NPD: US game sales slip 7 percent in Sept.

--darkride66-- "But why on earth would I do that? That's like a commentator ignoring the fact that a racer started 10 minutes before everyone else...all that looking at the past 22 months would do is make us go "Yep, the 360 started early"...That tells us nothing we didn't already know" ~~~~ Fact: In the past 22-months the PS3 has sold 179,000 more units worldwide then the 360. The 5-6 Million head start the 360 has from the previous year does not in any way alter the current sales. What it does tell you is how to change the forecast for how long it will take the PS3 to match the 360 install base. ~~~ Edit: I have no ide whay you claim I said the PS3 is in year 3...I said by comparing consoles based off launch you are comparing year-3 of the 360 to year-2 of the PS3.

Darkride you shouldn't get worked up over this. Believe me I used to do the same as you but some people are not as open to see the whole picture. They see only what others want them to. Despite the numbers this was actually a good month for the PS3 in terms of hardware sales and its going to go higher in October, November, and December. And believe this there will be more than two PS3 titles in the software section of the NPD numbers for october.

thekey said "The PS3 launched in Japan a week before it did here in the US, in Nov 06." Yep and worldwide in March of 07. Can you figure out how Yuck_too considers the PS3 to somehow be in "Year 3"? "And also sony better be glad it sold 15.5 million after that BS they pulled, with the BC and no price drop. The PS3 is just too high priced and you don't know what it's true purpose is." BS? They pulled features it turned out people weren't using and dropped the price and it's been selling strong ever since. It's true purpose was never in doubt. "Computer Entertainment System" It's a media center. That's movies, games, music, internet, downloads, social networking, etc..etc. I don't think it's confusing. You want a game console, buy a Wii. You want a HD media entertainment hub for your home theater system you buy a PS3. I don't think there's anything confusing about that. Consumers certainly seem to get it, because it's selling great at a high price point and they clearly understand the value. If it were just another game console I'd 100% agree that that price should be lower.

You can't compare the initial growth of the two consoles Kid, and while I don't know if your a Sony fanboy one thing is obvious, your a HUGE Jack@$$ because of that comment you said earlier about living life to the fullest. Comparing month by month sales the 360 has outsold the PS3 on almost every month since the PS3's launch. Just cuz the PS3 sold faster than the 360 when it first came out doesn't mean crud, the PS3 sold faster because it was launched at a better time than the 360. The PS3 is by no means a flop, but calling it a success or saying that it'll catch up to 360 hardware sales is just as a ridiculous of a statement.

of course sales are down for sept. theyre releasing all the good games in oct. nov....

Darkride and Nineball, I dont think you'll see Yuck_Too or myself saying that PS3 is doomed, we are saying it isnt the powerhouse that Sony AND ANALYSTS said it was going to. In fact it looks like it wont be at this rate, looking at FAIR AND EQUAL comparisons.The fact that 360 had a year ahead doesnt really mean anything (other then units sold). It was a business risky tactic from MS that, THUS FAR (and that might change) has proven to worth it (looking at software sales, hardware sales and XBL Gold counts). And you both don't seem to understand that Sony advertises the PS3 as a be all end all machine, which is clearly isnt. It offers the same thing as 360 with the MAJOR benefit and difference being the Blu-Ray player NOT the games, which is what made PS2 the powerhouse that it was. So Sony has a lot of things to watch out for, especially to keep their stock holders happy since analysts and Sony were spewing about how great PS3 was going to be with it complete dominance over all the others :roll eyes: I agree that the nobody should be saying that PS3 is doomed, but they have every right to say the PS3 is a big blu-ray machine, because its the one major thing it has to offer over 360. Free online, isnt really enough to justify why to purchase a PS3 over a 360, but blu-ray is. So dont be fooled in thinking that people purcahse the PS3 over the 360 because of it's superiority or game library. They do it for blu-ray.

JPH_ said "So if the PS3 software sales went up by 132%, the 360 software sales went up by at least 264%, which is the double." What? No! There's no direct correlation between PS3 sales and 360 sales. 360 sales growth isn't double what PS3 sales growth is. In fact, 360 software sales are down considerably year over year due to the impact Halo 3 had. You're logic is severly flawed, and it doesn't even matter. MAC software sales are minuscule compared to PC sales due to the installed users, but that certainly doesn't mean that the Mac is somehow a failure, or inferior to PC's, or that if Mac sales go up 100% year over year than that means PC sales must have gone up by 10000%.

@darkride66 "@ Yuck_too. The PS3 was launched worldwide in March of 2007." The PS3 launched in Japan a week before it did here in the US, in Nov 06. And also sony better be glad it sold 15.5 million after that BS they pulled, with the BC and no price drop. The PS3 is just too high priced and you don't know what it's true purpose is.(Yeah it's a video game console but it doesn't do what it's supposed to do/at least what sony says it can do) Yeah I love the PS3 but lets be real the fact that it's number 3 (and distant 3 i might add) is because sony messed it up they give the orginal model all the features that any gamer could dream of.(Brag about it) Then they take those features out to (Cut down on cost) Yet it's still too expsensive, and yet on top of all they still refuse to drop the price(even though it has less relavent features)Sony dropped the ball on this one.

Yuck_Too You're a broker, tell me what happens when a company doesn't meet its projected forecast?" They adjust their forecast and move on. Conditions change that effect everything. "That's right, it's considered a disappointment." Sure it's disappointing. I'm sure MS wasn't happy at having to gobble up billions they didn't foresee related to not properly testing their equipment but companies adjust and move on. So do their shareholders. "But here is a question for you...instead of trying to argue 22-months from launch how about you add up the numbers for the past 22-months and discount the initial year head start." But why on earth would I do that? That's like a commentator ignoring the fact that a racer started 10 minutes before everyone else. Of course he's up front. It takes time to grow your user base, all that looking at the past 22 months would do is make us go "Yep, the 360 started early, alright." That tells us nothing we didn't already know. Ok, now I'm getting to work.

223,000 people bought a horrible Wii game. Ugh.

darkride66 said: "t doesn't matter to them that PS3 software sales are up 132% in the US". Let's say that is true. Software sales did go up by 132%. Every month NPD puts their numbers on Gamespot, you see AT LEAST 3 to 4 xbox 360 games on the top ten chart and AT MOST 2-3 PS3 games on the top ten chart. And the 360 sales (softwares and accessories) are more than double than that of PS3 and Wii combined. So if the PS3 software sales went up by 132%, the 360 software sales went up by at least 264%, which is the double.

You guys can sit around arguing numbers all day, but what it really comes down to is personal preference. I own all three consoles from this generation. My Wii is collecting dust because it feels like most of the games available for it feel gimmicky. Slapping motion controls on a game designed primarily for the other consoles doesn't fit IMO. The first party games or most games designed specifically for the Wii are great, however. My PS3 has become a dedicated Blu-Ray player and is hardly ever used for playing games. I pretty much spent $500 for the MGS4 game and while great, I wish I could get my money back. I'm sure that with time some good games will come out, but nothing that has gotten me off my seat to play it as of yet. Lastly my 360, which I own two of (one for my wife and one for myself) is constantly being used by both of us. I tend to purchase any multi-platform game for this console since I prefer its design and I love Xbox Live. As far as I am concerned the 360 has won the war already, for me. And quite honestly, nobody else matters. :P

Looks like the PS3 guys have gone back to the old habit of not buying games. I'm shocked that PS2 Madden made the list still but the PS3 version didn't.

@ Jtweedd. The Force Unleased not only is a popular franchise, but received some pretty decent reviews. I have yet to play it but I totally plan on picking it up one day. No one is arguing about hardware supremacy, what is being argued is the "PS3 is doomed," talk that we never, ever heard when the 360 was 2 years in and selling far less than the PS3 is now. Why is that? How come no one predicted the 360's doom 22 months in because it only sold 11 million units? The problem with this argument is that so few are willing to put this into any sort of historical context, or dismiss it's relevance entirely, because those facts undermine their entire "PS3 is doomed" arguments. It doesn't matter to them that PS3 software sales are up 132% in the US, or Blu-Ray sales are up 326%, or PS3 consoles sales are up 94% over last year. Nope, PS3 is doomed, can't convince em otherwise. And if people were on here saying the same thing about the 360 or Wii, I'd be arguing just as strongly against that, but they aren't. Anyway, markets are up for a change. I've got work to do. Play nice, y'all!

lol, dark You're a broker, tell me what happens when a company doesn't meet its projected forecast? That's right, it's considered a disappointment. Does not mean it wasn't a successful company, just not as successful as people had expected, and that tends to upset them. But here is a question for you...instead of trying to argue 22-months from launch how about you add up the numbers for the past 22-months and discount the initial year head start... What you'll discover is that in the past 22-months the PS3 has sold 179,000 more units then the 360 worldwide.

I've said it every month and I'll say it again, the 360 easily beats the PS3 in software sales. You have four 360 games in the top 10 while the PS3 has one. Anyone can see this and I bet the dev/pub's out there see this too. And please, this article isn't about worldwide sales so you'll have to come up with a better excuse to why the PS3 software sales suck month after month. So far the motto for this generation is: If you want to game then the Xbox 360 is for you, if you want to watch movies and buy the occasional game then the movie player PS3 is for you. See ya next month!

Yuck_Too said "actually it means 40% more sales for one over the other...ya business would not care about an extra 40%" But the attach rate is almost exactly the same for new titles. Of course the 360 sells more in the US, there's more of them but as the PS3's installed base grows, the games sales will grow with it (for example, PS3 software sales are up 132% year over year in the US). If software sales were everything no one would have stopped making PS2 games, or everyone would be making for the Wii right now. Clearly that's not the case because as long as there's a market for 360 and PS3 games, someone will step up to cater to that market.

@ Yuck_Too Whatever gets you through it. :D I didn't take it "as a direct insult" to my PS3. LOL... Insult it all you want. It doesn't really have feelings you know. I mean this in all sincerity... you are one of the best "fans" of the xbox in terms of posting seemingly innocuous digs at Sony and the PS3 all the while cloaking it in terms of being it being just a "fair and balanced" analysis. *wink* *wink* Hahaha... You've got it down to a science. Props! Again, congrats to all the new owners of all of the consoles purchased in September. We've all got a fantastic next few months to play many fantastic games.

I would say the real travesty that moth was the fact that force unleashed sold that many copies. proof once again that you can slop any game out with a popular license and fans will eat it up and tell you how underrated it was. That said, for those of you arguing about hardware supremacy. At this point 360 is still leading ps3. Game sale are where they really make their money and ps3 only has 1 in the top 10. Force unleashed sold twice as well on 360. that's market share

racastro65 asked "If the PS3 was selling faster during the same path as the 360, wouldn't they have catch up by now?" Not if, it is. Just check your facts. And no, they wouldn't have caught up by now, and obviously haven't because this race has just started. Everyone keeps comparing the 360's sales to the PS3 - saying "Look how far out in front the 360 is." Of course it is, it started the race a year early. Now look at where the PS3 is now 22 months from the initial release (about 15.5 million) vs the 360 22 months in (11 million). This isn't rocket science people. Why are you all so bent on trying to convince yourselves and others that the PS3 is some sort of giant flop? I know I come off as a Sony fanboy - but I love my 360 as well. It's just floors me that so many are still, almost two years later, still spreading lies and misinformation to try to make it seem like the PS3 is a failure. What do they possibly have to gain? It's not true and speading misinformation won't make it true. The rest of the world will just happily go about snatching up Wii's where they can get them, 360's and PS3's.

At Darkride66 Yes the analysts said last year that the PS3 would catch up. Its was everywhere and even in the forums everybody was saying it. The gap between 360 and PS3 is above 5million which means the PS3 won't catch up for a LONG time. It might not even be possible. Its just the people trying to believe that and convince themselfs with that. If the PS3 was selling faster during the same path as the 360, wouldn't they have catch up by now?. There no Question the 360 played it smooth this gen and took a lot of sonys market share.

--Nineball2112-- lol...you're right what does 0.53 really mean it's nothing. Well almost nothing I guess...actually it means 40% more sales for one over the other...ya business would not care about an extra 40%. Why you took that as a direct insult to your PS3, or how that would influence people's personal choices is beyond me though. It is just the way things are currently playing out.

@ Yuck_too. The PS3 was launched worldwide in March of 2007. What are you talking about, year 3 numbers?

--darkride66-- Why do you insist on comparing year 3 numbers to year 2 numbers? It simply doesn't work that way. Take this year for example...total yearly sales of PS3 and 360 are identical. Next year they could both add 20% to those numbers and they would still be identical. No ground gained or lost by either one. But you'd still be saying PS3 is better because it sold 20% more that year compared to the 360 the year before. It doesn't work. In fact if you look at the sales this year you'll see the PS3 is actually slowing down. 2-years ago the 360 had 6 Million head start. 1-year ago the PS3 has closed that gap to 5 Million. This year that gap has actually grown to 5.5 Million. That is the current trend, not the PS3 is selling faster then the 360.

Autolycus said "thats all pointless. look at the scoreboard. PS3 is in last..." Yeah, because it started the race a year later. Of course the 360 still has a lead over it, but that lead is shrinking, isn't it? Like I said, look at year two sales for both consoles - Jan-Oct. 360=4.4 million, PS3=7 million. Don't get me wrong, I know I come across as a huge PS3 supporter but I am a fan of the 360. The issue I have here is that when sales numbers come out people tend to lose all reason. That's when you hear "PS3 is doomed! It's only a Blu-Ray player! Etc, etc." If people used game sales forums to say the 360 was doomed, I'd be arguing that because that's clearly not the case. What people are arguing is that the PS3 is somehow struggling, and that's not backed up by any of the longer term trends we're seeing. Why do so many want so passionately to believe the PS3 is a flop when nothing would indicate that? It boggles the mind, and it happens every single month the NPD data is released.

Yuck_too said "Considering that there are only 1.35x the number of 360's compared to PS3 you might expect they game sales to be about the same." But there are 2x more 360's than PS3's in the US, so the 360's sales should be about double, which they are.

Haha... well damn Yuck_Too. You've finally convinced me! That's it, since the 360 is (according to your figures) selling .53 more games per 360 console than expected given the user base... well, I guess I messed up buying my PS3. I mean, what was I thinking? Now that I have that information at hand, it's all so clear to me now. /sarcasm It's amazing the lengths ppl will go to either: 1. Justify their purchase of whatever console or 2. Try to sway potential gamers of what system to buy. LOL!

Makaatsu said "Remember when people were saying the PS3 would catch up with 360 by the end of the year." No one said that. Analysts predicted the PS3 would break even sometime in 2009. "The gap is back at 6m units" Vgchartz says the gap is 5.5 million, so less now than MS sold in their first year. "PS3 needs a miracle now." How do you figure? It's still selling faster than the 360 every did. Did you think the 360 was doomed to failure last year when it was pulling in the kind of numbers the PS3 is doing now? Unless you were, you're either not informed of the facts or you're simply being hypocritical. Think about it. From Jan to Oct of 07, the 360's second year - the 360 sold 4.3 million consoles worldwide. From Jan - Oct 08, the PS3's second year they've sold 7 million. What does that tell you?

Once again though the telling numbers are the game sales. Considering that there are only 1.35x the number of 360's compared to PS3 you might expect they game sales to be about the same. Instead though the 360 version sold 1.88x more and that indicates the people who have both consoles chose the 360 version over the PS3. And that developers do pay attention to, a larger install base and higher percentage of sales where consumers own both, equals a significantly higher rate of return on investment for the 360.

well you can't really compare halo 3 to the force unleashed.

darkride66 Posted Oct 17, 2008 6:45 am PT Autolycus said "360 set the path for what people can expect from the PS3. Like it or not, that is still true." 100% correct, and the PS3 is walking that same path and selling better than the 360 did when it walked it.-----You are missing the point, if it was reverse with PS3 coming out first, you'd see the exact same thing you are seeing now with the PS3. A faster adoption rate because the PS3 was out first. The system, for the most part, is pointless.

darkride66, the PS3 doesn't sell the same or close to the same in software sales as the 360 does! Take a look at the NPD numbers. The 360 sold 610K Star Wars games. Whereas, the PS3 sold 325 K of the same game! This has been the trend every month. Even E3 showed that the 360 out sold both the Wii and PS3 combined in terms of 3rd party software. The 360 is millions of units ahead of the PS3 in consoles sold. It's not a "slight" lead. Again, take a look at the NPD numbers. The PS3 has out sold the 360 only in very recent months. However, that trend has again stopped. the 360 is only 2nd to the Wii for the past 2 months. Not only did the 360 have a year head start, but it also out sold the PS3 every month of the PS3's 1st full year of sales. That only stopped for a few months due to MGS 4. Agian, the 360 is back to selling more.

Darkride66 said, But the PS3 is selling faster than the 360 ever did. The 360 is still barely clinging to the gains they made simply because they were out a year earlier. What does that do to your theory? ------ thats all pointless. look at the scoreboard. PS3 is in last...

Ahh...world wide sales...like how the 360 outsold the PS3 in Japan this month? It's a easy thing to see. << LINK REMOVED >> When the 2 lines cross...that is when the PS3 is outselling the 360 worldwide...look at the lines...and you tell me when that is going to happen. The PS3 is not selling faster then the 360, in fact yearly worldwide sales have averaged out to be the same.

Yuck_Too Posted Oct 17, 2008 6:42 am PT --Autolycus-- "man I just had someone arguing against me saying that the video game industry wasnt hurt at all by this "recession". He continued to throw out that he graduated from some ivy league college with and MBA and blah blah. this just put's icing on the cake for me" ~~~ Sorry since entire planet basically just tanked -30% on everything...the fact that game industry is only down 7% makes them the absolute best thing going in this economy.------ I wont debate with you on that, I agree but this person was telling me that the video game industry and done nothing but grown throughout all of this, including october and september. Clearly they were wrong. They used a MARCH 08 article as "facts" and "proof". I had this conversation earlier this week and March was 7 months ago.

Autolycus said "360 set the path for what people can expect from the PS3. Like it or not, that is still true." 100% correct, and the PS3 is walking that same path and selling better than the 360 did when it walked it.

Kartel101 said "Its like I keep telling people, whoever has the best library will always win the console war. M$ proved this by leading the PS3 despite having unreliable hardware and having you pay for online service as opposed to the PS3 giving it to you for free. If that doesn't prove it I don't know what will." But the PS3 is selling faster than the 360 ever did. The 360 is still barely clinging to the gains they made simply because they were out a year earlier. What does that do to your theory?

So... how long until the Wii over takes the PS2 in total sales?

Autolycus Posted Oct 17, 2008 6:39 am PT darkride said " If this were the only factor then developers would have never started supporting the 360, because of no fan base, and would still be making nothing but PS2 games. When you look at worldwide numbers for The Force Unleashed, for example, you'll notice the attach rate on the 360 and PS3 are almost identical, and games like Burnout sold neck and neck. Considering that the PS3 is selling faster than the 360 ever did, even though the 360 still has a slight console lead obviously developers don't have an issue with releasing games multiconsole. In fact, until we see one console start to hit the kind of numbers the PS2 had, we will continue to see more titles go multiconsole because the developers have to make up their money somehow - there isn't an installed base of over 100 million console owners waiting for your product (unless you're still making PS2 games, and you could be because the PS2 is still selling.)" ------- Comparing the sales of the 360 to the PS3 is completely pointless because the 360 was the first of its generation, which usually has a overall low purchase rate as people are unsure of the technology. Then when PS3 came out more then a year later, 360 already established itself as a great console w/ decent games so there wasnt such a scare on "is the ps3 even going to be good" like the 360 had. 360 set the path for what people can expect from the PS3. Like it or not, that is still true.

--Autolycus-- "man I just had someone arguing against me saying that the video game industry wasnt hurt at all by this "recession". He continued to throw out that he graduated from some ivy league college with and MBA and blah blah. this just put's icing on the cake for me" ~~~ Sorry since entire planet basically just tanked -30% on everything...the fact that game industry is only down 7% makes them the absolute best thing going in this economy.

darkride said " If this were the only factor then developers would have never started supporting the 360, because of no fan base, and would still be making nothing but PS2 games. When you look at worldwide numbers for The Force Unleashed, for example, you'll notice the attach rate on the 360 and PS3 are almost identical, and games like Burnout sold neck and neck. Considering that the PS3 is selling faster than the 360 ever did, even though the 360 still has a slight console lead obviously developers don't have an issue with releasing games multiconsole. In fact, until we see one console start to hit the kind of numbers the PS2 had, we will continue to see more titles go multiconsole because the developers have to make up their money somehow - there isn't an installed base of over 100 million console owners waiting for your product (unless you're still making PS2 games, and you could be because the PS2 is still selling.)" ------- Comparing the sales of the 360 to the PS2 is completely pointless because the 360 was the first of its generation, which usually has a overall low purchase rate as people are unsure of the technology. Then when PS3 came out more then a year later, 360 already established itself as a great console w/ decent games so there wasnt such a scare on "is the ps3 even going to be good" like the 360 had. 360 set the path for what people can expect from the PS3. Like it or not, that is still true.

who cares if sales dipped a little the economy suxs and im sure all the great October and November games add to the 6 percent drop

man I just had someone arguing against me saying that the video game industry wasnt hurt at all by this "recession". He continued to throw out that he graduated from some ivy league college with and MBA and blah blah. this just put's icing on the cake for me, since I dropped out in my second year, which was the best thing I could've done for myself, personally.

I know i didn't buy anything in September. Not with sooooo many great games coming out this month

Remember when people were saying the PS3 would catch up with 360 by the end of the year in sales back in like January? Well right now the 360 is outselling the PS3 in America,Europe and Japan. The gap is back to 6m units and the PS3 is selling around 100k a month behind the 360. So that means in the next 2 months the PS3 needs to sell 3m a month and 360 not sell a single console. Seeing as the PS3 has only sold 1m more then the 360 in the whole of 2008 (10 months) think we can safely say that they won't be selling 6m in 2 months. In fact if you look at the trend over the past 4 months you see the 360 has actually out sold it by a fair bit. Going into the holiday period being the cheapest console you would expect that trend to continue. The days of the 360 and PS3 pulling off big monthly numbers is over, so ring the bell this one is over as the Wii has crushed all of them. PS3 needs a miracle now.

I'm glad to see an increase in 360 sales. I think it has the best to offer.

Maybe because the lack of quality games... Don't worry though, on Oct 21st and 28th the gaming industry will hit the roof in terms of sales numbers.

If the 360 is old technology, then why to multi-platform titles often look better on the 360 than they do on the PS3? Wait let me guess, it's that extra year that the 360 has had right :P. Come on stop being a Sony apologist. If you prefer PS3 games then come out and say it. I have nothing against that. But to pretend to be hardware experts to support your fanboyish fixation is just plain embarrassing.

ill admit sony had a slow start due to prices , lack of games and ect but 360 has old technology 360 just seems like a a xbox only on steroids and more red rings of death lol but in like a year or 3 ill doubt if 360 can kee[p up with the software were as ps3 the hard ware on there has yet tu be pushed tu its limits and with the quad layer blu-rays dics comming out there will be games with better quality. now as for gameing sales i think game gameeing industry shoul do what ea is doing take down a title or 3 a year and focus on makeing quality games instead of flooding us with a bunch of shooter games *i mean come on guys the number of shooters thats comeing out this year kina over the top* i mean i love video games to death hell i was rasied with videogames. but yea gameing companys should do what e.a is doing and make 2-3 less games a year to focus on qualtiy games itll save them money , and produce better games