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360 And Halo 3 Push Past the Wii's Sales

Posted by Zonk on from the back-on-top-for-about-a-week dept.

GameDaily has the NPD numbers for September, and they're impressive if only because for the first time in months Nintendo isn't dominating the top of every list. Total sales across the industry hit $1.36 billion (a 74% bump over last year), mostly fueled by Halo 3 sales. The game (across all skus) sold some 3.3 million units, while Xbox 360 platforms hit about 528,000 units sold last month. Ironically, the Wii had its second best month ever and the DS sold big numbers thanks to Phantom Hourglass. "Nintendo's Wii, despite not really having any significant new software releases, was close behind with 501K units sold. The DS handheld also did quite well, selling another 495.8K. Looking at Sony's platforms, the PS3 sold just 119.4K units, while the surging PSP sold 284.5K and the PS2 maintained healthy sales at 215K." The piece also offers up analysis from an NPD researcher, who feels Microsoft is likely to maintain some good momentum through the holidays.

20 of 309 comments (clear)

  1. Great news for MS! by machinecraig · · Score: 5, Funny

    Sounds like MS can keep their lead as long as they release a Halo-class game every month! If only they had thought of that sooner!

    1. Re:Great news for MS! by Gravatron · · Score: 5, Interesting

      Isn't it a bit odd that Sony or MS have to release a major game to increase sales, but nintendo can sell on it's hype alone? I mean, the wii's game drought is worse than Sony's, but they still beat them in sales. And Poor MS can bring out game after game and still not catch up most weeks.

      I owned a wii, and sold it a few months later. It just wasn't as good a console as the hype made it out to be. My ps3 and 360, on the other hand, more than paid for themselves since I got them in the summer. Not being able to play galaxy or smash brothers hurts, but thats made up by the titles on the other two.

    2. Re:Great news for MS! by aichpvee · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Shouldn't be too hard, they churn out mediocre games all the time.

      --
      The Farewell Tour II
    3. Re:Great news for MS! by b96miata · · Score: 5, Funny

      Paid for themselves? Are you making money off your consoles?

    4. Re:Great news for MS! by ArtDent · · Score: 5, Informative

      Seriously. And that's just in America. They'll need to do it every two weeks to win worldwide.

      What you just heard was the sound of Microsoft rather unimpressively blowing its load.

      They just released what will probably be the biggest game ever on the console (or is there going to be a Halo 4?), and only managed to squeeze past Wii by 27,000 units (about 5%). And this in the 360's strongest territory.

      Worldwide, Wii outsold 360 in September, 1,075,000 to 735,000. The 360 managed to hold a lead over Wii for a mere two weeks and is now trailing again.

    5. Re:Great news for MS! by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      Ah, but if they did, your hipster-ism and built-in hatred of anything popular would then force you to hate that game! Then in a few years (once Halo became 'retro' enough to be cool again), you'd decry "too bad the masses latch on to MegaKill and not something so overrated, like Halo." Then you could adjust your tinted glasses and ironic t-shirt and move on to hating popular movies instead.

      --
      Comment of the year
    6. Re:Great news for MS! by Burning1 · · Score: 5, Funny

      He's counting the money he saved by playing video games rather than going out on dates. ; )

    7. Re:Great news for MS! by theantipop · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Wait, so you ditched you Wii after a few months of ownership and compare it to the PS3 a year after it was released? Maybe you don't like the games available for the Wii (from the ones you listed it sounds like you wouldn't), but to claim there is a game drought or there are no quality games available is ridiculous.

    8. Re:Great news for MS! by theantipop · · Score: 3, Insightful

      Have you ever thought maybe the Wii isn't selling on hype alone? That poeple might actually enjoy playing games on it? Sounds crazy, I know, but it's possible.

    9. Re:Great news for MS! by Frenchy_2001 · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Could it be that (shock and surprise!) you are not the target market for the wii?

      The usual gamers and most people that spend lots of time on video games and expect deep engaging contents are NOT what Nintendo is aiming the wii at. I know it is disappointing for that crowd to not be the focus of the biggest console maker, but this is the choice Nintendo has made this generation: instead of targeting gamers and competing with the other 2, they went for the casual market and brought back gaming as a family activity.

      I agree to everything you say on the Wii. It does have a lot of hype and it lacks new games. But this does not takes its qualities away. It is a perfect game for casual gamers. It is the only console where you can get anyone to play with you, from 6 to 80 years old. I've gotten my 6 year old niece to play wii sport (she loves the bowling game) or wii play (she likes fishing) and even my step mother (age 60+) played wii sport with us.

      The people buying are not "gamers". They just enjoyed so much wii sport at a friend's house, that they are looking for one for themselves. The wii so far is pretty much a wii sport machine, but most of those people have been brought up on Mario and they will probably take the jump when galaxy is released.

      I would not be surprised if the wii trailed the 2 other consoles on software/machine, as the people will really concentrate on a few games only, but this is not a real problem for nintendo, as they are making money on the console itself. 3rd party will need to understand their market to make money (look at ubisoft and rayman), but there will be potential for it.

      So, the difficulty of finding a wii is not so much due to the hype than to the viral effect (about 20% coming to play with us at home want to get one afterward). Supply is only now catching up with the demand (a YEAR later!).

      Oh, by the way, although MS is doing great sales with Halo3, This might be the only quarter they will get a positive cash flow again (on the xbox1, the quarters they released halo1 and halo2 were the only positive ones). This is the fact that worries me most about MS' future in the game market. So far, it is a money pit for them (about $2 billions per generation).

  2. Re:I wonder... by sho222 · · Score: 5, Funny

    but I wonder if the Wii's availability is playing into effect of how hard the system is to find?
    Did you think about that statement before writing it?
  3. Re:I wonder... by rizzo420 · · Score: 4, Insightful
    yes, people are still having a hard time finding it. none of the stores i've been in have it around here (target, walmart, best buy, etc). i don't shop at places like eb games or gamestop very often, so i don't know about them.

    i assume when you said

    but I wonder if the Wii's availability is playing into effect of how hard the system is to find? that you meant "is the wii's popularity playing into effect of how hard it is to find?" the answer to that question is an obvious "yes". the wii is loved by the elderly, the young, the middle aged, the hard core gamer, the casual gamer, while the 360 and PS3 are mostly for people looking for good graphics and games like halo 3.

    i was surprised to see that the PS2 had better sales than the PS3. that should say a lot to sony.
    --
    please me, have no regrets.
  4. Tit for tat... by Aphrika · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Figures like this are expendable - just wait until you get the sales figures for Wii vs. 360 after Mario Galaxies is released...

  5. Re:Wow so by Endo13 · · Score: 3, Funny

    the ps2 is outselling the ps3 at almost 2:1? Wouldn't this be like the gamecube outselling the wii or the xbox outselling the xbox360?

    Yeah.

    And nobody thinks that's slightly odd for Sony?

    Not really. Everyone's used to it by now. Been that way since about the second month after launch.

    --
    There is no -1 Disagree mod. Slashdot.org/faq defines mod options. USE IT.
  6. Re:Microsoft will win next generation by spxero · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Wow.... just wow. The Wii's success is a blessing? I would say that's more of a curse, as Nintendo is not only making money on software sales, but on hardware sales as well. How much money is the 360 bringing in? Not as much, seeing as how the 360 is not going to be profitable until 2008. (And this is despite shipping and selling almost a year ahead of time)

    And with 8.19 Million units sold vs. the 360's 6.72 million units sold I think it's a little easier to tell who the winner is.

    Console mods for the 360 may be successful, but they're also being blocked from the main reason for having a 360.


    I hate responding to trolls like you, but come-freaking-on. Does it hurt to lie through your teeth like that?

  7. MS vs Wii by ObiWanStevobi · · Score: 3, Insightful

    I still fail to see how MS or PS3 are competing against the Wii. Maybe the fact that they all play games, but MS and Sony are the two really competing for a similar market.

    Anyway, Halo was huge for the Xbox and will continue to push sales for a while. The downside of this seems to be that alot of other really good games are being drowned out. The Orange Box hit the 360 with very little fanfare and poor marketing, despite being one of the best collection of games I've ever seen. In November, Assassins Creed, Blacksite, and Mass Effect will be released. Although Blacksite initially looked really good, I can't see buying it now that I have Halo 3 and 3 updated Half Life titles.

    1. Re:MS vs Wii by IamTheRealMike · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Yes, it's DRM on subscription, but solving that problem is really outside Microsofts scope. Believe me, NO software company wants to waste time writing and defending DRM software. They do it because the alternative is not being able to sell stuff, and in some cases (like video games) there is no equivalent of the open source model to fill in the gaps with alternative revenue streams.

      Seriously. DRM is just a time and money sink. It's necessary because it pays for itself many times over, when done correctly (note: a cracked drm that requires exotic and annoying workarounds will still fulfil its goal). If everybody could be trusted to buy the things they use, it wouldn't be necessary, and the time spent on it would be spent on improving the product instead. But we don't live in such a world.

      If we had an economic model in which anybody could copy to their hearts content, and the content creators still got paid commensurate to their products popularity - then you wouldn't need DRM. But it's pretty hard to imagine how that'd work.

  8. Re:Nintendo will win next generation by 2nd+Post! · · Score: 4, Insightful

    You forget one crucial component:
    Nintendo will have the $249 next gen HD capable console (that will also be profitable) and compatible with the Wii and it's extensive install base.
    Nintendo will continue to have MORE ideas, and will poach the great ones from Microsoft as well.

    You think Microsoft will win because they can copy Nintendo?
    That's like saying Microsoft's Zune will win because they copied the iPod... and then the iPod Touch gets released. Oops.

    --

    GPL Deconstructed
  9. Re:Troll huh by zsouthboy · · Score: 3, Funny

    We're going through puberty, you insensitive clod!

  10. Re:Microsoft will win next generation by yanos · · Score: 3, Interesting

    ...and a new one who isnt used to playing in the big leagues.
    We're not talking about the same Nintendo, me thinks.