August NPDs: Xbox 360 on top again

By Robert Purchese Published 9 September, 2010

Wii has worst month since launch.

The Xbox 360 has notched up a second consecutive month as America's best selling console - even beating the DS. Conversely, the Wii has recorded its worst month of sales since launch.

August sales data, collected by the NPD Group, put the winning total at 356,700 sales.

"The tortoise keeps going," commented MS bigwig Aaron Greenberg on Twitter.

The Wii managed 244,300 sales, which was only marginally ahead of PlayStation 3's 226,000 sales. And the DS racked up 342,700 sales, which was far in excess of PSP's 79,400.

Games for Microsoft's console also claimed five of the top 10 software spots. Madden 11 ruled the roost, shifting a massive 920,800 units on Xbox 360 and 893,600 units on PS3. Compared with 124,600 sales of Super Mario Galaxy 2 in second, and the dominance of EA Sports' title speaks for itself.

Newcomer Mafia II was well represented (as it has been in the UK all-formats chart), landing fourth on Xbox 360 (121,600 sales) and seventh on PS3 (sales not listed past fifth).

And despite having a relatively bad month, the Wii still managed a further two top 10 entries: New Super Mario Bros. Wii (6th) and Wii Fit Plus (10th).

The remaining games were New Super Mario Bros. on DS (5th - 110,400 sales), Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox 360 (8th) and NCAA Football 11 on Xbox 360 (9th).

One notable absentee was StarCraft II, which NPD recorded 300,000 sales for during August. However, PC games fall under "total entertainment sales" and so are not listed.

After analysing the numbers, NPD's Anita Frazier wrote that September could be "a huge sales month for Xbox 360" with Halo: Reach. She also recognised PS3's 13 month of consecutive sales growth.

"Looking forward, Halo: Reach releases on 14th September and will kick off the mega-title releases for the remainder of the year. The 360 install base is now about triple what it was when Halo 3 was launched so the potential audience for Reach is significantly larger," wrote Frazier.

"Between the size of the potential audience, the quality of the game previews, and the hefty marketing program behind the game, we can expect big numbers to be reported with September results."

Picture of Robert.

About Robert Purchese

Bertie is Eurogamer's Senior Staff Writer. When he's not hunting down news stories he's often found playing with his kids or gabbling about fantasy games and strange online worlds.

Read more articles from Robert by visiting the Robert Purchese archive page.

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Comments (92) Latest comment 1 year ago

Comments threads automatically close after 30 days, but please feel free to continue chatting on the forum!

  • RockmanBluesX #1 1 year ago

    first

  • Quak #2 1 year ago

    > The Wii managed 244,3000 sales, which was only marginally behind PlayStation 3's 226,000 sales. And the DS racked up 342,700 sales, which was far in excess of PSP's 79,400.

    First, I think you mean 244,300 and not 2,443,000.

    Second, how is 244,300 "marginally behind" 226,000?!

  • Gaol #3 1 year ago

    "The Wii managed 244,3000 sales, which was only marginally behind PlayStation 3's 226,000 sales."

    Oops

  • karooo #4 1 year ago

    Good numbers overall. I have no idea what Sony will do to capture the US. They are getting bullied by the 360 there.

    Although Madden sales were pretty equal when 360 has double the install base. great attach ratio for the PS.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 00:21

  • coolbritannia #5 1 year ago

    Zavvi have posted my Legendary Edition Reach, eeeeeeeeeeeeeexcited! Oh there's chart news?

  • darkmorgado #6 1 year ago

    Nintendo may have their worst month, but when you consider their lifetime sales, and also their profits, they are f*cking light years ahead of both Sony and MS.

    Ninty have never posted a loss in over 100 years and are stupidly affluent as a result. Sony operate on the borderline after blowing all their PS2 profit on the PS3, and Xbox has a huge net loss.

    The difference? Nintendo don't plunge stupid amounts of money into tech development and they then actually sell their consoles at a profit. MS and Sony sell their consoles at a massive loss, hoping that Software will make up for it using some bizarre Field of Dreams style philosophy.

    Everyone knocks the Gamecube saying it was Nintendos darkest day, but Ninty actually made a mint from it.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 00:38

  • Yossarian #7 1 year ago

    If you don't think Microsoft is making money hand over fist right now (like, right now, post-RRoD) you are bananas.

  • darkmorgado #8 1 year ago

    If you don't think Microsoft is making money hand over fist right now (like, right now, post-RRoD) you are bananas.

    Really? Check the lifetime operating profit/loss by Microsoft and they have made a MASSIVE loss. They might be making profit in current-terms, but it doesn't come close to absorbing the loss they have made in the past.

    If you don't believe me
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 00:59

  • Collymilad #9 1 year ago

    Yeah pretty sure MS are making money now at least.

    Also, Nintendo are minted now because they are smart, but they also pretty much sold out. I hate to beat a dead horse here, but lets face it, Nintendo won this gen by targeting the lowest common denominator and selling them shite. Nintendo still make good games and there are some great games on Wii, but as a gamers platform it's a bit of a joke.

  • NHDavid #10 1 year ago

    If you don't think Microsoft is making money hand over fist right now (like, right now, post-RRoD) you are bananas.

    This

    Plus when Reach launches and Kinect comes out.....the 360 could win Xmas......

  • darkmorgado #11 1 year ago

    XBOX has cost MS almost a 10 BILLION LOSS.

    Nintendo has made nearly 33 Billion profit.

    Sony has around 3 Billion profit (they would have had a lot more, but they blew most of their money on PS3 development).

    These are the actual figures from their own financial statements. These are facts. Just because you don't like that they dont support your fanboy view doesn't make them any less true.

    EDIT: Negs obviously coming from Fanboys who can't actually accept that the FACTS in my previous post are true.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 01:05

  • woodnotes #12 1 year ago

    This can't be right. Everyone told me that Microsoft were doomed because they have no big exclusives. Everyone told me every year. Oh, and everyone tells me that Kinect is doomed too.

  • metallicorphan #13 1 year ago

    @darkmorgado

    wasn't it said just about a month ago that SONY have only just started to make a profit on the PS3?..and that link you put up in a previous post is from March 2009

    EDIT:nevermind i see its Sony Gaming instead of actual PS3(way to cheat there SONY)
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 01:08

  • woodnotes #14 1 year ago

    darkmorgado: Something you should learn about business. You're only as good as your last fiscal year.

  • darkmorgado #15 1 year ago

    @metallicorphan

    Their post related to their current status. It didn't take into the account the previous losses they had accumulated.

    In basic language, they were basically saying "we made a thousand pounds this year, but we lost 3 grand last year"

    When you add the numbers up, they still have an operational loss rather than a profit.

  • Yossarian #16 1 year ago

    darkmorgado, prince of Nintendo fanboys, can you please reread my post, especially the part where I said "right now". That was a really important, some would say pivotal, part of the sentence I typed.

  • darkmorgado #17 1 year ago

    darkmorgado, prince of Nintendo fanboys

    Please point out any post where I have been a fanboy of Nintendo.

    While you are doing that, please counter it with the numerous other posts showing that I own all 3 consoles, with (at current count) 83 games on the 360, 22 on PS3 and 24 on Wii, and over 250 on PC.

  • darkmorgado #18 1 year ago

    To clarify, whether one company or another is making profit has no reflection on the perceived quality of their machine. I spend most of my time on my 360. I only use my 360 and Wii for exclusives or particularly quirky games (2D Dot Game Heroes, Demon's Souls, Little King's Story, etc).

    It just annoys me when people take things out of context and say "Microsoft are making money hand over fist" or "Sony is now making a profit", without actually doing the math and seeing that, actually, when you add all the previous operating years together, they are actually absorbing loss rather than making profit.

    As far as I am concerned, profit is when you are out of the red and into the black. It's like living in an overdraft. You might earn more in one year than the last one, but if your overall bank balance is still in an overdraft, you aren't in profit, are you?

  • Keivz #19 1 year ago

    @darkmorgado
    I'm curious, where do you keep your games? I've yet to dedicate shelf space myself:

    http://i6 65.photobucket.com/albums/vv18/...

  • Diomedes #20 1 year ago

    Wii is losing steam ,and with Kinect and Move out it will lose even more in coming months ...

  • darkmorgado #21 1 year ago

    There are two ways of viewing finances.

    There is the first way, where you compare your earnings this year to your earnings last year (compared against loss). This is called year - on year gain, and is usually how KPI's (Key Performance Indicators) are measured in internal reports. In this regard yes, all three manufacturers are in profit.

    Then there is the longer term, where you add up all their profit and loss from the day they started operation to current day. This method tends to give a more realistic figure, as companies need to absorb previous losses before they can be properly considered to be profitable (and need to be doing so at a rate that means that they overtake their loss in a shorter timeframe than in which they accumulated it - risk vs reward). While MS and Sony are actually making a profit based on year on year figures, when you examine the lifetime operational history of their gaming divisions, it will take MS around a decade (assuming current performance continues) before they manage to fully recoup their previous losses and actually become truly profitable. It would take Sony rather shorter, given their massive profitability in the previous console generation. Nintendo don't have to worry about this at all, because as a company they have always maintained a philosophy of selling their hardware at a profit; they other 2 believe in trying to absorb R&D costs through software sales, which is rather unpredictable and wholly dependent on an unpredictable number of variables.

    So, Microsoft (for example) announce they have made X amount of money, compared to Y amount of money last year. That seems, on a cursory glance, to be a profit. But they neglect to publicise their losses. When you look at it that way, it becomes X profit, minus Y amount of previous fiscal loss.

    You then compare the rate of gain (this is where amount of loss over a certain period of time is then compared to the amount of proft, and can be compared to give you a ratio and predicted timescale as to when the actual loss will be fully absorbed). If the rate of gain is lower than the rate of loss, then you abandon the product. If you are a larger company with other divisions, then you may be able to absorb some of the loss over time through the operational profits of those divisons (we see this in Sony and Microsoft, as they have umltiple divisions - Sony with TVs, VAIOS, etc and MS with Windows. Ninty are solely dedicated to gaming, so they don't have that privilege). If it is higher, then you continue. But it becomes harder to analyse this data if companies are relying on business models that rely on "this person buys this product so we lose money, but they MIGHT buy these products, which could recoup it". That introduces a high element of risk and leads to fortune tellers such as Pachter ending up being paid for rubbing their metaphorical crystal balls. It also leads to the platform-holders themselves relying on exclusives, which in turn then leads to publisher pressure to ensure those exclusives gain good review scores, which in turn leads to unscrupulous publishers bribing the press to ensure that they receive said good review scores.

    Sorry for waffling, but:

    A) I know economics
    B) I'm Autsitc, and if there's one thing we are good at, it's maths and systems
    C) I just feel that a lot of people whinging over console profits are actually people who just hold some stupid belief that money earned = better games platform.

    EDIT: Will the person who just negged this please explain? Because I can only surmise that they hold the key to some sort of economic wonderplan that has not yet been considered.

    Edited by 4 at 10/09/10 @ 03:22

  • Yossarian #22 1 year ago

    I feel bad now.

  • darkmorgado #23 1 year ago

    I'm curious, where do you keep your games? I've yet to dedicate shelf space myself:

    I bought a storage unit from IKEA in MK the other day (their Benno range? Something like that), because my existing storage in my TV Unit, my argos-bought glass shelving unit and my previously installed floating bookshelves were overwhelmed. I then filled this new storage unit today (after getting very annoyed that the spaces between the shelving notches in this IKEA unit weren't actually very game friendly if you buy multi-format) to realise that I need at least another 2 more units until my shelves look remotely ordered instead of stacking game cases 2-deep or trying to fit things on top of each other on shelves (which really annoys me, because then you take a game out and another falls in the gap).

  • metalmike25 #24 1 year ago

    @darkmorgado

    you don't even need to be knowledgable about economics to understand what you're saying. You're getting marked down by people unwilling to provide any facts to dispute your claim. i wouldn't waste my breath trying to explain the basics. No wonder we're in a recession

  • darkmorgado #25 1 year ago

    I feel bad now

    Don't feel bad mate. I just hope I've now properly explained where I am coming from.

  • darkmorgado #26 1 year ago

    Please post links to these figures that you are pulling out of your fucking arse.

    I already did thanks. I direct you to post number 8

  • Marshall2008 #27 1 year ago

    And you quote Microsoft figures which are wildly inaccurate as they include massive losses (including the purchase of Danger, half a billion dollars alone and the whole mobile devices division, including the failed KIN series handset and the development of the soon to be launched windows 7 phones.) Your comparison is based on bullshit.

    Of course I am glad that Microsoft and Sony are willing to bear losses as the gaming world would be a fucking shadow of itself if we left it to nintendo push the industry forward. Seriously, how many times can you re-skin a fucking mario game?!?

  • darkmorgado #28 1 year ago

    @Marshall2008

    THe figures given are purely from their games divisions, not the entire companies. I believe you missed my earlier point where I discussed how corporations can absorb losses from their gaming divisions if their other divisions are profitable enough.

    Also, The constant use of a player character does not mean that the game mechanics themselves do not evolve. If all Mario games were still 8-bit side-scrolling platformers, then you might have a point. But they aren't are they? Mario 64 practically invented the 3D platformer. Mario Galaxy went one step further.


  • flippet #29 1 year ago

    @darkmorgado

    You do realise those figures are for Microsoft's entire Entertainment and Devices Division not just Xbox don't you? While I'm not saying they've made a profit through xbox, the waters are a little muddier than you imply - MS have lost a lot of money through Windows Mobile, the Kin, Zune, huge spending on PR etc. none of which have anything to do with xbox but are included in those figures you provided.

    So it's really not true when you say something like xbox has lost MS nearly 10 billion; it's quite hard to judge just how much they've lost but it's sure to be considerably less than this!

    Just read your last post, and I don't think you are correct - the figures are for Microsoft's EDD which include:
    - Xbox LIVE.
    - Xbox 360 accessories
    - The Zune
    - PC software games, online games and services.
    - Mediaroom Internet protocol television software.
    - The Microsoft Surface computing platform.
    - Windows Mobile and Embedded device platforms, including Kin
    - Application software for Apple Macs.
    - Microsoft PC hardware products, and other devices.
    - All retail sales and marketing for Microsoft Office and Windows operating systems
    Edited by 2 at 10/09/10 @ 02:48

  • darkmorgado #30 1 year ago

    @flippet

    I will need to investigate that, but I have not read a single financial report, or game-industry report, that has actually stated that either the 360 or PS3 has made profit. Most reporting has stated that both consoles are actually still running at an operational loss, rather than making money.

    Feel free to post links proving me wrong, I would be glad for the information :-)

  • flippet #31 1 year ago

    I do agree that xbox is still probably in the red overall, but with the way MS mixes its division's financial reports it's very difficult to get any idea of scale. In addition, MS has gone through so many division reorganisations xbox just can't be financially isolated (probably intentionally!)...I seem to remember at one stage xbox being lumped in with MSN, which has always been a massive lossmaker...no idea if this was included in those figures.

    Microsoft's EDD made a profit of $679 million for the last fiscal year, although the last quarter was actually lossmaking due to the large hit taken from the Kin. It seems likely that xbox is the major financial profit-maker for the division, with most other ventures lossmaking (especially windows mobile), therefore xbox is likely to be making a large enough operating profit to counter the rest of the department and still show profit afterwards.

    http://ga mrfeed.vgchartz.com/story/80986...
    Edited by 2 at 10/09/10 @ 03:32

  • darkmorgado #32 1 year ago

    I am almost 100% certain that their XBox reports have always been separated from the rest of their business.

    As said before, please feel free to provide me with information otheriwse.

  • Psychotext #33 1 year ago

    Here you go darkmorgado: E&D - [link url=http://en.w ikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_Product_Divisions#Microsoft_Ente rtainment_and_Devices_Division
    ]http://en .wikipedia.org/wiki/Microsoft_P...[/link]

    ...and here's their latest earnings release: [link url=http ://www.microsoft.com/investor/EarningsAndFinancials/Earnings /PressReleaseAndWebcast/FY10/Q4/default.aspx
    ]http://ww w.microsoft.com/investor/Earnin...[/link]

    (Note references to E&D, rather than a gaming division which doesn't technically exist)

  • KDR_11k #34 1 year ago

    So they don't even list PC games? Well,that's a way of pushing the industry agenda of telling everyone "PC gaming is dead"...

  • flippet #35 1 year ago

    "I am almost 100% certain that their XBox reports have always been separated from the rest of their business.
    As said before, please feel free to provide me with information otheriwse."

    @darkmorgado
    I'm sorry but that's just erroneous...even the link you yourself provided states MS figures are not properly comparable due to xbox being lumped in with non-gaming & PC ventures.

    Although there may be accompanying statements from MS specifically regarding xbox revenue, any fiscal report whether quarterly or yearly refers to the whole Electronics and Devices Division.

  • anomagnus #36 1 year ago

    @ darkmorgado

    regarding post 31, where you say you've never read a games report saying that the xbox had made a profit.

    http://ww w.joystiq.com/2008/01/24/the-xb...

    [link url=http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view /80929-Xbox-360-Turns-a-Profit
    ]http://ww w.escapistmagazine.com/news/vie...[/link]

    [link url=http://venturebeat.com/2010/04/2 2/microsofts-video-game-business-turns-a-profit/
    ]http://ve nturebeat.com/2010/04/22/micros...[/link]

    [link url=http://news.teamxbox.c om/xbox/20346/Xbox-Division-Records-Second-Profitable-Year-i n-a-Row/
    ]http://ne ws.teamxbox.com/xbox/20346/Xbox...[/link]

    [link url=http://www.industrygamers .com/news/xbox-division-posts-second-straight-profitable-yea r/
    ]http://ww w.industrygamers.com/news/xbox-...[/link]

    Not sure what the current sitution is, as has been pointed out, you're only as good as your last year. Just saying, you're ring fencing yuorself pretty hard here, and i'm not sure you're entirely accurate.

  • flippet #37 1 year ago

    Have just been checking and yep, as I mentioned previously, MSN reports used to be grouped in with xbox until late 2005. MSN has always been notoriously lossmaking, and considering the chart you linked to begins its accounts in 2001 the data are not a good source from which to base judgements on xbox losses.

    http://www.msnbc .msn.com/id/9409924/

  • mcmonkeyplc #38 1 year ago

    Darkmongoloid, take a chill pill. MS makes more money than Jesus at the moment.

  • HistoryTeller #39 1 year ago

    Darkmogardo

    1

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  • darkmorgado #41 1 year ago

    Darkmongoloid, take a chill pill

    Wow. You decide to call someone a mongoloid because they have Autism?

    You've earned yourself a fucking complaint you c*nt.

    edit: Why not call me a faggot as well and earn yourself some more points? F*cking disablist, offensive b*stard. And that's me being kind.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 08:47

  • darkmorgado #42 1 year ago

    anomagnous

    You missed the part where I made a clear distinction between year-on-year profit and profit v loss over their operational lifespan.

    If I remember, the announcement that Xbox had become profitable only occurred a few months ago, but this was also shown to be relative compared to previous years, and not an announcement that they had managed to absorbed the accumulated loss over the last ten years.

    Feel free to neg me all you want, but as I am being reasonable, objective and not being remotely fanboyish (and those who know me on here will know that I own all consoles and am quite willing to criticise/praise them all equally), you are only revealing how open you are to knee-jerk reactions.

    EDIT: Thanks for the links btw. Will properly investigate them later, after I have finished giving evidence against my former carer.
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 08:28

  • 00.00.01 #43 1 year ago

    Just read through this thread...It became obvious that the more impartial, more balanced, less console-dividing contributors do their talking during the night. When I'm gaming.
    Thanks though, nice reading and good (though slightly confusing) fact-finding.

  • riceNpea #44 1 year ago

    why weren't you all in bed? what's 3 in the morning like? i've never seen it sober : )

  • darkmorgado #45 1 year ago

    A lot of people on here negging comments that are completely objective, without posting comments themselves.

    Fanboy alert!

    Oh, and shame on the people that negged the comment criticising the disablist comment that stonecold made.

  • darkmorgado #46 1 year ago

    @riceNpea

    I can't remember the last time I was actually in bed before 3am (unless I was with the otherhalf, but we'll ignore that one). SLEEP DISORDER FTW!

  • Nighthawk_08 #47 1 year ago

    Anyone know what the sales figures are worldwide/Europe?? I'm living in uk and only ever seem to read about north america sales. Just curious to see how far ahead xbox is from ps3 from it's year head start and how much wii has dominated

  • dingo75 #48 1 year ago

    Well to me the question is whether someone high up in MS might one day decide to kill the Xbox since although Microsoft is selling them now well enough to turn a profi they again failed to reach their goal of total dominance in the homes with the Xbox centered as one-stop device for all media needs.
    They might selll them now for a profit but the R&D for the next console will be huge I can imagine and might push them overall back in the red.
    Might as well decide "Fuck it we are outta here!" instead but what do I know.

  • darkmorgado #49 1 year ago

    @Nighthawk

    If I recall correctly, MS/Sony are neck and neck in EU, with Sony leaving MS in the dust in asia. Nintendo has already lapped them 3 times and is pulling faces at the camera in every region across the globe.

  • BAM! #50 1 year ago

    I'm so glad MS are making money. I mean, that's the only reason we play games isn't it, to contribute to the coffers of insanely weathy mega corporations.

  • Nighthawk_08 #51 1 year ago

    Thanks for the info fellas. It looks like the ps3 is doing much better than I thought and much better than the media makes out. I was under the impression that it was waaaaay behind but I bet if you put sales to lifetime figures the ps3 must be infront of xbox. But hell not of this really matters too much. I enjoyed my xbox while I had it. It was awesome. And now I'm on my ps3 I absolutely love that. It's a win win for people who play games in my opinion that the industry is doing so well

  • Negotiator #52 1 year ago

    Let me just break it down for you all, Xbox is kicking ass.

  • itsfuzzy #53 1 year ago

    Looks like people are even getting sick of the Ace up Nintendos sleeve.

    Mario im looking at you. The worm is turning

  • ryandsimmons #54 1 year ago

    "The Wii managed 244,3000 sales, which was only marginally behind PlayStation 3's 226,000 sales"

    Fuck me. Does no one ever proof read these articles?

  • Petulant_Radish #55 1 year ago

    Why do you some of you care so deeply about sales figures and if Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are making a profit or not? All three are unlikely to be bankrupt any time soon so, quite frankly, who gives a shit?

  • Widge #56 1 year ago

    It makes interesting reading from a knowledge point of view, but yeah, we shouldn't care so much.

  • TheApologist #57 1 year ago

    Starcraft doesn't get listed? It's almost like NPD numbers are a stupid waste of time.

  • TopKatt #58 1 year ago

    Meh. I've said it before and I'll say it again, all three of the current gen consoles have doen enough to be considered a success.

  • Kremlik Verified Co-Founder, Crash To Desktop #59 1 year ago

    The sales increase is twofold really: 1) new console version out so ppl 'upgrade' (even tho it's a downgrade for some) and 2) another Halo is around the coner so ppl are buying back a 360 just to tade it in again (yes ppl do that).

    A month of good sales doesn't mean it'll continue that strong, yes we have Kinnect and Move comming out but as already proven they aren't exactally console sellers on their own yet - Christmas is still a three horse race, money is on the DS TBH.

  • coolbritannia #60 1 year ago

    @darkmorgado, how the hell did you find 24 games worth playing on the Wii?

  • mcmonkeyplc #61 1 year ago

    What the hell?! Who said anything about austisim?

    It's a play on your name.

    Chill winston.

  • JayG #62 1 year ago

    Dark, I might not agree with u, but I think u argued your case very well and I don't understand why some people can't just have a civilised discussion. While MS is doing very well they do seem to be moving away from the hard core aspect of gaming and trying to appeal a lot more to mainstream, so maybe they ain't that happy with the sales they have had to date.

  • UsernamePending #63 1 year ago

    Dark,

    I disagree and think you've made rather a fool of yourself here with your confusion between opinion and fact, poorly sourced and incomplete figures, then stream of comments trying to justify yourself, as if it matters. Honestly; autism? 24 Wii Games?

  • JetSetWilly #64 1 year ago

    Got a tip? Email news@eurogamer.net

    Proof read your articles.

  • Mono_X #65 1 year ago

    @Collymilad

    I hate to beat a dead horse here, but lets face it, Nintendo won this gen by targeting the lowest common denominator and selling them shite.

    To be fair, Sony more or less did this with the PS1 & PS2.

    Remember when Sony used to put PS1s into nightclubs to target non-gamers - it was considered a marketing masterstroke at the the time. The PS1 became the console that people played FIFA on when they got back from the club on Friday night and were chilling. A pretty good example of casual gaming to me.

    And the PS2? How many good games has it got? 200? 500? But how many games in total have been released for it? About 10,000! 95% of PS2 games were shovelware.

    Infact some of the shovelware on the Wii is old PS2 shovelware that's been ported and repackaged.
    Edited by 3 at 10/09/10 @ 09:53

  • Bealsy #66 1 year ago

    Well done MS.

    Am I the only one who thinks it's nice to see the gaming industry doing well in this "recession" and not giving two fucks about bumming the consoles I own?

  • Retro_ #67 1 year ago

    Now the 360 is the same colour and shiniess as oil, it's sell bucket loads.

  • captainrentboy #68 1 year ago

    "The Wii managed 244,3000 sales, which was only marginally behind PlayStation 3's 226,000 sales"
    CVG is reporting the exact same sales figures and is also reporting the fun fact that 226'000 is a higher number than 244'300. Where in the hell do these sites copy and paste their info from? :/
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 10:22

  • jag10 #69 1 year ago

    a difference of 130,700.

  • tossum #70 1 year ago

    Darkmorgado: Stop playing the disability card. You are not disabled here. We are equal

  • Xardan #71 1 year ago

    Go xbox!

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #72 1 year ago

    Oops, removed a zero from the Wii total. Sorry about that.

  • Bertie Verified Senior Staff Writer, Eurogamer.net #73 1 year ago

    The Wii wasn't the worst selling console of the month, PlayStation 3 was. Sorry again. I don't know what my head was up to.

    My information came directly from the NPD press release - I assume CVG's didn't. Simply misread the number as 224,300. Quite a significant mistake actually, if I don't say so myself - not to mention typing it as 244,3000 to begin with.

    Sorry - I hope it wasn't too misleading.



    Edited by 2 at 10/09/10 @ 11:20

  • flippet #74 1 year ago

    @Darkmorgado, you've made your case rationally and logically, backing it up with a named source, and despite the fact that I belive that source to be misleading I've enjoyed the discussion!

    That being said, you wrote:

    "If I remember, the announcement that Xbox had become profitable only occurred a few months ago, but this was also shown to be relative compared to previous years, and not an announcement that they had managed to absorbed the accumulated loss over the last ten years."

    Just have to point out MS made the profitablility announcement in Jan 2008, which means they became profitable in 2007... and although they had one report where they only scraped a profit they earned $679 million last financial year despite losses incurred through most of the rest of the division.

    http://ww w.joystiq.com/2008/01/24/the-xb...

    Like I said, I still think xbox is running at an overall loss but it is making MS money at a rate that might well overturn that in the next few years...which of course nobody will know because of the annoying way they group their financial reports!

  • lockload #75 1 year ago

    The king is dead long live the new king

    The xbox division has been making money for the last 3 years nothign new
    Edited by 1 at 10/09/10 @ 11:46

  • SpaceMidget75 Verified Senior Software Developer, Minerva Computer Services #76 1 year ago

    Share price is more important than profit.

    Neither are as important as playing games.

  • Cronan #77 1 year ago

    So, is 2011 going to be Sony's year then? ;-)

  • thesnowman #78 1 year ago

    People saying they are suprised that the PS3 and the Xbox 360 are about even need to think about where we were last gen. If someone were to tell you that the Xbox would hammer the ps3 in the US, would be about even in the EU, with only Japan were the ps3 was performing well, you wouldnt believe them. The PS2 hammered the original xbox in the US, the ps2 was a good console and sony had so much fan loyalty. However a combination of good games/marketing by MS and fuck ups by sony have reduced its lead. Also who would have thought the Wii would be kicking everyones ass.

  • Bigglesworth #79 1 year ago

    "Why do you some of you care so deeply about sales figures"

    We care because EG tells us we should, don't we?

  • Stuz359 #80 1 year ago

    I hate to beat a dead horse here, but lets face it, Nintendo won this gen by targeting the lowest common denominator and selling them shite.

    --------------------------------------

    Not entirely true. Nintendo targeted the non-gaming majority. Lowest common denominator suggests the least intellectually gifted people you can find, but I know of people who have bought a Wii who have never even considered owning and Videogames console in their life. These are not stupid people, but middle aged, middle class people who are fairly affluent. Hardly lowest common denominator.

  • Basoy #81 1 year ago

    selling them shite

    List the shite please.

  • Quixz #82 1 year ago

    Wow! Do you guy have shares in these companies?

  • Khanivor #83 1 year ago

    Where did our economic savant who can't read economic reports go?

  • des #84 1 year ago

    Sony last again,nothing has changed since the start of this gen.


  • Calgon #85 1 year ago

    LOL I can't beleive there are still idiots trying to spread FUD about MS's xbox business being scrapped(how many years have they been having wet dreams hoping for it now?), even when they are outperforming Sony... madness. MS are just as well established as Sony are in the console industry, its nothing like last gen, they have all the key partners working with them, they have everything in place on the hardware side to compete now too, not to mention their online business model being ahead of the competition. With that in mind I'd say there's probably more chance of Sony pulling out than MS as it stands today but that wont happen either, so relax and stop pretending you have the foggiest idea about any of it.

    It's almost as if they feel they have something to gain by that happening... shares in Sony perhaps? I dont know but its just stupid behaviour all the same.

  • Sid-Nice #86 1 year ago

    I can't wait for Kinect to finally kill the Wii. I always knew that the Xbox would win. It has been a long time coming but Microsoft are now about to bring console gaming back where it belongs. America invented gaming and the Japanese stole their ideas; just like the motorcar market really.

    I’m sick of being told that Nintendo make innovating games when all they do is make rehashed bollocks usually containing a plumber who looks surprisingly like an American porn star.

  • Downside #87 1 year ago

    Nintendo have a fabulous business model, of making the publisher bear the cost of making the product, taking their cut before the publisher has shifted a single unit.That's very canny. For all the years of production, my GF's DS only has two games.. prof leyton. Every time we look at anything else, she dismisses it (she's very picky). I don't see two games as being a great attach rate, but then Nintendo don't care as they've had their profit from all the ones she didn't want to buy!



  • Nephirion #88 1 year ago

    Im bored of the pissing competition between the big corps

  • kasabian72 #89 1 year ago

    "Meh. I've said it before and I'll say it again, all three of the current gen consoles have doen enough to be considered a success. "

    This. Wii's success with hardware sales, 360's success with software sales, PS3's success with blu-ray, and other successes for each console past, present, and future...all 3 have succeded this generation.

    Having access to all three(owning only 2 and heavily preffering one), i read this and thought "interesting". When one of these companies start sending me royalty payments, or a profit percentage, then i might root for the demise of the others. Till then, happy gaming to all.

  • MizzouGaming #90 1 year ago

    It really is hard to believe SONY used to COMPLETELY DOMINATE the console market.

  • vizzini #91 1 year ago

    Do Eurogamer get paid to be a spin doctor? here is a paragraph from their sister site about the same sales figures that certainly don't give an indication for anyone to celebrate.

    [link url=http://www.gamesindustry.biz/art icles/2010-09-10-npd-sales-slump-continues-in-us
    ]http://ww w.gamesindustry.biz/articles/20...[/link]

    NPD: Sales slump continues in US

    Sales of videogames, hardware and related peripherals continue to slump in the US, with the worst August sales since 2006 - before the launch of the PlayStation 3 and Nintendo's Wii.

    If anything, an overall down turn in the US is going to be worse for Microsoft, as they aren't performing in Japan; iirc southern Europe is an area where they aren't matching thier rivals and the console sales in some parts of the world where piracy is widespread isn't really worth much either.

    I think the more telling sign about this generation is how publishers like EA have positioned themselves recently. Publisher backing is really the deciding factor in all these console generations, and we all remember Sega's platform exit without Fifa, Madden, Pga Tour golf.

    Global and territory market share are important, but so is the platform's level of piracy per territory, attachment rate, consumer type(like what percentage are online to buy DLC) and then you'd be interested in the perceived value, as to how well and for how long the RRP of a game will hold up on each platform. Publishers would also be interested in the number of actual unique console customers per platform; rather than one user who bought a spare or had to buy a h/w replacement.

    Looking at these factors, I think we can safely concluded that the Wii's position is slipping this generation even though they've sold 30Million more units, and making conclusions about the other two is dependent on Exclusives, Move, Kinect, Blu-ray & 3D adoption and most importantly, latitude for new SKUs or new price points.

  • Skurmedel #92 1 year ago

    This is the goto guy for economics. Somebody should ask him:
    http://www .youtube.com/watch?v=Ufj08QCR0KQ