sucking beasts around).

NPD on the Red Dead, Alan Wake, and Split/Second retail showdown originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 02 Jul 2010 18:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Hoo-doggy! Look at them critters go! While video game hardware sales were down 20 percent month-over-month in May – yeah, we’re looking at you, handheld sales – software sales were up! Sure, you’re right, they’re only up 4 percent month-over-month and the industry is down 5 percent in total, but can’t you just relax and enjoy the vista? Red Dead Redemption sold 1.5 million units across both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms this month and Super Mario Galaxy 2 came in at 560 thousand units on the Wii. Even dear old Alan Wake made the grade, though his sales aren’t listed. Find them all after the break.

Of course, these numbers come courtesy of the monthly NPD report, which lists the top 10 selling games (stored after the break) and the hardware sales for North America. The DS continues its free-fall after dropping 37 percent last month, losing another 13 percent. Notably: It’s still the best-selling console this month! The Wii is up 21 percent after a 50 percent dip last month, and the Xbox 360 is up 5 percent after last month’s 45 percent drop.

Unfortunately, Sony is bringing up the rear, with the PS3 down 15 percent and the PSP down 10 percent. However, NPD’s Anita Frazier notes that “The PS3 platform has enjoyed the greatest percentage growth, with platform sales across hardware, software, and accessories up 32 percent for the month, and 28 percent year-to-date.” A reminder that it’s not always as simple as hardware sales.

• DS: 384K down 57K (-13%)
• Wii: 335K up 58K (+21%)
• 360: 195K up 10K (+5%)
• PS3: 155K down 27K (-15%)
• PSP: 59K down 7K (-10%)

Continue reading May NPD: Red Dead rustles up top spots, Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes third

May NPD: Red Dead rustles up top spots, Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes third originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Rockstar’s wild-west action game is number one with a bullet.

Red Dead Redemption was May 2010’s biggest-selling game title by a wide margin, the NPD Group said on Thursday. The open-world game of cowboys and canyons sold over 1.5 million copies across Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3.

Other big winners for the month included Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy 2 and THQ’s UFC 2010: Undisputed.

However, even with these heavy hitters, the game industry still took a hit in May — $823.5 million in overall sales represents a 5% decline. Of course, all of that decline comes from plummeting sales of game hardware.

“The portable hardware category contributed the most to the decline in hardware sales for the month, yet the NDS is the best-selling hardware system for May,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier in an emailed statement.

Game Hardware Sales, May 2010

1. Nintendo DS: 383.7K
2. Wii: 334.8K
3. Xbox 360: 194.6K
4. PlayStation 3: 154.5K
5. PSP: 59.4K

Top 10 Game Sales, May 2010

1. Red Dead Redemption, Xbox 360, Take Two: 945.9K
2. Red Dead Redemption, PlayStation 3, Take Two: 567.1K
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2, Wii, Nintendo: 563.9K
4. UFC 2010: Undisputed, Xbox 360, THQ: 221.1K
5. UFC 2010: Undisputed, PlayStation 3, THQ: 192.3K
6. Wii Fit Plus, Wii, Nintendo
7. New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Wii, Nintendo
8. Alan Wake, Xbox 360, Microsoft
9. Pokemon Soul Silver, Nintendo DS, Nintendo
10. Skate 3, Xbox 360, Electronic Arts

Image courtesy Rockstar

In its yearly online study of gaming habits for consumer panel members age two and older, the NPD says that this year shows a nine percent increase in console gaming over last year, whereas PC gaming saw an increase of six percent from those polled. Portable gaming didn’t fare as well, seeing a sharp decline: 16 percent, despite previous evidence of portable gaming becoming increasingly popular among younger gamers.

The study also offers some insight into the gamers themselves. This year, the average age of a gamer was 32 compared to last year’s age of 31. PC gamers are the oldest, with an average age of 42 — PC gamers who engaged in online and offline play comprised 11 and eight percent of the gaming population polled, respectively.

Now you may be wondering exactly how the NPD parsed this data. 18,872 individuals were part of the study, where gamers aged 13 and older had their responses pulled directly. For those younger than 13 years, the NPD employed “surrogate reporting,” where a parent or guardian accompanied the subject to the terminal and either inputted the answers for them or simply supervised their session. The final data was then “weighted and balanced to represent the U.S. population of individuals ages 2 and older.”

NPD: Console and PC gaming on the rise, portable gaming down originally appeared on Joystiq on Fri, 28 May 2010 19:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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