From Gaming-Age:
January Hardware Sales
PS2: 448,000
XBOX: 164,000
GCN: 81,000
GBA: 266,000
Cumulative Installed Base
PS2: 16,318,000
XBOX: 4,765,000
GCN: 3,664,000
GBA: 12,159,000
Software Tie Ratio
PS2: 6.20
XBOX: 4.87
GCN: 4.82
GBA: 2.78
January Software Sales
Rank Title Publisher
1 PS2 THE SIMS Electronic Arts
2 PS2 GRAND THEFT AUTO:VICE Take-Two Interactive
3 PS2 THE GETAWAY Sony
4 PS2 DEVIL MAY CRY 2 Capcom
5 PS2 SOCOM:U.S. NAVY SEALS Sony
6 PS2 DRAGON BALL Z:BUDOKAI Infogrames
7 PS2 MADDEN NFL 2003 Electronic Arts
8 PS2 ATV OFF ROAD FURY 2 Sony
9 XBX DOA: BEACH VOLLEYBALL Tecmo
10 PS2 MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY Midway
11 XBX T.CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL Ubi Soft
12 PS2 T.CLANCYS GHOST RECON Ubi Soft
13 XBX T.CLANCYS GHOST RECON Ubi Soft
14 PS2 LORD OF RINGS: TWO TOWERS Electronic Arts
15 XBX LORD OF RINGS: TWO TOWERS Electronic Arts
16 PS2 KINGDOM HEARTS Electronic Arts
17 XBX PANZER DRAGOON ORTA Sega
18 XBX HALO Microsoft
19 PS2 NBA LIVE 2003 Electronic Arts
20 GBA YU-GI-OH! ETERNAL Konami
21 PS2 WWE: SHUT YOUR MOUTH THQ
22 PS2 BOND 007: NIGHTFIRE Electronic Arts
23 PS2 TIGER WOODS PGA 2003 Electronic Arts
24 GCN LORD OF RINGS: TOWERS Electronic Arts
25 GBA ZELDA: LINK TO PAST Nintendo
• Software sales revenue for the month of January grew 1% over last year, while unit sales for software grew 2.2%. New 128-bit console hardware sales were up 28% year over year, while new 128-bit console software sales were up 24%. Game Boy Advance hardware sales were up 56%. For the month of January, Electronic Arts’ The Sims on the PS2 took the overall spot with 267,000 units sold followed by Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the PS2 and Sony’s The Getaway on the PS2.
• Electronic Arts’ (ERTS, $49.98, Outperform, TP $87.50) U.S. video game sales for January were up 31% versus last year. Strength in January came from the strong debut of The Sims on the PS2, and continued catalogue sales of Madden NFL 2003, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and NBA Live 2003.
• THQ’s (THQI, $12.81, Outperform, TP $16.50) U.S. sales increased 26% year over year in January from strong sales of WWE Shut Your Mouth and Sp*ngebob: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, and continued strong sales of its portfolio of games, including Sonic Advance on the GBA. The company announces Q4’02 results on Wednesday after the close. The dial-in number for the call is 877-316-2542. Activision’s (ATVI, $14.51, Outperform, TP $18) U.S. sales declined 22% year over year for January, with the weakness coming across all of the company’s products.
• For Take-Two’s (TTWO, $19.80, Outperform, TP $34) full January quarter, sales were up approximately 48% versus our expectation of 28% revenue growth. The strength was driven by the company’s Greatest Hits titles for the PS2 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which has sold approximately 5 million units in the U.S. For the month of January sell through was down 56% due to the difficult comp from Grand Theft Auto III last year and, we expect, the company’s decision to hold back end of quarter shipments.
• Midway’s (MWY, $3.37, Underperform, TP $3) U.S. sales in the quarter were up 70% year over year, with strength coming from the release of Mortal Kombat. The company announces Q4’02 results on Thursday after the close. The dial-in number for the call is 212-896-6084.
• Since both Midway and THQ pre-announced Q4’02 results, the focus of this week’s earnings calls will be on forward guidance. We think given the uncertainty around each company’s product portfolios, management’s guidance will be conservative. Electronic Arts remains our top pick. For small cap investors, we believe that Take-Two represents a compelling risk/reward scenario.
January Hardware Sales
PS2: 448,000
XBOX: 164,000
GCN: 81,000
GBA: 266,000
Cumulative Installed Base
PS2: 16,318,000
XBOX: 4,765,000
GCN: 3,664,000
GBA: 12,159,000
Software Tie Ratio
PS2: 6.20
XBOX: 4.87
GCN: 4.82
GBA: 2.78
January Software Sales
Rank Title Publisher
1 PS2 THE SIMS Electronic Arts
2 PS2 GRAND THEFT AUTO:VICE Take-Two Interactive
3 PS2 THE GETAWAY Sony
4 PS2 DEVIL MAY CRY 2 Capcom
5 PS2 SOCOM:U.S. NAVY SEALS Sony
6 PS2 DRAGON BALL Z:BUDOKAI Infogrames
7 PS2 MADDEN NFL 2003 Electronic Arts
8 PS2 ATV OFF ROAD FURY 2 Sony
9 XBX DOA: BEACH VOLLEYBALL Tecmo
10 PS2 MORTAL KOMBAT: DEADLY Midway
11 XBX T.CLANCY'S SPLINTER CELL Ubi Soft
12 PS2 T.CLANCYS GHOST RECON Ubi Soft
13 XBX T.CLANCYS GHOST RECON Ubi Soft
14 PS2 LORD OF RINGS: TWO TOWERS Electronic Arts
15 XBX LORD OF RINGS: TWO TOWERS Electronic Arts
16 PS2 KINGDOM HEARTS Electronic Arts
17 XBX PANZER DRAGOON ORTA Sega
18 XBX HALO Microsoft
19 PS2 NBA LIVE 2003 Electronic Arts
20 GBA YU-GI-OH! ETERNAL Konami
21 PS2 WWE: SHUT YOUR MOUTH THQ
22 PS2 BOND 007: NIGHTFIRE Electronic Arts
23 PS2 TIGER WOODS PGA 2003 Electronic Arts
24 GCN LORD OF RINGS: TOWERS Electronic Arts
25 GBA ZELDA: LINK TO PAST Nintendo
• Software sales revenue for the month of January grew 1% over last year, while unit sales for software grew 2.2%. New 128-bit console hardware sales were up 28% year over year, while new 128-bit console software sales were up 24%. Game Boy Advance hardware sales were up 56%. For the month of January, Electronic Arts’ The Sims on the PS2 took the overall spot with 267,000 units sold followed by Take-Two’s Grand Theft Auto: Vice City for the PS2 and Sony’s The Getaway on the PS2.
• Electronic Arts’ (ERTS, $49.98, Outperform, TP $87.50) U.S. video game sales for January were up 31% versus last year. Strength in January came from the strong debut of The Sims on the PS2, and continued catalogue sales of Madden NFL 2003, Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and NBA Live 2003.
• THQ’s (THQI, $12.81, Outperform, TP $16.50) U.S. sales increased 26% year over year in January from strong sales of WWE Shut Your Mouth and Sp*ngebob: Revenge of the Flying Dutchman, and continued strong sales of its portfolio of games, including Sonic Advance on the GBA. The company announces Q4’02 results on Wednesday after the close. The dial-in number for the call is 877-316-2542. Activision’s (ATVI, $14.51, Outperform, TP $18) U.S. sales declined 22% year over year for January, with the weakness coming across all of the company’s products.
• For Take-Two’s (TTWO, $19.80, Outperform, TP $34) full January quarter, sales were up approximately 48% versus our expectation of 28% revenue growth. The strength was driven by the company’s Greatest Hits titles for the PS2 and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City, which has sold approximately 5 million units in the U.S. For the month of January sell through was down 56% due to the difficult comp from Grand Theft Auto III last year and, we expect, the company’s decision to hold back end of quarter shipments.
• Midway’s (MWY, $3.37, Underperform, TP $3) U.S. sales in the quarter were up 70% year over year, with strength coming from the release of Mortal Kombat. The company announces Q4’02 results on Thursday after the close. The dial-in number for the call is 212-896-6084.
• Since both Midway and THQ pre-announced Q4’02 results, the focus of this week’s earnings calls will be on forward guidance. We think given the uncertainty around each company’s product portfolios, management’s guidance will be conservative. Electronic Arts remains our top pick. For small cap investors, we believe that Take-Two represents a compelling risk/reward scenario.
And where's MP? 
