Nintendo and Sony Close on Sales in January 2008
The NPD Group provided a reminder this week that market growth is not guaranteed. The gaming industry in the US ended the year (2007) with record retail sales of nearly $18 billion.
This week The NPD Group the industry-research firm released US retail sales data for the January 2008 period. While software sales for the month were up 11 percent to nearly $611 million, hardware sales fell by a quarter to around $378 million. Combine that with a modest decline in accessory sales, the industry overall was down 6 percent for the month, posting $1.18 billion compared to January 2007’s $1.25 billion take.
Despite this, the month contained indications that the industry actually grew. That was because the January 2007 reporting period was five weeks long as opposed to this January’s four-week span. Analyst Anita Frazier said that the numbers are much rosier when this adjustment was taken into account.
The big winner in the gaming market was console software which was nearly 50 percent up when compared to last year.
Hardware sales were down and a lot of this was to do with poor supply that assertion was backed up by a statement from Microsoft saying the Xbox 360 was suffering from temporary shortages.
Nintendo’s longtime lead on its competitors was also slimmed. The Wii once again took the console sales crown, by a narrower margin than in previous months. In a month that saw significant advances for the PlayStation 3’s chosen Blu-ray disc format, Sony’s system ran nearly neck-and-neck with the Wii, selling 269,000 systems compared to the Nintendo’s 275,000. 3rd placed Nintendo DS racked up 251,000 sales, while the Xbox 360 and PlayStation Portable brought up the rear, selling 230,000 units each.
Familiar faces dominated the software list, with Modern Warfare and Call of Duty 4 for the Xbox 360 once again beating all challengers, notching up 331,000 in sales. Another favourite Guitar Hero on the Wii and Xbox 360 took third and fifth respectively, Super Mario Galaxy on the Wii was sixth and the DS edition of Mario Party in ninth.
THIS IS THE NPD GROUP’s DATA FOR US GAME INDUSTRY SALES FOR JANUARY 2008
Category Total Change
Video Games: $1.18 billion -6%
Video Game Accessories: $191 million -4%
Video Games Software: $550 million +11%
Video Games Hardware: $378 million -25%
Total Sales Per Week: $295 million +18%
Hardware Sales (units sold)
Wii: 274,000
PlayStation 3: 269,000
Nintendo DS: 251,000
PlayStation Portable: 230,000
Xbox 360: 230,000
Game Software Top 10 (units sold)
1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (360, Activision) – 331,000
2) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) – 298,000
3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii, Activision) – 240,000
4) Rock Band (Xbox 360, MTV Games) – 184,000
5) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, Activision) – 183,000
6) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) – 172,000
7) Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360, EA) – 144,000
Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (PS3, Activision) – 140,000
9) Mario Party DS (DS, Nintendo) – 139,000
10) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS, Sega) – 133,000
A statement from Electronic Arts CEO John Riccitiello is confident the company’s revenue will jump to around $6 billion by the fiscal year 2011, with at least $900 million from digital revenue streams like downloadable content, in-game advertising and subscription fees. That would represent a growth of 71 percent over its 2008 fiscal year revenue forcast, which it expected to hit roughly $3.5 billion.
Other new announcements made by EA yesterday included a release date of September 7 for Spore (and possible PS3 and Xbox 360 versions).
About the Author
David is the owner of ConsolesMarket.com, which has thousands of consoles & games listed on the site at fantastic prices. http://www.consolesmarket.com . The site helps you compare the market as it has other merchants offering a full range of products for you to compare.
What console should i get?
SHould i get a wii or a ps3, i want a wii cas of super smash brawl, super mario galaxy 2, and wii sports. I want a ps3 cas of killzone, call of duty, and other shooting games. Which one is more funner and does the wii have free online playing like the ps3
You can consider buying PS3
Ps3 Pros:
1) Quiet
2) Motion sensitive controllers
3) You can use any Bluetooth headset, keyboard, mouse, etc….
4) Blu-ray
5) Lack of flashing lights on front of machine!
6) Built in wi-fi card
7) HDMI included
Free Online Community and Game Play
9) Tech support speaks english and appears to be located in America, they understood my name and my question.
10) Controllers come with built in rechargable battery and can be charged with any usb port.
11) easy to navigate menus
12) No ridiculous power brick, one cord, if you want to take your ps3 with you somewhere you only need the controller, the unit and the power cord.
Ps3 Cons:
1) No IR receiver, you can’t use your regular universal remote to control the ps3 you need a bluetooth which means an extra remote.
2) Shape, this one sounds stupid, but the rounded shape of the ps3 really annoys me because you can’t stack, say your wii, or even lay your remotes on top of the unit. (maybe you shouldn’t do that anyhow LOL)
3) Less games, or at this point I guess the better point would be less games made for the ps3, instead of built for the xbox and ported to the ps3, this is however changing and in the future will be less of an issue.
PlayStation 3
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B002ZJ4T9C?ie=UTF8&tag=gaminglinks-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=B002ZJ4T9C
OUR WEBSITE SEARCHES for the best products on the net on weakly bases and here are the cheapest products at their category.
You can easily buy them from Amazon (Safest purchase, and in most case free shipping) just click on the image and enjoy 
|
|
Super Mario Keychain Cute Keyring Keyfob Green $43.20 ·Super Mario themed keychain, ideal gift for the game lovers ·Keychain with one ring to attach the keys or other accessory ·Made with great attentions to details, keychain of high quality ·Simple but stylish, very practical, perfect for collecting the keys… |
|
|
Super Mario Bros. Portable Cosmetic Hand Mirror $42.70 ·Super Mario themed compact pocket mirror ·Super Mario printed on cover ·With two mirrors inside, convenient design ·Ultra thin and light, easy for you to carry daily ·Small in size, adorable and practical ·Takes good care of your makeup… |
|
|
Nintendo Super Mario Galaxy Soft Squishy Figure Keychain Life Mushroom $3.55 FIGURE SIZE 1 1/2 Inch Tall… |
|
|
Nintendo Mario Striker Charged Miniature Wii Console Keychain $4.99 WII MINIATURE FIGURE SIZE APPOX 1 5/16″ TALL AT FRONT SIDE… |
|
|
Nintendo Wii Console Miniature Balance Board Keychain $4.99 BALANCE BOARD SIZE APPOX 1″X 1 3/4″… |
Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Official Trailer [HD]
