July NPD Unit Sales: Wii On Top… Again

Believe this, Nintendo and their Wii console takes another month as top seller. The only product that moves more hardware than the Wii is the DS. As a gamer, it’s hard to understand how the Wii product continues to sell like this with the least supported game library on the planet.

The DS is completely understandable as it has a huge library of games, is more cost effective, comes in pretty colors and can save you tons of arguments and fighting from your kids on a long trip. In many ways the DS is synonymous with peace and quiet. What does the Wii offer us? Wii Sports and a new control scheme along with a few hit titles from Nintendo but little else for now.

I’ll be the first to admit, I thought this would be Nintendo’s chance to turn it all around and get the third parties involved. They have everything going for them in terms of sales, third party developers should be pushing out games each month considering the craze factor of the hardware. This just isn’t true.

More than likely, in this generation, the Wii isn’t really just considered a “kids console” but a console for non-gamers. The difference is obvious in their sales numbers, there are a lot of non-gamers so the console sales are through the roof! However, non-gamers don’t really spend a lot of money on games (after all, they’re non-gamers). It’s a catch-22, Nintendo finally drives huge volume in console units but still cannot manage to get third parties cranking because their sales attach rate (number of games sold per console) is way too low. At least they’re making money!

Nintendo will be the first (and only) to admit their game sales figures are through the roof, much like the console itself, but they’re not breaking out third party numbers. They can easily push the statistics up when considering Wii Play and Mario Galaxy as part of their “sales numbers” when talking about overall attach rate.

Also in the news, PlayStation 3 takes a huge drop off in sales, still beating the Xbox 360 however. They’re heading back to their normal sales figures now that Metal Gear Solid 4‘s frenzy is dying down.

Now, the figures (thanks 1up):

  • Nintendo DS: 608,000
  • Wii: 555,000
  • Playstation 3: 225,000
  • PSP: 222,000
  • Xbox 360: 205,000
  • Playstation 2: 155,000

So there you have it! Wii smokes the competition, PS3 starts to normalize down to where the 360 is at, and the PS2 is still a statistic even though it’s older than many Wii gamers are.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Related Post

Episode 648: Sleeping ScottEpisode 648: Sleeping Scott

[This episode has been re-uploaded due to technical issues]

Scott falls asleep mid-podcast, leaving Jonah and TJ to wrap up the episode. In the meantime, the crew get nostalgic over the “Toys to Life” craze, as this week’s Gaming Flashback is Skylanders: Spyro’s Adventure.

This week’s news includes:

  • The Bethesda Launcher will be shut down on May 11
  • PlayStation 5 finally getting Variable Refresh Rate support this week
  • Sony wants someone to shape its Playstation PC plans
  • Baldur’s Gate 3 officially gets 2023 release window

Let us know what you think.

Microsoft’s High Hopes Holiday LineupMicrosoft’s High Hopes Holiday Lineup

This year Microsoft believes they’ve got a heavy hitter lineup of titles starting around now until the end of the year including: Gears of War 2, Fable 2, Guitar Hero: World Tour, Rock Band 2 and Fallout 3. They’re also looking at Lips, their karaoke title with a casual appeal to bring on the sales figures this season.

What about the PlayStation 3? Some of these titles, such as Guitar Hero: World Tour and Rock Band 2 are not exclusives so both consoles have their chance, right? Microsoft’s looking at historical data on trends from Madden 2009 and see the 360 console out-selling the game even though it’s a shared franchise title.

Strong sales on the Xbox 360 suggest we’ll see those same sales this holiday season. Sure, the PlayStation 3 will get some big numbers thrown up but they may not compete on the same level as the Xbox 360.

All-in-all, Microsoft wants to toss up the one-million game units sold for the holidays, not including consoles we believe. That’s a strong holiday sales cycle if they can pull it off.

Even with economic downturns and financial markets doing poorly, entertainment tends to be something people are willing to invest. Will they pull it off? Will PlayStation 3 keep up?

Episode 666: Nintendo Hentai BanEpisode 666: Nintendo Hentai Ban

This week is plagued by the Mark of the Beast, but next week’s will be a giant landmark, too. No Gaming Flashback, but a lot of legal happenings in the past week.

The news includes:

  • USB-C charging ports will be required by law in the EU for most portable tech from 2024
  • NetherRealm’s next game won’t be revealed during Mortal Kombat anniversary events
  • Cyberpunk 2077 sequel is why there’s only one expansion, says dev
  • Nintendo has updated eShop rules on adult content, publisher says

Let us know what you think.