NPD Group has issued its console software sales data for September 2009. Did MTV Games prove that all you need is love and a cool Gretsch peripheral? Or did Activision trounce it with the more varied Guitar Hero 5? Do any of you doubt that Halo 3: ODST did some major damage? Was Batman strong enough to take on the entire Marvel Universe? Let’s take a look!
- Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360): 1,520,000
- Wii Sports Resort (Wii): 442,900
- Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360): 289,600
- Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo DS): 258,100
- The Beatles: Rock Band (Xbox 360): 254,000
- Madden NFL 10 (PlayStation 3): 246,500
- Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 (Xbox 360): 236,000
- Batman: Arkham Asylum (PlayStation 3): 212,500
- Guitar Hero 5 (Xbox 360): 210,800
- The Beatles: Rock Band (Wii): 208,600
I’m relieved that The Beatles: Rock Band did better than Guitar Hero 5. I don’t have anything against GH5, but I needed to know that America had the good taste to support The Beatles. I’m a little bummed that Marvel: Ultimate Alliance 2 didn’t perform better, but I’m also not surprised. At the end of the day, the chart was dominated by balls (Madden) and guns (Halo). While millions of people are (what I like to call) balls-and-guns gamers, that’s just not my thing. Seriously though, it’s not so much about the genre, but two strongly established brands performing extremely well in September.
What do you think of NPD’s September sales figures? Anything surprise you?
I just about choked on my pizza when I saw ODST's sales number. I didn't expect it to be that high with the way all my friends have been talking about it.
@Sandrock323 Well, it's one of the popular franchises in gaming. While its value is questionable, people were going to flock to it no matter what.
I just find it out of place with all the bad mouthing I hear about the game. I have it and enjoyed it, but many gamers I know like to bash it. Maybe Halo is becoming the new Pokemon? (Sells like crazy even though most gamers "say" it sucks.)
@Sandrock323 Pokemon games sell in Japan, Europe, and North America. Halo only does two out of three.
As President Dale said in "Mars Attacks!",
"I want the people to know that they still have two out of three branches of the government working for them, and that ain't bad."
Not really relevant, but I saw a connection and thought I'd run with it.
Anyway, I was surprised the ODST numbers were so high as well. I expected it, but then I didn't. Also, I too am glad to see The Beatles are relevant enough to people these days. Much better music than some of the garbage some people listen to… ((kidsthesedays))
I liked ODST. Mind you, I don't consider myself that big of a Halo fan overall. But I thought Firefight was a lot of fun. I'd rather play a game of Firefight or Horde in GoW over deathmatch type games any day.
Poor Microsoft and their horrible sales in Japan. Maybe the Japanese will give them a break with their next console.
I actually can understand why Ultimate Alliance 2 had low numbers, I was really looking forward to it, but after playing it. Only having 4 moves got really old really fast. And It seemed almost like while you could change where your points went into, it was almost unnecessary because there was a big difference in you putting points in, then when the AI did it for you.
@Arguello First off, good to see you here! I hope you keep coming back and participating. Secondly, I agree with your points on the gameplay.
@Sandrock323 Third time's a charm in Japan? Unless Microsoft scores some major third-party exclusives that Japanese gamers give a damn about, I sincerely doubt it.
@ray
How much of that is because Japanese consumers despise an unjapanese(new word) device?
The worst part about Marvel Ultimate Alliance was the insipid plot twist. They had some of the best comic book writing if the last decade to use a a backdrop and for some reason they squandered it for "nanobots." Bah!!