Xbox 360, LA Noire Tops in May As Industry Plummets 14%
Hardware:
Software:
Hardware:
- 360 - 270K (+39%)
- PS3 - 177K (+15%)
Nintendo saw its hardware sales plunge across the board. Even the Wii, which cut its price last month, continued to decline.
- L.A. Noire (360, PS3) - 899K
- Brink (360, PS3, PC)
- Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)
- Portal 2 (360, PS3, PC)
- Mortal Kombat 2011 (PS3, 360)
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC)
- Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, 360, PS3)
- NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC)
- Just Dance 2 (Wii)
- Lego Star Ware III: The Clone Wars (Wii, NDS, 360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)
May 2011 was the lowest month of sales for the industry since October 2006. A light slate of new releases is at the heart of this month's performance," commented NPD analyst Anita Frazier.
She continued, "This month's story really is about a light new release schedule as compared to last year. There were 42 new SKU’s introduced in May as compared to 58 last May, and 72 in 2009. This is reflected in the share of dollars contributed by May releases, which was 28% in 2011 as compared to 41% last year. As a result of a lighter release slate, promotional activity at retail and in circulars was reduced as well, which undoubtedly affected not only planned but impulse purchases."
"Keep in mind that purchases of content are increasingly occurring in digital format, and May saw a notable digital release in the second map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops which was titled Escalation. Undoubtedly, this shifted some dollars that might have been spent on new physical content at retail."
In terms of hardware, Xbox 360 continues to outsell the competition in the U.S. In a separate release, Microsoft announced that 360 sales were up 39% year-over-year to 270,000. And Microsoft's platform is also helping to drive the industry as a whole. "Overall, the Xbox 360 platform has contributed 34% of year-to-date revenues (across hardware, content and accessories) generated by new physical retail sales, gaining 7 share points over last year. The PS3, PSP and the Xbox 360 all experienced unit sales increases over May 2010. The top selling platform for the month was the Xbox 360, which has realized nearly a year and a half of month-over-month unit sales increases," Frazier remarked.
On the software side, Rockstar and Team Bondi definitely hit a home run with their new IP, L.A. Noire, which the top-selling game in May.
She continued, "This month's story really is about a light new release schedule as compared to last year. There were 42 new SKU’s introduced in May as compared to 58 last May, and 72 in 2009. This is reflected in the share of dollars contributed by May releases, which was 28% in 2011 as compared to 41% last year. As a result of a lighter release slate, promotional activity at retail and in circulars was reduced as well, which undoubtedly affected not only planned but impulse purchases."
"Keep in mind that purchases of content are increasingly occurring in digital format, and May saw a notable digital release in the second map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops which was titled Escalation. Undoubtedly, this shifted some dollars that might have been spent on new physical content at retail."
In terms of hardware, Xbox 360 continues to outsell the competition in the U.S. In a separate release, Microsoft announced that 360 sales were up 39% year-over-year to 270,000. And Microsoft's platform is also helping to drive the industry as a whole. "Overall, the Xbox 360 platform has contributed 34% of year-to-date revenues (across hardware, content and accessories) generated by new physical retail sales, gaining 7 share points over last year. The PS3, PSP and the Xbox 360 all experienced unit sales increases over May 2010. The top selling platform for the month was the Xbox 360, which has realized nearly a year and a half of month-over-month unit sales increases," Frazier remarked.
On the software side, Rockstar and Team Bondi definitely hit a home run with their new IP, L.A. Noire, which the top-selling game in May.
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