Platform holders respond to NPD data

By Ellie Gibson Published 12 December, 2008

Sony a bit quiet, others pleased with selves.

Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have issued statements following the release of NPD US sales data for November.

Yes, Nintendo's winning again, with their products accounting for nearly 80 per cent of all hardware sales. Nearly 60 per cent of consoles sold were Wiis, and 66 per cent of handhelds sold were DS units.

More than 2 million Wii and 1.56 million DS machines were shifted during November. That means lifetime sales for Nintendo's home console have now topped 15 million in the US, while the figure for DS stands at 24.6m.

The most popular first-party game of the month was Wii Play, with nearly 800,000 units shifted. Wii Fit followed (697,000) along with Mario Kart (637,000) and Wii Music (297,000, "following its long-tail trend", according to Nintendo).

"Shoppers are looking for gifts that can be enjoyed by the whole family," said Nintendo exec Cammie Dunaway, who recently bought herself a new house made of diamond bricks. "Nintendo provides an incomparable range of experiences that gets the whole family involved." Money can't buy grammar, you see.

Microsoft was also feeling pleased with itself, pointing out that the Xbox 360 "outsold PS3 and PS2 combined" during November with 836,000 units shifted. Apparently it's got a "2 to 1 sales advantage", according to NPD figures "and Microsoft internal data".

In Europe, sales of Xbox 360 were up 124 per cent year-on-year. For Wii that figure stands at 43 per cent, noted Microsoft, while for PS3 it's just 3 per cent.

Each Xbox 360 owner possesses eight games, on average, giving the console the best software attach rate. Third-parties have made more money out of Xbox 360 software than games for Wii and PS3 combined. Top-selling games during November included Gears of War 2 (1.6 million units shifted) and Fable 2 (184,000).

"We've created the optimal line-up of experiences this holiday season for families," said Don Mattrick, who is meeting Cammie Dunaway in the car park later for a fight 3.30 no blades.

"We have the largest library of games, TV and movie content and the most expansive and rewarding social experiences."

Sony's press release leads by highlighting the "strong sales momentum" of PS3, with hardware sales experiencing year-to-date growth of 60 per cent. Total hardware revenue was only up by 9 per cent though.

More than 1 million PlayStation consoles were sold during November, up 93 per cent over the previous month. The PS3 figure of 378,000 units was described as "solid". Software's doing well, with 3.5 million games sold during the month and year-to-date growth of 150 per cent.

The number of PSPs sold during November stood at more than 420,000 units, while 206,000 PS2 consoles were shifted. Over all, the PlayStation "brand" earned Sony USD 663 million.

There's no executive quote on Sony's press release. Perhaps Jack Tretton and Kaz Hirai are too busy barbecuing turkey burgers and chilling here on the deck.

Picture of Ellie.

About Ellie Gibson

Since joining Eurogamer in the mid 2000s, Ellie has written about subjects as diverse as the fall of Gizmondo, the rise of Hollyoaks actresses in Red Alert games and the noise a bear makes under NSFW circumstances.

Read more articles from Ellie by visiting the Ellie Gibson archive page.

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Comments (33) Latest comment 3 years ago

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

  • menage #1 3 years ago

    I wish I had children so I could experience this "family" gaming thing Nintendo describes. Sniff. All my mum wants to do is play scrabble, and that's 18+ as well now I believe:p

    Ah welll, back to Fallout then.

  • Petulant_Radish #2 3 years ago

    Last!

  • drumbaby #3 3 years ago

    Fourth!

  • LazyDan #4 3 years ago

    As much as I love the Wii and think the PS3 is an overpriced piece of redundant, I have to say there is one party/family game that kings all others in terms of getting -everybody- involved and almost even making the night...

    That game is Singstar. I've never seen a single game be played so much for so long at a party I was at recently, and it is actually ace fun.

    Where's our Singstar Nintendo >:( I'd get Lips, but I'm wary of it because Eurogamer says it's too buggy to play - even though other places seem to like it.

  • ChrisS #5 3 years ago

    I think Dunaway's statement is actually grammatically correct if you take it to be the 'range' that gets the whole family involved rather than the 'experiences'.

  • paulf #6 3 years ago

    I love how both sony and ms continue to conveniently forget that wii exists and still believe the battle for this generation is between ps3 and xbox 360

  • Dizzy #7 3 years ago

    "I love how both sony and ms continue to conveniently forget that wii exists and still believe the battle for this generation is between ps3 and xbox 360 "

    Yes and no. The top software was not for Wii was it despite the Wii selling more hardware. So there is more than one way to skin a bear.

  • killyourtv #8 3 years ago

    Do all these people who actually buy Wii's buy any games for it. Or do they just play Wii Sports for a week and then forget the console even exists

  • penhalion #9 3 years ago

    Nintendo are winning because there is a recession on and people are buying for the familiy as opposed to for each individual. A Wii, complete with remotes is an instant family hit and will definitely be well used over christmas.

    I've even started dusting mine off for some family fun.

  • killyourtv #10 3 years ago

    "family" gaming is lame

  • CallousB #11 3 years ago

    "Do all these people who actually buy Wii's buy any games for it"

    Well the top 10 selling games this gen are-

    1.Wii Play
    2.Wii Fit
    3.Mario Kart Wii
    4.Halo 3 (360)
    5.Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii)
    6.Super Mario Galaxy (Wii)
    7.Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360)
    8.Grand Theft Auto IV(360)
    9.Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games(Wii)
    10.Mario Party 8(Wii)

    All have sold above 5 million...the top 3 above 10 million.

  • Bulbatron #12 3 years ago

    I reckon people who buy a Wii just play it for a week or something. I actually have a Wii myself, but I only bought it to replace my GameCube which was destroyed when my house was flooded. The only game I ever bothered buying for the Wii was Resident Evil 4 - Wii Edition. I also have a few Virtual Console games, but that's it. There's nothing else out on the Wii that interests me. Even my GameCube collection (which of course, I can now play on the Wii) is extremely small. It consists of Eternal Darkness and the Resident Evil games.

  • Rirekon #13 3 years ago

    @ Dizzy;
    You may want to check those figures again ;)

  • Mongoose #14 3 years ago

    Nice controversial subtitle as always Eurogamer...

  • ardamillo #15 3 years ago

    I agree with ChrisS. Someone has to stand up for PR reps :)

  • udat #16 3 years ago

    I'm not sure "Wii Play" can be considered a "game". It's a 5 quid set of shit demos that come with an (essential) extra controller.

  • Sunyavadin #17 3 years ago

    I await the standard Sony response:

    "Playstation family sold 1 million total units! Outselling the 360 by 200,000 and Nintendo DS by 600,000! the Wii is just a fad, not a real console, so we're not worried by their sales"

  • BobsUncle #18 3 years ago

    I'm glad someone else pointed this out (udat). Wii play would normally be considered a demo, all it's 'games' are basically just demos teaching you how to use the controller that it comes bundled with.

    It's like saying the top selling game on Playstation 1 was Demo 1 which came in the box.

    "I reckon people who buy a Wii just play it for a week or something"

    I even chipped mine so I could play "Imports", and I still never play it.

  • el_pollo_diablo #19 3 years ago

    I'm going to get flamed to hell for saying this, but I feel for Sony at the moment.
    The PS3 is a fantastic piece of kit. It does deserve to do well.
    Certainly put next to the Wii, or at least the games in it's top 10.
    Whatever happened to the Nintendo seal of quality?
    Hats off to Microsoft though.

  • Dizzy #20 3 years ago

    >The PS3 is a fantastic piece of kit. It does deserve to do well.

    Not really. Weird hardware, slow Bluray and expensive. I really do not see why people continue to think it is a great "piece of kit" unless you really like the Bluray thingamajigs. As a media player there are much better alternatives and as a gaming machine as well.

    The PS2 was also junk in the hardware design field (unlike the PS1.. now THAT was a brilliant piece of kit) and I am glad that finally Sony is getting in some trouble over their shitty hardware decisions. Software is the king of any entertainment device design decision now (this is no longer the 1980s) and since software projects are a lot more complex now, any console should be designed with that in mind. I hope they learn their lesson the hard way so the PS4 can finally get back to basics! Sony does have the software talent... it is just the hardware guys that fuck everything up.
    Edited by 2 at 12/12/08 @ 13:52

  • Thunderbolt #21 3 years ago

    How about this for a crazy idea, of those 16 thousand Sony employees that got laid off this week some of them end up in Nintendo because its doing so well and bring with them the high quality standards that they previously employed. A potential win win

  • Rev.StuartCampbell #22 3 years ago

    Somebody please kill the Wii. It may sell well but it's the laughing stock of the insufferable elitist 15-year-old-twathole community.

    Fixed that for you.

  • sneetch #23 3 years ago

    "Don Mattrick, who is meeting Cammie Dunaway in the car park later for a fight 3.30 no blades."

    Twenty bucks on Mattrick!

  • prolific8 #24 3 years ago

    "This is Sony's year. With their killer exclusives such as LittleBigPlanet, Resistance 2, Killzone 2 and the continued decline of Xbox 360, Sony cannot fail to win 2008." - every PS3 apologist, January 2008.

    Ah, the sweet sound of fail.

  • Dizzy #25 3 years ago

    >Ah, the sweet sound of fail.

    The sweet silence of fail surely ;)

  • electrolite #26 3 years ago

    This is special. Almost complete silence from the SDF and new efforts in straining for Wii denial, a race probably won by evilfoxhound and perfectly summed up by Rev.Stuart Campbell. People are still trying to say it doesn't sell games, even now that clearly isn't the case. If the statement was 'third party software doesn't seem to sell' that would appear true, but stamping your feet, sticking your fingers in youe ears and going 'lalalalala' isn't going to make the Wi go away.

    The killer statement seems to be "Third-parties have made more money out of Xbox 360 software than games for Wii and PS3 combined". The 360 was never gonna be the new PS2 and the move for more mass-market share will probably take a while to improve/take hold but, with that in mind, it's increasingly hard to see how this gen could go any better for MS. They're getting a real foothold. If the next machine is not dogged by hardware issues, it could mean real trouble for Sony, being squeezed from both sides.

  • Anasui #27 3 years ago

    "I'm going to get flamed to hell for saying this, but I feel for Sony at the moment.
    The PS3 is a fantastic piece of kit. It does deserve to do well. "


    this is Eurogamer chap, praising Sony would get you applauses

  • Retroid #28 3 years ago

    The PS3 is a great consumer device, very slick, quiet, easy to use. Nice media player too.

  • Dan234 #29 3 years ago

    CNN Money calls the PS3 a "sinking ship" after November's NPD data.

    Link

  • onyxbox #30 3 years ago

    the last thing we want is for Sony to 'sink'... I love 360 and PS3 but wishing either of these 'hardcore' machines to fail would be bad for us all. At the moment we all benefit from the competition and I REALLY don't want a world where it's just Sony or Microsoft.

    Problem is that MS have almost limitless supply of money and I can only see them push and push the competition until the competition is gone... I mean just take a look at all the advertising (2 in every break?)

    There's also so much positive spin on all thing MS these days and so much negativity towards Sony.

    The media seem to revel in wanting Sony to fail and support the new kid on the block (360). Don't get me wrong, 360 does a lot right and the price makes it fantastic value but I don't know why so many sites seem to fuel some premature conclusion about Sony's fate.

    I also think that a lot of the gaming press are already invested emotionally in 360 because of the community aspects with other gaming press bods, Achievements 'n all that... because of the head start 360 had. There's a reluctance to encourage anything that might make devalue that investment.

    I dunno' (I'm rambling) perhaps if Sony go, the PC will always keep MS on their toes if Sony go down the pan.

    (BTW: Nintendo are clearly on their own thing at the moment and they have very little competition, I wonder if MS will go after them now)

  • DAN.E.B #31 3 years ago

    (BTW: Nintendo are clearly on their own thing at the moment and they have very little competition, I wonder if MS will go after them now)

    God i hope not!
    i dont want shit family games on my console its bad enough now with Lips and your in the movies. MS should stick to what they do best, real games for real gamers.

  • SeesThroughAll #32 3 years ago

    @ onyxbox:

    I agree with most of what you say, except this:

    I dunno' (I'm rambling) perhaps if Sony go, the PC will always keep MS on their toes if Sony go down the pan.

    "Games for Windows" rings a bell? How about DirectX?
    The PC would just become the second platform that MS would use to leverage their grip on developers worldwide.

    If Sony leaves the market, consumers are screwed. Far more screwed than they ever were before when Sony had a "monopoly".

  • davisorle #33 3 years ago

    "Each Xbox 360 owner possesses eight games, on average, giving the console the best software attach rate. Third-parties have made more money out of Xbox 360 software than games for Wii and PS3 combined. Top-selling games during November included Gears of War 2 (1.6 million units shifted) and Fable 2 (184,000). "

    Im wondering all those kiddos and fucktards coming out saying about the big 360 console sales that are also the RRoD responsible.. If they all had to buy a second console. that means they have a 16 tittles per consoole? Means that 360 has so much more to offer as a gaming platform which would be not just more than PS3 and Wii combined but more than x2 as much of them both. I myself bought the 360 on day one and it works fine. Even if i've kinda abused it in so many ways... :S MANY MANY waiys. Other than the beating and dropping when i had to travel to Cyprus and US since i got it.

    About the Wii... Is it like a trendy decoration? lol seriously. small software attachment rate etc and such huge sales the whole time month after month.. That's just crazy. And btw i hadnt noticed that a 360 can be cheaper... Oo wtf is up with that? lol I think I've stayed a bit back with the news here