Tag: Console Wars

NPD Group Top 10 Games of 2009

Last month I told you about the best selling games for the first 11 months of 2009. NPD Group has wrapped up its data for the year and revealed the full Monty. Here are the best selling games of 2009:

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360)
  2. Wii Sports Resort (Wii)
  3. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii)
  4. Wii Fit (Wii)
  5. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
  6. Mario Kart Wii (Wii)
  7. Wii Play (Wii)
  8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3)
  9. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360)
  10. Pokemon Platinum Version (Nintendo DS)

Kindly discuss (preferably inebriated)!

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NPD Console Sales Figures Top 10 Games of December 2009

NPD Group has released its console software sales information for December 2009. What were the big holiday games? Let’s find out!

  1. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii): 2,820,000
  2. Wii Fit Plus (Wii): 2,410,000
  3. Wii Sports Resort (Wii): 1,790,000
  4. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360): 1,630,000
  5. Call of Duty: Moden Warfare 2 (PlayStation 3): 1,120,000
  6. Wii Play (Wii): 1,010,000
  7. Mario Kart Wii (Wii): 936,1000
  8. Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 3600: 783,100
  9. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360): 728,500
  10. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (Nintendo DS): 656,700

As my favorite Irish bartender in New York would say, “Jaysus Christ!” I know a lot of you are Nintendo haters, but look at those numbers. Wouldn’t you love to have stock in the company?!? Ridiculous.

In other news, Activision continued its success with Modern Warfare 2 and Ubi posted some nice numbers with Assassin’s Creed II. Still, it’s hard to look at the list and not be floored by Nintendo’s performance.

Now kindly chanel your inner Michael Pachter and analyze this (please)!

NPD Hardware Sales Figures for December 2009

NPD Group has issued its console hardware sales data for December 2009. Capping off the year and the extremely lucrative holiday-shopping season, this is an extremely vital sales period. Let’s see how Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony performed.

  • Wii: 3,810,000
  • Nintendo DS: 3,310,000
  • PlayStation 3: 1,360,000
  • Xbox 360: 1,310,000
  • PlayStation Portable: 654,700
  • PlayStation 2: 333,200

Okay, tell me again how the Nintendo Wii is a fad? It has been whomping the competition for years and posted ridiculous numbers in December. Microsoft and Sony would kill for these “fad” numbers. As for those guys, both companies did well in December and should be proud of the numbers. In the pointless fanboy argument, the difference wasn’t really notable. Sony will have to hustle in 2010 to close the gap between the PS3 and Xbox 360.

What do you think of NPD’s December 2009 console sales figures? Any surprises? Any predictions for the new year?

Coffee Talk #58: Annoying Console Quirks

Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the return of wrestling’s Monday Night Wars, the new hit single “Gilbert’s Got a Gun”, or Google’s Android/Nexus One press conference, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.

A friend of mine was downloading the MAG beta yesterday when the download crapped out on him. This prompted him to write a lengthy Facebook rant on how the download experience on the Xbox 360 is way better than that of the PlayStation 3. While I agree that, in general, the Xbox 360 offers a much smoother online experience, I never had any problems downloading games, demos, movies, etc. on my PS3. I was surprised that a lot of my friend’s friends agreed with him and wrote about their annoyances with downloading on the PS3.

The whole thing had me wondering about annoying console quirks. What “features” of your beloved consoles irk you guys and gals? Personally, I hate the shutdown process of the PlayStation 3. After telling the machine that I want it turn off…it asks me if I want to turn it off. It’s a small thing, but it annoys the hell out of me! I don’t need Windows Vista-style confirmation prompts to shut down my PS3.

So yeah! I wanted to get that out of the way before starting off three totally positive Coffee Talk columns to close out the week. Ha! What about you? What are some console quirks that bother the hell out of you? And no, the Wii doesn’t count as an annoying console quirk. :P

Today’s Poll: What Will You Play the Most in 2010?

Any guesses as to which gaming system you’ll use the most in 2010? Will new PS3 owners going to put major miles on their new consoles? Are Xbox 360 loyalists sticking with their systems? Maybe mobile is the way forward with the PSP, DS, and iPhone. Please vote when you get a chance!

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Top 10 Best Selling Games of 2009 (Minus December)

NPD Group has released the 411 on the best selling games of the year, not including December. They are:

Modern Warfare 2

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360): 4,200,000
  2. Wii Fit (w/ balance board) (Wii): 3,500,000
  3. Wii Sports Resort (w/ MotionPlus) (Wii): 2,400,000
  4. Wii Mario Kart (w/ wheel) (Wii): 2,200,000
  5. Wii Play (w/ remote) (Wii): 2,100,000
  6. Halo 3: ODST (Xbox 360): 2,000,000
  7. Pokemon Platinum Version (DS): 1,900,000
  8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3): 1,900,000
  9. Madden NFL 10 (Xbox 360): 1,500,000
  10. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii): 1,400,000

As much as you guys (most of you, anyway) bag on Nintendo, those numbers are ridiculous. Any software publisher would kill for those sales figures. Even though New Super Mario Bros. hasn’t been out that long, it still managed to crack the list. As a Pokemon fan, I’m thrilled that Platinum made the list. I love showing numbers like that to idiots that say, “They still make Pokemon games?!?” You see, usually when you sell millions of something, a sequel is a pretty good idea.

Continue reading “Top 10 Best Selling Games of 2009 (Minus December)”

Three Ways Microsoft Will Compete with Sony in 2010

Microsoft and Sony will be more competitive than ever in 2010 with their Xbox 360 and PlayStation consoles, respectively. With the price gap closed and exclusive games more competitive than ever, next year’s console wars will be terribly interesting to watch. Microsoft director of product management Aaron Greenberg told Gamasutra three reasons he believes his console will do better than Sony’s:

We will do three things well. One, we will continue to offer a better value on hardware pricing. We will continue to remain $100 cheaper than PS3. Two, we will have more games, more blockbuster exclusives, no matter the genre. Three, you add all of the entertainment and social network. That’s our focus, to keep adding more and more value. Consumers vote with their dollars, and so far it’s been paying off, and we feel confident about next year as well.

Xbox 360

I agree on his first point; Microsoft will continue to sell Xbox 360 Arcade systems, simply because people are attracted to the price point and don’t realize that you need to buy a bunch of other accessories to make it fully functional. For games, I haven’t seen anything that indicates that the Xbox 360 will have better exclusives. That could change at E3, of course. As for value-added features, I’m sure there are some people that will buy an Xbox 360 over a PlayStation 3 because the former’s social-networking features are marketed better, but is it really a significant number? *shrug*

I’m not going to pretend to be a highly paid analyst from Wedbush Morgan, but I will ask you to channel your inner Michael Pachter. Do you think the race between the PS3 and Xbox 360 will be close? Who will win when the dust settles?!?

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NPD Console Sales Figures Top 10 Games of November 2009

NPD Group has released its console software sales information for Novemer 2009. Activision’s Modern Warfare 2 put up some ridiculous numbers. While nobody should be surprised that MW2 topped the charts, some analysts were surprised by its complete ownage of November (it’s a financial term). All in all, the big titles did what they were expected to do, but there was one oddity in the top 10. Check it out!

New Super Mario Bros

  1. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360): 4,200,000
  2. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3): 1,870,000
  3. New Super Mario Bros (Wii): 1,390,000
  4. Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 360): 794,700
  5. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360): 744,000
  6. Wii Sports Resort (Wii): 720,200
  7. Wii Fit Plus (Wii): 679,000
  8. Assassin’s Creed II (PS3): 448,400
  9. Dragon Age: Origins (Xbox 360): 362,100
  10. Mario Kart Wii (Wii): 315,000

As a BioWare mark, I’m disappointed that Dragon Age didn’t do better. Sure, RPGs aren’t as popular as action titles and it’s a new IP, but I expect people to have better taste. Hmph. Nintendo has to be thrilled with its November. It sold a ton of new and old games. With so many new and excellent games released in November, I was surprised to see something as old as Mario Kart hit the top 10. To steal a line from Keanu Reeves or Joey from Blossom, “Whoa.”

Any thoughts on the November software top 10?

NPD Hardware Sales Figures for November 2009

NPD Group has issued its console hardware sales data for November 2009. As you know, November is a huge month for gaming, with several retailers running “Black Friday” specials and lots of people shopping for holiday gifts. Let’s take a look at the numbers.

PS3 vs Xbox 360

  • Nintendo DS: 1,700,000
  • Wii: 1,260,000
  • Xbox 360: 819,500
  • PlayStation 3: 710,400
  • PlayStation Portable: 293,900
  • PlayStation 2: 203,100

As expected, Nintendo trounced the competition with its Wii home console and DS handheld system. Nintendo topping the charts is nothing new. What’s more interesting is the battle between Microsoft and Sony. While both companies did well, Sony has to be slightly disappointed that its PS3 lost out to the Xbox 360 after outselling it in September and October. That’s just a short-term concern for Sony; things are still looking up for the PS3, which had its third-best month ever. Overall, hardware sales were down 13.4 percent from November 2008, but keep in mind that all three consoles were more expensive last year.

What do you make of November’s numbers? Anything surprise you? Any predictions for December?

Pachter Says Xbox 360 Price Cut Coming in Early 2010

Due to increasing pressure from Sony’s PlayStation 3, Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter believes that Microsoft will announce another price cut for the Xbox 360 to ring in the new year. He told Joystiq:

We think that the PS3 will again outsell the Xbox 360 in November and December, prompting a price cut some time early next year.

Xbox 360 controller

That seems a bit crazy. Microsoft’s most recent price cut went into effect in September — a little over three months ago. I can’t imagine the company slashing prices again a few months later.

What do you think of the predicted price cut? Too soon? Or a smart way to establish who’s the boss (Moan-a! Samanth-a! Angel-a!) in 2010.

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