The NPD Group has released their results for console hardware and software sales for the month of November.
As Christmas sales heat up in America, Nintendo single-handedly show the world that consumers aren't afraid of spending their hard earned cash even in the current economic "crisis."
Quite amazingly, in a feat that even the PlayStation 2 didn't achieve outside of Decemeber, Nintendo's Wii console sold over 2 million units, to be joined by the Nintendo DS, which sold 1.57 million. In November 2007 the consoles sold 981 thousand and 1.53 million respectively.
If you still need proof that Nintendo are number one this generation, then prick your ears to listen to Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing;
“Nintendo’s record-breaking sales demonstrate that consumers are looking for the best value not only among video games, but also among all entertainment options.
"Shoppers are looking for gifts that can be enjoyed by the whole family, and Nintendo provides an incomparable range of experiences that gets the whole family involved.”
Microsoft had a similarly impressive month, though on a slightly smaller scale. The Xbox 360 sold 836 thousand units, demonstrating the importance of price to consumers, as well as solid releases like Gears of War 2 and Call of Duty World at War, which both sold over 1 million copies on the system. From the press release (which reads very much like an acceptance speech);
"The Xbox 360 continues to sell at record levels this holiday season, registering the biggest Black Friday and most successful November in its history. Xbox 360 sold a record number of consoles for the month of November at 836,000 units, up from 770 thousand in November 2007.
"With $298 million in third-party game sales in November, the Xbox 360 has generated more revenue at retail for third-party publishers than the PS3 and Wii combined this generation. (November NPD data)
"In addition to a 3:1 console sales lead over the PS3 during the Black Friday weekend, Xbox 360 finished the month of November with more than a 2:1 sales advantage over PS3 (November NPD data and Microsoft internal data)
"This momentum is happening around the world as well; Xbox 360 was the fastest-growing console in Europe for the month of November, with sales up 124 percent year-over-year, versus 43 percent for Wii and three percent for PS3. (Microsoft Internal data)"
Surprisingly, or perhaps not that surprising considering Sony's slugglish advertising tactics and inability to move on price, the PlayStation 3 sold 378 thousand units, under half of the Xbox 360's sales.
What's worse is that despite a year-on-year growth throughout 2008, the PS3 actually sold less this Novemeber than it did in Novemeber 2007, where it sold 466 thousand units. It's going to be some time before the PlayStation 3 is the strong business Sony hopes it'll be.
In fact, all PlayStation hardware had lower sales than the same month in 2007; PlayStation 2 sold 206 thousand, down from 496 thousand; and the PSP sold 421 thousand down from 567 thousand. Sony's sterile press release reads;
"PlayStation 3 has continued its strong momentum during the holiday season with 378,071 hardware units sold in November, representing an increase of almost 100% from October. From January to November 2008, more than 2.8 million PS3s have been sold in the U.S., representing a year-to-date hardware sales growth of more than 60%."
All results provided by the NPD Group can be read below.
Source : http://www.gamezine.co.uk/
