March NPD

[Flawless]

NPD: March Video Game Sales Suffer 17% Decline, First Quarter Flat

Hardware:

• Wii - 601K
• NDS - 563K
• 360 - 330K
• PS3 - 218K
• PSP - 168K
• PS2 - 112K

Software:

• 360 - Resident Evil 5 - 938K
• NDS - Pokemon Platinum - 805K
• 360 - Halo Wars - 639K
• PS3 - Resident Evil 5 - 585K
• Wii - Wii Fit - 541K
• PS3 - MLB 09 The Show - 305K
• PS3 - Killzone 2 - 296K
• Wii - Wii Play - 281K
• Wii - Mario Kart - 278K
• 360 - MLB 2K9 - 205K

[Flawless]

Re: March NPD

Comparison: March 2008/2009 NPD

Wii: 721K/601K
NDS: 698K/563K
360: 262K/330K
PS3: 257K/218K
PSP: 297K/168K
PS2: 216K/112K

BIZ: How surprising was this decline to you? Is the economy catching up to the game industry?

Frazier: I was surprised by the decline, but digging into the data and breaking it down revealed two main factors that impacted this months' sales. First, Easter fell on March 23rd last year so last year included the entire effect of Easter occasional sales, which accounted for about $121M at retail last year. If you take that into account, the decline was more like 10%. Then you have the 'marquee title effect.' Similar to last September when the industry didn't compare favorably against September '07 largely due to Halo 3, last March included the launch of one of the biggest titles of the year: Super Smash Bros. Brawl. There were a lot of great releases this month that did really great sales, most notably Resident Evil 5, which at 1.5 million units blew away the sales records of previous Resident Evil releases. The ever-reliable Pokemon franchise saw big sales from Pokemon Platinum. There were a lot of new releases in the top 10 this year that did great - it's just hard to comp the huge sales of Super Smash Bros. Brawl. Of course there is a lot more that you see when you dig into the numbers, but those are the two biggest factors impacting the sales results.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: March NPD

Wow, everything took a hit but the 360.

[J-Unit40]

Re: March NPD

Look at the XBOX 360 sales up 26% in this rough economy. Wow. Everything else just is just hurting.

[Altimus]

Re: March NPD

The Show outsold KZ2? Wow.

[bkfount]

Re: March NPD

wow, the power of Halo. It even pushes an average RTS for MS. ODST is going to be their 2009 monster.

[ExtremeGamer]

Re: March NPD

The Show outsold KZ2? Wow.

Yeah, that has to hurt for Sony and be good for them at the same time. For one, having a baseball game, especially exclusive, sell that many copies is awesome.

On the flip side, having same said baseball game outsell your flagship title that you spent years developing..ouch.

[ChubbyBanana]

Re: March NPD

Yeah, that has to hurt for Sony and be good for them at the same time. For one, having a baseball game, especially exclusive, sell that many copies is awesome.

On the flip side, having same said baseball game outsell your flagship title that you spent years developing..ouch.

I thought the numbers you gave me were a bit different

[DickDalewood]

Re: March NPD

The Show outsold KZ2? Wow.

And 2K9 on the 360...

[bkfount]

Re: March NPD

And 2K9 on the 360...

it shouldn't be? 2k9 is trash and it's only being bought since it's the only baseball game on the 360. It is a little more surprising how a baseball game, even a great one, is outselling one of the most hyped games this generation.

Still, it's a nice problem to have I suppose, as it's two great exclusives in the top 10 for Sony. Except for multiplatform titles, all the 360 had was an average console RTS that sold on the Halo name. I do think that Sony has the better lineup of unique first party exclusives, they just need to sell consoles. MS will have virtually nothing as huge as Sony's '09 lineup later this year, but MS can coast with things like Halo: ODST and their lower price and do well.

[Spectre]

Re: March NPD

Wow, I didn't expect a RTS game to sell that well. It's not exactly a genre that has set the world on fire.

Halo: ODST is going to move a crapload of units- its going to be scary.

Impressive that MS is still able to show growth year over year in this economy- they've handled the recession expertly. Right now MS's plate looks empty until Halo releases, but I'm sure we'll hear something at E3.

Also, I'm happy the Show outsold 2K (hilarious that it outsold Killzone, but I'm not gonna even go down that road today!). I'm happy quality sells, the team at SCEA deserves all the credit. If I still played console sports games, the Show would probably be the only one I'd touch. Before I gave my PS3 to my brother, it was the only sports game I played. MS should really invest in their own baseball game as 2K simply can't carry that torch- that series is like Madden: the engines just have fundamental flaws which can only be masked by these cosmetic year to year changes.

Then again, I do only play text based baseball games right now and have no desire to play console baseball anymore...

[DickDalewood]

Re: March NPD

it shouldn't be? 2k9 is trash and it's only being bought since it's the only baseball game on the 360. It is a little more surprising how a baseball game, even a great one, is outselling one of the most hyped games this generation.

Still, it's a nice problem to have I suppose, as it's two great exclusives in the top 10 for Sony. Except for multiplatform titles, all the 360 had was an average console RTS that sold on the Halo name. I do think that Sony has the better lineup of unique first party exclusives, they just need to sell consoles. MS will have virtually nothing as huge as Sony's '09 lineup later this year, but MS can coast with things like Halo: ODST and their lower price and do well.

Haha bk, you know I think it should be, I LOVE The Show, I was just pointing it out

I definitely agree about Sony's first party lineup... It's been fantastic.

[CaptainZombie]

Re: March NPD

It is a bit disappointing to see KZ2 only sell 300K fr March, but in the end its a total of 600K between for 33 days total. Sony has to figure out something to get that system price a bit down, its hurting them.

I am amazed that Nintendo continues to dominate. I think between pricing of PS3/360 early on, this huge of HD gaming was pushed too fast. With a little bit more horsepower, systems like the XBOX could have probably lasted a few more years. I am crazy with that thinking, but maybe was this generation of gaming too soon for people when comparing what the Wii is doing? Nintendo is busy printing money while the other two are trying to do the same.

[TIm]

Re: March NPD

Yeah I agree. Ps3 needs to either Drop the price or include some games that are actually good. It is crushing them. 360 is outselling them week in and week out...It's just amazing because I think in the long run, If the price dropped on the PS3 it would start selling alot of units and they will make money on software sales.

[Flawless]

Re: March NPD

Wired

Top 20 Games Overall:

1. RESIDENT EVIL 5 (360)
2. POKEMON PLATINUM VERSION (NDS)
3. HALO WARS (360)
4. RESIDENT EVIL 5 (PS3)
5. WII FIT (WII)
6. MLB '09: THE SHOW (PS3)
7. KILLZONE 2 (PS3)
8. WII PLAY W/ REMOTE (WII)
9. MARIO KART W/WHEEL (WII)
10. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K9 (360)
11. GUITAR HERO METALLICA (360)
12. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR (360)
13. STREET FIGHTER IV (360)
14. MARIO KART DS (NDS)
15. STREET FIGHTER IV (PS3)
16. NEW SUPER MARIO BROS (NDS)
17. PROFESSOR LAYTON AND THE CURIOUS VILLAGE (NDS)
18. MLB '09: THE SHOW (PS2)
19. HALO 3 (360)
20. LEGO STAR WARS: COMPLETE SAGA (WII)

Top 10 Wii:

1. WII FIT
2. WII PLAY W/ REMOTE
3. MARIO KART W/WHEEL
4. LEGO STAR WARS: COMPLETE SAGA
5. LINK'S CROSSBOW TRAINING
6. GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR
7. GUITAR HERO METALLICA
8. NEW PLAY CONTROL! MARIO POWER TENNIS
9. MADWORLD
10. SONIC AND THE BLACK KNIGHT

Top 10 Xbox 360:

1. RESIDENT EVIL 5
2. HALO WARS
3. MAJOR LEAGUE BASEBALL 2K9
4. GUITAR HERO METALLICA
5. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR
6. STREET FIGHTER IV
7. HALO 3
8. TOM CLANCY'S H.A.W.X.
9. NBA 2K9
10. WWE LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA

Top 10 PlayStation 3:

1. RESIDENT EVIL 5
2. MLB '09: THE SHOW
3. KILLZONE 2
4. STREET FIGHTER IV
5. GUITAR HERO METALLICA
6. TOM CLANCY'S H.A.W.X.
7. CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR
8. WWE LEGENDS OF WRESTLEMANIA
9. SONIC'S ULTIMATE GENESIS COLLECTION
10. NBA 2K9

Top 10 Accessories

1. WII NUNCHUK CONTROLLER
2. 360 LIVE 1600 POINT GAME CARD
3. WII REMOTE CONTROLLER W/ JACKET
4. PS3 DUALSHOCK 3 WIRELESS CONTROLLER
5. 360 LIVE 1 MONTH GOLD CARD
6. WII REMOTE CONTROLLER
7. 360 HEADSET
8. 360 LIVE 12 MONTH GOLD CARD
9. 360 LIVE 3 MONTH GOLD CARD
10. WII WHEEL GRIP