NPD August 2010

Have seen the effect of exclusive marketing on COD? Granted I am not saying that its the sole reason as Madden has been on the rise on PS3 with constant yoy growth but this year's is quite the growth.

 

It might not be so much XB360 not being aware of Madden, as PS3 owners being made aware of it (although quite why an advert for the PS3 wouldn't have the same effect on 360 owners, I don't know!). How do this year's Madden sales on 360 compare to previous years?

 

Madden 10 sold 928k on 360 in Aug. 2009 NPD (so virtually the same) and the PS3 version sold 665k. I guess those ps3 commercials were all that was needed to create more awareness for PS3 owners.

 

A few million more PS3 owners without any next-gen copy of Madden probably helped too.

 

My only point was I find it hard to believe that Online Pass deterred any sales in the first month.

 

I hate to say this, but Xbox360 is a console that, with its high failure ratio during the initial stages of their life cycle, generates the subjective (even objective) need of purchasing better, more reliable models. Apart from this, the improvement in equipment and quality (WiFi, better cooling system, less noisy), even design, makes me think that there´s a undetermined amount of old XBOX users replacing their old models, an amount higher than expected. That could explain some of the (relative) low software sales in those months of confortable HW sales leadership.

In my case, I´m just waiting to the appropiate XBOX bundle to take the new model. It has really better value for money than my old, fat, (too warm) 360. And a wireless adapter is not that cheap...

The question would be what percentage is due to replacements. What do you think?

 

I've been wanting to get the new slim 360 since it was announced. Availability has been scarce though.

But, as if on cue, my old Elite RRODed the same evening I found a shop that had slims stocked.

Cheers

 

I have no idea, but combined with online first person shooting taking drawing comparatively more 360 owners in the US, piracy on 360, the 360 having had a generation of Madden sales more than the PS3, and a few other things it's bound to add up. What percentage amounts to what though will be hard to determine. Maybe from here on, if people come up with a new reason, they should also indicate what percentage they expect that new reason to take up between the other reasons. Right now they tend to be presented as if they were 100% of the reason all by themselves ...

 

You guys seem to forget that most of the broken 360s are repaired and given to somebody else. Even if a user decides to replace the old with the new, the old one still goes to somebody. It does not just vanish.

 

People waiting for the Slim (no prior ownership due to reports of the RROD) might explain the presence of MW2 on the charts.

 

Some might never be repaired, due to lazyness, lack of warranty knowledge, etc, and eventually the use buys another console, or just buys another 360 sometime later, skewing off the install base a little bit. Back when 360's were dying right and left I seem to recall a lot of people would pick up Arcades to "tide them over" while they worried about the repair process later.

 

I have been trying to wrap my head around the XBL price hike, and I think I finally understand it. July and August NPD were big, and September will almost certainly be huge as well.

I think it's safe to say that the huge spike in sales is single handedly responsible for this price hike that is coming in November. Microsoft is expecting a lot of people to try out Live with their new consoles, get hooked, and then when it's time to get a year sub, they'll already be $60 a year.

 

That is almost certainly an important factor. You have new owners completely new to the PS3 and people who also have Xbox 360s who also picked up a PS3. I suspect the lowering of the price and the large number of highly sought after hardcore titles might have pushed a few Xbox 360 owners into multi-console ownership as well.

From what I can tell the PS3 has sold a significant proportion of its overall sales in the past 12 months whereas the Xbox 360 has sold more steadily throughout its life. The average time of ownership is higher as well.

This is messy, but my point which im trying to make is that its complicated and there are multiple different factors involved.

@Wii: I wonder if Nintendo will be able to see YOY gains on a regular basis and how terminal any decline in fortunes the Wii might experience.

 

ahh the old PS2 (anti) sales argument.

not sure that argument gets close to affecting the type of sales numbers you are seeing form this system in NA

My opinion is that (at least in NA- US) the reason for this continued growth of 360 is that it is well on its way to replacing the PS systems as the defacto gaming console (in NA). The proof is in the kids/teens. they set the tone for what is "cool" and what sells (what their parents buy or let them buy).

Believe me, with teenage kids, I see it. Where as 10 years ago it was all PS, the majority has shifted to Xbox (and frankly LIVE and how cool it is to use and socialize on). Live subscription is only the cost of one game per year which is nothing for most kids/teens to get for birthday gift etc.

 

I apologize for going off topic but your post has me a little concerned. Do you know what revision you had? Was it one of the earlier Zephyrs? I have a Falcon Elite that's I bought to replace a RROD launch Pro. But I primarily do the full installs and play games off the drive (not sure if that helps with heat, but I'd guess might). I've been hoping that the 65nm Falcons were relatively RROD safe.

 

Yes the 360 is still selling well because the same 326k people who bought it in Nov 05 are buying new ones to replace it every month. Which morons are going out and buying a console when they can get it replaced for free? I'm too lazy to fill out a packing slip so I'm gonna drop $300 on a new box. If you think this is a real phenomena that is significant in pushing 360 sales numbers please email me, I have money in nigeria, I need your help getting it.

 

I know it's only anecdotal information, but the retailer I work for see's a lot of 360's return and traded for newer "faster" slims. Our stores in the local area are actually over stocked on standard 360's, so much so that we have to ship them to other stores with smaller populations.

 

Actually by user base AC1 + AC2 both sold better on ps3 (though tie with AC2)

Code:

        xb360       ps3 
AC1  12.42%    15.42%
AC2 4.58%	4.59%

A 2007	Madden NFL 08 	14.40%	19.33%
A 2008	Madden NFL 09 	9.18%	12.22%
A 2009	Madden NFL 10	5.83%	8.07%
S 2009	Madden NFL 10	1.78%	2.82%
A 2010	Madden NFL 11	4.31%	6.79%

there have been some non FPS that have performed better on xbox360 though
Bioshock 2, UFC 2009 Undisputed , Prototype, Borderlands (might be a FPS)
I believe the average owner of the ps3 is older than the average owner of a xbox360 which perhaps explains the different genre tastes

 

PS3 should almost always sell better in relation to install base as it has a smaller install base. X360 with a larger install base should always sell worse in relation to install base. That any titles don't conform to this is the only noteworthy thing you can take away from it.

It's not exactly a new phenomenon for this generation of consoles that as your install base grows sales of individual titles will go down with respect to install base (ratio of bought versus install base, not total number). It's the same thing that happens with every console generation.

As such something like Madden this year is closer to how cross platform software should be selling than say COD: MW2.

Considering the size of the install base for all 3 consoles, I'm actually surprised if any title sells better on X360 with regards to install base. Overall sales, no surprise. Sales with regards to install, huge surprise on my end whenever X360 does better. That's absolutely aberrant behavior, and somewhat unique to this console generation.

Regards,
SB

 

How do you explain PS3 selling more software overall worldwide than the 360 for the last 12 months ending June 2010, irrespective of the install base then?