NPD August Numbers, Wii On Top
Only once a month we get to take a peek into the state of videogame hardware in the US. Unlike other territories like Japan which see weekly estimates, we often are forced to wait a good while, but usually that wait is all the more exciting and variable.
August was an interesting month for a variety of reasons. We saw releases of some hard-hitting titles like Madden, Bioshock and Metroid. Arguably the 360 probably saw the most activity with its price drop tacked on to two major titles. Metroid meanwhile just slipped into the final week, so it’s effect will be felt strongly in Sept, much as Strikers primarily will be sold as an August title. The PS3 on the other hand was more of an settling month. With a few decent releases, and a cooling down period from the July price drop, this is set to be an interesting month. Enough talk, on to the numbers. Drum roll please.
Wii 403.6 K
Nintendo DS 383.3K
Xbox 360 276.7K
PlayStation 2 202K
PlayStation Portable 151.2 K
PlayStation 3 130.6K
And there you have it, compared to last month; the big mover and shaker was the Xbox 360 jumping 100 thousand units. The PSP meanwhile shrank quite a bit, likely in preparation for the release of the new slim version. All other consoles saw slight drops in the 20-30 thousand ranges. Worth noting, Sony consoles no longer fall into the top three, the PS2 has by and large held Sony in that position for quite a few months.
With the 360 having such a successful month, all eyes will be on it once again when Halo 3 hits September 25th. With only a single week to factor in to sales, it’s hard to say just how much console sales will be affected. Nonetheless, the 360’s marquee franchise is making its final goal, and it wouldn’t be that surprising to see the 360 gain some more software driven momentum.