The NPD sales figures for July 2009 in the U.S are out. In all, game and console sales were down somewhat dramatically from the same time a year ago. The economy seems to be picking up, but you would not know it in the electronic gaming industry.
The hope now is that sales will pick up as we quickly approach the holiday season. Till then, it is going to be a bit rough for gaming companies, especially those that sell lees than popular games.
For July 2009, The DS is the winner again. I could not find a breakdown of DS and DSi sales this time, so the total include sales for both systems. The Wii dropped rather dramatically from last month, and the 360 went down only somewhat in sales, putting it rather close to the Wii. The rest follow, including the poor PS3 sales. The rumor of a slimmed down and lower cost PS3 could change that, but I personally doubt it.
NPD figures for July 2009 are:
Hardware:
- NDS = 538,900 units sold!
- Wii = 252,500
- 360 = 202,900
- PSP = 122,800
- PS3 = 121,800
- PS2 = 108,000
Software (top games for July 2009):
- Wii Sports Resort – Wii = 508,200 units sold
- NCAA Football 10 – 360 = 376,500
- NCAA Football 10 – PS3 = 237,400
- Wii Fit – Wii = 164,300
- Mario Kart Wii – Wii = 156,600
- Mario Kart – DS = 132,200
- Pokemon Platinum – DS = 116,400
- Fight Night Round 4 – 360 = 116,400
- New Super Mario Bros. – DS = 101,800
- EA Sports Active Bundle – Wii = 96,800
Games sale for July were dominated by Nintendo and Electronic Arts. Nintendo’s new Sport Resort for the Wii did rather well, and I would expect it to do so for a while too. With football season coming up, it is no surprise at all that NCAA Football took 2nd and 3rd place for the month, on the 360 and PS3 (this is the PS3′s only spot in the top game sales area for July). Nintendo did fairly well with Wii Fit, Mario Kart (DS and Wii), and of course Pokemon (which always sells well). I was a bit surprised to see Final Night Round stay in the top ten, so it must be a good game. The New Super Mario Bros. for the DS comes in at number nine, and EA Sports Active squeaks in the last spot.
I won’t deny that it was nice to see more than one DS game make the top ten. The units sell very well, but games for the DS don’t always make the top ten. As for the top spot, I’ll have to get a copy of Sports Resort one of these days (I’m waiting for a decent sale – I hate list price).
That is it for last months sales figures. It will be interesting to see how the Wii and 360 do in August, as they are so close now!