PS3 News

NPD figures reveal PlayStation 3 is still floundering

By Stevie Smith Jan 18, 2008, 12:59 GMT

When it comes to the ever-increasing performance and value of the videogame industry, 2007 certainly did its utmost to put pay to any lingering doubts put forth by frowning detractors. With all three home console hardware players now firmly up on their gaming feet, and the latter half of 2007 exuding hit after hit after hit in the run up to Christmas, gaming continues its rise as a mainstream entertainment medium. NPD figures reveal the PS3 still has considerable ground to make up on its rivals. Credit: Sony.

NPD figures reveal the PS3 still has considerable ground to make up on its rivals. Credit: Sony.Of course, a reliance on official numbers always helps bolster such a position, which is where the NPD Group comes in. Specifically, the renowned research group has this week revealed the US videogame sales figures for both December 2007 and the entire year - and they make for pretty impressive reading, if you're not a PlayStation 3 fan.From a hardware perspective, Nintendo rules the roost with its DS handheld topping the year with a staggering 8.50 million sales for 2007 (a massive 2.47 million of which came in December), while the Wii follows close behind with a total of 6.29 million unit sales (1.35 million taken in the December rush).Microsoft holds on to third place for the year with 4.62 million Xbox 360s sold (1.26 in December), with the stalwart PlayStation 2 sitting in fourth with 3.97 million unit sales (1.1 million for December), and the PlayStation Portable stealing fifth with 3.82 million sales (1.06 million in December).While the PlayStation 3 has gained a modicum of retail momentum following price cuts and the introduction of the value 40GB model, Sony’s powerhouse console still only managed to sell 2.56 million units in 2007, with 797.600 of that total arriving in the year’s feverish final month. In terms of monthly comparison, the DS sold 1.53 million in November, while the Wii sold 981,000 and the Xbox 360 managed to move 770,000 units. Sony again rounded out the latter sales positions with the PlayStation Portable amassing 567,000 units, the PlayStation 2 racking up 496,000 and the PlayStation 3 bringing up the rear with a mere 466,000.In the software stakes, Bungie’s Halo 3 (Xbox 360) topped 2007’s chart with 4.82 million units sold, while Wii Play (with Wii Remote) followed close behind with 4.12 million, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) filled out the top three with a solid 3.04 million units. The top five is completed with Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) with 2.72 million, and Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) with 2.52 million.The remainder of the year’s top ten was padded by Pokemon Diamond (DS - 2.48 million), Madden NFL 08 (PS2 - 1.90 million), Guitar Hero 2 (PS2 - 1.89 million), Assassin’s Creed (360 - 1.87 million), and Mario Party 8 (Wii - 1.82 million). Not one PlayStation 3 title made the year's top ten.Other interesting industry totals for the month of December included a total videogame software sales figure of $4.82 billion USD, videogame hardware sales of $1.83 billion USD, and videogame accessories sales of $621,600 USD.

View blog reactions

Latest Headlines in PS3

Talkback

Add your comment (no registration required)

page: 1

SRSJan 18th, 2008 - 13:23:04

Again Some one only giving you American numbers. instead of looking at world wide. World wide PS3 did very well as a matter of fact sold more in its first year than Xbox 360 did.

Report this comment

wwwwwJan 18th, 2008 - 14:17:10

A lot of Americans have a very distorted view of console sales because the 360 is very popular in the US but not so outside. Every other console sells twice as many units outside the US as they do in it. The 360 is the only console on sale that actually sells fewer consoles outside the US

Here are the worldwide sales for every console in December;

Nintendo DS - 6,638,408
Nintendo Wii - 3,569,138
Sony PSP - 2,340,850
Sony PS3 - 2,000,575
Xbox 360 - 1,945,393
Sony PS2 - 1,899,588

and here are the worldwide figures for the first 2 weeks of January;

Nintendo DS - 1,194,285
Nintendo Wii - 785,919
Sony PSP - 603,655
Sony PS3 - 421,129
Sony PS2 - 346,977
Xbox 360 - 339,928

Even though the 360 had a load of big games and is much cheaper than the PS3 it only sold 700k more than the PS3 last year and the PS3 actually reached 8m sales faster than the 360 did.

Report this comment

jackJan 19th, 2008 - 03:35:39

Thats a discusting comment you pig head...Go invade somewhere.

Report this comment

xJan 21st, 2008 - 23:26:54

Stupid Americans, nobody cares about the RRODBox 360 outside America. Sales are almost non-existant for the 360 in Southeast Asia. 360 sales in Europe are rapidly going down the toilet. Japanese are loyal to their brands and Europeans want reliable hardware. 360 is dead outside America, face it.

Report this comment

page: 1

Add your comment (no registration required)