Some video game sales data from December

So let's see how many of you like hardware/software sales in the video game industry.

The following are some of the sales info from December in the US. Here's the hardware numbers:

Can't remember if the GBA and GCN are accurate, but I think they are. Getting US sales numbers has been a little tricky lately.

Some rough software numbers

Top 10 games for the PSP and DS LTD: (can get more possibly if requested)

Code:

GTA: Liberty City Stories        716,961
Madden NFL 06                    471,314
Need Speed: UND Rivals           416,781
Twisted Metal: Head On           384,482
Untold Legends: BTHRHD           378,585
SOCOM Fireteam Bravo             322,677
Star Wars Battlefront II         313,873
Midnight Club 3: Dub Edition     301,089
T.Hawk Underground 2 Remix       270,939
Need Speed Most Wanted           263,161

Code:

Super Mario 64 DS              1,286,854
Mario Kart DS                    653,697
Nintendogs: Dachshund            556,342
Nintendogs: Labrador             474,540
Nintendogs: Chihuahua            434,526
WarioWare: Touched!              377,080
Spider-Man: The Movie 2          341,671
Mario & Luigi 2                  260,779
Animal Crossing Wild World       254,354
Kirby: Canvas Curse              237,370

FWIW, the DS and PSP total software sales have been about the same for both December and LTD (~3.4M and ~9.6M). Great battle going on there, at least in the US.

Here's some LTD figures:
DQ8: 300K
COD2 (X360): 509,339 (and there's only like ~600K systems out there!)
God of War: ~750K

Some recent 1M sellers:

Here's some rankings of top titles by platform (including PC I think), although no numbers:
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6142600.html

That's basically some of the basic info I could get from one of the threads over at GAF (13 pages of info). There's a whole bunch of info there, so if you want to know how a particular game sold in Dec or LTD (especially PSP, DS, or GC), I might be able to post the numbers. Definitely no promises, but you can go ahead and ask them and I'll see what I can find.

And for those that are curious, here are some weekly figures from Japan, where the DS is dominating, although a recent sell-out/shortage is hurting its hardware numbers (but not software):

From 1/2-1/8

From 1/9-1/15

As you can tell by the DS LTD, as well as the software figures, this is a rare time where the PSP has outsold the DS. Of course, as I said earlier, this is due to the fact that Nintendo basically sold so many in December that they now have insane shortages. The DS domination will probably return later this month, or early February, when Nintendo fixes that problem.

Oh yeah, and the DS has a new feature:


So yeah, discuss...please....really.

 

That's just one of the reasons why I like reading the sales threads over there, especially the weekly Japanese sales charts. Some of the Nintendo fans and Sony fans (no Xbox fans since they don't read Japanese sales threads anymore) make some funny photoshops.





And one of my favorites is a pic of the Nintendo execs when they see the hardware numbers:


and when they see the software numbers:

 

Some new info on the Xbox 360 software sales:

Eh...maybe no one cares. Thought I'd try this out, but it looks like no monthly hardware/software threads...until maybe the 360 and PS3 start going at it.

That may not matter either though.

 

I hope Sony doesn't have anywhere near the manufacturing issues that MS is having (or they appear to be having). The blue-laser diode (or maybe something else) for the BR drive might limit the numbers a bit, but I really hope we don't see Sony only shipping ~600K consoles in ~2 months, especially since they probably won't be doing a worldwide launch.

Of course, assuming Sony doesn't screw up somewhere, I imagine the demand for the PS3 will be at least as big as, if not much bigger, than the 360, so that kind of negates any shipment advantages Sony might have. Being released in the slower months might help a bit, but I'm sure it will still be very hard to find one with all the hardcore gamers, home theater enthusiasts, and eBay members looking for one.

 

The NPD does IIRC, but the people who post the numbers on GAF don't usually post PC sales data. Not to many people seem to care about them too much outside of maybe a few big hitters (Doom, HL, Warcraft, etc.). I also don't really pay attention too much, so when they do post them, I kind of skim over the data. The best I have to offer at the moment is the GS article I posted.

Is there anything in particular that you were wanting to see?

 

I think I've seen some of those rumors, and while it might make explain the shortages, I don't think they're (or should be doing) a redesign any time soon. From what I understand, I just think there was some crazy high demand for the DS in Japan and Nintendo underestimated how popular it would be in December; I think that is why there are shortages, not because Nintendo is trying to prepare a DS with a new design.

Usually, you'd do a redesign or a color change to increase hardware sales during slow periods (kind of like a price drop or bundle, but not quite as effective of course), but Nintendo does not need to do that right now. The thing is selling incredibly well across the world. There is no need to try and get more demand.

I don't know when Nintendo should try to do a redesign. It really depends on how well it continues to sell. It still has Pokemon this year (yes, it has done this well without Pokemon). Maybe if sales slow down, they can offer a redesign with Pokemon or something. Although really, given some of the software lined up for the DS this year, they may not need one until next year. I don't know. Personally, I'd wait a while for a resdesign, but who knows what Nintendo will do.

You'll have to refresh my memory on the GB Micro price drop. I've mostly been paying attention to the PSP/DS stuff, so I may have missed any GB Micro news. AFAIK, isn't it still like $99, except for like EB Games, which offers it for $89? That's a ripoff if that's what you mean, and Nintendo could easily make it less (if they haven't already).

Yeah, that's one of the sad parts about this info. 347K people bought that game, while only 320K people combined bought Shadow of the Colossus or Dragon Quest 8.

That would have been nice, but I doubt it would be under $100. Right now, I think Nintendo is just trying to milk the GBA for all it is worth by offering in that price range. Perhaps the next Gameboy could do that, along with some extra stuff (N64 games maybe?).

 

I wouldn't say the DS is killing the PSP. Outside of Japan, they're usually neck-and-neck or close to it (despite the PSP coming out much later). Even in Japan, there's only a ~3M lead, which is maybe about the difference between the GC and Xbox worldwide. Now, the PS2 is killing both the GC and/or the Xbox...that's when I'd used that term.

Also, while the DS has lower specs, it also costs about half as much. Combine that with the amount of great games they've have had recently, and it really shouldn't be a shocker that it is outselling the $250 PSP. One way to look at it is through price drops as well. The DS has already had one, and they only have a few more to use up; the PSP, on the other hand, will probably have one soon (been wanting the $199 version for a LONG time), and then have plenty more to go down the line.

For reference, I'd say there are maybe 8-10M PSPs (1 holiday season really) out there in the world compared to say 13-15M DSs (2 holiday seasons).

 

Um...OK.

Just trying to show my reasoning as to why I think both handhelds are doing very well and will hopefully continue to do very well. I'd love to see your reasoning for how "the DS is killing the PSP in sales.” It also sounds like you think the higher specs mean more for sales than the higher price tag (and even lesser quality games), which I’d also like to see.

Hehe…I remember thinking that Sony would do a “price drop” a few months after the US launch…boy was I wrong. In fact, with the Giga pack, there was "price rise."