Here’s what the big three hardware makers had to say following the release of the U.S. sales report for December 2009.
This Christmas saw Nintendo ride roughshod over the competition, breaking sales records with both Wii and DS. But Sony and Microsoft both had healthy sales in December, and it seems everybody has something to crow about.
I’ll write more analysis tomorrow, but for now, let the spin begin.
First up is Sony, which actually sent this email prior to the release of the NPD Group’s sales data.
SCEA Statement:“It’s no surprise we’ve seen PS3 units sold every month nearly double since October. We knew 2009 would be a turning point for the platform due to the new price and a content line up that is fueling unprecedented consumer and industry interest with games like UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves. The consumer response has simply been overwhelming and we anticipate the high demand for PS3 to continue into the coming months as we work closely with retail to meet the demand. The best part of PS3’s story today is that 2010 will offer entirely new gaming experiences to consumers as we launch MAG, God of War III, 3D gaming, and the new motion controller this year. It’s never been a better time to be a PS3 owner.”
— Patrick Seybold, Sr. Director of Corporate Communications at SCEA
PlayStation Brand Revenue
- The PlayStation brand generated more than $5.1 billion in revenue in the US for 2009, a 26% share of the total video game industry revenue for 2009
Hardware
PS3 sold 1.35 million hardware units in December 2009 in the US, which represents an 87% increase when compared to December 2008
PS3 hardware was the only home console to see double digit growth of 22% for the calendar year of 2009 (4.3 million total) when compared to the calendar year of 2008 (3.5 million total)
December 2009 marks the single highest selling month for PS3 hardware and software in the US.
PSP hardware also saw an increase of more than 122% from November to December 2009, making it a popular holiday gift item
Software
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 for PS3 was ranked in the top five software skus for December 2009
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 topped PS3 software for the calendar year of 2009 with a total of 2.8 million units sold to date, followed by Madden NFL 10 and Assassin’s Creed II for PS3
UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves has surpassed 1 million units in North America* with more than 950k units reported by NPD in the U.S. since launch
PlayStation Network
December 2009 also marked PlayStation Network’s single highest revenue month, jumping 155% from December 2008 in North America *
The highest activity for the month of December on PlayStation Network was Christmas Day
PS one classic game FINAL FANTASY VIII took top honors as the most downloaded “game” of December, followed by the PlayStation Network exclusive PixelJunk Shooter *
We also saw incremental sales driven by great add-on content such as the Call of Duty: World at War Map Packs, which took the top 3 paid downloads for the calendar year of 2009 *
2009 Top Ten Paid Downloads on PlayStation Network*
Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1
Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2
Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 3
FIFA 09 Gold Pack
Final Fantasy VII (PS3/PSP)
Battlefield 1943
Fat Princess
MARVEL VS CAPCOM 2
Flower
Mortal Kombat II
(* Based SCEA internal data)
Nintendo‘s release writes itself, these days.
Nintendo Finishes 2009 with Multiple Sales RecordsWii Has the Best Month in Video Game History, Nintendo DS Has the Best Calendar Year of All Time
A holiday shopping frenzy helped both of Nintendo’s video game systems make history: Nintendo’s Wii home system sold more than 3.8 million units in December, a new all-time single-month U.S. sales record. The Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi hand-held systems combined to sell more than 3.3 million, the second biggest month in U.S. history.
Those strong December numbers helped propel the Nintendo DS franchise to more than 11.2 million sold in 2009, a new U.S. calendar-year sales record for any video game system – ever. The Wii console finished 2009 with 9.6 million sold. Of all the Wii consoles ever sold in the United States since its November 2006 launch, nearly one-fifth (18.7 percent) were sold during November and December 2009.
“Wii, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi combined to sell more than 7 million units in the month of December alone,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Clearly there is overwhelming consumer demand for fun games, motion controls and value. This remarkable hardware sales surge presents a tremendous software opportunity for Nintendo and its third-party partners as we head into 2010.”
Lifetime U.S. sales for Wii have now surpassed 27.2 million units. No other home console has ever sold so many so quickly. Lifetime U.S. sales for the Nintendo DS franchise have topped 38.8 million units, surpassing lifetime sales of the Game Boy Advance franchise.
As always, great software drives hardware sales. In December alone, consumers placed six Nintendo games in the top 10 best-sellers of the month. These include New Super Mario Bros. Wii at No. 1 with more than 2.8 million sold, Wii Sports Resort at No. 2 with more than 1.7 million sold, Wii Fit Plus with the Wii Balance Board accessory at No. 3 with more than 1.7 million sold, Wii Play at No. 6 with more than 1.0 million sold, Mario Kart Wii at No. 7 with more than 936,000 sold and Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story for Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi at No. 10 with more than 656,000 sold.
For all of 2009, Nintendo finished with seven of the top 10 best-selling games of the year. These include New Super Mario Bros. Wii at No. 2 with more than 4.2 million sold, Wii Sports Resort at No. 3 with more than 4.2 million sold, Wii Fit at No. 4 with more than 3.5 million sold, Mario Kart Wii at No. 5 with nearly 3.1 million sold, Wii Play at No. 6 with more than 3.1 million sold, Wii Fit Plus at No. 8 with more than 2.4 million sold and Pokémon Platinum Version at No. 10 with more than 2.0 million sold.
Finally, Microsoft might have sold the fewest consoles but it apparently sold the most third-party software.
In 2009, Xbox 360 maintained its lead as the best-selling HD gaming and entertainment console, growing its install base to 39 million consoles worldwide. Xbox 360 not only had more titles in the list of monthly top ten console games throughout the year, but was also the leading system for third-party game sales. No matter how you slice the sales data, Xbox 360 is the most played console in the United States.
December 2009 NPD Data Caps Off a Great Year for Xbox 360
U.S. consumers spent $4.8 billion on Xbox 360 hardware, software and accessories in 2009, with over $1.1 billion in sales in December alone.
In 2009, U.S. global Xbox 360 console sales topped 10 million units 1, with more than 1.3 million sold in December, contributing to a worldwide Xbox 360 install base of 39 million.
Helping Xbox 360 maintain the industry-leading software attach rate of 8.8, U.S. consumers spent more than $2.7 billion on Xbox 360 games in 2009.
Third-party titles continued to find success on Xbox 360 – In 2009, Xbox 360 owned 43 percent share of third-party game sales or $2.4 billion in sales.
In true entertainment powerhouse form, the Xbox LIVE community reached record peaks in 2009 with more than 2.2 million people using the service at the same time.
2010 Ignites What Will Be The Biggest – and Best – Year in Xbox History
No other platform offers as many new ways to play and connect with the games and entertainment experiences that matter most.
Xbox 360 has blockbuster-exclusives launching nearly every month in the first half of 2010, including “Mass Effect 2,”“Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell Conviction,” “Alan Wake,” and “Crackdown 2,” followed by “Fable 3” and what will be the biggest game of year, “Halo Reach.”
“Project Natal” for Xbox 360 will offer an entirely new category of extraordinary games and entertainment experiences for everyone – being the first to make you the controller – coming Holiday 2010.
Bring on 2010!
That’s what Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft would like us to take away from this month’s numbers. What’s your verdict?
Image: Nintendo
1 Update: Microsoft issued a correction on Friday morning, saying that the Xbox 360 sold 10 million units globally in 2010, not in the U.S.
