Network now...NEWS
U.S. Games Break $21b in 2008
See also 2008 in Graphs
The U.S. videogames industry enjoyed another record-setting year in 2008, as software and hardware gained traction with mainstream audiences, NPD reported Thursday.
Total videogame sales (software, hardware, accessories) were $21.33 billion in 2008, a 19 percent year-on-year increase in spite of the poor economic climate.
For the month of December gaming retail generated $5.29 billion, the highest yet for one-month sales and a 9 percent year-on-year increase.
While the industry did break records, growth has slowed for the games industry--2007 saw a full-year revenue jump of 43 percent over 2006.
Hardware
December hardware was up just 2 percent in December to $1.88 billion. The Nintendo Wii drove monthly hardware sales with 2.15 million units sold, short of analyst estimates of over 3 million, but impressive nonetheless.
Xbox 360 sold 1.44 million, aided by a September price cut. "It was the biggest December in Xbox history," Xbox 360 group PR manager David Dennis told Edge in a phone interview. December 2007 saw Xbox 360 unit sales of 1.26 million.
"At the price point we're at and the content that we've got, we feel like we have a lot of momentum going into 2009," Dennis added.
Sony's PS3 sold 726K units, less than December 2007 when the console sold 798K. Sony Computer Entertainment SVP of marketing Peter Dille expressed optimism in a press statement: “The PlayStation brand has had a solid calendar year with total PS3 hardware sales up 40 percent and total PS3 software sales up 115 percent. We remain confident in our momentum into 2009 as we continue to deliver to our consumers the best entertainment content and technology out there."
The top-selling piece of hardware in December was the faithful Nintendo DS, with 3.04 million units sold. PSP sold 1.02 million units, on par with last year's sales.
Frazier said the DS is the first piece of hardware to sell over 3 million units in a single month.
Software
December software sales were topped by Wii Play (includes a Wii Remote), which sold 1.46 million units. Call of Duty: World at War for Xbox 360 moved 1.33 million and Wii Fit came in third for the month with 999K sold.
Total software revenues were up 26 percent year-on-year to $10.96 billion. NPD analyst Anita Frazier noted, "Software sales reached nearly $11 billion, which is more than total industry revenues were in 2005."
The rest of December's top 10 are below:
- Wii Play w/ Remote, Nintendo, 1.46m
- 360 Call of Duty: World at War, Activision, 1.33m
- Wii Fit w/ Balance Board, Nintendo, 999K
- Wii Mario Kart w/ Wheel, Nintendo, 979K
- Wii Guitar Hero World Tour, Activision, 850K
- 360 Gears of War 2, Microsoft, 745K
- 360 Left 4 Dead, EA, 629K
- NDS Mario Kart, Nintendo, 540K
- PS3 Call of Duty: World at War, Activision, 533K
- Wii Animal Crossing: City Folk, Nintendo, 497K
Includes special editions and bundles where applicable.
The top-selling games list for the U.S. in 2008 is topped by Nintendo Wii games:
- Wii Play w/ Remote, Nintendo, 5.28m
- Wii Mario Kart w/ Wheel, Nintendo, 5m
- Wii Fit w/ Balance Board, Nintendo, 4.53m
- Wii Super Smash Bros. Brawl, Nintendo, 4.17m
- 360 Grand Theft Auto IV, Take-Two, 3.29m
- 360 Call of Duty: World at War, Activision, 2.75m
- 360 Gears of War 2, Microsoft, 2.31m
- PS3 Grand Theft Auto IV, Take-Two, 1.89m
- 360 Madden NFL 09, EA, 1.87m
- NDS Mario Kart, Nintendo, 1.65m
Includes special editions and bundles where applicable.
Accessories
Videogame accessories were up 8 percent for December to $662 million. For the full year, the category was up 14 percent.
Contact Us / About Us / Advertise With Us / BeltwayBlips / TechBlips / MassiveBlips / GamerBlips / FAQ
Subscribe To Edge Magazine / Corrections / Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
Subscribe To Edge Magazine / Corrections / Terms & Conditions / Privacy Policy
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court 30 Monmouth Street Bath, UK BA1 2BW
England and Wales company registration number 2008885
@ Whisky a Go Go:
We don't have to agree. I know you don't like to hear an alternative viewpoint to the link you provided, but if you disagree with me, feel free to present a logical and rational argument against what I said. Otherwise...
It's inevitable the PS3 will eventually outsell the 360 (worldwide) once a price drop kicks in.
Interesting article:
http://www.gamedaily.com/articles/news/feature-can-ps3-catch-up-to-xbox-...
Bullshit. People assume that Microsoft will stay the same price point with a PS3 price drop. As soon as PS3 goes down in price, Microsoft will counter with another price drop of its own for the 360.
In fact, it's SONY that can't afford a price drop right now (or at all, really), not Microsoft, who still has plenty of wiggle room. I think analyst can't get over the fact that they picked the PS3 to run away with this gen but it's instead rock-bottom. PS3 will not catch the XBox360. Both have roughly the same library as far as 3rd party games are concerned. If you can pay less to have most of the same games, I don't see the Sony advantage at all. And please don't say 1st party exclusives... lol
Ken is absolutely right.
Kenology, you're full of shit. You're like the mental patient who doesn't know he's mental.
Kenology said:
Bullshit. People assume that Microsoft will stay the same price point with a PS3 price drop. As soon as PS3 goes down in price, Microsoft will counter with another price drop of its own for the 360.
________________
There is no talking to a naysayer. It's like talking to fresh air!
Yeah, you're right; it’s kinda like the Sony faithful who can't ever accept the truth that the PS3 is getting annihilated. Oh, that's right, '09 is the year of the PS3 just like '08 was right? First party this, BluRay that, blah blah blah.
When I actually see Sony start to deliver, then we'll talk. Two years in so far and nothing to show but a rather dismal performance. What a shame.
It's certainly more likely, but 'inevitable', not so. People are buying 360's in the meantime as Sony stupidly sits on its hands instead of cutting the price....oh, 2 years ago. Hardcore gamers will be willing to buy both consoles, but the mainstream? No. Once they have their 360, they won't want to double up unnecessarily, even if the PS3 finally hits the $300 threshold, aka AFFORDABLE to the typical consumer. too little too late.
but man, it would sure help to cut that price anyway. Whaddya waiting for, Sony?
This is what they're waiting for:
Sony Slashes 1.1 Billion In Costs And 8,000 Jobs By 2010:
http://www.sonyinsider.com/2008/12/09/sony-slashes-11-billion-in-costs-a...
Sony Looks Set To Lose $US1.1 Billion In Fiscal 2008:
http://www.gizmodo.com.au/2009/01/sony_looks_set_to_lose_11_billion_in_f...
lower launch price = more console purchaes = more software purchases = more royalties.
I can only imagine they thought they could sell of brand alone and still keep the same royalties of generations past. Hubris is a bitch.
Though I don't think that doing PS3 right would've saved them from losses this year. People simply aren't in the market for luxury electronics when they're too busy losin their job and foreclosing on their mortgage.
I'm happy that Wii Music didn't make the December Top 10 like was predicated by one analyst. And for the record, if MS garbage like In The Movies threatened to make the top ten, I would feel the same way about it as I feel about Wii Music: bad and flawed first party casual games need to fail commercially for a variety of reasons.
So why do bad and flawed THIRD party casual games not need to fail commercially? O_o
The graph page says the MS only did as well as they did because of the price drop. Maybe, but it shouldn't be stated as fact. The 360 had nearly as strong as a holiday last year with its old price. I'm sure it wouldn't have done quite as well without the price drop this year, but I'm sure the difference wouldn't have been enough to put its numbers around the PS3 level (as the graph article implies).
I think a bit more credit needs to be given to the 360 for the holiday period. It’s the oldest console on the market and is still performing quite well. In December the Wii topped the 360 by around 700k units, the 360 topped the PS3 by around 700k units. Sure the Wii would have sold more if there were more systems, but I'm sure the 360 was sold out as well.
I know the Wii is doing so well and that it overshadows the 360's performance, but I still think MS should get more credit for how well the 360 has managed to do, especially over its HD rival Sony.
Wow. Sony sold the least amount of hardware this year and only had one cross platform game in the top ten for the year. Even the month of December as well. In the month of December, they sold just a little over half of what the 360 did. That is pretty bad for a holiday month.
I think this pretty much solidifies a price drop this quarter or next. They have to to keep up.
The Wii dominated again which is no surprise. It would be nice to see some non Nintendo developed games on the top ten list, though. Perhaps with the line up of games for this year we will see it.
360 had a solid year. Firmly kept their place at second. Four games in the top ten for the year. Excellent all around. While having only one exclusive on the top ten list for the year, the list does show that cross platform games sell the best on the 360.
"It would be nice to see some non Nintendo developed games on the top ten list"
How about top 20 then? Here you go: http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=21906
Oh, it's not Nintendo's fault 3rd parties can't compete with them. Sony's 1st party offerings haven't been much competition for 3rd parties this holiday (or ever in the PS3 lifecycle) but no one says anything about that strangely enough.
Oh I agree, I just was stating what I saw. I know that some 3rd party game do quite well on the Wii. I just would like to see more on lists like this.
Although that list makes Sony's situation all the worse.
Hmm...Maybe that's because it’s arguably better to have stronger 3rd party support than it is 1st party (historically that has been the case; the Wii is the lone exception). I think that's why MS is always touting that they generate more 3rd party revenue than PS3 and Wii combined. The 360 is a more attractive console to 3rd parties at this point (especially over the PS3). Nintendo consoles have always had that problem (at least since the N64) of having too strong 1st party titles coupled with Nintendo's fans having the tendency to choose 1st party over the alternative. USUALLY that spells doom for a console's installed base (as it did with GCN and N64, but the Wii continues to defy traditional logic.
I would give the edge (no pun intended) to 1st party support being more important than third party. It's usually always a 1st party title that has to get your system off of the ground. For Wii, it was Twilight Princess, for PS3, it was Resistance. For MS, it was Halo. I think Microsoft big-ups 3rd party software so much because it's 1st party stuff is so weak. Most of Microsoft's blockbusters are actually 2nd party games that aren't internally developed.
I also don't see how 1st party games can be *too* strong. I also don't see how having strong 1st party games are a problem. Again, it's not Nintendo's fault they make quality games that people buy. This is a business first and foremost - people are in this business to sell GAMES. With that being the case, how can Nintendo selling games be "a problem"?
Also, Wii 3rd party game sales aren't in nearly as bad of shape as the mainstream games media would lead you to believe. They base everything off the Top 10. That's why I'm glad Gamasutra released the Top 20. I bet a lot of 3rd party Wii games linger in between the slots 11 and 30. We know Rockband is at number 29, for example.
Well said Zach.
Those Wii Play numbers just depress me. I really wish NPD would correctly categorize that as an accessory since the bulk of that cost is for the wiimote, not the game. I think the only thing holding back the Wii numbers was the fact Nintendo couldn't get any more into the retail channel.
It is a good value for a controller and the games are fun to play. IT is hard to tell whether people buy it as a game with a free controller or a controller with a $10 game. I bought it the latter, but there are a lot of people who buy it as the former.
Personally, I think that it should get a lifetime achievement award and they should still report its numbers but not list it in the top ten. That way we can see what is selling in 11th place.
That's a comprise I would be happy with, Zachary!
Well, you might as well just give it. People have been making that same argument since 2007. It's not gonna change.
Wow, its amazing Mario Kart DS sold well... that game is at least two years old!
I know a lot of parents (myself included) who bought their kids DSs this year - they were availible and affordable. Hence one of the more popular DS games seeing a resurgence.
I can only imagine the PS3 price cut is certain now -- that sales are, for the second month in a row (during the holiday season no less!), falling short of the year before while other consoles are ahead, and that the year-older 360 has sold *twice* as many consoles this past month...Sony has to start competing! Sony faithful can brag about the software hypotheticals of this upcoming year, but as it stands, this is miserable performance for what was once such a powerful brand (and still is in terms of PS2).
In the mean time, grats to Nintendo.
You gotta hand it to Nintendo, they may not have any titles I want to play but they rock the console sales charts. Microsoft did a solid job as well doubling PS3's. Sony basically sold the same amount as last year. They have solidified themselves in 3rd Place this generation.
Dec 2008 - US NPD
Nintendo DS - 3,040,000
Wii - 2,150,000
Xbox 360 - 1,440,000
PSP - 1,020,000
PlayStation 3 - 726,000
PlayStation 2 - 410,000