August NPDs: Madden Sales Down, But Still the Top
It’s almost not even worth noting anymore that the industry is in decline. This makes the sixth month in a row we’ve seen a decrease, but there are signs of the games business getting back some steam as we finish out the year. This month’s decline had a lower impact than recent months, which means the decline could be slowing. Sony’s mid-month price drop spurred sales of the console to nearly match the Xbox 360, even as some eager buyers were no-doubt waiting for the Slim launch this month. The dueling Xbox 360 and PS3 price cuts should make for an interesting September. Nintendo, as usual, topped the list with combined sales of the Wii and DS that beat all of the other systems put together.
August 2009 Hardware Sales
- Nintendo DS — 552,900
- Wii — 227,400
- Xbox 360 — 215,400
- PlayStation 3 — 210,000
- PlayStation Portable — 140,300
- PlayStation 2 — 105,900
July 2009 Hardware Sales
- Nintendo DS — 538,900
- Wii — 252,500
- Xbox 360 — 202,900
- PlayStation Portable — 122,800
- PlayStation 3 — 121,800
- PlayStation 2 – 108,000
Software sales for the month carried some heavy hitters, particularly Madden NFL 10 which saw combined sales of almost 2 million units. Wii Sports Resort squeezed in a spot comfortably between the two major Maddens; it sold 500,000 in just five days last month, so if it had been released in early August instead it might have taken the top spot from the football franchise. The PlayStation 2 crowd for Madden is starting to die down, finishing in sixth place this year. Both versions of Batman: Arkham Asylum topped it, and while the Joker challenge rooms weren’t quite enough to put the PS3 version on top, the two finished surprisingly close given the difference in install bases.
Bloomberg reports that EA CEO John Riccitiello said it is “discouraging that one of our highest-rated and best-marketed ‘Madden’ titles in years is facing strong headwinds.” He doesn’t sound too pleased with the sales, but at least no one will be getting free copies of Wolfenstein. The shooter didn’t even crack the top 10, and was beaten out by Fossil Fighters.
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