ChartSpot: September 2009

Aion, Champions Online debut atop NPD's monthly PC rankings, while Kingdom Hearts 358/2, Scribblenauts, and NHL 10 and in bottom half of top 20; [UPDATE] Need for Speed Shift moves under 293K on PS3/360.

Yesterday, the NPD Group issued its US game-industry report for September. As part of its findings, the industry-standard industry research firm released the top 10 non-PC games and unit sales for the longer-than-usual reporting period, which ran from August 30 to October 3.

Scribblenauts didn't see stratospheric sales, but touched down decently at retail.

NON-PC
Today, NPD released its game rankings for both the top 20 PC and non-PC games without unit-sales figures. A look at the bottom half of the latter chart reveals the fate of many high-profile debuts, which didn't make the top 10.

Despite only being on sale for five days, Square Enix's DS role-playing game Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days landed in 12th place. It was followed by another DS newcomer, Warner Bros.' word-based puzzle action game Scribblenauts, which garnered decent reviews after being the subject of much attention at the Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Next in line were three games that were heavily hyped by the second-biggest publisher in the world, Electronic Arts. NHL 10, the well-rated sequel to GameSpot's 2008 Sports Game of the Year, arrived in 14th, showing that Canada's pastime doesn't quite stir the same fervor in as many US citizens. Behind it were the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 editions Need for Speed: Shift, the lukewarmly received relaunch of the once chart-topping series. [UPDATE] NPD figures obtained by GameSpot show the game sold 148,000 units on the 360 and 145,00 units on the PS3.

Need for Speed: Shift didn't exactly peel out of the sales gate.

Rounding out the top 20's lower portion was the PS3 edition of Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2, the 360 version of which was the month's seventh-place finisher. By contrast, in 11th place was the 360 version of returning entrant Batman: Arkham Asylum, the PS3 version of which finished in eighth place, thanks to bonus content featuring the Joker.

The last entrant on the top 20 was the PS3 edition of The Beatles: Rock Band, published by MTV games and distributed by EA. According to figures provided by NPD, the Fab Four-based rhythm game only sold 132,000 units on Sony's console, compared with 254,000 copies of the fifth-place-finishing 360 version and 208,600 copies of the Wii iteration, which came in 10th.

The Beatles: Rock Band's haul was good enough to outsell archrival Guitar Hero 5 during the month with 595,000 units to versus 499,000 units. Also interestingly, only one version of Guitar Hero 5 finished in the top 20--the ninth-place Xbox 360 edition--despite Activision bragging the game's preorders dwarfed those of its competitor.

Finally, in 19th place was the once-mighty Wii Fit, down 11 slots from August. Could the crazy be over? Not likely, because Nintendo was clearing out stock of the console during the month to make room for Wii Fit Plus, which went on sale October 4.

Aion usurped the usual PC chart order.

PC
Normally reserved for either a Sims or World of Warcraft game, the top slot on the PC chart was occupied by a usurper this month. NCsoft's massively multiplayer online role-playing game Aion was the most popular game in the US during September, pushing the Sims 3 into second place.

Below that was another newcomer, Atari and Cryptic's Champions Online. Initially conceived as the now-canceled Marvel Universe Online, the superhero-themed MMORPG adopted the classic pen-and-paper RPG's universe--with decent critical results. An Xbox 360 version is planned for sometime next year.

TOP-SELLING NON-PC GAMES - SEPTEMBER 2009
Last Month / Rank / Title / Platform / Publisher / Release Date / Units
** / 1 / Halo 3: ODST / 360 / Microsoft / Sep-09 / 1,520,000
2 / 2 / Wii Sports Resort with Wii MotionPlus / Wii / Nintendo / Jul-09 / 442,900
1 / 3 / Madden NFL 10 / 360 / Electronic Arts / Aug-09 / 289,600
** / 4 / Mario & Luigi: Bowser's Inside Story / DS / Nintendo / Sep-09 / 258,100
** / 5 / The Beatles: Rock Band* / 360 / MTV Games/Electronic Arts / Sep-09 / 254,000
3 / 6 / Madden NFL 10 / PS3 / Electronic Arts / Aug-09 / 246,500
** / 7 / Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 / 360 / Activision / Sep-09 / 236,000
5 / 8 / Batman: Arkham Asylum* / PS3 / Square Enix (Eidos) / Aug-09 / 212,500
** / 9 / Guitar Hero 5* / 360 / Activision / Sep-09 / 210,800
** / 10 / The Beatles: Rock Band* / Wii / MTV Games/Electronic Arts / Sep-09 / 208,600
4 / 11 / Batman: Arkham Asylum* / 360 / Square Enix (Eidos) / Aug-09
** / 12 / Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days / DS / Square Enix / Sep-09
** / 13 / Scribblenauts / DS / Warner Bros. / Sep-09
** / 14 / NHL 10 / 360 / Electronic Arts / Sep-09
** / 15 / Need For Speed: Shift / 360 / Electronic Arts / Sep-09
** / 16 / Need For Speed: Shift / PS3 / Electronic Arts / Sep-09
** / 17 / Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 / PS3 / Activision / Sep-09
16 / 18 / Professor Layton And The Diabolical Box / DS / Nintendo / Aug-09
8 / 19 / Wii Fit with Balance Board* / Wii / Nintendo / May-08
** / 20 / The Beatles: Rock Band* / PS3 / MTV Games / Electronic Arts / Sep-09

*=Includes Collector's, Limited, Legendary, Bundles (Guitars) Editions. Sales figures for ranks 11-20 are not available to the public.

TOP-SELLING PC GAMES - SEPTEMBER 2009
Last Month / Rank / Title / Publisher
** / 1 / Aion / NCsoft
1 / 2 / The Sims 3 / Electronic Arts
** / 3 / Champions Online / Atari
2 / 4 / World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King / Blizzard
** / 5 / Aion: Collector's Edition / NCsoft
4 / 6 / Mumbo Jumbo Assortment / Mumbo Jumbo
3 / 7 / The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / Electronic Arts
6 / 8 / World of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard
** / 9 / Reel Deal Slots Treasures of the Far East / Phantom EFX
8 / 10 / World of Warcraft / Blizzard
9 / 11 / Spore / Electronic Arts
** / 12 / Grand Theft Auto IV / Rockstar Games (Take 2)
11 / 13 / Starcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard
** / 14 / Zuma's Revenge / PopCap Games
13 / 15 / World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade / Blizzard
** / 16 / Batman: Arkham Asylum / Eidos
19 / 17 / Reel Deal Slots Adventure / Phantom EFX
10 / 18 / Nancy Drew: Ransom of The Seven Ships / Her
17 / 19 / Civilization IV: Complete Edition / 2K Games
** / 20 / The Sims 2 University Life Collection / Electronic Arts

52 Comments

  • dragonxknight

    Posted Nov 2, 2009 1:09 am PT

    I like Kingdom hearts but i just dont get it because lots of people like my brother hates the game because its on ds not ps2. Should i agree or say he should like it better!

  • drangel_jam

    Posted Oct 23, 2009 3:29 am PT

    how come they never tell the numbers of pc sales?

  • kbaily

    Posted Oct 22, 2009 4:41 pm PT

    It's great to see Scribblenauts did so well.

  • jeffv541

    Posted Oct 22, 2009 3:22 pm PT

    This is the most boring crap I've ever ignored...

  • denicola_a_god

    Posted Oct 22, 2009 10:09 am PT

    marvel ultimate alliance good game shift is the best nfs in like 5 years too

  • badtaker

    Posted Oct 22, 2009 12:02 am PT

    People will think PC gaming is dying but Steam sales >>>>>>>>>>>.NDP
    But Steam sales???

  • Harerazer

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 5:03 pm PT

    Pokemon does ODST's monthly sales in three days. Being exclusive or multiplatform doesn't matter, being a quality product does. All Halo games sell well because they are heads and shoulders above any other XBox title. Bungie doesn't sign exclusively with M$ and the XB doesn't even exist (see: EA leaving Sega platforms).

  • SalarianChemist posted Oct 21, 2009 3:12 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    SalarianChemist

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 3:12 pm PT (hide)

    Halo 3: ODST is by far the best-selling game.

    And the really cool thing is that these are just the NPD numbers representing North America. The worldwide sales for Halo 3: ODST over this period of time were over 2.5 Million!

  • starbead

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 2:06 pm PT

    Look at that PC chart! I really hope that Windows 7 will save PC gaming. It would be nice to see a chart that wasn't dominated by 5 year old games.

  • Humorguy_basic

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 1:32 pm PT

    Wanna know how much PC games have gone down?

    4 / 6 / Mumbo Jumbo Assortment / Mumbo Jumbo ** / 9 / Reel Deal Slots Treasures of the Far East / Phantom EFX 11 / 13 / Starcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard ** / 14 / Zuma's Revenge / PopCap Games 19 / 17 / Reel Deal Slots Adventure / Phantom EFX All the above point to low sales, letting the above sort of titles appear in the charts where even 5 years ago they would never have been seen in the PC games charts.

  • SoetSout

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 1:10 pm PT

    The fact that aion is the top was a given the moment it was anounced at e3 2 years ago. at that time people already kew it would be a hit amongst mmorpg... and lets face it mmorpg is one of the bigest seller.

    Batman is also quite a decent game, unlike most marvel hero games

  • Berserk8989

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 12:00 pm PT

    As i expected Aion is on the first place, i was surprised to see WoW still here though.. Cheers for Batman also!

  • Shawcross

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 7:11 am PT

    Man ODST outsold everyone by a huge margin and its a exclusive to one console. Goes to show you that you don't need to be multiplatform to get big numbers.

  • brian_13un

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 6:28 am PT

    Glad to see Aion ^_^

  • beamme

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 6:26 am PT

    Some good DS games came out this month.

  • TheJediExile

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 6:07 am PT

    Good to see some awesome DS titles up there

  • Dante2710

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 5:49 am PT

    good to see batman selling

  • Jaggermaster

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 5:44 am PT

    World of Halo"craft" *cough* *cough*

  • badtaker

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 5:36 am PT

    I think i have to try Aion.

  • Dualmask posted Oct 21, 2009 5:25 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Dualmask

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 5:25 am PT (hide)

    Huh, the PS3 version of Batman AA outsold the 360 version. That's rare.

  • brendanhunt1

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 5:10 am PT

    the sims 2 is still selling?

  • Nozizaki

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 5:06 am PT

    I'm happy Kingdom Hearts sold so much. It's a great game, and 4 days isn't that long

  • BaLLz_ON_FiRE posted Oct 21, 2009 4:56 am PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    BaLLz_ON_FiRE

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 4:56 am PT (hide)

    Man can't believe that odst sold so much and knowing M$ it will keep on selling

  • HALO_3_R3CON

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 4:47 am PT

    Awesome!

  • luert

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 4:05 am PT

    think is pretty nice I don't hate wow but never liked it was too much strategy looking like to me, for now aion is on the top we will see if it will last at the beginning mmo always have some trouble here or there expecially goldseller time will tell, for now I'm just playing it and it is fun, and congratulations for halo 3 lovers I heard many bad things about it but the game seems to be getting good enjoy

  • BigBacon87

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 12:43 am PT

    Wasn't Bungie saying it was on pace to sell 3 million upon release? Like a month ago?

  • SkidRow18

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 12:09 am PT

    Batman: AA, awesome!

  • McFizzLScott

    Posted Oct 21, 2009 12:04 am PT

    Homegirl2180!! They made the link for NHL 10 to NHL2k10 which is the wrong game. NHL 10 was given a much higher score than 2k10, so don't even worry about it.

  • monson21502

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 10:43 pm PT

    to many nfs out. why dont they make a new but classic nfs? ones with great cop chases. where ppl can be the cops online and the other teams be the racing cars. sorta like theo do in vs mode on left4dead where one team is the people and the other team is the zombies.

  • mayankahuja

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 10:41 pm PT

    nice

  • Balaji1212

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 10:22 pm PT

    GTA IV is still in the 12th Spot inspite of it being a unplayable Port,hopefully this will encourage Rockstar to bring their other titles(Red dead redemption,Midnight club etc.,)to the PC,hopefully they'll be playable.

  • homegirl2180

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 10:22 pm PT

    They described NHL as "well-rated" and NFS as "lukewarm" despite both having the same score, and most other review sites giving the latter much more acclaim.

  • alkaline_DnB

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 10:05 pm PT

    and yet still no review for Aion after a month +

    also, WoW's not dead! look @ the sales, haters.

  • WithoutGraceXII

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 9:29 pm PT

    Brettsky128
    It was never meant to be a full sequel. Calling it Halo 3.5 in an attempt to degrade it fails. And firefight mode >>> real life.

  • night_haunter

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 9:27 pm PT

    Halo 3 ODST is just an awesome game, it desrves to be on the #1 spot

  • WithoutGraceXII

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 9:27 pm PT

    World of Warcraft, both its xpacks and the WoW battle chest all still in the top 20. Bliz must be making scary amounts of money off that game.

  • akiwak

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 8:29 pm PT

    I've had Starcraft for 7 years and I still can't beat it. Never made the time to really focus and actually employ strategies.

  • SR71halo

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 8:24 pm PT

    Cool, Halo 3 ODST is on top. I figured The Beatles Rock Band would have out sold it.

  • gerudoman320

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 7:55 pm PT

    batman RULEZ

  • Artemios

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 7:53 pm PT

    @Pokemon18986
    Thank you captain obvious

  • feliscele

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 7:53 pm PT

    Wow, Starcraft is a 10 year old game now and it's STILL on the top 20 list for PC games...and I STILL haven't gotten around to buying it!

  • k0r3aN_pR1d3

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 7:29 pm PT

    "Nancy Drew: Ransom of the Seven Ships"

    really?

  • RAGINGxPONY

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 6:55 pm PT

    Woo Go NHL 10!!!

  • Brettsky128

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 6:48 pm PT

    Don't tell us Halo 3 1/2 is the best selling game for the month, you'll just encourage it!

  • PSdual_wielder

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 6:44 pm PT

    Pokemon18986
    Yeah you bet, Halo loves to give everyone a ride.

  • ColonelX24

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 6:42 pm PT

    My favorites: Halo 3:ODST, Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days, Beatles is pretty good, Starcraft. I would put Sims 3 up here, but I need a better graphics card, that would be a sad statement if I wasn't a console gamer mainly.

  • Pokemon18986 posted Oct 20, 2009 6:32 pm PT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    Pokemon18986

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 6:32 pm PT (hide)

    Halo 3 ODST is on top!

  • IkedaTeramusa

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 6:29 pm PT

    Anyone care to guess what had me laughing? Beatle-mania on the WII almost beat out GH5 on the 360. Anyone else think this craze is dying down?

    I also agree with lannyboy.. that StarCraft Battlechest is a stomper... gets my nostalgia all tingly.

    **Edit: Speaking of which. Aion will probably not last long if the bots and gold spammers keep it up. After a few days of playing I got tired of fighting for creatures/resources of OBVIOUS bots and the constant spam of new goldsellers.

  • lannyboy334

    Posted Oct 20, 2009 6:14 pm PT

    I will never stop being amazed how many units Blizzard pushes. Every time they announce a new game from one of their franchises they pump out units from that game again. Starcraft Battle Chest has been in the top 20 for over a year straight now, popping into the top 10 on occasion, and Diablo 2 purchases are erratic. Need not even mention WoW, not a big fan myself, but its successful. I really hope Aion is successful, it looks like a lot of fun and WoW needs competition.

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