NPD Februaury 2009 - 2 days Killzone 2 figures inside!

[Maximus]

Wii - 753,000
Nintendo DS - 588,000
Xbox 360 - 391,000
PlayStation 3 - 276,000
PSP - 199,000
PlayStation 2 - 131,000


1. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (Nintendo, Wii) - 644,000
2. Street Fighter IV (Capcom, Xbox 360) - 446,000
3. Street Fighter IV (Capcom, PlayStation 3) - 403,000
4. Wii Play w/Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 386,000
5. Killzone 2 (Sony, PlayStation 3) - 323,000
6. Mario Kart w/Wheel (Nintendo, Wii) - 263,000
7. Call Of Duty: World At War (Activision Blizzard, Xbox 360) - 193,000
8. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo, DS) - 145,000
9. New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo, DS) - 144,000
10. Guitar Hero World Tour (Activision Blizzard, Wii) - 136,000

11-20:

11. F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin (Warner Interactive, Xbox 360)
12. Skate 2 (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360)
13. Left 4 Dead (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360)
14. NBA 2K9 (Take-Two, Xbox 360)
15. Halo 3 (Microsoft, Xbox 360)
16. Call of Duty: World At War (Activision, PS3)
17. Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga (LucasArts, Wii)
18. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Activision, Xbox 360)
19. My Fitness Coach (Ubisoft, Wii)
20. Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks, Xbox 360)

Analysis

Originally Posted by Anita Frazier // NPD

Responding to the results, NPD analyst Anita Frazier noted: "The U.S. video games industry continues to post strong year-over-year comps despite the tough economy. Unit sales increased even more than dollar sales did, reflecting a slightly lower average retail price for all categories as compared to last year."

In hardware, she pointed out: "The Xbox 360 realized its biggest non-holiday sales month, save for September 2007, when the Halo 3 release brought in a large group of new owners. Compared to last month, the PS3 realized the greatest month-over-month unit sales increase of all platforms."

As for software: "Consumers picked up nearly 20 million units of video game software in February, a 14% increase over February 2008. The average retail price for games is 4% lower than last year, which is why the dollar sales increase is not quite keeping in pace with the increase in unit sales."

Looking forward, Frazier concluded: "March should be another great month for software sales between Pokemon Platinum, GTA: Chinatown Wars, Halo Wars, the two MLB titles and of course, Resident Evil 5, just to name a few of the key drivers. The sheer quantity of great content coming to market early in the year should keep industry sales humming throughout 2009."

[Maximus]

Sorry it's late, I've been kind of busy...

Killzone 2 does > 300k for two days of sales. PS3 SFIV does extremely well beating the normal 1.7:1 ratio of 360:PS3 game sales by a very wide margin. Superior d-pad and brand association ftw!

Star Ocean 4 nowhere to be seen, didn't even make the top 20. PS3 port confirmed?

Obviously Wii and DS keep on truckin' but a price drop on the PS3 would definitely do wonders for the console, not to Wii levels, but definitely ahead of 360 levels.

[blitz6speed]

Its curious how many of those 360s are just arcades bought to replace broken launch units failing. I see about 2-5 posts every couple days on various forums where people just buy arcades cause they cannot wait for their system to get replaced when it breaks.

Otherwise, wiifit, the joke of the gaming world, is #1. Its sad that nintendo fans trumpet this type of consumer as great, but i guess when you have crap to play, you'll take anything to talk up your platform.

Killzone 2 is lower then i expected, but it could have been a lot worse, so not too shabby. Glad to see so many bombs, like HOTD Overkill, SO4 and more. SF4 did awesome, i personally know 2 people who bought a PS3 just for SF4, but both in march.

[DonRSD]

Originally Posted by blitz6speed

Its curious how many of those 360s are just arcades bought to replace broken launch units failing. I see about 2-5 posts every couple days on various forums where people just buy arcades cause they cannot wait for their system to get replaced when it breaks.

Otherwise, wiifit, the joke of the gaming world, is #1. Its sad that nintendo fans trumpet this type of consumer as great, but i guess when you have crap to play, you'll take anything to talk up your platform.

Killzone 2 is lower then i expected, but it could have been a lot worse, so not too shabby. Glad to see so many bombs, like HOTD Overkill, SO4 and more. SF4 did awesome, i personally know 2 people who bought a PS3 just for SF4, but both in march.

hey man, killzone was for ONLY 2 days of work.

[Rev]

The Wii is a MONSTER!!! It's on its way to becoming the biggest selling console EVER!

[quaylie]

Originally Posted by Rev

The Wii is a MONSTER!!! It's on its way to becoming the biggest selling console EVER!

I have no idea why either..I have a Wii..barely ever use it.

[Rev]

Originally Posted by quaylie

I have no idea why either..I have a Wii..barely ever use it.

Nintendo's blue ocean strategy is working perfectly.

Here's an OLD pre-launch article where they talk about it.

link
According to Kaplan, the company’s new strategy is named 'Blue Ocean', signifying the attempt to create a market where there initially was none, and a major subject of Satoru Iwata's speech at the 2005 Tokyo Game Show. This is as opposed to 'Red Ocean', which apparently signifies the currently established and highly competitive console market.

[saprano]

I see KZ2 selling another 300,000 this month, hopefully more. amazing SF4 sales for ps3. as i said in the other locked thread, this means if ps3 had the installed base of 360's 14 million SF4 would have sold more on ps3 than the 360 at that same number. if you switch console sales 360 would have sold even less. proofs in the pudding. come on sony $299 please.

[Marine Mike]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Sorry it's late, I've been kind of busy...

Killzone 2 does > 300k for two days of sales. PS3 SFIV does extremely well beating the normal 1.7:1 ratio of 360:PS3 game sales by a very wide margin. Superior d-pad and brand association ftw!

Star Ocean 4 nowhere to be seen, didn't even make the top 20. PS3 port confirmed?

Obviously Wii and DS keep on truckin' but a price drop on the PS3 would definitely do wonders for the console, not to Wii levels, but definitely ahead of 360 levels.

If it was ported, I'd definately buy it.

[AranhaHunter]

I'm hoping we will see Killzone 2 in March NPD as well!

[androvsky]

Originally Posted by Maxpower1987

Star Ocean 4 nowhere to be seen, didn't even make the top 20. PS3 port confirmed?

One would think, from a sane publisher anyway; we're still waiting on a release date for The Last Remnant (not that anyone cares at this point). Unfortunately, what will likely end up being a year-old port still won't sell that well (though it'll probably match the sales on the 360).

Between betting repeatedly on the wrong HD console and unbelievable franchise whoring like the FF tower defense game, Squeenix is quite a mess right now. I still think that if Sony were to buy a Japanese developer, they'd do much better with Gust or Atlus.

[AranhaHunter]

Originally Posted by androvsky

One would think, from a sane publisher anyway; we're still waiting on a release date for The Last Remnant (not that anyone cares at this point). Unfortunately, what will likely end up being a year-old port still won't sell that well (though it'll probably match the sales on the 360).

Between betting repeatedly on the wrong HD console and unbelievable franchise whoring like the FF tower defense game, Squeenix is quite a mess right now. I still think that if Sony were to buy a Japanese developer, they'd do much better with Gust or Atlus.

I disagree simply because SE IP portfolio and IPs owned is too strong, too many huge name IPs, Atlus has SMT and Growlanser and Gust has Atellier and Ar Tonelico, SE has FF and DQ, because Gust and Atlus are maybe more talented right now, but their portfolio of games just cannot compete.

Anyways, here's the Top 10 by Platform

Top 10 Wii
WII WII FIT NINTENDO OF AMERICA
WII WII PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA
WII MARIO KART W/WHEEL NINTENDO OF AMERICA
WII GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
WII LEGO STAR WARS: COMPLETE SAGA LUCASARTS
WII MY FITNESS COACH UBISOFT
WII JILLIAN MICHAELS FITNESS ULTIMATUM 2009 MAJESCO
WII NASCAR KART RACING ELECTRONIC ARTS
WII SUPER SMASH BROS: BRAWL NINTENDO OF AMERICA
WII TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 09 ELECTRONIC ARTS

Top 10 Xbox 360
360 STREET FIGHTER IV* CAPCOM USA
360 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
360 F.E.A.R. 2: PROJECT ORIGIN WARNER INTERACTIVE
360 SKATE 2 ELECTRONIC ARTS
360 LEFT 4 DEAD ELECTRONIC ARTS
360 NBA 2K9 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
360 HALO 3* MICROSOFT
360 GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
360 FALLOUT 3* BETHESDA SOFTWORKS
360 GEARS OF WAR 2* MICROSOFT

Top 10 PlayStation 2
PS2 GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
PS2 NBA 2K9 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
PS2 GRAND THEFT AUTO: SAN ANDREAS TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
PS2 GUITAR HERO AEROSMITH* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
PS2 MADDEN NFL 09 ELECTRONIC ARTS
PS2 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
PS2 RESIDENT EVIL 4 CAPCOM USA
PS2 KINGDOM HEARTS RE: CHAIN OF MEMORIES SQUARE ENIX INC
PS2 WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2009 THQ
PS2 LEGO BATMAN WARNER INTERACTIVE

Top 10 PlayStation 3
PS3 STREET FIGHTER IV* CAPCOM USA
PS3 KILLZONE 2 SONY
PS3 CALL OF DUTY: WORLD AT WAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
PS3 F.E.A.R. 2: PROJECT ORIGIN WARNER INTERACTIVE
PS3 GUITAR HERO III LEGENDS OF ROCK ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
PS3 GUITAR HERO WORLD TOUR* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
PS3 SONIC'S ULTIMATE GENESIS COLLECTION SEGA OF AMERICA
PS3 NBA 2K9 TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
PS3 RESISTANCE 2* SONY
PS3 MORTAL KOMBAT VS. DC UNIVERSE* MIDWAY

Top 10 Game Boy Advance
GBA UNO 52 DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.
GBA SHREK 2/MADAGASCAR OPERATION PEN ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
GBA BIG MUTHA TRUCKERS DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.
GBA PUPPY LUV: SPA & RESORT ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
GBA MADAGASCAR ACTIVISION BLIZZARD
GBA ASTEROIDS/PONG/YARS DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.
GBA DRILL DOZER NINTENDO OF AMERICA
GBA GOLDEN NUGGET CASINO MAJESCO
GBA SPYHUNTER/SUPERSPRINT DESTINATION SOFTWARE INC.
GBA VAN HELSING ACTIVISION BLIZZARD

Top 10 Nintendo DS
NDS MARIO KART DS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS NEW SUPER MARIO BROS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS CLUB PENGUIN: ELITE PENGUIN FORCE DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
NDS LEGO STAR WARS: COMPLETE SAGA LUCASARTS
NDS SUPER MARIO 64 DS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS FIRE EMBLEM: SHADOW DRAGON NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS MARIO PARTY NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS KIRBY SUPER STAR ULTRA NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS POKEMON RANGER: SHADOWS OF ALMIA NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A DAY NINTENDO OF AMERICA

Top 10 PSP
PSP GRAND THEFT AUTO: LIBERTY CITY STORIES TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
PSP MIDNIGHT CLUB: LA REMIX TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
PSP GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE
PSP IRON MAN SEGA OF AMERICA
PSP LOCOROCO 2 SONY
PSP MADDEN NFL 09 ELECTRONIC ARTS
PSP WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2008 THQ
PSP LEGO BATMAN WARNER INTERACTIVE
PSP WWE SMACKDOWN VS. RAW 2009 THQ
PSP CRISIS CORE: FINAL FANTASY VII SQUARE ENIX INC

Top 10 Portable Games Overall
NDS MARIO KART DS NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS NEW SUPER MARIO BROS NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS CLUB PENGUIN: ELITE PENGUIN FORCE NDS DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS
NDS LEGO STAR WARS: COMPLETE SAGA NDS LUCASARTS
NDS SUPER MARIO 64 DS NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS FIRE EMBLEM: SHADOW DRAGON NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS MARIO PARTY NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS KIRBY SUPER STAR ULTRA NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS POKEMON RANGER: SHADOWS OF ALMIA NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA
NDS BRAIN AGE 2: MORE TRAINING IN MINUTES A DAY NDS NINTENDO OF AMERICA

Top 10 Accessories
WII NUNCHUK CONTROLLER NINTENDO OF AMERICA
WII REMOTE CONTROLLER W/ JACKET NINTENDO OF AMERICA
PS3 DUALSHOCK 3 WIRELESS CONTROLLER SONY
360 LIVE 1600 POINT GAME CARD MICROSOFT
360 LIVE 1 MONTH GOLD CARD MICROSOFT
360 LIVE 12 MONTH GOLD CARD MICROSOFT
WII REMOTE CONTROLLER NINTENDO OF AMERICA
WII CHARGE STATION NYKO
WII WHEEL GRIP NINTENDO OF AMERICA
360 HEADSET MICROSOFT
*Inclusive of collectors', limited, instrument bundles

[mightypen]

Originally Posted by androvsky

One would think, from a sane publisher anyway; we're still waiting on a release date for The Last Remnant (not that anyone cares at this point). Unfortunately, what will likely end up being a year-old port still won't sell that well (though it'll probably match the sales on the 360).

Between betting repeatedly on the wrong HD console and unbelievable franchise whoring like the FF tower defense game, Squeenix is quite a mess right now. I still think that if Sony were to buy a Japanese developer, they'd do much better with Gust or Atlus.

Square bet on the wrong HD console? Its not like jrpgs on the ps3 are lighting the world on fire either. The JRPG is a dying genre that probably needs to be either on handhelds or multi-plat only.

[Blu-Generation]

Originally Posted by mightypen

The JRPG is a dying genre that probably needs to be either on handhelds or multi-plat only.

Or it needs to be like, really really good. Like ground shattering good.

JRPG not doing so good in this gen is one thing, but the lack of great JRPGs is also part of that equation.

Valkyrie Chronicle was a different story, that was pretty good.

[Terjyn]

Originally Posted by mightypen

Square bet on the wrong HD console? Its not like jrpgs on the ps3 are lighting the world on fire either. The JRPG is a dying genre that probably needs to be either on handhelds or multi-plat only.

You are basing this on a sample of one? Valkyria Chronicles is the one JRPG released day and date on the PS3 so far which did poorly...and it was a new franchise so people didn't recognize the name.

Disgaea 3 didn't sell like hotcakes, but no prior Disgaea did either.

Disgaea 3 and Valkyria Chronicles aren't exactly standard JRPGs either.

White Knight Chronicles sold fairly well actually. It vastly outsold every JRPG released on 360 anyhoo.

The 360 has had about a dozen chances now, all of which failed.

Maybe, just maybe, it's time to try something else than backing the horse which has already been proven a failure.

[Blu Titan]

Originally Posted by Rev

The Wii is a MONSTER!!! It's on its way to becoming the biggest selling console EVER!

Great, I guess...BTW someone already is using that avatar.

[zweet77]

Living in San Francisco I have seen 3 very major store closing liquidations Circuit City ,the Virgin megastore and the Sony Style store.In the first two examples Ps3 accessories and consoles, games etc sold out super fast.Even though CC and Virgin probably had larger inventories of wii and 360 it shows that people will jump on reduced priced ps3's even if the still cost more than the other systems.These where only like 10% off Heck when I sold my 40gb on Craigslist for $300 I had like 20 responses in 2 days.A price cut will definitly boost market share.Anyways kudos to K2 and SF4 numbers thats just awesome.I hope they bust out some LBP and Resistance 2 bundles to give those games the love they deserve too.

[mightypen]

The 360 has had about a dozen chances now, all of which failed.

Maybe, just maybe, it's time to try something else than backing the horse which has already been proven a failure

I'm a bit confused, I said that based on sales on both platforms of jrpgs, they should be predominantly multi-plat. Is this bushian-you're either with us or against us-horse backing?

And I would dispute that all 360 jrpg sales have been failures-Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon in particular. They didn't sell FF, KH, or DQ levels, but they certainly weren't tank jobs, they performed like upper-middle of the pack ps2 jrpgs.

[Maximus]

Originally Posted by mightypen

I'm a bit confused, I said that based on sales on both platforms of jrpgs, they should be predominantly multi-plat. Is this bushian-you're either with us or against us-horse backing?

And I would dispute that all 360 jrpg sales have been failures-Lost Odyssey and Blue Dragon in particular. They didn't sell FF, KH, or DQ levels, but they certainly weren't tank jobs, they performed like upper-middle of the pack ps2 jrpgs.

Hmm, go to wherever and learn a bit of history and you will see why everybody thinks 360 JRPGs have all failed.

Blue Dragon and Lost Odyssey are by Mistwalker which is run by Hironbu Sakaguchi who is the father of Final Fantasy. FF does about 6-8m WW per entry, Blue Dragon hasn't broken 1m, and LO has barely broken through it.

Tales of Vesperia did exceptionally poorly for a mothership Tales of game hasn't broken 200k in Japan.

The Last Remnant/Infinite Undiscovery are two new IPs from Square Enix which should each have shipped more than 500k WW, neither broke that low barrier.

Star Ocean 4 was the biggest let down. A series which did 700k on PS2 over 3 editions looks unlikely to break 200k in Japan and didn't chart in the Xbox 360 top 10 for US sales and 360 games are generally much weaker in Europe

"Upper to middle of the pack" JRPGs on PS2 did more in Japan that 360 titles do WW. If the publishers were smart they would have spent their efforts in building a real JRPG base on the PS3 or Wii instead of taking money from MS and selling to the same 150-200k hardcore fans everytime. That's why JRPGs are said to be dying, if you made games in a genre that only had a fanbase of 200k in the primary country you would ve well within your rights to give up...

[bampot]

We wont get a ps3 pricecut for atleast a few months. The yen shock has absolutely decimated Japanese exporters. Nearly every major Japanese exporter is expecting HUGE losses this fiscal. So basically Sonys hands are tied. A bit funny watching MS crowing when the only reason they're outselling ps3 is because of the massive currency fluctuations which have crippled Sony. Without the yen shock there would of been a $299 ps3 last fall and probably a $199 this coming fall.