cyrenepenya: March NPD: US videogame sales down 4%, Xbox 360 on top as Pokemon sells 2.5 million

Sunday, April 17, 2011

March NPD: US videogame sales down 4%, Xbox 360 on top as Pokemon sells 2.5 million

Update Read Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft’s responses to this month’s NPD report over here, with further sales figures for all platforms. End of Update

US sales tracking and research firm The NPD Group has released its monthly report on the state of the US videogame industry. According to NPD, $1.54 billion in sales across hardware, software and accessories segments of the market was recorded for the month of March 2011, down 4% compared to the same month in 2010, despite the launch of the 3DS and the release of Pokemon Black and White.

March 2011 Software Sales

Pokemon White Version and Pokemon Black Version ruled the software sales listing in the US during the month of March, and NPD reports that Pokemon White became the best-selling Pokemon game in its debut month, while Pokemon Black is third. Together they managed to break sales records previously held by Pokemon Silver and Gold when that pair released in October 2000.

Software sales overall were down, however, from $876 million in March 2010 to $735 million this year ? a drop of roughly 16% - due to the range of massive game releases last year including God of War 3, Battlefield Bad Company 2 and Final Fantasy XIII.

Debut release Homefront managed to place in third on the March sales listing, as Dragon Age II and Call of Duty: Black Ops took fourth and fifth respectively.

NPD notes that, because the company now reports on game sales at an overall SKU (Stock Keepers Unit) level, Just Dance 2, Killzone 3 and Zumba Fitness all would have made the top ten if the listing was made up of individual platform sales.

March 2011 Software Sales Chart

1.) Pokemon White Version (NDS) - Nintendo - 1.3 Million units
2.) Pokemon Black Version (NDS) - Nintendo - 1.1 Million units
3.) Homefront (360, PS3, PC) - THQ
4.) Dragon Age II (360, PS3, PC) - Electronic Arts
5.) Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC) - Activision Blizzard
6.) Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) - LucasArts
7.) Crysis 2 (360, PS3, PC) - Electronic Arts
8.) NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP, PC) - Take 2 Interactive
9.) MLB 11: The Show (PS3, PSP, PS2) - Sony
10.) Fight Night Champion (360, PS3) - Electronic Arts

And because the 3DS released in March, here?s a round-up of the Top Ten best-selling 3DS games for the month:

Top Ten 3DS games

1.) Street Fighter 3DS
2.) Pilotwings Resort
3.) Lego Star Wars
4.) Rayman
5.) Tom Clancy Ghost Recon
6.) Super Monkey Ball
7.) Nintendogs+Cats G
8.) Ridge Racer
9.) Steel Diver
10.) Nintendogs+Cats F

March 2011 Hardware Sales

Videogame hardware sales in the US this past month were up 12%, from $440.6 million in March 2010 to $494.5 million this year, as PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PSP all performed better than the same period last year.

As usual, and despite the launch of the 3DS, the top selling platform for March 2011 was the Nintendo DS, followed closely behind by the Xbox 360. Reported sales of the Nintendo 3DS put this platform in third on the hardware sales listing, as the Wii sits at fourth.

During its launch period (with seven days of sales accounted for in NPD?s report), the 3DS sold 100 000 units less than the original Nintendo DS managed during its launch period, but NPD?s Anita Frazier reminds us:

?While the 3DS sold about 100K units less than the DS did in its launch month, we must consider that the DS launched in November and had holiday seasonality and a price differential of about $100. Because of the price differential, the 3DS generated greater revenues than did the DS in its launch month in November 2004.

?In addition, the 3DS was launched in an environment where there are more devices that can support the portable gaming experience such as tablets and smartphones.”

March 2011 Hardware Sales Chart

Nintendo DS ? 460 000 units
Xbox 360 ? 433 000 units
Nintendo 3DS - Under 400 000 units
Wii ? 290 000 units
PlayStation 3 ? Not reported

March 2011 Accessories Sales

Accessory sales for March 2011 in the US jumped 13% compared to last year, amounting to $241 million. NPD says that the best-selling accessory this month was the $20 PlayStation Network Card ? the second time the card has hit the top of the accessory sales listing since it was introduced in June 2008.

?This is another indication of digital growth across consoles and how physical retailers are participating,? writes Frazier.