April NPD US Hardware/Software Sales

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Dr Mario Kart

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Hardware (year over year change)
PS2 172K (+38.0%)
PS3 127K (-32.2%)
PSP 116K (-39.8%)
360 175K (-7.0%)
Wii 340K (-52.4%)
NDS 1.04M (+150.7%)

Top 20 Software
1. WII - Wii Fit w/balance board (NoA) 471K
2. NDS - Pokemon Platinum (NoA) 433K
3. WII - Mario Kart Wii w/wheel (NoA) 210K
4. WII - Wii Play w/remote (NoA) 170K
5. 360 - The Godfather 2 (EA) 155K
6. 360 - Resident Evil 5 (Capcom) 122K
7. NDS - New Super Mario Bros (NoA) 119K
8. NDS - Mario Kart DS (NoA) 112K
9. 360 - Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Acti-Blizzard) 110K
10. PS3 - The Godfather 2 (EA) 91K

11. 360 - Guitar Hero: Metallica (Acti-Blizzard)
12. NDS - Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega)
13. NDS - Rhytmn Heaven (NoA)
14. PS3 - MLB 09: The Show (SCEA)
15. NDS - Professor Layton & the Curious Village (NoA)
16. PS3 - Resident Evil 5 (Capcom)
17. 360 - Call of Duty: World At War (Acti-Blizzard)
18. NDS - GTA: Chinatown Wars (Take2)
19. PS2 - Guitar Hero Metallica (Acti-Blizzard)
20. 360 - MLB 2K9 (2K Sports)
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Misc:
Excitebots (Wii) - 13k
Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars: 74k
Killzone 2: 58k
The Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena: 57k
Halo 3: 67k
Halo Wars: 57k-74k
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NPD's Anita Frazier:
While April sales might appear soft on the surface, it's important to remember that April is being compared against a month (April 2008) that realized nearly 50 percent growth over April 2007. This year's performance still represents the second-best performance for the industry in the month of April, besting April 2007, which is the previous second-place holder, by 26 percent.

Given how strong the growth was in the industry last year, there are still some months ahead where year-over-year comparisons may be difficult, but May should be an easier comparison than the last two months have been.

Despite being compared against last year, when several big title releases drove both software sales and hardware acquisition, April 2009 was down only 5 percent on a unit sales basis, with the remainder of dollar sales decline coming from reduced average selling prices. Easter fell in April this year which undoubtedly helped cushion the decline.

While the continued difficult economic environment is a factor to consider, our monthly Consumer Spending Indicator study still shows that video games is the category that consumers tell us they're least likely to cut their spending on in coming months.


The big story for the month is the performance of portable game hardware sales as propelled by the release of Nintendo's DSi. The NDS platform accounted for 31 percent of total industry unit sales this month across all categories.

Also notable is the performance of the PS2 which is now at the budget-friendly price point of $99. Compared to March 2009, the PS2 sales rate almost doubled when comparing the two months on a same-week basis. This is a testament to the impact a price reduction can have on hardware acquisition, with price being only second to compelling new content as a catalyst for hardware sales.

Overall weakness in hardware sales other than the DS and PS2 platforms is likely to capture a lot of attention this month, particularly year-over-year decline of Wii sales. It is important to remember that last April, Wii hardware sales were fueled by two huge new titles: Super Smash Bros. Brawl and Mario Kart. Taking that into account, Wii unit sales are still very strong and only followed the DS this month in terms dollar and unit sales contribution to total industry sales.

April would have been a great month to release a big new game because there weren't a lot of high profile new releases. In fact, you can see that the top 10 list for the month includes many games we've seen on the list for months, if not years.


The number of new releases this month is fairly comparable to what was introduced last April, but GTA IV (on both PS3 and the 360) sold nearly 1 million more units last April than the entire top 10 list did this year. April 2008 also featured the release of Mario Kart for Wii, which has remained a top-selling game for this past year, and is on this month's top 10 list as well. This really illustrates the impact of comparing against a month when there were several new blockbuster titles new to the market.

Comparisons in May will still be closely watched since this marks the anniversary of the release of Wii Fit. It's going to be interesting to watch how the heavily-promoted EA Sports Active performs as it literally "kicks it up a notch" in terms of bringing fitness "play" to the console games market.

Other new releases to watch in May include Terminator Salvation, Patapon 2, Fallout 3, InFAMOUS, and UFC Undisputed among others. May sales will include titles released through May 30th.

Microsoft PR Response:
Responding to Thursday's NPD U.S. game sales numbers for April 2009, Microsoft highlighted third-party game sales of $98 million for the month, "a key measure of platform health" and beating the Wii and PlayStation 3.

Overall, the company conceded that Xbox 360 U.S. retail sales were 175,000 units, a dip of 7 percent compared with a year earlier. However, it argued that "April 2008 saw the release of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV, significantly boosting Xbox 360 sales this time last year."

The company noted that Xbox 360 sales were up 28 percent year-on-year in the first four months of 2009, "the highest growth of any console this year", as Xbox 360 games claimed four of the top 10 console titles, including The Godfather II, Resident Evil 5, Guitar Hero: Aerosmith and Guitar Hero: Metallica.

Continuing its war with Sony on Metacritic, Microsoft commented that "Xbox 360 is also home to the most top-rated games of any current-generation console, with 139 titles earning a score of 80 or above on Metacritic, while no other console has even 100 such titles."

Finally, the firm offered no major additions to its Xbox Live statistics, but did note that popular game add-ons in April included the Halo 3 Mythic Map Pack and Resident Evil 5 Versus Mode add-on
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Top 20 Wii

1. Wii Fit w/Balance Board (NoA)
2. Mario Kart w/wheel (NoA)
3. Wii Play w/remote (NoA)
4. Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga (LucasArts)
5. Guitar Hero: Metallica (Acti-Blizzard)
6. Gold's Gym Cardio Workout (Ubisoft)
7. Link's Crossbow Training w/Zapper (NoA)
8. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega)
9. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Acti-Blizzard)
10. Game Party 2 (Midway)
11. My Fitness Coach (Ubisoft)
12. Super Smash Bros Brawl (NoA)
13. Sonic & the Black Knight (Sega)
14. Game Party (Midway)
15. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (LucasArts)
16. New Play Control: Mario Power Tennis (NoA)
17. Jillian Micheals Fitness Ultimatum 2009 (Majesco)
18. House of the Dead 2 & 3 Return (Sega)
19. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 09 (EA)
20. Super Mario Galaxy (NoA)

Top 20 360

1. The Godfather 2 (EA)
2. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom)
3. Guitar Hero Aerosmith (Acti-Blizzard)
4. Guitar Hero Metallica (Acti-Blizzard)
5. Call of Duty: World at War (Acti-Blizzard)
6. Major League Baseball 2K9 (2K Sports)
7. Halo 3 (MS)
8. Halo Wars (MS)
9. Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari)
10. X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged (Acti-Blizzard)
11. NBA 2K9 (2K Sports)
12. Wheelman w/Vin Diesel (Ubisoft)
13. Left 4 Dead (Electronic Arts)
14. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Acti-Blizzard)
15. WWE LEgends of Wrestlemania (THQ)
16. Grand Theft Auto 4 (Take 2)
17. Gears of War 2 (MS)
18. Fallout 3 (Bethesda)
19. Ninja Blade (MS)
20. Skate 2 (EA)

Top 20 PS3

1. The Godfather 2 (EA)
2. MLB 09: The Show (SCEA)
3. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom)
4. Killzone 2 (SCEA)
5. Guitar Hero: Metallica (Acti-Blizzard)
6. Call of Duty: World at War (Acti-Blizzard)
7. X-Men Origins: Wolverine Uncaged (Acti-Blizzard)
8. Guitar Hero: Aerosmith (Acti-Blizzard)
9. Soul Calibur 4 (Namco-Bandai)
10. Valkyria Chronicles (Sega)
11. Street Fighter 4 (Capcom)
12. Wheelman w/Vin Diesel (Ubisoft)
13. Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (Atari)
14. WWE Legends of Wrestlemania (THQ)
15. NBA 2K9 (2K Sports)
16. Grand Theft Auto 4 (Take 2)
17. Sonic's Ultimate Genesis Collection (Sega)
18. Tom Clancy's H.A.W.X. (Ubisoft)
19. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare GOTY Edition (Acti-Blizzard)
20. Fight Night Round 3 (EA)

Top 20 NDS

1. Pokemon Platinum (NoA)
2. New Super Mario Bros (NoA)
3. Mario Kart DS (NoA)
4. Mario & SOnic at the Olympic Games (NoA)
5. Rhythm Heaven (NoA)
6. Professor Layton & the Curious Village (NoA)
7. GTA: CHinatown Wars (Take 2)
8. Gardening Mama (Majesco)
9. Lego Star Wars: Complete Saga (LucasArts)
10. Monsters vs Aliens (Acti-Blizzard)
11. Hannah Montana: The Movie (Disney)
12. Mario Party (NoA)
13. Cooking Mama (Majesco)
14. Club Penguin: Elite Penguin Force (Disney)
15. Super Mario 64 DS (NoA)
16. Lego Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures (LucasArts)
17. Brain Age 2 (NoA)
18. Lego Batman (LucasArts)
19. Petz Dogz Pack (Ubisoft)
20. Brain Age (NoA)

Top 20 PSP

1. Mortal Kombat: Unchained (Midway)
2. MLB 09: The Show (SCEA)
3. Flatout: Head On (Warner Bros)
4. Resistance: Retribution (SCEA)
5. God of War: Chains of Olympus (SCEA)
6. Castlevania: The Dracula X Chronicles (Konami)
7. Iron Man (Sega)
8. Metal Gear Solid: Portable Ops Plus (Konami)
9. Silent Hill Origins (Konami)
10. GTA: Liberty City Stories (Take 2)
11. Crisis Core: Final Fantasy 7 (Square-Enix)
12. Final Fantasy 1 (Square-Enix)
13. GTA: Vice City Stories (Take 2)
14. Final Fantasy 2 (Square-Enix)
15. Ratatouille (THQ)
16. Final Fantasy Tactisc: The War of the Lions (Square-Enix)
17. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2007 (THQ)
18. WWE Smackdown vs Raw 2009 (THQ)
19. Ben 10: Alien Force (D3)
20. Worms: Open Warfare (THQ)
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Year to Date:
PS2 516,200
NDS 2,701,800
PSP 655,300
360 1,205,000
PS3 824,200
WII 2,373,200

Lifetime to Date:
PS2 44,030,818 (Long live the King)
NDS 30,243,158
PSP 14,996,936
360 15,065,286
PS3 7,618,396
WII 19,913,581

Comparison @ 30 months from launch
WII - 19,913,581 (April 2009)
PS2 - 17,100,000 (March 2003)
360 - 10,085,600 (April 2008)
XBX - 8,681,402 (April 2004)
PS3 - 7,618,396 (April 2009)
GCN - 7,393,241 (April 2004)

Average weeks ownership (Average purchase date)

Wii: 54.5 (April 16, 2008)
PS3: 60.4 (March 6, 2008)
X360: 81.8 (October 8, 2007)
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- If you didnt launch a new model or have a price drop, you were down year over year.
- PS3 is down year over year for the 6th consecutive month.
 
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[quote name='KingBroly']Seems like May is going to be big for Punch-Out[/QUOTE]

Not likely. Rhythm Heaven sold under 91K this month with heavy advertising and a huge DS hardware number. The slowdown in Wii hardware has been killing Wii sales. Especially on new releases. Unless they change the name to Mario's Punch-Out it will be lucky to break 100K.
 
Anita Frazier really adds some context to the Wii slowdown: Its basically slowing down to just above what the PS2 was selling at the same time period (PS2 264K in month 30)

My personal expectation for Punch Out is at ~150k. Punch Out is at least a known, albeit very old, property. It also doesnt have a lot of other titles to be drowned out by, which is a legitimate problem for the DS.
 
Two comments:

1) PS3 vs. 360 Sales -- Pretty impressive that the 360 is only selling ~50K more units than a system that's more than twice the price if you go with the arcade version. I wonder what the distribution is between Arcade, Pro, and Elite versions. It'll be interesting to see how much pent-up demand exists for the PS3 if/when a price drop comes into affect.

2) Resurgence of the PS2 -- People still want entertainment, and there's no system with better value than the PS2. Too bad Sony won't see much money from software sales as I'm guessing the majority of software sold will be used from Gamestop.
 
[quote name='mtxbass1']Didn't the PS2 price drop in April, or was that in March?[/QUOTE]
It actually dropped on April 5, with this NPD reporting period being 4/5/09 - 5/2/09. It got the maximum possible effect.
 
As Cheapy just said on Twitter, amazing that Gamestop dropping GH: Aerosmith to $10 caused it to bump up into the top 10 in overall sales. It will be interesting to see what games are 11-20 later this weekend.

Also look for UFC to be the biggest new release for the month of May. Most Gamestop's in the STL area have around 100 preorders each for this game.
 
[quote name='Ecofreak']BTW, OP, according to Joystiq.com -- the 360 sales dropped 47%, not 7%. I thought it was more drastic than that.[/QUOTE]Joystiq is doing change from last month, whereas I'm doing April to April change. Last year 360 was 188k, now its 175k
 
A couple of random notes:

UFC will sell in the Godfather range on 360. It will be a little higher, probably ~170K. PS3 will be quite a bit higher than Godfather at ~140K. Decent numbers but nothing to get too excited about. It will be a de facto winner. Wolverine would have challenged it if it didn't have the launch week in the April numbers. There's nothing else big in May to challenge it.

The Easter bump is real. Without easter you could drop all of the software numbers 10%.

The Aerosmith number is a little misleading. NPD would have extrapolated out Walmart for it even though Walmart doesn't even sell it. The way the NPD numbers are derived isn't really set up to handle a clearance title rising to the top. The $9.99 Best Buy sale also helped it.

11-20 are pretty boring.

Bionic Commando won't chart next month at all. Not even top 20.

inFamous will be neck and neck with UFC for the #1 PS3 next month

Wii Play at 170K probably made John Riccetello throw up in his mouth.
 
I also think punch-out will see good support. If only because some of my friends who have a wii, and don't checkout the nintendo channel, go to ebgames or read about videogames online- they have mentioned this game, and are excited about it.
I think it is a type of game that really grabs people.
 
Punch out is going to fail. Every video i see of people playing it at shows/displays has them punching like Wii Sports Boxing and they all end up getting knocked out, and looking perplexed as to why, they were waggeling like no ones business the entire time! The niche of gamer who is going to get it is on other systems.

Wii will only succeed on games packed with accessories, training titles, and of course, mini-gamez. Although those markets will soon be flooded and overloaded with shovelware (as if they havent already), and we'll hopefully see people just turn to real gaming for their entertainment.

Or they'll release Wii Fit Plus (MADE FOR OLDER OVERWEIGHT WHITE WOMEN EDITION) and sell another 20 million wii's for that crowd and sell 20k copies of games like madworld/punch out. This gen is totally awesome, its like Bizzaro world and ours collided for this gen and we're having a THUNDERDOME style tourney as to which ridiculousness gets to stick around as the winner (Bathroom scales as top system? Worst hardware ever made as top seller? FIVE NINTY NINE US DOLLARS?). Ugh.
 
All i get from these numbers is people need to stop saying the PS3 is selling more at the same time in its lifecycle than the 360 was. Hell, the original xbox was doing better in sales than the PS3 is at the same point in its lifecycle
 
It's simply interesting, if anything.
All it means is a company is bringing in more more than the other, it doesn't mean the system is better than. And by the looks of it, it doesn't seem like they're all that far apart.
I don't see why any of this matters to anyone outside of "neat random facts", unless of course, you worked for one of the following companies.

I don't want to sound like a dick, but I hate when people actually give a fuck if the ps3 out sold the 360. And I'm not pointing fingers, but in general.
 
PS2 172K (+38.0%)
PS3 127K (-32.2%)
PSP 116K (-39.8%)
360 175K (-7.0%)
Wii 340K (-52.4%)

^ What the hell? I guess the economy is finally having a clear effect on the gaming industry. :cry:

[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']Joystiq is doing change from last month, whereas I'm doing April to April change.[/QUOTE]


icon14.gif
 
[quote name='Maklershed']PS2 172K (+38.0%)
PS3 127K (-32.2%)
PSP 116K (-39.8%)
360 175K (-7.0%)
Wii 340K (-52.4%)

^ What the hell? I guess the economy is finally having a clear effect on the gaming industry. :cry:




icon14.gif
[/QUOTE]
That, and probably the fact most people have had a few Christmases and other holiday to get what they wanted. :lol:
 
But its a year over year change. The numbers should be relatively the same if not increasing slightly. They shouldn't be dropping so precipitously. Even the software sales figures are looking horrible. I wonder when the last time was that 91k was good enough for the top 10.
 
True.
It's no lie this recession has probably got more people selling their systems and games to provide for their family or themselves, versus going out and spending 300-600 on entertainment.
 
[quote name='jkanownik']Not likely. Rhythm Heaven sold under 91K this month with heavy advertising and a huge DS hardware number. The slowdown in Wii hardware has been killing Wii sales. Especially on new releases. Unless they change the name to Mario's Punch-Out it will be lucky to break 100K.[/QUOTE]

Bwahahahahahahahahaha

The DSi may have been advertised, but it doesn't mean Rhythm Heaven equates to units being sold alongside the DSi. Consumers clearly chose to purchase Mario Kart DS and New Super Mario Bros. and Pokemon Platinum alongside it. Notice how the first 2 I mentioned jumped back into the Top 10?

Also, Punch Out is something more people know about than Rhythm Heaven. Like Street Fighter, there is some nostalgia there. And something like Punch Out is more casual friendly than something like RH. And given that May is once again a barren wasteland until it hits, Punch Out is going to be pretty big.
 
[quote name='Sparta Omni']True.
It's no lie this recession has probably got more people selling their systems and games to provide for their family or themselves, versus going out and spending 300-600 on entertainment.[/QUOTE]

Wasn't there some big releases this time last year though to push console sales? I think GTA 4 has alot to do with the big jump last year for the month of April. There really was not much to push systems this time around.

I think I read somewhere that some analysts think that this months console sales drop over last year has to do with software releases and not the economy.
 
[quote name='rodeojones903']Wasn't there some big releases this time last year though to push console sales? I think GTA 4 has alot to do with the big jump last year for the month of April. There really was not much to push systems this time around.

I think I read somewhere that some analysts think that this months console sales drop over last year has to do with software releases and not the economy.[/QUOTE]
No, GTA IV had little effect on console sales last year like it was expected to.

http://kotaku.com/5255336/nintendo-sold-over-a-million-ds-handhelds-in-america-last-month

The breakdown of DSi to DS Lite sales is 827,000 for the DSi and 215,000 for the Lite.
 
[quote name='FriskyTanuki']No, GTA IV had little effect on console sales last year like it was expected to.

http://kotaku.com/5255336/nintendo-sold-over-a-million-ds-handhelds-in-america-last-month

The breakdown of DSi to DS Lite sales is 827,000 for the DSi and 215,000 for the Lite.[/QUOTE]

http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23636

April 2008 had a 50% growth over the same month in 2007, and I quote "April 2008 saw the release of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV, making for a tough comparison".


Also, "April 2008 also featured the release of Mario Kart for Wii, which has remained a top-selling game for this past year, and is on this month's top 10 list as well. This really illustrates the impact of comparing against a month when there were several new blockbuster titles new to the market."
 
[quote name='Dr Mario Kart']Wasnt PS3 still at the $599 price point with out of stock $499 20 gig in April 07? That would make it hard not have a huge improvement.[/QUOTE]

Sounds correct, but that info is for all systems. All I am trying to argue is that it seems realistic to put the majority of the blame for the fall compared to last year on the lack of releases rather than the economy. Other months so far this year have not seen that large of a fall, and if we are to believe what the talking heads tell us the economy is getting better correct? :D
 
Edit: My bad, completely glazed over RE5 360 it on the list. I guess I had a bit of dislexia there for a sec.

OK how about this: Pretty interesting looking at what titles from the Gamestop sale did on the respective systems. GH Aerosmith on 360, Valkyria Chronicles being the 10th best selling PS3 game, and several of the top PSP sellers were from that sale.
 
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[quote name='rodeojones903']http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=23636

April 2008 had a 50% growth over the same month in 2007, and I quote "April 2008 saw the release of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV, making for a tough comparison".


Also, "April 2008 also featured the release of Mario Kart for Wii, which has remained a top-selling game for this past year, and is on this month's top 10 list as well. This really illustrates the impact of comparing against a month when there were several new blockbuster titles new to the market."[/QUOTE]
Who cares about April 2007 when trying to see what kind of impact GTA IV had on system sales? Compared to the month before, it did nothing to the number of systems that were sold like everyone expected.

http://www.joystiq.com/2008/05/15/april-npd-gta-iv-mario-kart-wii-race-to-the-top/
 
So... is it suffice to say that GTA Chinatown isn't going to be a roaring success? It's a shame: in my opinion, it not only stands as a very good handheld GTA game, but as a great entry into the series that all GTA fans should be playing. It's fantastic, and I want more.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']So... is it suffice to say that GTA Chinatown isn't going to be a roaring success? It's a shame: in my opinion, it not only stands as a very good handheld GTA game, but as a great entry into the series that all GTA fans should be playing. It's fantastic, and I want more.[/QUOTE]

Thats do-able, just release it on the PSP/PS2 where the GTA userbase still resides.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']So... is it suffice to say that GTA Chinatown isn't going to be a roaring success? It's a shame: in my opinion, it not only stands as a very good handheld GTA game, but as a great entry into the series that all GTA fans should be playing. It's fantastic, and I want more.[/QUOTE]
Vice City Stories launched at the end of October (didn't chart), followed up with ~160k in November. It has now sold in the millions. Time will tell for Chinatown Wars, which is now around 160k after two months.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']So... is it suffice to say that GTA Chinatown isn't going to be a roaring success? It's a shame: in my opinion, it not only stands as a very good handheld GTA game, but as a great entry into the series that all GTA fans should be playing. It's fantastic, and I want more.[/QUOTE]

It should eventually get to 1MM units, the only question is what % of those sales will be at $20. If they can hold at or above $30 through the end of the year it will be a success.

Excitebots was released in April and sold ~13K units combined on both versions. Ouch!
 
[quote name='jkanownik']It should eventually get to 1MM units, the only question is what % of those sales will be at $20. If they can hold at or above $30 through the end of the year it will be a success.

Excitebots was released in April and sold ~13K units combined on both versions. Ouch![/QUOTE]

Yeah, 13K. Ouch. It will be a dagger to my heart if Punch Out flops too. I really want Nintendo putting out all of the "nonWiifit" games that they can.
 
[quote name='Friend of Sonic']Yeah, 13K. Ouch. It will be a dagger to my heart if Punch Out flops too. I really want Nintendo putting out all of the "nonWiifit" games that they can.[/QUOTE]

It's looking like it is going to do better than I expected. They're advertising it like crazy, it has mass appeal and is getting great reviews. I'm guessing 175-225K for May and easily 1MM by the end of the year.
 
[quote name='botticus']Vice City Stories launched at the end of October (didn't chart),[/QUOTE]

It didn't chart because it came out after the end of that October's NPD period. November was its first reported NPD sales month.
 
Sony did right with PS2, but k-fed it up with PS3. 360 outsold it 2-to-1 lifetime, and 3-to-2 year-over-year. Dispite the RROD.

Good-bye PS3 and PSP. [hey, I wanted the Lynx to do well, too]

Again, 360 gaming machine, PS3 no thanks. I've got my DVD player just fine.
 
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