Interesting NPD hardware sales figures for October

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:15 pm

http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?optio ... 5&Itemid=2

Hardware sales in the U.S. for October:

DS: 360,000 units
PS2: 235,000
Xbox 360: 218,000
GBA: 169,000
PSP: 130,000

Man, no wonder Nintendo has money to burn.

Take care,
PK

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:34 pm

I've been very surprised that the DS has kept the sales momentum over the PSP this long after the release of the Lite.

Anyone think the PS2 will be the highest-selling console this Holiday season? That thing just keeps chugging along.

Spooky · Post by **Spooky** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:36 pm

Dave wrote:I've been very surprised that the DS has kept the sales momentum over the PSP this long after the release of the Lite.

Anyone think the PS2 will be the highest-selling console this Holiday season? That thing just keeps chugging along.

With Guitar Hero 2 and FF XII, I wouldn't doubt it. I am sure a lot of people who had sold theirs or traded it in are rebuying them.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:40 pm

Dave wrote:I've been very surprised that the DS has kept the sales momentum over the PSP this long after the release of the Lite.

Anyone think the PS2 will be the highest-selling console this Holiday season? That thing just keeps chugging along.

If the 360 doesn't pass the PS2 this holiday season, then MS needs to ask itself questions.

With great new games like GoW, COD 3 and RS: Vegas coming out this holiday season and the expected PS3 and Wii shortages, the 360 has to finish ahead of the PS2, wouldn't you think? Then again, as Spooky said, Guitar Hero II will move units.

I always was surprised at the strong DS Lite numbers. Now that I own a DS Lite, I'm not surprised at all. The thing is a great value for a gaming machine with some really fun games.

Take care,
PK

Zeppo · Post by **Zeppo** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:50 pm

pk500 wrote: With great new games like GoW, COD 3 and RS: Vegas coming out this holiday season and the expected PS3 and Wii shortages, the 360 has to finish ahead of the PS2, wouldn't you think?

Nope. Not me. The PS2 is $130 new, the same as the DS-Lite, and has a massive library of A-quality titles across a huge range of genres. It's so much cheaper, it shouldn't be a surprise if it keeps selling.

XXXIV · Post by **XXXIV** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:55 pm

Zeppo wrote:
pk500 wrote: With great new games like GoW, COD 3 and RS: Vegas coming out this holiday season and the expected PS3 and Wii shortages, the 360 has to finish ahead of the PS2, wouldn't you think?
Nope. Not me. The PS2 is $130 new, the same as the DS-Lite, and has a massive library of A-quality titles across a huge range of genres. It's so much cheaper, it shouldn't be a surprise if it keeps selling.

Yep...I have owned 3 of them...

I dont think the 360 will be out selling the PS2 until the supply of the PS3 catches up to its demand.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 4:57 pm

pk500 wrote: If the 360 doesn't pass the PS2 this holiday season, then MS needs to ask itself questions.

I don't really agree, wouldn't a fair comparison be to see how many units the PS2 sold in its first year and compare that to the 360?

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:07 pm

Danimal wrote:
pk500 wrote: If the 360 doesn't pass the PS2 this holiday season, then MS needs to ask itself questions.
I don't really agree, wouldn't a fair comparison be to see how many units the PS2 sold in its first year and compare that to the 360?

This is the 360's second holiday season, something to consider. What time of year was the PS2 released? I forgot.

Take care,
PK

grtwhtsk · Post by **grtwhtsk** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:08 pm

pk500 wrote:
Danimal wrote:
pk500 wrote: If the 360 doesn't pass the PS2 this holiday season, then MS needs to ask itself questions.
I don't really agree, wouldn't a fair comparison be to see how many units the PS2 sold in its first year and compare that to the 360?
This is the 360's second holiday season, something to consider. What time of year was the PS2 released? I forgot.

Take care,
PK

October I believe.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:08 pm

Zeppo wrote:
pk500 wrote: With great new games like GoW, COD 3 and RS: Vegas coming out this holiday season and the expected PS3 and Wii shortages, the 360 has to finish ahead of the PS2, wouldn't you think?
Nope. Not me. The PS2 is $130 new, the same as the DS-Lite, and has a massive library of A-quality titles across a huge range of genres. It's so much cheaper, it shouldn't be a surprise if it keeps selling.

True. I just wonder with an install base of 35 million in the U.S., at what point does the damn thing reach saturation?

Thirty-five million. F*ck. That means one in every 8.57 Americans owns or has owned a PS2 if you extrapolated the numbers to one unit purchased per person. That's a pretty incredible ratio, even if it's a bit skewed because some have purchased two, three and four or more of the things.

Take care,
PK

Kazuya · Post by **Kazuya** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:17 pm

Danimal wrote:
pk500 wrote: If the 360 doesn't pass the PS2 this holiday season, then MS needs to ask itself questions.
I don't really agree, wouldn't a fair comparison be to see how many units the PS2 sold in its first year and compare that to the 360?

You can't really do any comparisons because M$ did a worldwide launch and Sony had a 6 month delay between US and Japan. The best I can find with a quick Google is that after a year from the Japan PS2 launch, Sony had shipped 10 million units, while M$ has shipped 6 million units. However that figure isn't fair to Sony because its only 6 months of US availability. Apparently, the full year figure for Sony in the US alone is around 6.5-7 million, which beats M$ worldwide figure. The general consensus is that M$ is doing "OK", not nearly as successful as the PS2 launch but certainly not terrible either considering they have no presence in Japan.

Dave · Post by **Dave** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:25 pm

pk500 wrote:True. I just wonder with an install base of 35 million in the U.S., at what point does the damn thing reach saturation?

Thirty-five million. F*ck. That means one in every 8.57 Americans owns or has owned a PS2 if you extrapolated the numbers to one unit purchased per person. That's a pretty incredible ratio, even if it's a bit skewed because some have purchased two, three and four or more of the things.

It would be interesting to see who is buying the damn things. I thought about it after playing Guitar Hero for the first time but held out.

But if the PS2 keeps leading the sales pack, what's that say about the perceived value of the next gen consoles?

Brando70 · Post by **Brando70** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:30 pm

bdoughty posted some interesting stats back in 2004 showing the NPD figures over time since the PS2 launch:

http://www.digitalsportspage.com/module ... hlight=npd

In October 2001, one year after launch, the PS2 sold 332,000 units. Sales increased to 900k and 1.9 million in the next two months as the holiday shopping hit, even with the launches of the XBox and Gamecube.

matthewk · Post by **matthewk** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:57 pm

Danimal wrote:
pk500 wrote: If the 360 doesn't pass the PS2 this holiday season, then MS needs to ask itself questions.
I don't really agree, wouldn't a fair comparison be to see how many units the PS2 sold in its first year and compare that to the 360?

How about comapring the 360 to the Xbox? The Xbox sold more in this time frame than the 360 has.

I agree with PK that if the 360 does not make a big leap in November and December, they need to start asking some questions and figuring out why people are not flocking to it.

I don't own a PS2 or a 360 right now, but I've been clsoer to buying a PS2 the past few months than I have a 360.

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 5:57 pm

Dave wrote:
pk500 wrote:True. I just wonder with an install base of 35 million in the U.S., at what point does the damn thing reach saturation?

Thirty-five million. F*ck. That means one in every 8.57 Americans owns or has owned a PS2 if you extrapolated the numbers to one unit purchased per person. That's a pretty incredible ratio, even if it's a bit skewed because some have purchased two, three and four or more of the things.
It would be interesting to see who is buying the damn things. I thought about it after playing Guitar Hero for the first time but held out.

But if the PS2 keeps leading the sales pack, what's that say about the perceived value of the next gen consoles?

We also could see a splintering of the gaming population into two distinct camps due to the high prices of the next-gen consoles and the lower price of the DS and PS2, which continue to fly off shelves.

Xbox 360, PS3: Hardcore gamers
DS, PS2, Xbox: Casual gamers

I guess that already happened with the PSX and PS2, to some extent, but the PS2 was only double the price of the PSX when it launched, not four times the price as is the case with the PS2 and the PS3 premium unit.

All very interesting sh*t.

Take care,
PK

pk500 · Post by **pk500** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 6:05 pm

matthewk wrote:I agree with PK that if the 360 does not make a big leap in November and December, they need to start asking some questions and figuring out why people are not flocking to it.

And is that an indictment of the 360 or of the next gen, in general? I guess we won't know until sufficient quantities of the PS3 reach retail next year. Are these machines just too high-priced for the average gamer?

Of course, many in here will fire back, "Hell, NO! Look at all you get!" But remember, none of us regulars in here are casual gamers. I can tell myself until I'm purple that I'm a casual gamer now that I've bought a DS Lite and sold all of my console stuff. But that's bullsh*t: I wouldn't post regularly on gaming sites if I was a casual gamer!

If NPD figures next summer or fall show the PS2 keeping pace with the 360 and/or the PS3, then there is a problem. I don't expect that to happen, but again, it will be interesting.

Take care,
PK

bdunn13 · Post by **bdunn13** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 6:24 pm

3 out of 4 dollars Microsoft makes comes from OEM sales(where the consumer does not have a choice). When given a choice, the consumer does not choose Microsoft.

Gman33 · Post by **Gman33** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 6:29 pm

The price jump is much too great for the masses IMO, which is why the next gen console numbers (at least for the 360) are lower. I see the gaming industry following the same path as the sports card industry did in the early to mid 90's. i used to collect a lot of cards but then prices per pack or box began increasing due to the increase in popularity, and you also started getting less cards per pack. It became cost prohibitive for me and a lot of people I know. Yes I have a 360 but I am not fond of paying more money for less features than the current gen offerings and subjectively better gameplay. It actually has soured me on gaming, much like I soured on collecting sportscards.

Danimal · Post by **Danimal** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 7:27 pm

Kazuya wrote:
Danimal wrote:
pk500 wrote: If the 360 doesn't pass the PS2 this holiday season, then MS needs to ask itself questions.
I don't really agree, wouldn't a fair comparison be to see how many units the PS2 sold in its first year and compare that to the 360?
You can't really do any comparisons because M$ did a worldwide launch and Sony had a 6 month delay between US and Japan. The best I can find with a quick Google is that after a year from the Japan PS2 launch, Sony had shipped 10 million units, while M$ has shipped 6 million units. However that figure isn't fair to Sony because its only 6 months of US availability. Apparently, the full year figure for Sony in the US alone is around 6.5-7 million, which beats M$ worldwide figure. The general consensus is that M$ is doing "OK", not nearly as successful as the PS2 launch but certainly not terrible either considering they have no presence in Japan.

I agree you can't do really fair comparisson at all. There is a price difference for one, and of course everything you mentioned. I don't think MS needs to ask questions unless the PS3 start kicking their ass sales wise.

I think both companies will experience the same "ok" sales. It's the price that is hurting them.

wco81 · Post by **wco81** » Fri Nov 10, 2006 8:43 pm

Well the gap for October between PS2 and X360 isn't that great, considering the price difference.

It wouldn't be surprising if X360 did better in November, with GoW, which I've heard had preorders approaching Halo2 levels.

Yeah I think price is a big obstacle.

This particular Xmas, who knows if Holiday spending will be good. With mortgage rates high and home price appreciation down, people may not splurge as much.

Plus when you compare to 2000-2001, there is a lot more competition for the pocketbooks of those who would buy consoles. Not just more consoles at the games stores but handhelds too. And then you have MP3 players, fancy phones and other products which target the same customers of consoles.

But console launches are once every 5 years so maybe some people will not be content with anything but a new console. Others may be placated with other gadgets though.