Voice 1: PS3 Hits New Low; Outsold By GBA Yet Again (April NPD Numbers).

[electric_blue_kirby]

Voice 1:

The numbers are in. So, how did the consoles sell?


DS - 471K
Wii - 360K
PS2 - 194K
PSP - 183K
360 - 174K
GBA - 84K
PS3 - 82K


And the games?


#1 Pokemon Diamond—NDS—Nintendo—1.045 M

#2 Pokemon Pearl—NDS—Nintendo—712K

#3 Super Paper Mario—Wii—Nintendo—352K

#4 Wii Play w/remote—Wii—Nintendo—249K

#5 Guitar Hero 2 w/guitar—360—Activision—197K

#6 Guitar Hero 2 w/guitar—PS2—Activision—142K

#7 Spider-Man 3—360—Activision—117K

#8 Spider-Man 3—PS2—Activision—105K

#9 God of War II—PS2—Sony—101K

#10 MLB '07: The Show—PS2—Sony—79K


(Source) (http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=16199&page=1)

So here we are again. Sony's PS3 continues to be consistently outsold by a portable that was released over six years ago and is all but phased out. DS numbers are down, but continue to dominate the sales charts. Nintendo, as promised, has managed to ship more stock (although they are still selling out). Their efforts are shown in their increase of over 100,000 sales since last month. The PS2 would seem to be slowing down, but still selling strongly. 360 numbers have dropped as analysts wonder if the Elite will prove to help Microsoft.

Super Paper Mario proved to be the best selling Wii (and console) game this month, with Twilight Princess, at last, nowhere to be seen. Pokemon sold as expected, reaching a 1.7 million combined sales total. Those numbers are expected to rise.

So we have our answers from last month.

What should we be watching for in May?

Thoughts and speculation about current and future sales numbers are invited.

[Cole]

You have to keep in mind that the PS2 is still Sony's mainstream console. Unlike Nintendo, with the Gamecube, and Microsoft, with the xbox, Sony is still actively developing new games for the PS2. The Playstation 3, at the moment, is only for high end buyers or earlier adopters.

[your_annoying_me]

I used to have a ps2 but I sold it to get a computer, now I only have a ps1 XD

Anywhoo, I used to be real big into video games, but have drifted away from it after discovering the wonders of the infinitively large internet.

I am surprised tho that the DS is on top, I would have expected the ps2 or the wii to be on top (Even tho I personally hate the wii and wish they would bring the nintendo 64 back as it was the best game system ever made)

[electric_blue_kirby]

Voice 1:

words

The PS2 was doing pretty well for a while, but, being "last-gen", its sales are dropping off.

Look at software sales charts. Games like Brain Age are still selling strong. In Japan, it has become some sort of cultural phenomenon. Long lines are still formed outside stores every week for shipments, and they've become far more acceptable to use on the trains than handhelds used to be. Titles like Pokemon are selling several millions of copies throughout the world.

It makes me think I should finally get around to upgrading from the GBA I still have.

EDIT: Also, the greatest system ever made was the SNES.

While I liked my N64, it's far from highly regarded. Nintendo's choice to stay on a cartridge system and their attitude towards third parties hindered the system.

words

If I were a game developer, I wouldn't care about that. If I can make a game for less on the Wii or 360, and reach millions more than I could on the PS3, I'm not going to make that game for that system. The PS2 had a large install base (from releasing early), and thus most games were made for it, which only caused more growth. That same system applies if Nintendo or Microsoft achieve those kinds of sales numbers. The system with the most potential buyers gets the most games with the most effort put into them.

And if a system can't get good games because of that, it fails. It's almost a catch-22.

One can't argue "X sales at Y price is still good". Bad sales are bad sales. Hence why the developers of MSG4 and FF13 are going through "no longer Sony exclusive" cycle, with FF13 the closer of the two to completing it.