DS Top Seller Again

PS3 Supply Woes to Persist For ‘Next Few Months,’ Sony Says

April 19, 2010 by Jeff Berman|Top News

The PS3 supply woes that may have hurt the console’s sales since just after Sony Computer Entertainment America’s late summer price cut on the console will continue for at least a few more months, the company indicated Thursday, after NPD’s March sales data was released. “Consumer demand remains incredibly high and PS3 supply will continue to be tight across our retail channels in the next few months,” said SCEA spokesman Patrick Seybold.

John Koller, SCEA director of hardware marketing, had predicted at last month’s Game Developers Conference that the supply issue would soon ease up (CED March 12 p3). “We're going to be in pretty good” position on supplies in time for the key, mid-March release of Sony’s PS3 game God of War III, he said then.

God of War III in March moved 1.1 million copies, NPD said. “For the first time since its launch” in the U.S., the PS3 had four titles in the top 10 in March and was “also the leader in console software sales,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said. The other charting PS3 games were Square Enix’s Final Fantasy XIII (No. 3, about 828,200 sold), Battlefield: Bad Company 2 from Electronic Arts (No. 8, about 451,200) and Sony’s MLB: The Show (No. 10, about 349,200). But the PS3 was outsold by the Wii and Xbox 360 again in March.

The DS repeated as the best-selling system in the U.S. in March. About 700,800 DS systems were sold, up from the 613,200 sold in February (CED March 15 p8) and the 563,000 sold in March 2009. Nintendo of America didn’t respond to a request for comment on how many of the DS units sold were the DS Lite, DSi or new DSi XL by our deadline. Total DS U.S. installed base increased to 40.6 million, remaining far ahead of the PSP.

The Wii moved up one to No. 2 on the March hardware chart after being topped by the Xbox 360 in February. Sales of Nintendo’s console increased to about 557,500 from 397,900 in February 2010, but were down from the 601,000 sold in March 2009. Its U.S. installed base grew to 28.6 million, still far ahead of the PS3 and Xbox 360. Unlike Sony, Nintendo of America said “post-holiday inventory began to improve” on the Wii. Nintendo’s console had been in short supply during the holiday season and early 2010.

Xbox 360 sales increased to about 338,400 from about 330,000, but were down from the 422,000 sold in February this year. Its U.S. installed base increased to 19.6 million. PS3 sales increased to about 313,900 from 218,000 in March 2009, but were down from the 360,100 sold in February this year. Its U.S. installed base inched up to 12.1 million. About 119,900 PSPs were sold, down from 133,400 in February and 168,000 in March 2009. NPD didn’t specify how many of the PSPs sold were the download-only PSP Go, and SCEA has yet to provide sales specifics for the PSP Go, which by most accounts has been a weak seller here and overseas. The PSP’s U.S. installed base increased to 17 million. PS2 sales increased to about 118,300 in March from 101,900 in February and 112,000 in March 2009. Its U.S. installed base inched up to 46.1 million.

Total U.S. videogame industry sales increased 6 percent in March to $1.52 billion from March 2009, NPD said. While software sales increased 10 percent to $875.3 million and accessory sales improved 11 percent to $206.8 million, hardware sales fell 4 percent to $440.5 million. Total industry sales remain down for the year so far, falling 7 percent to $3.96 billion. Hardware sales were down 15 percent through March at $1.22 billion and software sales were down 5 percent at $2.11 billion, but accessories were up 4 percent at $629.3 million. Hardware dollars have suffered from last year’s price cuts. Excluding September, which was up nearly 1 percent, March represented “the first overall revenue increase for the industry outside of the holiday timeframe” since February 2009, NPD’s Frazier said.

Nintendo had the most games in the top 10 among all publishers, with four: Pokemon SoulSilver for the DS (No. 2, 1.02 million), Pokemon HeartGold for the DS (No. 5, about 761,200), New Super Mario Bros. Wii (No. 7, about 457,400) and Wii Fit Plus (No. 9, about 429,600).