The August NPD Numbers have been released. The NPD Group is the leading independent video game research firm, that monitors and tracks video game hardware and software sales in North America. PS3 was the only platform to show year over year growth in sales.
Hardware
- PlayStation 2 105.9K
- PlayStation 3 210.0K
- PSP 140.3K
- Xbox 360 215.4K
- Wii 277.4K
- Nintendo DS 552.9K
Software
- 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)
Input from the NPD Group’s Anita Frazier:
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.
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.
