Xbox 360 Outsold Wii in June for First Time in Months, NPD Says

The Xbox 360 outsold the Wii in June for the first time since February, and Microsoft’s console again topped the PS3, but the Nintendo DS remained the best-selling videogame system, according to U.S. sales data released by NPD late Thursday. Overall U.S. videogame industry sales were down yet again, this time 6 percent from June 2009 to $1.1 billion. But there were again some promising signs.

"The strong unit sellthrough performance” of the PS3 and Xbox 360 “augurs well” for the second half of 2010 -- “for the industry as a whole and the third-party publishers in general, owing to the greater presence they command on those platforms versus the Wii,” Bank of Montreal Capital Markets analyst Edward Williams said Friday.

Xbox 360’s U.S. sales grew to about 451,700 units in June from about 240,600 in June 2009 (CED July 20/09 p5) and about 194,600 in May this year (CED July 6 p16). Its U.S. installed base increased to 20.6 million. The 88 percent sales increase in June versus June 2009 was driven by Microsoft’s introduction of a 250-GB 360 console in a smaller form factor than existing models (CED June 15 p1) and the price cuts it made on “existing inventory,” the company said. “Retail demand for the new Xbox 360 250-GB console remains high, and retailers continue to order as many units as Microsoft is able to supply,” it said. The 360’s performance in June represented the second best non-holiday month for the system, after September 2007, when Microsoft released the game Halo 3, said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

The Wii finished just behind the 360 in monthly sales, with about 422,500 moved, up from about 361,700 in June 2009 and about 334,800 in May this year. Its U.S. installed base continued to far outpace those of the PS3 and 360 at 29.7 million.

The PS3 finished June well behind the Wii and 360, with about 304,800 sold in the month, though that was up significantly from about 164,700 in June 2009 and about 154,500 in May this year. June marked the 11th consecutive month of sales growth for the console versus the prior year, Sony Computer Entertainment America said. But the PS3’s U.S. installed base continued to trail far behind its rivals, at 12.7 million.

The DS came in just ahead of the 360 in June, with about 510,700 sold, up from about 383,700 in May this year, but down from about 766,500 in June 2009. Its U.S. installed base increased to 41.9 million. NPD and Nintendo of America (NOA) didn’t specify how many units of each DS model were sold. But an industry source who received more complete data from NPD told Consumer Electronics Daily that the best-selling model was the most recent addition to the line, the DSi XL, with about 182,400 units. Of those, about 94,900 were the bronze SKU and about 87,500 the burgundy model, he said. In comparison, a total of about 135,800 units of the DSi and about 138,400 of the DS Lite were sold across all colors, he said. NOA said Nintendo systems sold about 933,000 units combined in June, “accounting for 50 percent of all gaming hardware units sold” in the U.S.

Once again faring worst among all current-generation systems was the PSP, with about 121,000 sold in June. That was up from about 59,400 in May this year, but down from about 163,500 in June 2009. Its U.S. installed base continued to trail far behind the DS, at 17.4 million.

The significant declines seen in handheld system sales from a year ago wasn’t enough to prevent overall hardware sales from growing 5 percent to $401.7 million. But the handheld decline, along with the 15 percent drop seen in total videogame software sales to $531.3 million were the causes of the overall industry decline from June 2009, Frazier said.

A major factor in the large decline in software sales was the soft release slate for the month. Unusually, not a single game SKU in the top five for June was a new release. Take-Two Interactive’s Red Dead Redemption repeated as the best-selling game in its second month, with the Xbox 360 version accounting for about 582,900 copies sold alone and finishing the month as the overall best-selling SKU across all titles. The PS3 version was the No. 3 SKU, with about 380,300 sold. Nintendo’s Super Mario Galaxy 2 for the Wii was No. 2, with about 548,400 sold. That boosted the game’s installed base to “more than 1.1 million units” in the U.S. alone, NOA said.

Nintendo’s New Super Mario Bros. Wii was No. 4, with about 200,900 sold, and Ubisoft’s Just Dance for the Wii was No. 5, with about 174,800 sold. Nintendo’s Wii Fit Plus came in sixth, while Disney’s Toy Story 3 for the DS was No. 7, THQ’s UFC Undisputed 2010 for the 360 was No. 8, Warner’s Harry Potter: Years 1-4 for the Wii was No. 9 and the PS3 version of THQ’s game was No. 10.

Among new releases, the latest entry in the Tiger Woods PGA Tour series from Electronic Arts proved to be a particular disappointment. The new game “sold only 32 percent of what last year’s release sold in its introductory month at retail,” Frazier said. But, she said, “Last year’s game saw a huge sales increase over previous versions,” giving EA a difficult comparison to overcome. It was still surprising that the game didn’t even crack the top 10 for June. EA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

U.S. videogame accessory sales grew 6 percent from June 2009 to $169.6 million. The Xbox 360 1,600 point card was the No. 1 accessory for the fourth straight month, Frazier said. Points and subscription cards overall were the best-selling accessory type in June, “breaking nine straight months where game pads ranked at the top,” she said.