Huge console sales boost in March
U.S. video game sales jumped 33 percent to $1.1 billion in March, boosted by strong sales of gaming consoles from Nintendo despite ongoing shortages for its newest system, according to data from the NPD Group, a market research company. Software sales grew 15 percent for the month, to $574 million, with Sony Corp.’s “God of War II” for the PlayStation 2 grabbing the top spot, selling 833,000 units. For the first quarter, software sales climbed 30 percent to $1.6 billion, while total U.S. video game sales were up 54 percent to $3.3 billion. The industry is in the midst of shifting to a new generation of gaming consoles, and while the road there can be rocky, there are plenty of rewards on the horizon.
The battle of next-gen consoles has also another winner: Nintendo and its Wii. Nintendo’s surprising turnaround is prompting broader changes throughout the industry as game makers that were caught off-guard by Nintendo’s strength — including powerhouses such as Electronic Arts, the world’s largest publisher of games — hurry to development games that take better advantage of Nintendo hardware. Redmond-based Nintendo sold 508,000 Nintendo DS hand-held devices in March, well ahead of Sony’s PlayStation Portable, which sold 180,000. “The message delivered by both Wii and Nintendo DS is the same one. Innovation is compelling both current gamers and new gamers to experience a new way to play,” said Reggie Fils-Aime, president, Nintendo of America, in a statement. I would say well deserved position, it has been proved the low price and innovative features are the way to follow.
Source: Xinhua, Bizjournal
Comments(22)
Wouldn’t it be good if Sega announced a new console….Just imagine Nintendo and Sega both kicking Sony and microsofts butt.The old boys showing the new comers how its done….with style.
Hell yeah. Sega Rocks.. !! booyaaa!!!!
Bring back the Sega Master System!!
Would be a damn nice day when sony stops making video game systems and continues making walkmans.
I liked my PS2 and I like my PS3, but I love my wii…. ain’t nothin gonna change that… it’s so much more fun to play.
That was a good thing to read first thing in the morning. It’s about time Nintendo is back on top. I don’t and will never own a ps3. and my 360 has been collecting dust ever since I got my hands on the new paper mario and some points cards.
All b/c the darn Wii is still out of stock everywhere, and I can’t get my hands on one
I could never really get into consoles, I’m a PC Gamer but I always see torrents posted for console games, but I thought you could not burn a console game without a special chip or something, has anything changed??
was a funny episode ..
“Redmond-based Nintendo”?!? Funny, I thought they were a Japanese company…
Oh, and it’s funny that DS numbers are mentioned (The DS beat the PSP in sales? Stop the presses!), but nada por nada about the utterly tanking Wii.
i know it’s hardly “elite”, but how will it do?
good for nintendo it deserves to be a major player for all the innovation and fun its given us. shame there is no mention of the 360, online gaming is fantastic with this thing.
The other consoles get pwnd to hell for one reason. Nintendo actually tries to make a good console. The other console makers go like “Ok, next generation of consoles should include…” “Err, better hardware! Yeah, what a brilliant idea! We won’t need anything but better hardware!”
That said, the 360 is also good, simply because it has throngs of great games. The PS3 is just too expensive (especially for us europeans, who get screwed over with higher prices and worse hardware) for it’s own good.
Consoles are shit. They just make you buy the same games over and over again with not too much of a difference. The wii controllers will probably be available for PC soon and you can always upgrade a PC so it’s future proof. My brother just goes on about his PS3 “Look you can get a keyboard and go online” when I can already do that. Plus on the gadget show about a week ago they were saying that the Wii controllers can be used for mixing tracks on a PC so it definitely won’t be long before we’re playing tennis with them. The only difference is the games and they’ll be coming out on a PC anyway. Hopefully motor storm which kicks ass. They say a few of them won’t come out on a PC like Call Of Duty 3 but thats not really a great loss since trying to aim with a thumb stick is annoying. Wow they are releasing a mouse. Oh no I haven’t already got 1. In 3 years or less they’ll just release another console and you’ll end up buying all the games and extras again. Why
Because of multiplayer and something other than FPS and Rts. They are cheap too. Oh and they boot really quicky. Another thing you can carry them to your mates… They don’t become obsolete for at least 5 years…
i want to wii badly
Wii’s suck. Graphics are so bad. Once the novelty wears off there will be heap of them in the junkpile.
must suck to be a ps3 or xbox fanboy. all your views are so narrow-minded.
ya, Wii is nice, now that is hacked.
I made some calculations, yesteday, for those who are interested..
It seems Wii will reach the same sales numbers as xbox in about 220 days.
I don’t get why people argue about the wii vs PS3…. there really isn’t a god comparison, they are two completely different types of product.
The wii is pure fun, none stop energetic move your ass to win fun, clearly not designed to please hard core gamers. Instead it goes for the other 90% of the world’s population and that’s why it’s so successful. The PS3 on the other hand is designed for hardcore gamers who can sit in front of a TV with a joypad for hours on end. I personally can do it to some extent but after 15-20 mins get bored, this is why I like my wii so much, you don’t just sit there you really interact. I have to be honest, I still play with my wii almost daily, I have friends round and we have wii sport Olympics….. My PS3 after a couple of days? I haven’t used it, other than to watch a movie on, with the choice of wii and PS3 I choose my wii because its more fun.
The wii will match the sales numbers as xbox in 220 days? LOL using who’s count? They beat Xbox 360 by like 50,000 units this month, assuming the next TEN months they beat Microsoft by 50,000 units, that’s 500,000 units and brings them not even close to the 360.
Ummm that chump who said he’s hot over Paper Mario? PLEASE…the graphics are INSULTING…horrible HORRIBLE graphics! the flip to 3d is rediculously dumb.
Lets look at the game sales and see how the wii is doing…umm ya, 1.2games attached per console…there’s a nice fact for you when you consider who’s winning the console wars(xbox has like 6 per console now and yes it’s been a year but people just don’t find the wii games very compelling to buy).
What no one talks about is that Wii is succeeding based on price vs value only…many people on a limited budget see a new interesting product for a good price. Those same people do not buy scads of games and as we all know, the real money is in the licensing of games/online play. Once Ms and Sony drop their prices to be more competitive with Wii, Wii is going to go away in a hurry.(it’s barely beating Xbox 360 now and has had the largest month over month drop of any of the consoles as far as sales now that it’s “coolness factor” is wearing off.
oh shut up haplo. Firstly, stop saying ‘once ms and sony drop their prices.’ not gonna happen down to current wii prices for a real long time. You see, they quite want to make some money. like nintendo does, on every console they sell. When xbox/ps3 cost less to produce and hence sell, guess what? so will wii.
wii slowing? it occupies five of the top ten slots in japan. (no 360 or ps3 there) Some analysts have suggested demand will outstrip supply well into 2008. And attach rates of 1.2? Say hello to the elusive new gamer. Nintendo is selling to people who never bought games before. they aren’t going to buy loads of games at once. and its difficult to flesh out your attach rate when you keep selling loads of consoles.
That said, i don’t own a wii. Its a bit shallow at the mo, but that doesnt mean its going to fail, just so happens theres alot more casual casual gamers in the world that hardcore, suprised nintendo are the only ones to have spotted that.