PlayStation 2 105.9K
PlayStation 3 210.0K
PSP 140.3K
Xbox 360 215.4K
Wii 277.4K
Nintendo DS 552.9K
MADDEN NFL 10 (360; Aug-09) 928,000
WII SPORTS RESORT W/ WII MOTION PLUS (WII; Jul-09) 754,000
MADDEN NFL 10 (PS3; Aug-09) 665,000
BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM* (360; Aug-09) 303,000
BATMAN: ARKHAM ASYLUM* PS3; Aug-09) 290,000
MADDEN NFL 10 (PS2; Aug-09) 160,000
DISSIDIA: FINAL FANTASY (PSP; Aug-09) 130,000
WII FIT* (WII; May-08) 128,000
MARIO KART W/WHEEL (WII; Apr-08) 120,000
FOSSIL FIGHTERS (NDS; Aug-09) 92,000
(*includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)
And now for a word from Anita Fraizer….
The industry realized its sixth consecutive month-over-month decline, and while improved over the last several months, it’s still a notable decline. The back four months of the year would have to be up 14% in aggregate for 2009 to come in flat in comparison to 2008 sales.
The price cuts implemented on the PS3 and 360 hardware already made an impact on unit sales, despite having been executed fairly late in the month. It will be interesting to see the full impact of the new price points on September sales.
All hardware systems with the exception of the PS2 realized an increase in unit sales over July. The PS3 captured the greatest increase month-over-month with unit sales boosted by 72% over July levels.
There is a lot of speculation about Wii and whether Nintendo will take a price cut as sales comps to last year show declines. I do think it’s interesting to note that the Wii is still selling at levels comparable to what the PS2 was doing at about this point in its lifecycle.
As many predicted, Madden captured the top spot for the month, selling nearly 1.9 million units across its five SKU’s.
With the introduction of Beatles: Rock Band and Guitar Hero 5 in September, a lot of folks have inquired about the performance of these titles and the music/dance genre. While sales of this genre are down 46% year-to-date, unit sales are down much less because lower prices are playing into the dollar sales decline. It’s still the third best-selling genre for the year after General Action and Multiple/Other Sports (where Wii Fit resides).
The PS3 was the only platform to realize a year-over-year increase in total software sales and this is reflected in the top 10 list for the month which includes two PS3 games.
Accessories was the only category to experience an increase for the month of August over last year’s sales. The uptick in hardware sales helps to spur sales of additional controllers and other peripherals which help consumers enjoy their new system(s).
Note that Fraizer didn’t call for Wii to have a price cut. Why should it have a price cut when it is still selling around PS2 levels?
When did the PS2 first have a price cut? I forget the time, but I believe the PS2 did have one within its first three years.
What Iwata is trying to do with the Wii is quite unprecedented. Nintendo really does believe they are in a way against disinterest in gaming. In other words, Nintendo is in a war to create and maintain value of gaming. Constant price cuts on both software and hardware signal declining value. If Nintendo can keep the ship steady at the same price, it considers it winning in the war against disinterest.
No console has gone as long as the Wii without a price-cut. It is unprecedented.
For all the talk about sales numbers, we shouldn’t forget about the issue of price drops. It is better to sell a million units at $50 than two million units at $20. Not only is it more revenue, but it means it is maintaining its value.
Blue Ocean Strategy is about value innovation. Red Ocean Strategy is to increase value by undercutting your opponents (such as through price drops and having more ‘features’ like faster processors).
I love seeing Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii still up in the top ten. I can’t wait for New Super Mario Brothers Wii to join them. And Wii Sports Resort is quite a monster. When will Resort stop selling? It may never leave the top ten list. Note that Wii software tends to ‘hang out’ in the top ten year after year. The ‘core’ games say ‘hi’ in the top ten and then vanish a month or two later. If I was a publisher, I’d much rather have my game hang out in the top ten to get all the sales at the first few weeks.
Fossil Fighters being on the list is no surprise to me. Around me, kids were talking much about it. Apparently, there had to have been good advertising on the shows kids watched and all. How else could they all know about it?
Interesting to note how the PS3 software is shooting up. This is likely due to the increased PS3 purchases.
PS3 and 360, since they share much of the same software library, are going to be seeing their software sales cannibalized from one another. If you own both consoles, why buy Madden for both of them? I wonder how many of the PS3 sales are coming from multi-platform gamers, from 360 owners primarily.
Alas for our brilliant analysts, there is no “Nintendo doomed!!!” today. But stay tuned for next week/month/day. No ‘doom’ today. But always a ‘doom’ tomorrow. There is always a ‘doom’ tomorrow.