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December 11th, 2009 at 03:17am
Under Wii / Nintendo
Nintendo has responded to the November NPD results by praising its record-setting month, but with almost 3 million hardware units sold last month you can hardly blame them.
Nintendo claimed the top two spots on the hardware chart, representing over half of all videogame systems sold in the US in November. The DS sold almost 1.7 million units in November, setting a record for the most handheld videogame systems sold in the month of November and beating the previous record of 1.57 million held by the Nintendo DS in 2008. Meanwhile the Wii sold over 1.25 million units in November, making it the fastest-selling home console to reach the 23 million install base in the US.
Nintendo also performed well on the software side of things, with four games published for Nintendo consoles in the Top 10. New Super Mario Bros. Wii finished at number 3 with 1.4 million units after launching on the 15th of November. The publisher’s internal sales figures show that the new Mario title has already passed the two million sales mark when December sales are included. Wii Sports Resort charted at number 6 with 580 000 copies, Wii Fit Plus at number 7 with 490 000 copies and Mario Kart Wii at number 10 with 310 000 copies.
Nintendo also revealed that six of the Top 10 best-selling games of 2009 until November play on Nintendo systems. Wii Fit features at number 2 with 3.5 million, Wii Sports Resort at number 3 with 2.4 million, Mario Kart Wii at number 4 with 2.2 million, Wii Play at number 5 with 2.1 million, Pokemon Platinum at number 6 with 1.9 million and New Super Mario Bros. Wii at number 10 with 1.4 million. Wii Fit Plus is also a favourite among gamers with 1.1 million units sold as of the end of November.
“Nintendo products top Amazon.com’s Most Wished For and Most Gifted lists for video games, and Wii remains at or near the top of the most-searched for video game terms on Yahoo!,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “As families and friends gather for the holidays, Nintendo games offer the best shared experiences.”
Continue Reading Nintendo responds to November NPD results: Wii and DS set records, Wii install base crosses 23 mil in US
Tags: News, nintendo, nintendods, npd, salesdata, us
By Mister-X
Continue Reading Nintendo responds to November NPD results: Wii and DS set records, Wii install base crosses 23 mil in US
December 11th, 2009 at 02:30am
Under Uncategorized
While November was a blockbuster month which saw AAA titles such as Modern Warfare 2, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Assassin’s Creed II, Left 4 Dead 2 and Dragon Age: Origins hitting shelves across the US, the latest data from US tracking firm NPD Group shows that sales of the videogame industry in the US fell by 7.6% to $2.699 billion in November.
Despite the knock-on effect that these best-selling titles had in boosting sales of their respective consoles, hardware sales also recorded a decrease this past month, down 13.4% to $1.05 billion. And even software sales suffered a 3.1% decline to $1.406 billion, while accessories dropped by 5.5% to $242.2 million.
Nintendo once again dominated the hardware side of things, with the Nintendo DS selling an impressive 1.7 million units and the Wii not too far behind with 1.26 million units. The Xbox 360 outsold the PS3, with Microsoft’s console recording sales of 819 500 units and Sony’s 710 400. The PSP followed with 293 900 units and the PS2 with 203 100.
Modern Warfare 2 dominates
As expected Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ruled the software roost with a combined total of 6.07 million copies sold during November. The Xbox 360 version triumphed at number 1 with a whopping 4.2 million copies sold, followed by the PS3 version in second place with 1.87 million copies.
According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has achieved the top spot for first-month sales of any game at the title level. Halo 3 previously held the spot when it sold 3.3 million units in September ‘07 in 12 days at retail. MW2 bested Halo 3’s daily sales rate by 16% in its 19 days at retail in November.”
“While this year’s top-selling item bested last year’s by 283%, it couldn’t make up for softness elsewhere. The top 50 games this year sold 5% less units than did the top 50 last year.”
New Super Mario Bros. Wii proved that Mario still has what it takes, debuting at number 3 with 1.39 million copies. Assassin’s Creed II for the Xbox 360 was new at number 4 with 794 700 copies, while the PS3 version also debuted in the Top 10 at number 8 with 448 400 copies. Left 4 Dead 2 for the Xbox 360 entered the charts at number 5 with 744 000 copies while Dragon Age: Origins for the Xbox 360 was new at number 9 with 362 100 copies.
Nintendo also claimed another three spots in the Top 10 with evergreens Wii Sports Resort at number 6 with 720 200, Wii Fit Plus at number 7 with 679 000 copies and Mario Kart Wii in tenth with 315 000 copies.
Looking ahead
However, Frazier believes it’s not all gloom and doom despite the decline in the industry. “The industry declined 7.6% versus last November, but still produced enough revenue to make this month the second-best November in industry history. YTD the industry is still up 7% over 2007. I think we all have to realize the incredible year that was 2008.”
“Based on seasonality the industry looks like it will reach $20B for the year, which means December would have to be up over last year by 11%. Impossible? I don’t think so. More positive economic news combined with ‘frugal fatigue’ could positively impact industry sales during these last weeks of the holiday season. Breaking even seems more out of reach. In order to break even to last year, December sales would have to be up 36% over December 2008.”
US Videogame Industry Totals for November 2009
Below is a list of the category, followed by the total and the change in brackets.
- Video games – $2.699 billion (-7.6%)
- Video games hardware – $1.05 billion (-13.4%)
- Video games software – $1.406 billion (-3.1%)
- Video game accessories – $242.2 million (-5.5%)
Hardware Sales for November 2009
- Nintendo DS – 1.7 million
- Wii – 1.26 million
- Xbox 360 – 819 500
- PS3 – 710 400
- PSP – 293 900
- PS2 – 203 100
Top Ten Software Sales for November 2009
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, Xbox 360) – 4.2 million
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Activision, PS3) – 1.87 million
- New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo, Wii) – 1.39 million
- Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft, Xbox 360) – 794 700
- Left 4 Dead 2 (EA, Xbox 360) – 744 000
- Wii Sports Resort (Nintendo, Wii) – 720 200
- Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo, Wii) – 679 000
- Assassin’s Creed II (Ubisoft, PS3) – 448 400
- Dragon’s Age: Origins (EA, Xbox 360) – 362 100
- Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) – 315 000
(Figures include Collector’s Edition and non-hardware bundles)
Source: NPD
Continue Reading NPD: November videogame sales decrease 7.6% to $2.7 bil in US, Modern Warfare 2 sells over 6 mil
Tags: assassinscreedii, callofdutymodernwarfare2, News, newsupermariobros, npd, salesdata, us
By Mister-X
Continue Reading NPD: November videogame sales decrease 7.6% to $2.7 bil in US, Modern Warfare 2 sells over 6 mil
December 7th, 2009 at 01:48am
Under PSP
While it could easily have been speculated that Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker on the PSP would release on the traditional three days before Europe and the UK (dated for May 28th), there’s been little time for that as Konami officially revealed late last week that the game would indeed release on May 25th in North America.
Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker is looking fantastic, so have a look through El33tonline’s previous coverage of the game to get more fully acquainted.
Continue Reading MGS: Peace Walker officially dated for the North America
Tags: dated, metalgearsolidpeacewalker, News, northamerica, us
By Mister-X
Continue Reading MGS: Peace Walker officially dated for the North America
December 4th, 2009 at 02:46am
Under Wii / Nintendo
“Wha wha wha…”
That’s the sound you’ll be making while you watch the debut trailer for Muscle March, an upcoming WiiWare game from Namco Bandai.
From the looks of the trailer, Muscle March appears to be a party game in which you play one of several muscle-bound avatars running in a line through public places (as well as time and space) following a leader in the queue.
The leader (seemingly) poses their avatar (using the Wii’s WiiMote and Nunchuk) and creates a hole by running straight through walls and the fabric of space (seriously!) – the followers then need to copy the pose set by the leader in order to get through this hole.
This is a super crazy looking game! Can’t wait to play it!
Watch the debut trailer for Muscle March below:
Continue Reading Debut trailer for Muscle March is crazy
Tags: musclemarch, News, screenshots, trailer, us, wiiware
By Mister-X
Continue Reading Debut trailer for Muscle March is crazy
December 1st, 2009 at 11:07am
Under DS+ PS3+ Wii / Nintendo
Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft have all released figures and indications of their various consoles’ sales successes over the Thanksgiving sales period in the US, and by the looks of things, they all have some big sales numbers to shout about.
Nintendo arguably has the most to boast, with 550 000 Wii consoles and an incredibly astounding 1 million DS/DSi consoles sold over the week of Thanksgiving in the US (which encompasses November 22nd through November 28th), adding up to over 1.5 million Nintendo consoles sold in this period alone!
To put these numbers into further perspective, Nintendo points out that this means 150 of their consoles were sold every minute of the week, or more than 2.5 consoles were sold every second.
As a result of these numbers, Nintendo sales and marketing VP Cammie Dunaway earned the right to release this modest statement:
“Holiday shoppers are finding value in our products’ prices, and through a gameplay experience that is unique to Nintendo.”
Quite.
Sony’s sales numbers for the week of Thanksgiving were relatively impressive, too, as 440 000 PS3 consoles were sold during this period. Sony’s Sr. Corporate Communications director Patrick Seybold stated:
“The 2009 holiday season got off to an amazing start for PlayStation, with all key retailers showing a significant increase for PS3, PSP and key holiday titles over Black Friday and the holiday weekend.
“In today’s economy, consumers are drawn to items that offer the most value for their money, making the PS3 an ideal choice for those who want a comprehensive gaming and entertainment system all in one package.”
Nice.
Last, but not least, Microsoft only gave a rough indication of the sales performance of its Xbox 360 console, as Director of Product Management for Xbox 360 and Xbox Live Aaron Greenberg tweeted on his Twitter account:
“Great [BlackFriday] results just in, biggest sales week of the year for [Xbox360], more than 2xs previous week sales.”
According to data from VGChartz, last year the Xbox 360 sold roughly 390 000 units over the Thanksgiving week, which leads us to believe that this year the console could have sold as much as 800 000 units, but this isn’t yet confirmed.
What does this mean for the upcoming Christmas sales period in the US? Will we see increased sales numbers, numbers on par with Thanksgiving, or a reduction?
My bet is the Christmas period is going to be a whopper of a show, and may in all likelihood dwarf the relative sales figures we’re seeing displayed after the craziness that is the Thanksgiving shopping gauntlet. What say you?
Source: Gamasutra, Gamasutra again, Twitter and VGChartz
Continue Reading Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft win big over Thanksgiving sales period
Tags: dsi, microsoft, News, nintendo, sales, salesdata, sony, thanksgiving, us, xbox360
By Mister-X
Continue Reading Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft win big over Thanksgiving sales period
November 24th, 2009 at 02:44am
Under Uncategorized
Nintendo has announced that new Black Friday DSi bundles will be available across the US on the 27th of November. The new Metallic Blue or White Nintendo DSi systems will come pre-installed with over $20 in software value but will only be available while supplies last for $169.99.
Mario fans will want to get their hands on the Metallic Blue DSi which comes pre-installed with five Mario-themed DSiWare titles: Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Minis March Again; Dr. Mario Express; WarioWare: Snapped; Mario Calculator; and Mario Clock.
Meanwhile the White DSi bundle is more suited for players who enjoy brain teasers, coming pre-installed with: Brain Age Express: Arts & Letters; Brain Age Express: Sudoku; Brain Age Express: Math; Clubhouse Games Express: Card Classics; and Photo Clock.
“These limited-edition bundles come packed with some of the great Nintendo DSiWare games and applications that have made Nintendo DSi such a big hit with shoppers young and old,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The special price and pre-installed titles make the bundles a huge value for the holidays.”
Continue Reading New metallic blue, white DSi bundles for US announced
Tags: colours, dsi, News, nintendo, us
By Mister-X
Continue Reading New metallic blue, white DSi bundles for US announced
November 23rd, 2009 at 01:54am
Under Uncategorized
Currently only available in United States, a demo for Jurassic: The Hunted is now up on Xbox LIVE Marketplace. From the looks of things, Jurassic looks to be an enjoyable action shooter romp, starring everybody’s favourite aggressors, the dinosaurs (after zombies of course).
According to the description, Jurassic: The Hunted is an “an epic, story-driven first-person shooter set on a dark, mysterious island that connects the modern world with the age of dinosaurs.”
Playing as protagonist Craig Dylan, “a weapons and survival expert,” you’ve been hired to protect a research team who is trying to study some strange “temporal energy” activity on a remote island, and recover valuable artefacts left over from a previous expedition to the island over twenty years prior:
“Every minute is a fight for survival as Dylan must scavenge weapons, defend barricades, and battle titanic dinosaurs to return to his own time.”
You should definitely try out the demo for Jurassic: The Hunted, which has unfortunately only released in the United States. It looks to be a riot!
Continue Reading Demo for Jurassic: The Hunted now on Xbox LIVE
Tags: demo, jurassicthehunted, News, us, xblm, xbox360
By Mister-X
Continue Reading Demo for Jurassic: The Hunted now on Xbox LIVE
November 19th, 2009 at 04:23am
Under PS3
Capcom has announced that gamers who order Lost Planet 2 from GameStop in North America will be able to unlock Resident Evil’s Albert Wesker as an exclusive playable skin in Lost Planet 2.
In addition those who pre-order the game will also get their hands on additional firepower, thanks to the revolver which promises to help players hone their “one shot kill” skills. Head over here to pre-order and secure Wesker.
Lost Planet 2 will be available for the PS3 and Xbox 360 this winter. Check out our previous coverage for more information about the game.
Continue Reading Lost Planet 2 pre-order bonus detailed for US
Tags: capcom, lostplanet2, News, preorder, us, xbox360
By Mister-X
Continue Reading Lost Planet 2 pre-order bonus detailed for US
November 13th, 2009 at 12:35pm
Under PS3
It’s just been announced that Final Fantasy XIII will release on March 9th 2010 in North America and Europe, on Xbox 360 and PS3.
This follows the already announced release date set for the game in Japan (on December 17th this year exclusively on the PS3).
To celebrate this latest announcement, Square Enix has released a brand new trailer for Final Fantasy XIII that takes us behind the scenes of the game’s development, and contains stunning in-game footage revealing all new locations and features that you’ll get to experience when the game hits in the West next year.
A handful of new screenshots have also been released, so be sure to watch the new trailer and browse through all of the new Final Fantasy XIII shots below:
Continue Reading Final Fantasy XIII hits the West on March 9th
Tags: dated, europe, finalfantasyXIII, News, screenshots, trailer, us, xbox360
By Mister-X
Continue Reading Final Fantasy XIII hits the West on March 9th
November 13th, 2009 at 04:16am
Under PS3
The NPD results for October have just been released, showing that Brutal Legend failed to earn itself a spot in the US Top 10 software chart.
The heavy metal inspired action adventure game from developer Tim Schafer sold a combined total of 215 400 copies. The Xbox 360 version was tops with 150 000 units while the PS3 sold just 66 000 units.
El33tonline enjoyed our time spent with Eddie Riggs, read our review of Brutal Legend to find out more about the game.
Source: Gamespot
Continue Reading Brutal Legend sells 215K, fails to chart in Top 10
Tags: brutallegend, News, npd, salesdata, us, xbox360
By Mister-X
Continue Reading Brutal Legend sells 215K, fails to chart in Top 10
