NPD March 2011

[Rockster]

Ripped from NeoGaf...
5-week tracking month; Reporting Period 2/27/11 through 4/2/11

Software (New Physical Retail only)
2.5 Million combined White + Black
01. Pokemon White Version (NDS) Nintendo - 1.3 Million
02. Pokemon Black Version (NDS) Nintendo - 1.1 Million
03. Homefront (360, PS3, PC) THQ
04. Dragon Age II (360, PS3, PC)** Electronic Arts
05. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, NDS, Wii, PC)** Activision Blizzard
06.Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) LucasArts
07. Crysis 2 (360, PS3, PC) Electronic Arts
08. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP, PC) Take 2 Interactive
09. MLB 11: The Show (PS3, PSP, PS2) Sony
10. Fight Night Champion (360, PS3) Electronic Arts

**(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

Hardware
Nintendo DS (Yes, DS) - 460k
Xbox 360 - 433,000 (Top Selling Console)
Nintendo 3DS - Slightly Under 400,000
Wii - 290k

PlayStation 3 - 365K (+/-2K)

 

[RobertR1]

Twitter: aarongreenbergAaron Greenberg

#NPD shows Xbox 360 sold 433K units in March + 28% YOY, that is 15 straight months of growth. Thanks everyone for the support!

Very impressive when you look at it like that. They managed to raise the ASP with Kinect also.

 

[djskribbles]

The PSP, Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms each enjoyed a unit sales increase over last March. The PSP benefitted from a $40/unit price reduction which occurred at the beginning of the reporting period.

Now that we're reporting on games at the title rather than SKU level, it's important to note several that sold well and would have made the top 10 on a SKU unit sales ranking basis. Those include Just Dance 2 on Wii, Killzone 3 on PS3, and Zumba Fitness on Wii.

So the PS3 should be between 313.9k - 433k. And it seems like KZ3 had a decent second month.

 

[AlphaWolf]

I'd wait for some more numbers before classifying anything off the list as decent. There's a pretty huge range where that could fall.

Not especially good news for Nintendo in that their old hand held is outselling their new one. I'm pretty sure its not because of shortages.

 

[Rangers]

Twitter: aarongreenbergAaron Greenberg

#NPD shows Xbox 360 sold 433K units in March + 28% YOY, that is 15 straight months of growth. Thanks everyone for the support!

Very impressive when you look at it like that. They managed to raise the ASP with Kinect also.

I know a guy looking for a 360 and he cant seem to find one without kinect (which he doesnt want) bundled. Interesting.

So the PS3 should be between 313.9k - 433k.

Somewhere between 313.9k and ~402k by my figuring. Somewhere in the microsoft bragging it was said that 360 was up the most yoy at +28%. So that puts PS3 upper bound at ~402k (since PS3 has to be up less than 28% on last year).

 

[eastmen]

I'd wait for some more numbers before classifying anything off the list as decent. There's a pretty huge range where that could fall.

Not especially good news for Nintendo in that their old hand held is outselling their new one. I'm pretty sure its not because of shortages.

why not ? Their new handheld costs $100 more than the old one was introduced at and in roughly a week it sold only a 100k less than the ds did in roughly two weeks .

All that is without any strong nintendo support

 

[AlphaWolf]

why not ? Their new handheld costs $100 more than the old one was introduced at and in roughly a week it sold only a 100k less than the ds did in roughly two weeks .

All that is without any strong nintendo support

People are buying new DS's to play pokemon, if the 3DS were something they were looking to buy in the near future, you'd think they'd pay a few more $ for the upgrade to the 3DS and play their pokemon on that. Seems they chose not to do so.

the PSP sold 620k in its first month years ago at the same price point.

 

[eastmen]

People are buying new DS's to play pokemon, if the 3DS were something they were looking to buy in the near future, you'd think they'd pay a few more $ for the upgrade to the 3DS and play their pokemon on that. Seems they chose not to do so.

the PSP sold 620k in its first month years ago at the same price point.

pokemon black and white in the states was released march 6th while the 3ds was released march 27th. There were 21 days in which people would want to play pokemon and only have the option of buying a 3DS not a DS.

Also the DS is currently $100 cheaper than the 3ds and there are no improvements by playing pokemon on the ds instead of the 3ds .

So I really don't see your point.

Nintendo is sitting at close to 2m ww and the handheld has only been avlaible since the end of march in 2 of the 3 major territorys and only since the end of febuary in japan.

I don't think the console is doing bad at all and it has no major titles outside of Street fighter.

I think they should have put out pokemon in the states after 3DS's launch it might have helped but it hardly matters people would still buy DS's for $150 to play pokemon over $250 for the 3DS.


The 3DS has alot of games coming out for it over the rest of the year. Mario kart , paper mario , mario 3d , Legend of Zelda OOT and perhaps others from nintendo alone.

I wouldn't be disapointed in selling 440k units from march 27th to april 4th.

 

[AlphaWolf]

I wouldn't be disapointed in selling 440k units from march 27th to april 4th.

It sold less than 400k.

 

[eastmen]

It sold less than 400k.

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...-u-s-debut-has-great-start-citing-npd-1-.html

Bloomberg is saying 440k . Apparently usa today report with less than 400k is only through march 31st nintendos fiscal year.

 

[Rangers]

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2011-...-u-s-debut-has-great-start-citing-npd-1-.html

Bloomberg is saying 440k . Apparently usa today report with less than 400k is only through march 31st nintendos fiscal year.

Even that PR is kind of sad, Nintendo is reduced to bragging they sold slightly more DS than last year...only last year there was no brand new 3DS.

Those figures also dont match up. The op says 460k original DS were sold in March NPD. If you take the blooomberg report (860k total DS minus 440k 3DS) only 420k regular DS were sold. You cant use the fiscal year vs NPD thing, because the reported DS sales decrease in the supposed bloomberg report based on NPD numbers, when it is supposed to cover a longer time period than the other source (Nintendo's fiscal year). Something doesnt add up.

 

[kagemaru]

Good to see Homefront, DA2, and Crysis 2 on the list. Also happy to hear that KZ3 would have charted on the old single SKU set up. I would imagine a lot of the Black Ops sales are from new console owners.

Would be great to get some PS3 numbers, I read they sold over 300k, which are good sales so I'm wondering why they are hiding them.

Sony's PR:

Sony NPD: "PlayStation saw double digit growth across hardware and peripherals, signaling continued momentum for the PlayStation platform."

"PlayStation peripherals have now achieved double-digit growth for 19 consecutive months, according to NPD."

Ninty's PR:

The new Nintendo 3DS™ system combined with the Nintendo DS™ family of systems to make last month the best-selling March in U.S. history for Nintendo’s portable hardware business, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States.

After only one week on sale following its March 27 launch, Nintendo 3DS sold just shy of 400,000 units. Propelled by sales of more than 1.3 million Pokémon™ White Version games and more than 1.1 million Pokémon™ Black Version games, the Nintendo DS family of systems topped all home and portable video game systems in March, with more than 460,000 sold.

“Both Nintendo 3DS and the Nintendo DS family had a strong month, indicating that Nintendo has something for everyone,” said Charlie Scibetta, Nintendo of America’s senior director of Corporate Communications. “Nintendo provides people with the best video game experiences, from 3D visuals without special glasses to a touch-screen interface to motion controls.”

Nintendo’s Wii™ console sold more than 290,000 in the United States in March, giving Nintendo combined hardware sales of more than 1.1 million for the month. The upcoming Wii Play™: Motion game launches on June 13 and will have players smiling as they use their Wii Remote™ Plus controller (or Wii Remote™ with Wii MotionPlus™ accessory) in 12 new motion-controlled games. Wii Play: Motion comes packaged with a black Wii Remote Plus controller to deliver great value, precise motion control and immersive social fun that anyone in the household can pick up and instantly enjoy.

Major Nelson so MS PR maybe?

Xbox 360 was the number one console in the U.S. in March 2011, based on console and software sales, as well as ongoing demand for Kinect, the fastest selling consumer electronics device in 60 days.

March NPD highlights include*:

Xbox 360 sold 433,000 units in March, maintaining the number one console spot in the U.S.
Xbox 360 console sales were up 28 percent year over year, the largest growth of any current generation console on the market.
Total retail spend on Xbox 360 platform (hardware, software and accessories) reached $457 million, still the highest among current generation consoles.
During the month of March, four of the top ten console game titles were for Xbox 360 including: Homefront, Dragon Age II, Crysis 2,and Call of Duty: Black Ops.

We expect this momentum to continue throughout 2011. In the coming months, Xbox 360 owners can look forward to the arrival of Kinect-enabled Hulu Plus, as well as a diverse catalog of new games.

*Source: NPD Group, March 2011

 

[AlNom]

Heh, so what's the running total for Call of Duty Black Ops now? And actually... I would be interested in a ballpark figure for the series since Modern Warfare. XD

Wonder what Crysis 2 & Dragon Age II actually did...

 

[Silent_Buddha]

Holy cow. 440k for X360? And we're STILL in the traditionally slow console sales season.

Also nice to hear PS3 is also up YoY. Hopefully we'll get some numbers for it soon.

Even that PR is kind of sad, Nintendo is reduced to bragging they sold slightly more DS than last year...only last year there was no brand new 3DS.

Those figures also dont match up. The op says 460k original DS were sold in March NPD. If you take the blooomberg report (860k total DS minus 440k 3DS) only 420k regular DS were sold. You cant use the fiscal year vs NPD thing, because the reported DS sales decrease in the supposed bloomberg report based on NPD numbers, when it is supposed to cover a longer time period than the other source (Nintendo's fiscal year). Something doesnt add up.

I'm not sure how this is in anyway disappointing.

A combined 840k units between 3DS and DS. ~400k units for a new handheld at 250 USD price point. They basically have an X360 arcade/elite situation here. Don't want to spend alot? Buy a DS. Want 3D? Buy a 3DS. And it works because the 3DS has access to the entire DS library.

And it still sold more than the Wii and probably more than the PS3. I think people are stretching a bit to try to find reasons to claim 3DS is a failure. Approaching nearly half a million units in 4 days worth of sales.

That's ~100k units per day for the 3DS while the DS sold ~14.2k units per day for the month of March. All with the 3DS costing ~100 USD more.

I'd say that's pretty damned impressive.

Regards,
SB

 

[Rangers]

3DS may have been outsold by the regular DS? Nobody on earth thought that was even a remote possibility.

As has been pointed out, also outsold by the PSP launch.

I was sure it would do a million in March NPD or something. And I wouldn't have been impressed.

Also, since when in history has an older console lived alongside it's replacement viably? about the only even sort of case I can think of that happening is Ps2 with PS3. and even thats somewhat arguable as PS2 software support disappeared quickly after PS3's introduction.

We're talking about a Nintendo console here. They're supposed to fly off the shelves and be sold out for years. Hell, Pachter said something to the effect of "you wont be able to find a 3DS on store shelves in 2011" a few months ago, and that Nintendo was losing lots of revenue at 250 because "these will be on ebay for $500 the day of launch". Just again shows 3DS not doing what people expected. Heck I was fiddling with the idea of buying a bunch and ebaying them, good thing I didn't.

 

[Silent_Buddha]

3DS may have been outsold by the regular DS? Nobody on earth thought that was even a remote possibility.

As has been pointed out, also outsold by the PSP launch.

I was sure it would do a million in March NPD or something. And I wouldn't have been impressed.

Also, since when in history has an older console lived alongside it's replacement viably? about the only even sort of case I can think of that happening is Ps2 with PS3. and even thats somewhat arguable as PS2 software support disappeared quickly after PS3's introduction.

We're talking about a Nintendo console here. They're supposed to fly off the shelves and be sold out for years. Hell, Pachter said something to the effect of "you wont be able to find a 3DS on store shelves in 2011" a few months ago, and that Nintendo was losing lots of revenue at 250 because "these will be on ebay for $500 the day of launch". Just again shows 3DS not doing what people expected. Heck I was fiddling with the idea of buying a bunch and ebaying them, good thing I didn't.

I'll try this again.

4 days worth of sales. 100k units per day. I would certainly consider that flying off the shelves.

31 days worth of sales 14.2k units per day. I'd say DS was handily outsold by the 3DS.

And if comparing to launch sales. Someone already pointed out that with 4 days worth of sales, the 3DS almost matched ~2 weeks worth of launch sales for the DS. I'm pretty confident that after 2 weeks, the 3DS will have far surpassed the first 2 weeks of DS sales.

That's why companies unlike forum posters go by first X days of sales rather than March sales or January sales, etc. Since games/systems can launch at different points within a month.

Regards,
SB

 

[liolio]

Honestly I would not be surprised if the 3DS doesn't that well in the long run. Two screens no longer cut it and I would bet they have a significant impact on power consumption. Power pretty much dictate what one can put together in the mobile space. The 3Ds performances sucks and nobody with a decent smartphone won't fail to notice.
The NGP is a way more interesting product on many accounts and especially critical ones like "what does it bring to gameplay" => touch screen, back touch pad (+ std controls). The 3DS bring nothing new 3D aside which has been already qualified as gadget by many website.

 

[dobwal]

The DS launched during Black Friday week and sold 500k of a 550K allotment during first week at $149.99 while the 3DS launched on national "Joe" day and sold 400-440k during its first week at $249.99. Tell me why I shouldn't be impressed with 3DS?

 

[Rangers]

I'll try this again.

4 days worth of sales. 100k units per day. I would certainly consider that flying off the shelves.

31 days worth of sales 14.2k units per day. I'd say DS was handily outsold by the 3DS.

And if comparing to launch sales. Someone already pointed out that with 4 days worth of sales, the 3DS almost matched ~2 weeks worth of launch sales for the DS. I'm pretty confident that after 2 weeks, the 3DS will have far surpassed the first 2 weeks of DS sales.

That's why companies unlike forum posters go by first X days of sales rather than March sales or January sales, etc. Since games/systems can launch at different points within a month.

Regards,
SB

We have bloomberg saying 440k in 7 days...I think NPD covered 7 days of 3DS sales. So, down to 63k a day.

Anyway, comparing a launch to any normal period of sales is completely ridiculous. Launch is a period of the most pent up demand.

Not selling out at launch is rare and a symptom of a less than great launch popularity. Even those DS sales you compare to I'm guessing were supply limited.

 

[kagemaru]

The DS launched during Black Friday week and sold 500k of a 550K allotment during first week at $149.99 while the 3DS launched on national "Joe" day and sold 400-440k during its first week at $249.99. Tell me why I shouldn't be impressed with 3DS?

I was basically going to post the same thing. 3DS did great, all things considered.