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January NPD Results – Shortages Cause Low Numbers
It seems Wired have managed to beat most of the other sites to the punch with the NPD results for January. There was little to separate the main consoles this month, mainly due to the supply constraints of both the Wii and the 360.
Here are the all-important hardware numbers:
- Wii – 274k
- PS3 – 269k
- DS – 251k
- PSP – 230k
- 360 – 230k
These numbers are pretty disappointing, but it was just after Christmas and the whole madness of that time has died down somewhat, helped along by all the shortages. However, it does raise the question about what the companies are going to wheel out at GDC next week, as new SKUs by both Sony and Microsoft are rumored to be unveiled, and perhaps this could just be channel clearing on Microsoft’s part.
The total of the video games industry for January 2008 is down by 6% from last year, which may not sound like much, but is a worrying difference. However, software sales are up by 11%, which is pretty good news when you consider we are indulging in a bit of a quiet period in terms of new game releases.
Here is the software top-ten:
- Call of Duty 4 on 360 – 330.9k
- Wii Play on Wii – 298.1k
- Guitar Hero III on Wii – 239.6k
- Rock Band Special Edition on 360 – 183.8k
- Guitar Hero III on 360 – 182.7k
- Super Mario Galaxy on Wii – 172k
- Burnout Paradise on 360 – 144.1k
- Call of Duty 4 on PS3 – 140k
- Mario Party on Wii – 138.5k
- Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games on Wii – 133k
Nothing really stands out here either, apart from the fact that the Wii version of GH III has outsold the 360 version and Rock Band, which was more unexpected than the PS3 ever beating the 360 on the hardware side.
Overall, it’s a nice quiet month, which should get better within the next few months with the approach of some earth shaking games like GTA IV in April.
Huh.
Posted by Paroxysm at February 14, 2008 11:33 PMI guess casuals really love that Wii Play. I thought Galaxy would do better but I'm still getting used to how you can sell so much of what hardcore gamers consider shallow and cheap.
Posted by Eligecos at February 15, 2008 12:12 AMI don't find it that surprising that GHIII is selling better on the Wii in the long run over the 360 version. GHIII is popular with those casual gamers just like the Wii is popular with them as well. Last year the PS2 version of GHII was in the top ten for many months. Now the Wii is starting to replace the PS2 in all those homes grabbing all those casual consumers.
Posted by ilikesanta at February 15, 2008 3:56 AMWhat I find interesting it that most sites don't even mention the PS2 which came in after the PS3 but above the DS. The old girl still has some life left. :)
Posted by Lord Mhoram at February 15, 2008 9:54 AMI still don't understand how there can be such severe Wii shortages. It's unbelievable. They can't produce more than 270,000 in a month? These things are still clearing for $100 above MSRP on ebay.
Posted by doctor_kaz at February 15, 2008 11:08 AMPlease keep your comments relevant to this entry: inappropriate or purely promotional comments may be removed. Email addresses are never displayed, but they are required to confirm your comments. Line breaks and paragraphs are automatically converted — no need to use <p> or <br> tags.