Analysts react to November numbers

Industry watchers weigh in on "record-low tie ratios" for Wii and PS3 and other results from the month of the new systems' debut.

The industry-tracking NPD Group released its retail numbers for November yesterday, and US sales were up nearly 15 percent over November 2005. It was good news for the industry after October's sales figures--predicted by analysts to show a percentage increase in the double digits--were unexpectedly flat.

In an investor's note discussing the NPD's numbers today, Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson said the off month was due to consumers holding on to their wallets in anticipation of a big November. "It appears there was a meaningful pause in spending in front of the launch of the PlayStation 3, Wii, and lots of AAA software in November," Wilson said.

However, few of those AAA software sales were for games on the new systems, as Wilson noted that PS3 and Wii games weren't flying off the shelves as much as expected. The tie-ratio--the average number of games sold per system--was 1.1 for the PS3, and 2.1 for the Wii. Wilson blamed the low numbers on people buying the systems on their own to turn around and sell them for a profit.

Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter also pointed out the tie-ratios, calling them "record lows" for new consoles. Despite that, Pachter expects the Wii and PS3 to play a significant role in year-over-year sales growth of 7-10 percent for the month, so long as Nintendo and Sony can get enough systems to retail and "the eBay effect" is suppressed.

For people who did pick up games with their new systems, Wilson said the best-sellers on the Wii were The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess, Red Steel, and Super Monkey Ball: Banana Blitz, in that order. Far and away the best-seller on either new system, Twilight Princess sold enough copies to spin in 86 percent of Wii systems sold in November.

On the PS3, the biggest mover was Resistance: Fall of Man, followed by Madden NFL 07 and Call of Duty 3, respectively. NPD figures show that Resistance sold a little more than one copy for every three PS3 systems on the market.

97 Comments

  • warlok9

    Posted Dec 13, 2006 12:57 am PT

    I don't see how doing well in Japan has anything to do with any of us here in the US. Do YOU live in Japan? I don't. I am sure Microsoft would have liked to do better there, but the people there just ain't buyin into it. They like their linear rpg's and action games and games with little girls showing their underpants. Microsoft is just not going to deliver these games to them and they know it. Contrary to what everyone believes, the vast majority of Japanese developers are not at the forefront of next gen gaming, Visit there sometime and you will see the shelves lined with the oddest games that you and I would laugh at. It's a diiference in cultures. Gears of War to them is stupid.
    As someone else said, Microsoft will be around for a while regardless. Their pockets are just too deep. They continually push the market and when a game developer they like won't develop for their system, they just buy them out. That's just the hard truth.

  • JROCCC

    Posted Dec 12, 2006 11:21 am PT

    I will tell you the problem with both systems and why Wii will rule supreme. first off I am not a fanboy I enjoy gaming and own a PS3 and a 360 gonna get a Wii after the holiday is over they should be plentiful then. The XBOX has always had blockbuster games. The problem with that is that they don't have mnay game that could feel you over until the bolockbuster game comes out when I say blockbuster I mean a game that is made by SCEA or MSS so DMC and MGS4 doens't count. Secondly Sony has pissed Square off as well as Konami which are weighing their options as far as which system they are going to put their games on . A good source told me that MGS4 isn't exclusive to Sony because they don't want to renew Konami's contract with them. So MGS4 may be on all three systems . Square also said that either after FFXIII or FFXIII itself will be multiplatforming games because Sony is boasting about square is nothing without them and everyone knows that is opposite. As for Sony , Sonly doesn't have a blockbuster game effect in t heir studio. They have alot of games that could be great that always seem to fall short of that. In the mean time third party developers save Sony. With more and more games going to the XBOX by the end of the console era, There will be a divide with MIcrosoft owning the western hemisphere and Sonly owning the East. My proof of MGS4 going multiplatform is that I work at eb games and it isn't in the computer anymore, just saying that they are thinking about doing something else with metal gear. Everyone this is the point 3rd party games are what make sony sony. If people are putting these third party games on both systems you will nver have a game that looks much different then the version of the game on the other console. So your PS3 will never reach the capability that they say it can reach. because no game developer will spend extra money to juice out extra graphics potential in one system. They are going to make it for the system and port it over to the other making it look hard for sony to show its true graphic capablility. But hey we will see what happens

  • Inuyasha666__

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 10:07 pm PT

    i think centra has some sound points for the most part. As for xboxs 8 million systems........thats chump change in reality.......and system shortages is nothing new for sony....some stuff happened for the ps2 and now they are pumping out about 400,000 systems a weeks and selling most of them even to this day. Sony has an impecable reputation for selling systems (100+ million of ps1 and ps2 each) so to see many game develpors put trust in them isnt surprising. Even if the ps3's base is only half the ps2's that still twice the origional xbox........and just becaue you can put it on all three systems doesnt mean its a good idea.......there are many games that would not do well going from ps3 to wii (cod 3 is kinda eh...its better suited for the big boys 360 and ps3) while games like barnyard(sry i have to pic this but everything else esacpes me) or something more childlike will probably not sell well or at all on a system like the xbox (whose fan base is a bunch of flaming 24 years who dont know the difference btwn RAM and their Hard Drive....or Sonys (whose fan base is a bunch of number crunching geeks who eat stats for breakfast lunch and dinner. and yeah just to be fair............wii fans = 9 year olds and emo kids............everone knows i'm right ^_^

  • Centra

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 5:47 pm PT

    They also had SEGA, but that was crap too I guess. It's not Japan that decides who the #1 console in the world is, its the good ol U.S. of A. So while PS3 may be doing an honorable job in the land of the rising sun, it's availability here and elseware has raised questions as to how many developers are going to build PS3 only games. From the standpoint of a software company, I would rather sell millions of copies for all systems rather than being 100% faithfull to one manufacture. As for XBOX being crap, I'm sure it is, if you say so, but Microsoft is not going away no matter what sales charts dictate in Japan, so get used it, and enjoy the games, not the hardware.

  • capthunt

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 1:39 pm PT

    LOL sugreev2005-06
    Of course they outsold the 360 in Japan. Its crap and no one in Japan cares for Microsoft's crap because they've always had Sony and Nintendo WAY before to provide better products. Id be surprised if Microsoft sold any substancial amount of 360s in Japan

  • spidermanc2k

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 11:29 am PT

    The problem with the PS3 launch games are not that they aren't good, its just that save a few of them, you can play the same games on the 360. The only game on PS3 that most want that isn't on the 360 is Resistance, after that you have Madden and Call of Duty 3 which are both on the 360. Plus, like someone said, because of the high price of consoles these days, its harder to by games along with them these days.

  • cjcr_alexandru

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 10:14 am PT

    So the sales are increasing. Good. Now comes Christmas!

  • LancerVI

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 10:12 am PT

    Ok...I've got all three systems. I'm sorry, but the PS3 sucks. I'm no fanboy, but what a waste of $600. I definately have buyers remorse. Now the Wii, that's an awesome system. It's just cool. I love playing Zelda and Wii Sports. Just plain fun.

    360, in my humble opinion, wipes the floor with PS3, for now. 360 is the complete package right now.

    Lancer VI

  • sugreev2005-06

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 7:07 am PT

    yup,i saw the console sales chart on vgcharts.org yesterday,to find out that the Ps3 and Wii has already outsold the 360 in Japan.But I also heard that it has also sold great in nascent markets like Malaysia,South Africa etc.

  • KikoJones

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 6:37 am PT

    LOL x-bots are so funny. Where is the news item about the PS3 already outselling the 360 in Japan? And how about the news item abut the PS2 being the #1 seller, again, with 664K, only outsold by the DS?

    Game media is pathetic.

  • pikadeth

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 6:07 am PT

    I'd like to know how many copies of Resistance sold so that we could figure out how many PS3's shipped.

  • LosDaddie

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 5:19 am PT



    The PS3 is doing horrible!!

  • MSG-Deathscythe

    Posted Dec 11, 2006 3:25 am PT

    cbigbie191: M$ is dominant? it can't even beat the ps2 and the ds, even the gc beat 360 at some point.

    http://cube.ign.com/articles/731/731939p1.html

    if not for the manufacturing issues, (which is typical on ALL new console launches) the "e-bay effect" would not have happened. the wii and ps3 would be breathing 360's neck by now if not for the supply difficulties.

  • simbasa

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 11:11 pm PT

    Yea I looked on craigslist and there were over 1400 Ps3 for sale and people lowering the price. The hype is over. Tuirned down a 20 gig last week and now my friend calls and says they got a 60 gig in. I think I will wait a year. Still liking my PS2

  • cbigbie191

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 10:25 pm PT

    The wII sucks and will bow to the all dominant M$... Sony games just suck...

  • mikekare79

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 9:36 pm PT

    The 360 had the Ebay effect and did better. It's an equal playing field and the 360 is winning.

  • MasterAsh42

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 3:03 pm PT

    "The ebay effect," eh?. . .So those opportunists did indeed cause a disturbance in the force. Feh. . .

    I honestly don't understand the hooplah surrounding the low-ties, though. . .Other than "the ebay effect," the two systems are still a good hunk of change a piece; even $250 is still $250. Add in peripherals and such, and it's no surprise not too many game purchases accompanied the console sales. The hobby's getting more expensive, point blank.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 12:36 pm PT

    These numbers mean nothing. Let's have them broken down. At the moment if DS games sell 20,000% more, and all other machines games are down 197% the headline would be 'games market up by 18,876%!!!', and you wouldn't know your machine's game sales are going down the toilet! Or vice versa!

    I don't understand why everybody only uses the multi format chart for ther same reason. XBox only game sells 100,000, but a game on PS2 and DS and PSP and PC sells 30,000 on each format, total 120,000. But what is really the big hit?

    We should always get information broken down into each format, or there is no point having it. But that's the point. They don't want us to have clear figures they want us to stay confused. This market gives out the least information, it is very hard, for example to get unit sales for PC games, because the market is declining and the unit sales would confirm it.

    We are not well served as consumers of video games compared with any other consumer market. More fool us.

  • Riverwolf007

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 11:19 am PT

    Red Steel was a huge seller, which led to record amounts of people kicking themselves for buying it.

  • kaziechameleon

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 10:33 am PT

    that's the problem nintendo has just launched over 1 million units world wide, i'll be suprised if sony ships 800,000 units by the end of the year, let alone sells 1 million world wide. they don't have the capacity to manufacture that fast.

  • HXCDEW

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 8:49 am PT

    PS3 is not even out in Europe so Xbox/Wii fanboys don't get over excited. Give it 6 months, PS3 will be on track. PS2 and PSP had a great month, 9 out of 12 AAA titles for PSP came out this year. Don't forget GoW II!..... and Puppiemaster, you don't compare foreign currency with US$, especially with £ becuase £ has more value, UK is an expensive country and people spend equally as much here.

  • Drizzle

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 8:46 am PT

    People did the same thing with the 360 when it launched. Lower than expected tie-ratios and now the 360 is thriving. So it's very premature to say the PS3 and Wii is going to struggle.

  • wenbin09

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 8:35 am PT

    Wii seems to be making big impact!!

  • faridmon

    Posted Dec 10, 2006 6:28 am PT

    that proves many of you guys are blind fanboys, yes there were low tie-in ration with the wiii, but the problems is that the games almost sold out, you can't find Trauma centre, Rayman Raving Rabbids and Dragon Ball Z Bodukai Tenkaichi 2.
    and am actually suprised that Gamespot didn't mentioned this which proves that the are more or less Msoft whores (sorry but thats the reality, i can't even watch Jeff playing Wario Ware with face like that, that make me sick)
    even the PS3, the devolopers are happy with the sales and new from tyhe first biggining that they would sell less in the launch, i hope the PS3 sells more so the devolopers can be happy.
    PS3 and Wii FTW!!!!

  • Rangent

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 10:59 pm PT

    (Wii)nner?

  • Merl57

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 9:02 pm PT

    Yeah I am almost tempted to wait inline for another wii to sell. But no I have mine and im happy.

  • Hell-Fire21

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 8:39 pm PT

    It's official, the Wii kicked Sony and M-Softs booty when it comes down to launch. Sony lost for a slew of reasons. A slew. Nintendo said "look, we've got what you're looking for, ZELDA...on a launch title. Plus you can buy the console and the game...and a few other games at the same time and go home." Then they had more consoles *coughsonycough* SOOOoooo yeah.

  • RaiKageRyu

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 3:45 pm PT

    Wii has a new crowd, ain't for us.

  • Kwiksilva

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 2:54 pm PT

    its all about the wii

  • Poshkidney

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 1:27 pm PT

    i think i might go for the Wii when it comes out at a lower price.

    but there wasn't any great rush to buy anything at this point

  • puppiemaster

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 12:24 pm PT

    I've bought every major console for the last 20+ years, but I can't think about buying a PS3, in the UK the PS3 equates to $1190, I dont want Bluray and no game not even if it wakes you up in the morning with a mug of tea is worth the $100 they will charge here, so I'll 360 ($580) and Wii($360) and wait for the PS3 to come down in price by about $600.

    The thing is, I'm the type of person that Sony should target, a high enough expendable income and a need to own all the gadgets I can get my hands on. If I cant justify buying one as a hardcore gamer I dont see mum and dads buying a PS3 system for their 7 - 15 year old at that price.

    Hardcore gamers are a small % of the total buying public and if a high % of them are moaning about the price, imagine non gamers reactions.

  • KaptainKernal

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 10:52 am PT

    1.1 attach ratio.... I know why.....sure ebay people but I got only one game for my ps3 since Resistence was the only good launch game

  • Myugenjin

    Posted Dec 9, 2006 2:23 am PT

    Yeah what pacman said!

  • Chief_Kuuni

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 11:53 pm PT

    long live nintendo

  • squomp

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 11:45 pm PT

    I remember the 360 tie in being much higher. If I'm correct, his Ebay excuse doesn't hold water. 360s were also sold for profit on Ebay.

  • theKSMM

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 11:12 pm PT

    Maybe the all-time low tie-ratios are due to the rapidly escalating cost of the consoles and the games they play. A console and three games at the launch of the PlayStation 2 ($450), the GameCube ($335), and the XBOX ($450) five/six years ago were all cheaper than their respective upgrade launches on the XBOX 360 ($580), the PlayStation 3 ($780), and the Wii ($400).

    Simply put, it's just harder for most people to buy lots of games alongside their shiny new consoles. And with the proliferation of outlets selling used games and rental services (both online and at your local video store) there is some incentive to wait and save a few bucks on a game. Plus, you can get feedback on whether that game you've waited on for months really lives up to all the hype.

  • pencilpusher69

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 8:57 pm PT

    Yeah, it's all kiddie games coming out, Inuyasha666. Seriously, all of your posts read the same...

    Far Cry Vengeance
    Super Swing Golf
    World Series of Poker: Tournament o...
    Metal Slug Anthology
    Mortal Kombat: Armageddon
    The Godfather
    Metroid Prime 3: Corruption
    Medal of Honor: Airborn
    Blitz: The League
    SSX: Blur
    California Games

  • Tommi88

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 8:56 pm PT

    getting my wii on monday, i live in sweden and they just realeased it here yesterday so wii60 for the win!

  • drewt003

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 7:42 pm PT

    ps3 launch line up is actually not to bad, resistance is amazing

  • 9BR3AK3R

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 5:46 pm PT

    Ah well... Ebay market should crash after Christmas (if it hasn't already) and all will be right with the world. I just can't get a 60GB PS3 for myself so I've been waiting. I don't think that Sony's problem is Ebay. It's that the launch lineup is not really stellar. FoM is the greatest game on the list (and from what I have played, it's a very good game). Personally, I want Gundam, but who else wants that? It's just a rehash. Madded '07 is a port and most people aren't into racing so NFSC's greatness is lost. FPS is what people focus on as in Gears of War (which will win the VGAs). Stop the hating on the PS3 and give it some time to grow. You killed the Dreamcast, which was a great loss to gaming. Don't kill the PS3 because you're "discouraged" with Sony. I'm more discouraged with Microsoft and the 360 because of the time it took to complete the 360 and with the HD-DVD slapped together as an add on.

  • Sydwynder

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 5:39 pm PT

    Pass on the Wii, double pass on the PS3. My 360 is the only one for me.

  • evchoate999

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 5:39 pm PT

    princeofgames90: "I'm going to bye a Wii When more mater games get out if they got out" I wonder... will you be more mater then too? Maybe you'll also be able to form a coherent sentence.

  • sinceps1

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 5:08 pm PT

    inuyasha66sicks: I think that they need to have enough consoles for 3rd party game companies to want to make games on the system....

  • princeofgames90

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 4:01 pm PT

    I'm going to bye a Wii When more mater games get out if they got out

  • Sargus

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 3:55 pm PT

    I have a Wii, and I have 4 games, not including Wii Sports. Zelda, Marvel, Red Steel, and Trauma Center. I'm eagerly looking forward to Wario Ware, Mario, Smash Bros, Sonic, Metroid, and much much more next year, as well as getting my hands on Metal Slug, Elebits, Monkey Ball, and Rayman.

    So I guess that if it were just up to me, the tie-ratio would be quite a bit higher

  • Inuyasha666__

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 3:43 pm PT

    well darth i've been watching the next several months of wii games that are coming up..............and i would have to say that unless your 9 your probably wont find anything intersting...........good luck as a matter of fact it gets rather dry for weeks and weeks on end with no games coming out, at least accoriding to gamespots current records...

  • DarthMK

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 2:52 pm PT

    I got a wii today (europe launch) and bought zelda. Or should I say, I wanted to buy zelda today and needed to buy a wii with it? The low ratio is absolutly true for me. No other games are realy interessting, think the next will come in 3-4 month.

  • cspiffo

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 2:32 pm PT

    djayshaggy,
    Isn't that the beauty of the Wii though; that it's so different. I kind of makes me feel like I can by two consoles with two different experiences. The PS3 and XBOX are more of the same. That isn't bad but their isn't much to differentiate the two so now I can buy 1 of those and a Wii and still be in good shape for next generation. Why would I want to buy 3 things that play the same three games with no differences!

  • Illumination77

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 2:31 pm PT

    according to this artical Resistence sold around 65-66,000 copies. Ouch.

  • djayshaggy

    Posted Dec 8, 2006 2:19 pm PT

    ok...first of all you have to remember that a game came WITH the Wii, and I'm sure most people took that into acount. I know I did. I only bought two games because there was already one with it. And that would bring games OWNED per console 3.1, which almost ties it with MS's 3.2. Also, you have to take into account that Wii-Motes are almost impossible to find right now, and for some reason Nunchuks are even harder to find. Nintendo may have had an over-abundance of consoles, but they didn't release nearly as many controllers as they did consoles, so many people aren't really gonna be able to enjoy their multiplayer games until they can find another controller, and that would affect them buying multiplayer games. Zelda games were also in short supply in many places. The only people I know who don't own the game for their Wii just couldn't find a copy.

    Isn't it a bit odd that 2/3 of the top selling ps3 games were multi-platform games? Sounds like they're really not offering anything new. The only problem I have with the Wii is that it almost forces me to buy another console so I can get alot of the normal types of games because most of the Wii games were built for the controller or are ports of liscenced games. I want normal rpgs, platformers, fighting games, and shooters that have just been optimized for the Wii. No matter what they say, Double Agent for the Wii is awesome. It's one of my favorite Splinter Cell games (even better than the 360 version). The only problem with it is that it has more complicated controlls, which I actually prefer now. Those are the kinds of games I'm looking for because the rest are a given.

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