June NPD: Wii overtakes Xbox 360 in total sales - PS3 gaining momentum
By Dave Parrack
The official NPD US hardware and sales software data was released yesterday, and it shows a couple of very interesting developments in the current-gen console war. Firstly, the Nintendo Wii has now officially overtaken the Xbox 360 in total sales numbers. Meanwhile sales of the PS3 surged massively during June, allowing the Sony console to push the Xbox 360 in to the bronze medal position.
Yesterday, Mike discussed the reasons behind the increased Playstation 3 sales figures, with the release of Metal Gear Solid 4 being cited as the main explanation.
This shows the benefit of having some big-hitting exclusives released on a system, as it can massively alter the health of a console’s appeal. Which will be an issue fresh in everyone’s minds with the E3 announcement that Final Fantasy XIII is no longer a PS3 exclusive, but also coming to the Xbox 360. It may be the case that people still stuck in the last generation of consoles, just need one last reason to upgrade, and a new release in a game series can be that reason.
The PS3 is actually the console most life at this point in time, with both the Wii and Xbox 360 maintaining the same level of sales for a fair few months in a row. The PS3 meanwhile, is clearly on an upwards trend.
However, the Wii is obviously doing much better than the either of its rivals, with sales staying around the 700,000 mark for most of this year. The Xbox 360 has stuck around the 200,000 mark, and Microsoft clearly needs to do something big to give sales a kick start. It needs something bigger than the half-hearted announcements made at E3, where all three companies failed to really excite gamers.
Full NPD Hardware Sales For June
Nintendo DS - 783,000
Nintendo Wii - 666,700
Sony PS3 - 405,000
Sony PSP - 337,400
Microsoft Xbox 360 - 219,800
Sony PS2 - 188,800
As you can see from the figures above, Nintendo still has it all its own way, with the top-two selling consoles in North America. What’s more, this is the month that the Wii finally overtook the Xbox 360 in total US sales, though it’s been declared by less official sources for a couple of months now.
I find the monthly sales figures intriguing, as they show the way the current-gen is panning out. At this point in time, it’s fair to say that the Wii is going to win the battle of the home consoles, assuming that sales flat-line doesn’t turn in to a downward arrow in the near future. The PS3 seems to be on the way up, but it depends how much sales are influenced by new game releases, and how much that momentum will carry on through the more barren months.
Whatever level of momentum is being built, it’s also important to remember how far the PS3 is behind the Xbox 360, with the Sony console still managing less than half the total console sales since the two were launched. This generation’s console battle is far from over.
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Stumble It!
Tips N4G
July 18th, 2008
No no DAVE PARRACK there must be something wrong with your sources, i mean the PS3 beating the 360…by that much?….IN AMERICA. omfg you’re such a fanboy.
suck it up 360 fanboys, it happened, and will happen again, now the tide has finally turned.
July 18th, 2008
No, it can’t be right, surely not, you are a fanboy for suggesting such a thing Dave. Even if you own all 3 consoles and treat each equally and write good articles. I’m disgusted.
July 18th, 2008
Oh yeah!? Well, if the PS3 is so great then why is the 360 beating it’s pants off in sales every month? lmao!
-Arvis, for real, totally not Kevin
July 18th, 2008
kevism FTW
July 18th, 2008
Why would you write the same article that Mike wrote?
July 18th, 2008
I don’t believe these numbers. Dave made them up. If it doesn’t favor the 360 it can’t be true. Everything that favors PS3 is a lie. Did I mention that Sony hasn’t even admitted to the issues they had with the PS2, they even lost a court case over it and still they won’t admit it. Sony=Lies. At least Microsoft gave its loving adoring customers a $1 BILLION 3 YEAR WARRANTY. Microsoft loves me so much! Here’s a smooch to you Microsoft, I love you too!
July 18th, 2008
Bronze metal Dave? Oh God you need a shot of reality.
July 18th, 2008
I Love you Too Microsoft!
July 18th, 2008
Wylie you kill me wiht laughter.
July 18th, 2008
I think I’ve been brainwashed. I need to go have a few beers and kill those brain cells off this weekend.
July 18th, 2008
CAD, Mike’s article was talking more about the effect MGS4 had, whereas I have looked at the results as a whole, and the fact that the Wii is now the best-selling console. The bronze medal for the Xbox refers to the monthly sales for the three home consoles. I could have been nastier and given it fourth place!
Lol at some of the sarcastic comments so far…
July 18th, 2008
WTF?? By now every human being on earth has a DS!!
July 18th, 2008
Alright CAD he’s slating xbots united, lets bash his face in. XBOTS UNITE, USING OVERRATED XBL.
You guys, lets stop this fanboy flame wars, cant you see that Sony is the only true console? Lets just all sit down, have a drink and burn 360’s on a large ephigy of bill gates who has red rings as eyes, then go down to our nearest electronics shop and purchase a playstation 3?
July 18th, 2008
Yeh Dave, we are going to DO YOU IN, 360 style.
Everyone knows Xbox 360 is the best selling console of all time. I read it in Kev’s diary.
July 18th, 2008
360 iz bestes, youz p3 fans r teh uber fail, first to 10 million wins, right?
July 18th, 2008
Dave I know that I just wish you would say that in your article because you make it sound as if 360 is now in third place period.
July 18th, 2008
Big deal! They had one good month because of a popular CGI film that lets you play for around 10 minutes at a time! Everyone who’s not an idiot knows that the 360 has a better collection of games.
Anyway, the more console sales for $ony = a bigger financial hole for them. Let’s say that they lose $200 per console sold (i know it’s more than that, i am being generous) and they sold 400,000. That means they lost $800,000,000 this month alone! So on top of the 3.3 billion they’ve lost so far, (that figure was a few months ago, I am sure it has gone up since then, but again, I am being generous), their total losses have now amassed to 4.1 billion. All I can say is WOW. So not only do they have a machine with only a handful of exclusives, they are also haemmoraging the $$$ pretty severely too.
So are you kids prepared to admit you’re $ony fanboys yet?
July 18th, 2008
hey harry, Sony has been breaking even on costs since January, nice try though, seems like you’re in damagae control spin mode
July 18th, 2008
Wow we have a regular mathmatician here.
U forgot to add the sales of the psp and ps2, this equals, let me see, x2, carry the 1 ………….ok, sony lost £200 billion this month
July 18th, 2008
hairy sack makes a comment of more than 5 words and then it all gets a bit too much for his brain.
hairy run that past us again, one more time.
July 18th, 2008
Oh harry you’re so full of it. There is no way Sony loses $200 per console, they weren’t even losing that much per at launch! Your evidence of such loses is what?
Besides, why do any of you people care how much Sony or MS makes or loses per console? What’s it to you? Unless you’re a stockholder, who F-ing cares? And if you ARE, take your mindless driveling whining to a stocks blog, not a gaming blog!
July 18th, 2008
I am hoping that the PS3 can overtake the wii for the month of june because of mgs4. or at least be close to wii’s sales. but it did not. if mgs4 didn’t beat the wii, i don’t know what will. mario is just too much for snake to handle.
July 18th, 2008
“Besides, why do any of you people care how much Sony or MS makes or loses per console?”
Because no matter how deep the pockets, either giant could pick up their marbles and go home. This is what makes them fanboys, they can’t imagine buying anything BUT a PS4 or the next xbox. It’s sad really, that they care so much about these things.
The way its going, MS isn’t expanding their share of the pie, as they wanted, and, yes, needed to do this generation, and Sony is now where they put Nintendo when they had the N64 (in a strange twist of fate, Nintendo ends up where Sony was then…creepy).
Sony looked like a company willing to bet the farm on bluray, and…they did. They’ve spent billions on it, and plenty of that has been in PS3 losses. No matter if DVD will be king for 10 more years or if bluray will take over, Sony got what they wanted out of this generation, gamers helping them win the format war. If they think they alienated enough people with the price, and next gen will be unprofitable, I doubt they will stay in the game.
MS took a risk on a console, and given the sales figures, it wasn’t a good gamble. It was understandable that they were willing to wait a few generations to make money, as they said was the plan, but if there is no progress this generation, they may call it quits when the 360 is obsolete.
The fanboys know this, and they worry they may have to actually get a system from another company next gen. They worry and lose sleep over the sales figures because of that.
July 18th, 2008
It’s true that they don’t lose $200 per console, they lose more than that, I was just being generous.
Sk8man they have hardly been breaking even. It’s a well known fact that they are losing money per console sold. Stop going into damage control and smell the roses.
July 19th, 2008
No one really knows what Sony is losing per console, or MS - For that matter, no one really knows how much Nintendo makes per Wii.
The nature of this industry is to produce hardware that loses money so it can be powerful without being a huge huge cost for us little people.
Sony kinda dropped the ball a bit this gen. in regards to price (I guess due to R&D on the cell) but MS probably has way bigger pockets and used more traditional hardware in the machine - the boring, but wise thing to do.
Very Bill Gates 
July 19th, 2008
Numbers don’t lie kids, numbers don’t lie! Sk8Man just made a fool of himself, the guy from $ony even said that he didn’t expect to break even till 2009. Now translating that from $ony’s own ’special’ language, that would mean that by 2015 they may be seeing a profit.
July 19th, 2008
harry, theres fail, theres epic fail, and then theres you, a colossal clusterfuck of perpetual shit talking fail, admit your kev already
July 19th, 2008
oh, and Sony said the business would be PROFITABLE by 2009, but why should I expect you to say one morsel of fact? everything you post is a lie and you never back anything up.
Wake up and smell the roses you say? I am awake and so are the many people above me. And if you’re smelling roses with your head that far up your own ass, then you need serious psychological help, because when you speak, everyone has to take a break from smelling the roses and breath in your shit YOU FAIL AT LIFE
July 19th, 2008
sk8man
Looks like your in damage control now. Good going Harry, Threw some facts and sk8man could even say anything sensible.
July 19th, 2008
hey CAD, what facts?
July 19th, 2008
Yes CAD, he is indeed in damage control. Why else would he resort to calling me names? A little immature methinks.
$ony fanboys have been in damage control since the colossal whooping they took at E3. Even the bloggers here (I can’t call them journalists, I just can’t) who are obviously PS3 fanboys are in damage control, stating that ‘E3 was boring’…. yeah, boring if you just hung out at the $ony conference all the time!
Sk8girl (HAHAHA…. and i am away of the irony) needs to lay down a little.
July 19th, 2008
I can just imagine how Sk8girl, or Avril to her friends, came to that conclusion that I fail. It may have gone like;
‘Hmmm…. he just kicked my arse with a pretty big fact…. boy do I feel stupid…. I KNOW!! I’ll try my best to insult him!! Yeah, that will win that argument!’
July 19th, 2008
Where did I “call you names” harry?
and now your back to your “label someone a girl” reotoric? whose immature again?
You need to start making sense, what the hell is this:(HAHAHA…. and i am away of the irony)?
Is that supposed to make sense? because it sure as hell doesn’t
Grow up harry, stop posting, we know that you and kev are the same person so just stop fooling everyone, it’s not working
July 19th, 2008
There was no ‘ass whooping’ at E3 at all.
MS gets FF on the 360.
MS clones a whole bunch of stuff which is on other machines (avatars, lips, medals etc.) and that was about it.
Yeah a major ass whooping! /sarcasm.
Come back when you get GT5.
July 19th, 2008
Nice attempt at damage control there SW. Shame it’s all smoke and mirrors… or maybe I should use a terminaology that you P$3 boys are used to…it was a CGI movie of what a game might look like when it’s released in 4 years time.
July 19th, 2008
@harry the cutscenes in game weren’t cgi and ran off the game engine nOOb, maybe if you played games before slating them you opinion would be better respected.
July 19th, 2008
Bo$$boy, I wasn’t referring to MGS4, but while we’re on that topic, what’s the point of buying a game where you play for 10 minutes and then have to watch a 30 minute cutscent, play for 5 more minutes, another 30 minute cutscene etc?? Sounds stupid to me.
Avril, you really wanted to know where you called me a name? Hmm…let’s start with ‘harry, theres fail, theres epic fail, and then theres you, a colossal clusterfuck of perpetual shit talking fail’. Sounds like name calling to me.
Or maybe you’re just sweeping that statement under the rug, kinda like how $ony did with the real reason why Harrisson left.
July 19th, 2008
I love it how you all think I am kev. If you PO$3 guys had half a brain you would notice we have different writing styles to begin with.
Why do you want me to be kevin so badly anyway?
July 19th, 2008
Ok, that’s it I miss Kevin, please Kevin come back where are u? u maybe a badly disguised 360 fanboy but u r alot better than this guy.
July 19th, 2008
“Nice attempt at damage control there SW.”
Now why on earth would I need ‘damage control’.
You may think you influence the buying public, but I do not. Nor do i think that the ‘belief’ in the ps3 some how keeps it alive.
Yet again harry/kev! You give us the true ramblings of an idiot with all the IQ of a tomato.
July 20th, 2008
IQ of a tomato, that’s clever, did you think that one up all by yourself?
It’s funny how whenever I make a valid point about why the PO$3 pales in comparison to the 360, you turn it into a personal attack. Goes to show that you don’t have anything to defend your system with, so you have to resort to stooping down a level. It’s kinda sad really.
July 20th, 2008
ROFL, dude if my GF ‘lets’ me I’m buying a 360 tomorrow and Ill take you a picture.
I don’t defend the machine out of loyalty or some kind of ‘OMG I MUST PROTECT MY PURCHASE!!!’ I defend it because you’re a rabid fanboy who cannot take an ounce of criticism (mostly valid) against the machine your purchased (or your mommy).
Tell me the blu ray drive seek time sucks - I agree! Tell me split RAM was a bad design choice - I agree again!!
Jeez I know you never started this thing, but be the fucking bigger man and stop being an ass.
July 20th, 2008
That is the difference SW, we can say good and bad things about both systems. They will NEVER say anything bad about the 360, nor will they EVER admit anything good about the ps3. If your unable to do any of the those, then you are a true pathetic fanboy.
And WTF is a PO$3. If that’s Harry’s attempt of originality, well it’s about as original as “Lips”.
July 20th, 2008
Or as original as xbot! hah
I’ll admit one good thing about the P$3, Blu Ray drive for movies. If MS brought out one of those I would buy it.
There….happy now?
July 20th, 2008
No way, piss off harry.
Kevin come back.
July 20th, 2008
Copying things that work well is inevitable and essential for all major products to progress. If things were really different, they wouldn’t count as competition, no reason to get better or be innovative. At least when products are so similar, they both have to fight to do something new and keep up with the other. It’s the whole point of offering everything and more. Else you die, with the wannabe products. Let’s hope 360 and ps3 offer everything what Wii does, before the Wii offers everything what 360 and ps3 does. Else we are doooomed.
July 20th, 2008
I dont really care about the copying…its the fools that want to say it ISN’T copying that is stupid…..
July 20th, 2008
Oh, and good one Harry….wasn’t that bad now was it ??
July 21st, 2008
enjoy it while you can ps3 fanboys. with gta and mgs4 now on the market, sony has nothing left. i have a feeling sony and it’s fanboys are in for a huuuuge reality check this holiday season. it’s important to remember these are pre 360 price drop numbers.
the fact that bourne is celebrating ONE month of great sales as “turning” the tide is hilarious. can’t wait to read the excuses when it falls back into last place in monthly sales next month…
July 21st, 2008
Kevin,
I’ve asked this before, but what do you think of all the hype and anticipation surrounding LittleBigPlanet and Home? Both will be available to users before the holidays this year. Don’t you think just the two of these would be enough to drive sales during the holiday rush?
-Arvis
July 22nd, 2008
Kevin has selective answering Arvis…..
July 23rd, 2008
arvis - don’t try to predict what sony will launch and when. they’re more often than not, off the mark with their promises and dates.
i don’t see it as a driver for the ps3. lbp is a new franchise, unproven, promising the world. sony’s done this before, time and again, only to fall flat. but there you are, hyping off sony’s word…
HOME doesn’t seem like much of a draw as it’s not really focused on gaming, rather than a virtual world. sony realizes they are beaten in the online gaming arena, so they’re trying to broaden out into other non-gaming areas. problem is; they need gaming solidified FIRST. which they don’t have….
after all it’s still the PLAY-station network.
spidey - begone tool. i already made you look dumb enough for one day…
July 23rd, 2008
Kevin,
Hmmm… I definitely agree about Sony’s lack of ability to meet release dates this gen. The only euphamism I like to use for the console is the “Delaystation 3″ because I think it actually makes sense.
However, I take offense to the accusation that I am excited about LBP due only to Sony hype. I’ve been waiting for this game for about a year based only on the GDC 07 video. It has promise, but I know sales aren’t gauranteed. I just hope it catches on because it’s a cool concept.
And Home = (Hopefully) Awesome Social Forum. And even you have to admit to the addictive nature of social forums…
-Arvis
July 23rd, 2008
Made me look stupid eh Kev, I must have missed the memo that was sent to yourself…..dream on little 360 boy.