NPD November 2008

[PARANOiA]

That said, I really, really don't think anyone's going to make a move until they know what Nintendo's doing. Microsoft's gonna gloat over beating Sony, but all their price-cuts aren't targeted at them -- MS is after a share of the Wii market.

I don't really agree with this. I read a pretty well thought out post on GAF the other day where someone pointed out the objectives of all three parties this gen are quite different, and don't necessarily require being number one.

Nintendo obviously realised they couldn't beat Sony in a tech fight, and chose a quieter, profit-driven model. This started with the Gamecube, which made money despite being the last-placed seller. With the Wii they targeted a brand-new crowd because they knew they wouldn't have to worry about competition - and it has worked wonders for them.

MS on the other hand entered the whole console race purely to keep Sony out of the role of "owning the livingroom" in the same way MS "owns the PC market". The Xbox was a horrible loss but they didn't quit - and I don't think would have quit this gen because they need to have a device in the living-room which is an extension of the PC market they are constantly pushing in terms of growth. While they're going for "casual" crowds now, they (IMO) aren't trying to beat Nintendo - they just want to ensure they have a window for as many people as possible to browse their closed marketplace, so they can have a storefront in every home where possible.

Sony on the other hand fought for media domination, and won. Now they're trying to regain the fight as the trusted "Playstation brand", because it's Sony's most important IP. It's less around ensuring they make stacks of money with the Playstation 3 (as an object), and ensuring that the "Playstation" name is there in the future and trusted by customers through this generation and moving forward. They are succeeding to an extent, since there are obviously many who are PS flag-wavers all over... but it will be interesting to see how the brand fares if they end up in last spot this gen, and some feel burned by the price-premium they've paid.

 

[DuckThor Evil]

The huge psychological effect that the economic crisis has over the consumers is clearly reflected in November sales.

I have to say that I'm getting pretty damn tired of hearing about "the catastropic effect of the economic crisis" in relation to the video game industry...

First of all it didn't reflect in these November sales in any friggin way! The industry as a whole is up by a large margin, so it's very inaccurate to claim huge effect. saying that it just affects PS3 is just plain wrong, these things don't work like that. Consumer spending is not down that much, that it would reflect in videogame industry. Videogames are not houses, cars, boats or expensive holiday trips to other side of the world. Consoles are relatively cheap and I think you could make a strong case that this economic situation actually is benefitting to the games industry, as people spend less money on expensive things and stay at home, which means more time and money to spend on cheaper entertainment. PS3 fits into that category too, even if it is slightly more expensive than its competition.

Imo it would take mass unemployment to really have an effect on these products and that just isn't going to happen in a scale that would really cause major pain. Economic crisis is not the reason why Sony is selling less than its competion. PS3 just doesn't have the same demand its rivals are having at a significantly lower price points and that is due to many different things, but I'm 99% sure that the economic crisis is not an important part in that equation. If you ask 50-100% higher price than your competition and don't offer much greater product, you are bound to sell less even without a damn economic crisis and quite frankly even if the product is greater, it's still pretty difficult to sell more than your cheaper competitor.

 

[function]

agreed..... but Sony has a big strength

their army of first party and second party developers

IMO, they should be investing their moolah in getting their soldiers to develop new software to capture the Wii audience.

They are not probably not going to be able to match the XBox 720 so why even bother?

I'm not saying that they should just leave the PS3 as it is....

Rebranding will definitely mean a relaunch of the PS3 hardware as something new...

perhaps a PS3 slim with waggle at a mass market price with a new generation of exciting software.

I'm speaking as a tech novice of course so I'm not sure how feasible or cost effective a PS3 slim would be.

With a few changes I think Sony could have a graphically competitive machine based on the PS3 that would give them a chance to rebrand and sell without making enormous losses. All they need to do is provide an experience that can compete with Xbox 3 and/or Wii or Wii 2 (perhaps easier said than done).

This might sound odd, but bear in mind that Nintendo invented the d-pad, and that Sega invented the analogue thumbstick and analogue triggers, but that Sony and MS managed to use them both against their respective creators and beat them.

 

[obonicus]

I don't really agree with this. I read a pretty well thought out post on GAF the other day where someone pointed out the objectives of all three parties this gen are quite different, and don't necessarily require being number one.

Supposing this is all true, do you think MS is happy sitting on its laurels? They don't want to beat Nintendo as much as they want a pie of the big casual pie. But that does mean that Nintendo becomes their competition (I'm not saying they know how to compete with Nintendo, I don't think even Nintendo would know how to compete with Nintendo). Now, make no mistake: Sony would love a piece of that pie too, but they just can't get there, not at their current price point and I imagine they realize this. Not only that, but Sony has to get the 'upscale', or 'hardcore', or whatever you want to call them to pay more attention to their system. Which is why so much fanfare around Sony's upcoming first-party lineup. Not to mention that it's much easier to market to us, we're a lot more impressed by big guns and explosives.

 

[Graham]

I'm no expert on this.

Here is what I'm thinking, given the industry saw dollar sales growth of 17% between 2002 and 2006 (pre-wii) we can 'assume' that overall sales were probably around or above 10% / year (I can't find numbers for this).
So considering that growth, the 2002 PS2 numbers (1.3m for November 2002) edge out the Wii here, but only Just...
But it's still damn impressive none the less. Considering the competition especially.

What I'm trying to say, is for raw numbers, the Wii has broken records for Nov. - but considering entire industry growth I feel the PS2 was stronger at it's height. But only Just.

 

[obonicus]

I'm no expert on this.

Here is what I'm thinking, given the industry saw growth of 17% between 2002 and 2006 (pre-wii) we can 'assume' that overall sales were growing at least 10%.
So considering that growth, the 2002 PS2 numbers (1.3m for November 2002) edge out the Wii but only Just...
But it's still damn impressive none the less. Considering the competition especially.

What I'm trying to say, is for raw numbers, the Wii has broken records for Nov. - but considering entire industry growth I feel the PS2 was stronger at it's height. But only Just.

Is this the Wii's height? There's always 2009.

 

[eastmen]

Yeah, but last year was sort of like a relaunch for the PS3 with the 40GB model at a much more palatable $399. IMO that's also why it had strong sales early this year. It was much like the launch year of most consoles, and 360 sold similarly IIRC in its first year.

Sure, but while last year you only had to pay $120/$50 more for a PS3 instead of a 360, now you have to pay $200/$100 more. Moreover, 360 also has more to offer, and BR standalones are far cheaper, too, reducing the value proposition.

Overall, I don't think Sony is disappointed with these numbers. Right now MS is probably taking a bigger loss on the arcade than Sony is on the 40GB, because HDD+BR+whatever is unlikely to cost $200 (though MS probably makes some of that back through HDD sales).

Sony has said in the past that hte ps3 cost $400 to make. The xbox 360 is surely less than that. I can see it costing $300. That means they'd loose $100 on each arcade , break even on each premium and make $100 on each elite. If its less than $300 to produce the losses will be cheaper.

 

[bbot]

Sony's response, according to teamxbox.com:

http://news.teamxbox.com/xbox/18379/November-2008-NPD-Sonys-Take/



PlayStation by the Numbers
November 2008

PlayStation Brand Continues Strong Sales Momentum Into the Holiday Season; PS3 Hardware Sales Grow 60% Year-to-Date

Total PlayStation Hardware Unit Sales in November 2008 Top 1 Million

The PlayStation brand began the holiday season by posting solid sales at retail across its three platforms, with more than 1 million hardware units sold in November 2008, a 93% growth from the October 2008, according to NPD.

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) has continued its strong momentum during the holiday season with 378,071 hardware units sold in November, representing an increase of almost 100% from October. From January to November 2008, more than 2.8 million PS3s have been sold in the U.S., representing a year-to-date hardware sales growth of more than 60%.

Fueled by an unmatched holiday line-up of blockbuster first and third-party titles, more that 3,552,456 software units were sold for PS3 in November, representing a year-to-date growth of 150%.

* Top-selling exclusive games for PS3 in November included hot titles for the hardcore gamer and family alike, from the pulse-pounding first-person shooter Resistance 2, to one of the best-rated games of the year, LittleBigPlanet.Third-party must-have titles -- including Activision’s Call of Duty: World at War, Midway Games’ Mortal Kombat vs. DC Universe, and Electronic Arts Sports’ Madden NFL 09 – rounded-out the best-selling games for the platform.
* In November, the PlayStation nation continued to turn to the PlayStation®Network for entertainment content, including: new PlayStation games such Super Street Fighter II Turbo HD Remix and Age of Booty; original content such as Qore: Episode 5 and Xam’d: Lost Memories, Season 2; and new blockbuster additions to the video delivery service, including Hancock and Indiana Jones: Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. There are currently more than 15 million registered PlayStation Network accounts worldwide.



PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) and the Ratchet & Clank: Size Matters PSP Entertainment Pack proved to be a popular choice for movies, games and entertainment content on-the-go in November, with 420,539 units sold. This represents an increase of 118% from October.

PlayStation®2 (PS2) and the LEGO Batman: The Videogame PS2 Entertainment Pack posted solid sales in November, with 205,944 hardware units sold, a 51% increase from the previous month.

Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand generated strong sales across all three platforms, earning $663 million in November.

* Year-to-date (Jan-Nov), the PlayStation brand generated more than 5 billion in revenue, representing an 11% growth year-to-date.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $261 million in November, representing a year-to-date growth of 9%.
* PlayStation total software revenue in November was $352 million, representing a year-to-date growth of 16%.

 

[22psi]

What were LBP numbers?

 

[AlNom]

bbot, can you select quote the article instead of posting the entire thing?

 

[jetrii]

Given how much money they are losing on each console, I don't think Sony is too upset with PS3 hardware sales. It would be best for them if they waited until production costs went down then lowered the price to $299. However, I am sure they are extremely dissatisfied with their software sales. Big titles like LBP, Resistance 2, and Motorstorm 2 just aren't selling. If they are losing money on hardware and not making any on software, exactly where is their profit going to come from?

Note: I know Sony announced that they sold 1M copies of Motorstorm 2, but it seems that they sold 1 million copies to retailers, not customers. At least, that is what a lot of the sales charts seem to indicate. Hopefully we will know next month.

EDIT: Apparently the Sony spokesman was talking about Motorstorm 1, not 2. He was just very vague about it.

 

[Turok]

Wow, that Wii number is impressive. Now, where the hell are the games that appeal to me?

 

[gongo]

The fall of PLAYSTATION is complete now. sigh. It took MS 7 years to undone Sony's decade of dominance. I still question the new administration. When Sony lost Kutaragi, i accept that the division will lose some technical goals but i expect Kaz to sort out software and publisher relations. That has not happened, things look as broken as before while we lose BC and a competitive priced SKU. Is the PS3 that expensive to make when we already have sub $200 Bluray players?

Another point is how we like to think Sony has the best first party games, what is the use of claiming best when customers bypass your games. Sony still doing wrong in the marketing dept. There will be further repercussions with PS3 units and games performing poorly. PS3 just, justifiably, lost DQX and more will come for the survival of publishers. Then we just have another reason for customers to not pick up a PS3.

A sidenote, Wii success is well weeeeeee for Nintendo, doesn't affect me much, none of the games appeals to me and Im glad publishers are still developing hardcore games on HD consoles and not let Wii runaway success tempt them over to casual wee 'o' waggle.

 

[RobertR1]

Wii = WTF!? This is just out of this world and then some.
360 = Good sales. As expected.
PS3 = lol. Time for Sony to get a 2nd job to absorb the price cuts if need be.

Gears 2 a little lower than I expected. I thought it'd be close to 2 mil. CoD5 360 is just wow and will blow past Gears 2 next month. Hell yeah! for L4D sales on the 360. Well on it's way to 1+ sales on the 360 and oh so well deserved. Sony have no hits this holiday season. L4D 1st month outsold LBP Oct + Nov sales. Resistance clearly not the Franchise Gears is. Banjo bombed as expected along with MS' casual offerings.

The Wii software is ridiculous also but that's expected as some software will sell with such hardware numbers. However it's clear what does sell on the Wii. Social interaction games. Expect that trend to continue. What we consider traditional games to be are not the Wii's core audience.

Something interesting to note:

Nov. 2007 / Nov 2008 = Differential
Playstation 3: 466K / 378K = -88K
Playstation 2: 496K / 206K = -290k
PSP: 567K / 421K = -146K

Clearly PS2 owners are not transitioning to the PS3 by any stretch. They're being eaten up by the Wii with some going Wii60. The 360 should be another 1mil+ ahead of the PS3 by the end of the this year.

 

[fearsomepirate]

The interesting thing is that Wii Music is in the top 10 even with a fairly disappointing first week. Not only that, but it undoubtedly cost a lot less to make than other titles within the same order of magnitude in sales.

 

[eastmen]

The fall of PLAYSTATION is complete now. sigh. It took MS 7 years to undone Sony's decade of dominance. I still question the new administration. When Sony lost Kutaragi, i accept that the division will lose some technical goals but i expect Kaz to sort out software and publisher relations. That has not happened, things look as broken as before while we lose BC and a competitive priced SKU. Is the PS3 that expensive to make when we already have sub $200 Bluray players?

Another point is how we like to think Sony has the best first party games, what is the use of claiming best when customers bypass your games. Sony still doing wrong in the marketing dept. There will be further repercussions with PS3 units and games performing poorly. PS3 just, justifiably, lost DQX and more will come for the survival of publishers. Then we just have another reason for customers to not pick up a PS3.

A sidenote, Wii success is well weeeeeee for Nintendo, doesn't affect me much, none of the games appeals to me and Im glad publishers are still developing hardcore games on HD consoles and not let Wii runaway success tempt them over to casual wee 'o' waggle.

Are there any full bluray spec players out there capable of 7.1 sound for under $200 yet ? I've seen them normaly at the $250 and $300 price points.

 

[gongo]

Are there any full bluray spec players out there capable of 7.1 sound for under $200 yet ? I've seen them normaly at the $250 and $300 price points.

There were sales of them from Sony, Panasonic, Samsung and house brand Memorex, though im not sure what relation fully specs or not have with the optical drive.

Another point i noted is how after 3 holiday seasons, PS3 has yet to have a big AAA game that can push the hardware. MGS4 is too convoluted and so GT5P comes the closest and it happens to be a demo....I just hope they get their marketing right with Killzone2. Thats the big break Sony needs.

 

[Mboojigga]

Where the hell is Littlebigplanet? Some people thought it was going to bounce back for November. That is a big difference with World at War with 1.5 on the 360 and half a mil for the PS3. Wasn't sales alot closer when COD4 was released?

 

[Afrikan]

I don't really agree with this. I read a pretty well thought out post on GAF the other day where someone pointed out the objectives of all three parties this gen are quite different, and don't necessarily require being number one.

Nintendo obviously realised they couldn't beat Sony in a tech fight, and chose a quieter, profit-driven model. This started with the Gamecube, which made money despite being the last-placed seller. With the Wii they targeted a brand-new crowd because they knew they wouldn't have to worry about competition - and it has worked wonders for them.

MS on the other hand entered the whole console race purely to keep Sony out of the role of "owning the livingroom" in the same way MS "owns the PC market". The Xbox was a horrible loss but they didn't quit - and I don't think would have quit this gen because they need to have a device in the living-room which is an extension of the PC market they are constantly pushing in terms of growth. While they're going for "casual" crowds now, they (IMO) aren't trying to beat Nintendo - they just want to ensure they have a window for as many people as possible to browse their closed marketplace, so they can have a storefront in every home where possible.

Sony on the other hand fought for media domination, and won. Now they're trying to regain the fight as the trusted "Playstation brand", because it's Sony's most important IP. It's less around ensuring they make stacks of money with the Playstation 3 (as an object), and ensuring that the "Playstation" name is there in the future and trusted by customers through this generation and moving forward. They are succeeding to an extent, since there are obviously many who are PS flag-wavers all over... but it will be interesting to see how the brand fares if they end up in last spot this gen, and some feel burned by the price-premium they've paid.

If the hardware stays stable like its been and they continue to release a variety of games from FPS, 3rdPS, sports games, "non-games" like Afrika & Aqua, racing titles....and just overall games that are true exclusives that can't be found on PC or 360....they should be ok.....they will continue to get sales, especially if/when they release PS3slim. I just believe that there will be more 360 owners out there who might end up getting PS3s in the next couple of years compared to PS3 owners purchasing 360s....so this should also add to the sales...

and eventually when they release the PS4, I'm sure they will have an affordable launch price (compared to the PS3)...and more importantly more competitive to Microsoft's offering........ they should be able to do this with all the R&D they spent on the PS3 and go from there..... I'm with those who are expecting Sony to continue using Cell architecture with more SPEs, new graphics chip (maybe a second Cell chip this time), and BluRay again...... so you would expect the cost of the system to be drastically cheaper than the rushed PS3 launch console.

FIVE HUNDRED NINETY NINE U.S. DOLLARS....haha

 

[cthellis42]

Wow, that Wii number is impressive. Now, where the hell are the games that appeal to me?

Buried under a 3000' high pyramid of to-be-sold Wii Fit balance boards.