Nintendo Rules Again in July Game Hardware NPD Sales Report

Slightly improved Wii supplies helped that system swap spots with the DS as console sales passed the handheld’s to be the month’s top-seller. About 425,000 Wiis were sold in the month, versus 405,000 DSs, NPD said. In June, nearly 382,000 Wiis were sold, versus almost 562,000 DSs (CED July 25 p5).

But DS sales were still up from July 2006, when more than 377,000 units of the system sold (CED Aug 14/06 p5). DS also again sold nearly twice as well as rival PSP, which had July sales of 214,000, up from 161,500 in July 2006 but down from about 290,000 in June 2007. DS’s U.S. installed base continued to dwarf PSP’s, reaching 12.3 million in July versus 8.1 million for Sony’s system.

Wii “achieved its highest weekly sales rates since December despite pricing shifts” by rivals, Nintendo said. Nintendo hardware outsold all other systems combined in July, it said.

Wii world sales may have slightly passed Xbox 360 thanks to 360 weakness in Japan (CED Aug 24 p4). But the installed base for 360, launched a full year before Wii and PS3, kept surpassing rivals in the U.S. Wii’s U.S. installed base hit 3.62 million in July, versus 5.95 million for 360 and only 1.62 million for PS3, NPD said.

The PS3 price cut couldn’t help that console overcome 360 in July, probably in part because Sony’s console still costs more than either rival. But the cut helped boost PS3 sales 61 percent from June to about 159,000 units.

In comparison, about 170,000 Xbox 360s were sold in July, down slightly from June’s 198,400 and from 206,000- plus sold in July 2006. The impact was unclear of Microsoft’s early July admission that 360 repair rates were significantly higher than it would like had on console results for the month (CED July 6 p2).

Consumer spending on 360 products overall is about twice that for Wii and PS3, with customers spending more than $2.7 billion on 360 since November, versus $1.3 billion on PS3 and $1.7 billion on Wii, Microsoft said. Wii hardware costs less than 360.

Sony expressed satisfaction with the July results despite landing in third again in the console war and in second again in the handheld competition. July “was a strong month for the PlayStation brand,” which showed a 31 percent rise in total retail dollars generated from a year ago in the U.S., with total sales for the month of $358.6 million, it said. PS3 “experienced its strongest month at retail since January,” which the company attributed to its price cut and “consumer anticipation” for a “strong” fall software lineup it announced in early July at the E3 Media and Business Summit.

PSP “remained in high demand” in July, Sony said, with some retailers running out of stock as the company shifts manufacturing gears to launch the slimmer, lighter PSP with video-out capabilities that the company unveiled at E3 (CED July 13 p4). The updated PSP ships Sept. 17 in the U.S. at $169, same price as the current model, Sony said.

The best news for Sony in July, however, was that PS2 demand remained strong seven years after its launch, making it the third-best selling system. About 222,000 units were sold in the U.S. during July, increasing its installed base to 39 million units. PS2 had July’s highest software-to-hardware tie ratio of any system, at 14.4:1, versus 9.8:1 for 360, 4.1:1 for PS3, 3.4:1 for Wii, 5.2:1 for DS and 5.3:1 for PSP.

“The PlayStation brand is incredibly well positioned heading into the important holiday months,” said SCEA CEO Jack Tretton. “The next few months will herald a marked uptick in momentum for all our platforms in this marketplace,” he said.

There was good news nearly across the board for videogame industry sales in July in the U.S., though results were slightly under at least some analyst estimates. Total sales jumped 37 percent to $925.5 million, while total videogame hardware sales soared 77.4 percent to $380.8 million, console hardware sales grew 140.7 percent to $286 million, total videogame software sales rose 11 percent to $419.2 million, console software sales increased 15.9 percent to $313.2 million and accessory sales grew 51 percent to $125.4 million.

The month’s faint black eyes came in handhelds, where hardware sales fell 1 percent to $94.9 million and software sales fell 1.5 percent to $106.1 million. DS and PSP shortages were largely to blame.

July is “typically one of the slower months for the videogame industry, falling after the Father’s Day and graduation gift occasions in June and before” Electronic Arts (EA) ships the latest version of its perennial hit game Madden NFL, said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. But “despite the summer slowdown, the industry still realized nearly $1 billion in sales for the month,” up almost 43 percent from a year ago, she said, and “at this pace, the industry is on track to ring up” $16 to $18 billion in sales for this year.

Nintendo systems didn’t dominate July’s top 10 software chart, taking only three spots: Its Wii Play at No. 3 with 278,000 units sold, Mario Party 8 for Wii at No. 5 with 277,000 units and its Pokemon Diamond for DS at No. 7 with 144,000 units. However, seven more games for Nintendo systems were in the top 20.

The month’s best-selling game was the 360 version of EA’s NCAA Football 08, which sold 397,000 units. Only one other 360 game made the top 10: Activision’s Guitar Hero II at No. 10, with 108,000 units. But Microsoft said 360 software sales were up 24 percent from a year ago.

Activision gained market share and had more SKUs in the top 10 than any other publisher, with four, all but one from its hit Guitar Hero franchise. Its dollar share grew to 17.3 percent, up 11.3 percentage points. Nintendo, Microsoft and Ubisoft also gained share in the month. EA had the highest dollar share in July among third-party publishers, at 21.1 percent. But it, and Midway Games, Sony, Take-Two Interactive and THQ, all lost share to varying degrees. Sales for EA’s latest NCAA entry seemed slower than a year ago, analysts said. But EA, in particular, is expected to bounce back soon from July’s market share loss thanks to August’s Madden release.

More games for PS2 made the top 10 than for any other system. The four were: Activision’s Guitar Hero Encore: Rock the 80s at No. 2 (339,000 units), NCAA Football 08 at No. 4 (236,000), Activisions’s Transformers: The Game at No. 8 (143,000) and its Guitar Hero II at No. 9 (138,000).