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Red Dead Redemption sells 1.5M, May game sales slide 5% - NPD

Big sales of Take-Two's Western adventure can't stop US industry slide; UFC 2010 and Mario Galaxy 2, Alan Wake also chart; PSP sells under 60,000.

Traditionally, the NPD Group releases its figures of US game sales the second Thursday of each month. However, the industry-standard research firm forwent that practice in June, delaying the release of its May figures until after the June 15-17 Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Not even Red Dead Redemption's 1.5-million unit debut could save the US game industry from another down month in May.

Not even Red Dead Redemption's 1.5-million unit debut could save the US game industry from another down month in May.

Those figures were sent out today and revealed that the US game industry contracted once again. NPD reported overall retail sales of non-PC software, hardware, and accessories fell 5 percent year-over-year to $823.5 million. Hardware sales took the biggest hit, plummeting 20 percent to just $241.5 million. Software bucked the trend, rising 4 percent to $466.3 million.

One big reason software bounce backed was the release of Red Dead Redemption by Take-Two Interactive subsidiary Rockstar Games. Buoyed by rapt reviews, the open-world Western was the number one game of the month, selling a combined total of 1.513 million units. The Xbox 360 edition led NPD's top 10 with 945,900 units sold, followed by the PlayStation 3 version with 567,100 units.

Rounding out NPD's top five were Nintendo's Super Mario Galaxy 2 with 563,000 units, followed by the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions of UFC 2010 Undisputed. Though the pair cracked the top five, their sales numbers were below original expectations, selling just 221,100 units on the 360 and 192,300 copies on the PS3. The total 413,400 was less than half the million-plus units UFC 2009 Undisputed sold when it debuted in May of last year.

UFC 2010 Undisputed sales weren't as hard-hitting as expected.

UFC 2010 Undisputed sales weren't as hard-hitting as expected.

The rest of the top 10--which NPD declined to provide sales estimates for--included perennial fixtures Wii Fit Plus (sixth), New Super Mario Bros. Wii (seventh), and Pokemon SoulSilver (ninth). Two new Xbox 360 newcomers also charted, with the platform exclusive Alan Wake arriving in eighth and Skate 3 ollie-ing off the 10th slot's curb.

Though some software titles disappointed, it was a lackluster month for hardware all around. The usually robust DS and Wii had a weak month, selling just 383,700 and 334,800 units, respectively. By comparison, Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 sales were anemic, hitting just 196,600 and 154,500 units each. Even then, the PSP lagged far behind, selling just 59,400 units--one of its poorest monthly showings yet. (NPD no longer tracks sales of the PlayStation 2.)

In a statement, NPD analyst Anita Fraizer said that as low as the hardware numbers seemed, they are typical for the weak month of May. "Console hardware unit sales are, in fact, flat to last year," she said. "Declines in sales result from a lower average selling price this year compared to last. The portable hardware category contributed the most to the decline in hardware sales for the month, yet the DS is the best-selling hardware system for May."

Fraizer also pointed out that as low as the 360 and PS3's sales figures were, they were an improvement over April's dismal showings for both platforms. She also offered some big-picture analysis as well.

"The 360 platform, across hardware, software, and accessories, contributed the greatest share of revenue to industry sales for the month and year-to-date," she said. "The PS3 platform has enjoyed the greatest percentage growth, with platform sales across hardware, software, and accessories up 32 percent for the month and 28 percent year-to-date."

MAY 2010 US GAME SALES

OVERALL DOLLAR SALES
Games: $823.5 million (-5%)
Hardware: $241.5 million (-20%)
Software: $466.3 million (+4%)
Accessories: $115.7 million (+3%)

HARDWARE SALES
DS: 383,700
Wii: 334,800
Xbox 360: 194,600
PlayStation 3: 154,500
PSP: 59,400

TOP 10 GAMES (by SKU)
Title / Platform / Publisher / Release Date / Units sold
1. Red Dead Redemption / X360 / Take-Two / May-10 / 945,900
2. Red Dead Redemption / PS3 / Take-Two / May-10 / 567,100
3. Super Mario Galaxy 2 / Wii / Nintendo / May-10 / 563,900
4. UFC 2010: Undisputed 2010 / X360 / THQ / May-10 / 221,100
5. UFC 2010: Undisputed 2010 / PS3 / THQ / May-10 / 192,300
6. Wii Fit Plus w/ Balance Board / Wii / Nintendo / Oct-09
7. New Super Mario Bros. Wii / Wii / Nintendo / Nov-09
8. Alan Wake / X360 / Microsoft / May-10
9. Pokemon SoulSilver / DS / Nintendo / Mar-10
10. Skate 3 / X360 / EA / May-10

Source: The NPD Group

227 Comments

  • Urworstnhtmare

    Posted Jul 8, 2010 3:53 am GMT

    Read Dead Redemption is such a good game that I'm surprised it sell more...

  • monson21502

    Posted Jul 7, 2010 6:01 pm GMT

    slumping numbers for wii only. but they are still selling over 300 k system,s a month. didnt anybody think they would sell 500 k a month forever?

  • monson21502

    Posted Jul 7, 2010 6:00 pm GMT

    i bet 360 is number 1 next month.

  • ebookerd1

    Posted Jul 7, 2010 4:30 pm GMT

    Go Wii Fit way to show the world what a true gaming is looks like ...... ****ing worthless!!

  • PewPewNinja

    Posted Jul 7, 2010 1:57 am GMT

    Lots of ppl love boring game with bad Multiplayer,Ah lets kill those rabbits now lets kill those Bird while moving of course...you can do the herbalist crap to..oh yeah you can camp a place and kill the guard for an hours if you want Woah what a good rent that was....The only good part is the voice acting Oh and the Start in MP after that its boring...and auto aim is stupid (i know you can put it to expert you can even join empty expert only free roam if i remember yeah because no one play those compare to the normal one,default should be expert...)

    maybe its just the fact that i prefer action packed game idk,From TF2 and UT3 to RDR was like day and night. And gameplay in general was meh. Clearly not a game for me (i want a new GTA3 damn that was good).

  • steverams

    Posted Jul 6, 2010 5:51 pm GMT

    clearly a good product ( RDR ) draws interest. - the fact there are slumping numbers suggests either current market saturation or crappy products. mmmmmmm im gonna go play RDR now

  • gbrading Site moderator

    Posted Jul 6, 2010 1:20 pm GMT

    A slide? Hope that's only temporary.

  • flyinghogshow

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 7:16 pm GMT

    Red Dead sold 5 million to retailers people....

  • dag-dabreemie

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 6:36 pm GMT

    I hope Transformers War for Cybertron has equal or better success as well.

  • Adam_the_Nerd

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 5:12 pm GMT

    I'm surprised that Red Dead was such an intriguing game. Definitely not challenging, but a great story and great voiceacting as always. Loved it. But right now, I WANT BULLY 2.

  • McNeelyJ39

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 3:06 pm GMT

    I thought red dead sold over 5MM as well, is that between May & June that it sold 5MM? Where the heck did that number go, or is this 1.5MM US only and 5MM is world wide? But i thought the US had the most sales.

  • Elvis4576

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 2:03 pm GMT

    werid i thought they said red dead sold 5 million?

  • ParisSun

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 1:24 pm GMT

    Hopefully the list of Fall games will save the day. I'm definitely getting Fallout: NV, Dead Rising 2, Halo: Reach and COD: BO. Other than that, I'm probably done for the year.

  • Kane04

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 10:55 am GMT

    so many rdr sold and still cant get more than 5 people after hours in the same free roam session...

  • Frankvincent

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 9:32 am GMT

    Mafia 2, Starcraft 2

  • bronco1991

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 9:18 am GMT

    know why? no one can afford to spend 60 bucks a pop on every game they want.

  • denicola_a_god

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 9:10 am GMT

    red dead beast nintendo is monster 2009 titles still in the top 10 wowww incredible quality over quantity they say

  • condelirios

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 7:26 am GMT

    Nintendo is amazing... That is what I see on that list. 2 titles they released LAST YEAR are still in the top 10. CRAZY popular. Just watch, Super Mario Galaxy 2 may not have been number 1 in May, but it will be on the top 10 until December. In fact, I just bought a copy...it is awesome. So weird, I love Red Dead Redemption on my PS3....but Super Mario Games ...no matter how much I expect it to be a flop... I start playing them and am constantly amazed at how much fun they are and how long I end up playing the thing. Lots of Wii games bore me to tears, but the 2 Super Mario Galaxy games, the Zelda Game, and the New Super Mario Wii... AWESOME.

  • calvinsora

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 6:12 am GMT

    The games I bought were RDR and SMG2, both superb games. In fact, SMG2 is one of the best games I've ever played. I'm a bit surprised more Wii owners aren't buying it

  • Jesse-Ray

    Posted Jul 5, 2010 4:33 am GMT

    Wow I've never seen these game sale figures before, It's impressive how well the wii and wii fit do. I didn't realise how much of an impact the casual gaming market has, it will be interesting to watch wii sales as the new motion gaming peripherals come out.

  • gamerpipe

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 11:33 pm GMT

    it is excellent game. but sadly the online game is plagued with GTA problems. not only that, it seems doesn't display ping info, and worse it matches me internationally based on the region of the dvd, rather than my region . AND I hate spawning in front of someone, and keeps killing and get killed, killing and get killed. it gets boring. that's one of GTA multiplayer crap.

  • hotfiree

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 10:58 pm GMT

    I thought I read somewhere red dead sold 5 million.

  • Ivory-Dynamite

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 9:57 pm GMT

    I thought Red Dead would sell a lot more but I guess it is still really early after release so 1.5m is pretty good.

  • gskywalker09

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 4:58 pm GMT

    Regardless, Red Dead Redemption is an excellent game!!!!

  • dretos_uchiha

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 2:03 pm GMT

    I treat my console's yes both ps3 and 360 like cars if you put unleaded in your not going to get as much mileage but the video game pump was been out of premium for awhile. Also when sports games are released every year with out any major upgrade that doesn't help either

  • Tripleseed

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 12:21 pm GMT

    @P0T: You answered your own question right there by saying that: "I guess that multi platform games for the most part still sell better on the 360." -- Naturally, since there are more people who own a 360, there are going to be more games sold for that particular console. The fact that a lot of multi-platform titles drastically outsell the PS3 copies really says something about how many more people still own a 360 over a PS3 (like myself included). I think the sales gap is still a lot wider than a lot of people realize.

    Anyway, these numbers aren't really surprising at all. I wish Alan Wake would sell better though. That means there's a lot of 360 gamers missing out on an excellent exclusive.

  • tedstar36

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 11:23 am GMT

    Well,just about everyone owns a system or 2 in their homes so hardware sales cant be but so much on a monthly basis.The games coming out now is what's gonna make the difference in sales so hopefully innovation will start to take over and games of the highest qualities start coming out instead of the same rehash and constant sequels of the same old same old.

  • firehawk998

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 7:32 am GMT

    RDR and Alan Wake was the only games I have purchased for the month of may. Regarding the sales downturn, hopefully the sales will pick up once we approach the 4th quarter of this year with titles like CRYSIS 2, HALO :REACH, LBP 2 also Move, Kinect being released.

  • kokakee

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 6:50 am GMT

    Waiting for a PSP phone.. come on Sony Erricson

  • CTR360

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 12:15 am GMT

    i bought alan wake prince of persia (ps3) redemption(ps3) lost planet2(360) split second(ps3) blur (360) for may games release npd numbers down no big deal

  • P0T

    Posted Jul 4, 2010 12:13 am GMT

    I've been playing Red Dead on the 360 and Valkryia Chronicles on the PS3! If you haven't already picked up V.C. for the ps3, do it now. It is only 20 bucks for a new copy at Gamestop these days. Don't buy it used as you will only save 2 bucks, the cashier will pressure you but say no. It isn't worth saving 2 bucks to shaft the developers. They get zero money from that used copy, only Gamestop profits.

    Surprised that Red Dead almost double what the PS3 version sold. The PS3 version had an exclusive thieves hideout so I thought maybe it would have sold more on that system. I guess that still multi platform games for the most part (there has been exceptions here and there such as FF13) still sell better on the 360.

    Either way, no matter what system you buy it for, it is most definitely a great game.

  • DSfanatic5

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 8:36 pm GMT

    Well, I bought Alan Wake, and loved it. I also bought Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360, and love it even more). I continue to support my DS, so I can see firsthand how the sales figures panned out.

    Analysts should expect this time period to be slow, considering that there aren't enough "must have" titles to sell consoles. Come October, and things will change, with Kinect and Move invading the scene, as well as some major titles. I feel our current consoles are in need of rejuvination, in more ways than are planned.

    The future is in the 3DS.

  • Gen007

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 8:26 pm GMT

    well we are in the middle of the summer drought. Also that's what UFC gets for trying that used game stuff. That and it really didnt improve much over 2009.

  • Sirbobislost

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 6:14 pm GMT

    @ digi-demon

    yeah but splinter cell sucked and bayonetta was good but had nothing to keep people playing or fresh dlc
    look at MW2 i think that still sells for £40

  • Brilliant_R

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 5:20 pm GMT

    @bsnimunf

    No, actually, a large VARIETY of people still like and enjoy Wii. And that goes for both casual and, to a more recent extent, core.

  • da_chub

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 4:32 pm GMT

    Funny how NSMBWii still outsells xbox 360s Alan Wake, and people still think that Nintendo has abondoned core gamers...anyone played SMG2 and actually got more then 75 stars(242 total)??? Because anyone who has would say Nintendo is the one of the only companies that knows how to challenge gamers.

  • digi-demon

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 3:05 pm GMT

    Want this game (RDR) but hoping that the price will fall a little first - dont want to spend another £40 to find reduced in a couple of months like so many other recent high profile releases have ( *cough 'Splinter Cell' *cough *'Bayonetta')

  • calvinsora

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 2:34 pm GMT

    Personally, I don't think a PSP2 is the way to go. As Peace Walker has shown us, the PSP has just a lot of unused potential. Why give up on a system that they can actually do well in if they focus on what counts? If they do better, they'd boost sales for the PSP and then they could make the PSP2 and get even more money. On top of that, this wouldn't force the 60 million owners of a PSP to buy a completely new system.

  • maverick_76

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 11:59 am GMT

    Well this figures, we are still in a recession so no surprise that numbers would be flat or down from last year's numbers.

  • Tremblay343

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 11:57 am GMT

    Now that the casual market is becoming less interested in games and the stupidly popular music genre is finally dying, we're going to see this trend continue. This doesn't mean that the market is in trouble, because those who've been keeping it alive long before 2007 will continue to do so. Who knows, maybe next year with RB3 and the much needed nintendo boost (lets face it, they dropped the ball on real games for a long time) will bring back the casuals.

  • BuNKiTZ

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 9:00 am GMT

    @marco245
    Oh. Well, that's, disappointing... So, there probably isn't any chance of a PC port, huh? Dang, that sucks... Oh well... I'm just gonna keep playing Devil May Cry, hehehe

  • teknicz

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 8:51 am GMT

    @ jb9776

    But you'd still be wrong. I didn't twist anything of yours, I'm saying your way of looking at the numbers are wrong. Go ahead and add up the DS, DSi, DSi LL sales and they'll still come out ahead of the PSP and PSP Go in just about every month. It's wrong to split up sales of the different iterations of the DS because they all play the same DS games. I also don't think it's right to split up the PSP and PSP Go...they don't split up sales of the PS3 and PS3 Slim, right? Look at it this way: splitting up the sales of the different kinds of DS doesn't mean that there is less demand for the DS.

    It's a mistake to say sales of the PSP has been outselling others in Japan (or elsewhere) in the last few months based on charts that have split up the sales of the different iterations of the DS. You say it's not fair to add up the sales of the different types of the DS, I'm saying it's not fair to split them up. Just a difference of opinion, no need to take it personally.

  • Trogeton

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 8:00 am GMT

    No surprise on the sales.. Rockstar games are always awesome.. I just Completed RDR and the story was awesome, but it just fest like a western way of a GTA in so many ways

  • Coolyfett

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 6:52 am GMT

    This article just tells me that people want the cheaper systems. They are more afordable to the average person. Its funny all the flack the casual gamer gets for not being hardcore. Seems like casual gamers are spending more money & introducing their form of entertainment to new blood. The hardcore gamer barely shows with none gamers. The psp is a great system.....but casuals are afraid of it.

  • Sanguis_Malus

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 6:17 am GMT

    Times are hard & people want value. Red Dead's a great game, I played it for hours.

  • wars45

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 5:36 am GMT

    good its a right game

  • TxtBin

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 3:11 am GMT

    I'm not surprised. What makes them think people are actually gonna pay 60 bucks on games which last no longer than 10 hours. The only good games out this month were Red Dead Redemption and MGS Peace Walker. Lower the prices and sales will immediately increase. I mean games that came out like 2 years ago are still around 40 bucks now. Screw this game industry - people are tired of the usual crap like Modern Warfare 2 which was absolute BS in my opinion. Bring back games that featured back in the PS2 days and before. Screw FPS games and so on cause nearly all games out now that are actually playable are FPS games but they try too hard to be like Call of Duty.

  • JaredTrotterboy

    Posted Jul 3, 2010 2:35 am GMT

    Long live Nintendo i guess, though i own an X-box, PS2, 360, and a Gameboy which is my only Nintendo system, I still enjoy going back and playing 64 or on my friends and families Wii's or even old Nintendo. Not surprising they got the most sales.

  • vxxbm21

    Posted Jul 2, 2010 10:42 pm GMT

    RDR was very boring after a couple of days. I don't get why people hated the psp? I'm currently playing MGS Peace Walker and it's awesome.

  • brizzock

    Posted Jul 2, 2010 9:12 pm GMT

    Red Dead Redemption deserves all the praise its gotten and then some, its an absolute work of art and is proof that the Rockstar crew continues to be on top of their game. I understand why hardware sales would be down though, especially now that a new xbox just popped up, shortly after the original premiums were discontinued. And with kinect arriving several months later, its hard to think when u drop $300 now it wont be obsolete or limited 6 months later. Games sales I can see being down in comparison to the holiday season ofcourse, besides red dead, Bad company 2 and maybe Alan Wake there really hasnt been much to offer for consumer dollars IMO.

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