NPD releases home console attach rate ratios: PS3 not so hot

by Nick Doerr { Apr 25th 2008 at 8:30AM }

Uh-oh! It's a stint of bad news for the PS3-lovin' populace. NPD's latest batch of arbitrary data we trust so dearly has listed the current standing of home consoles in reference to their software attach rate. Guess who's at the bottom of the list? Well, technically the PSP, but the PS3 is if we're counting consoles and not handhelds. The breakdown goes like this:

Xbox 360: software sales ratio: 7.5
Wii: software sales ratio: 5.3
PS3: software sales ratio: 4.6

This can be chocked up to a number of reasons, which we'll allow you to speculate in our comments section. The PSP was slightly behind the PS3 with 4.2 just in case you were wondering. Install base? Sheer number of games? Price of the console? Versatility of the console? Reliability? Who knows, but despite saying the PS3 is at "the bottom" sort of discounts the fact that on average, people have 4-5 games as soon as they buy their system. That's great!

Tags: attach-rate, npd, npd-group

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

leiwei @ Apr 25th 2008 8:44AM

Xbox 360 - The hardcore gamer's system.

No seriously. If i wanted to play games and strictly games, I'd play them on the 360. That's what the system is. It constantly shouts "Look at me! I play games!"

The PS3 on the other hand says, "Hey! I can play games and blu-ray movies. DVDs too! And you can put mp3s, divx, pics in me so I can be a media center!"

Personally, I play PS2/3 games on it, use it a lot for blu-rays that I own/rent, and use it as a media center for all the movies/tv shows i've loaded into it.

leiwei @ Apr 25th 2008 8:47AM

Forgot to add that the 360 does those things too albeit the blu-ray playback. It may not do some of the media center thingy as well as the PS3 or perhaps better. I wouldn't know since I don't like using MS's MPC on the 360, I hate the whole idea of needing to have it in Windows also (and it runs kinda slow).... but still, the 360 still screams to everybody that it's the gaming machine.

xFenixKnightx @ Apr 25th 2008 9:14AM

"but still, the 360 still screams to everybody that it's the gaming machine"

Aaaaaand this is....a bad thing??? Wait, what? Whats your point anyway didn't you just mention 360 does a lot of media center things as well as being the best console to game on. Nice back pedaling there but you still failed buddy.

Nate @ Apr 25th 2008 9:19AM

See, that's just nonsense. The fact that the PS3 does more doesn't make its gaming any worse. The ONLY thing that the PS3 is behind the 360 on is in-game chat and invites. That's it. Otherwise, the two systems, when played for gaming only, are almost identical. The 360 has a year's worth of games the PS3 doesn't, but the PS3's lineup is pretty decent, if not expansive.

Lars @ Apr 28th 2008 5:03PM

Nate's got a good point. And I agree. The media capabilities of the PS3 just means I use it that much MORE, on top of gaming. I know, everyone talks about in-game xmb, cross-game invites, etc. Those aren't really a big deal to me. I haven't come across any game that doesn't allow cross-game invites. And the only reason why I want in-game XMB is to be able to change my voice chat options on the fly.

Anyways, I don't know what attach rate is technically... is it how many games people buy or something? If that's true then it's not very representative of anything useful. I mean, I've bought quite a few games, but not a ton. The reason I still haven't bought stuff like Burnout Paradise, CoD4, UT3, etc. is because the games I do have are so good that I can't find the time for others yet. I'm still playing the hell out of Warhawk and Rock Band for Christ's sake. Also, I know a lot of people that are obsessed with Gamerscore, and they admit the games they're playing are better on PS3, but they get them for 360 anyways because they like to impress strangers with whatever achievements they've gotten in games.

raiser @ Apr 25th 2008 8:48AM

I have 12 games.. i must be weird

SharpShooter @ Apr 25th 2008 9:22AM

Same, I must be weird.. 10 games and 2 PSN games.

Popfrogs @ Apr 25th 2008 9:27AM

Somehow I doubt NPD is counting PSN game sales.

JerJerBinks @ Apr 25th 2008 9:51AM

I must be insane, 20 games + 10 from PSN.

Really though, the reason the attach rates are higher for the 360 is because of the extra year of availability. Plus this s NPD, and to be truthful, North American sales haven't been that great.

Vcize @ Apr 25th 2008 10:22AM

Does it really surprise any of you that people posting on a videogame blog own more games than your average Joe? If it does, then you may want to check back into reality.

Phileoca @ Apr 25th 2008 10:55AM

I have 25 games. :p

Dahk @ Apr 25th 2008 10:58AM

I got 8 on PS3 (+ 4 on PSN), and... 3 on Wii. But see that's where this argument becomes moot. Everyone owns frickin' Wii Sports and Wii Play, while PS3 came with damn Blu-Ray movies... and mine didn't even come with that (stupid launch packages =/).

But when GTA4 + MGS4, I bet you they'll spark up at least 1.5 lol.

DrunkRaba @ Apr 25th 2008 2:25PM

i have 8 games with 16 PSN titles, carazy!

BrokenMonkey @ Apr 25th 2008 4:07PM

The reason they compare attach rates is because it doesn't matter how many consoles have been sold or how long they have been out. They take the number of games sold and divide by the number of consoles sold, so more consoles equals a lower attach rate. If there's 1 million 360s and 500,000 PS3s, the 360 has to sell 2 million games to have a 2.0 attach rate and the PS3 only has to sell 1 million, so it makes no difference how many consoles are out there. If the 360 sold 1 million games and so did the PS3, the PS3 would have a higher attach rate than the 360.

Lilinka @ Apr 25th 2008 10:03PM

Attach rates still increase over the life of a console, as those older console owners (tend) to pump up the number of titles they have in their libraries and newer console owners have more to choose from and will therefore likely purchase more. I am kinda shocked at the PS3 being beaten by the Wii though, I mean I know I have more Wii games than PS3 games, but most of my Wii titles I pick up for 15-20$, as opposed to the PS3's 60$, so I suppose that's one reason.

BowserUSC @ Apr 26th 2008 6:22PM

I have 1 game, whats your point?

ToolofDemocracy @ Apr 25th 2008 8:50AM

Would it be possible to conduct this survey two weeks after GTA4 has had its retail debut? And several XBOX360 have the RROD, O, by the way, that's exactly what brought me back to Sony, and the PS3. My XBOX360 ID is Shughart Gordon, and my PSN ID is ToolofDemocracy. My XBOX360 account is still active, but I'm tired of my console breaking down every 4 to 5 months. I was on my 3rd different console, when the problems started, just before RSV2 launched.

enigma137 @ Apr 25th 2008 8:51AM

Brace yourself

Here come the pleasefixme trolls

blah blah blah

Eggy @ Apr 25th 2008 8:51AM

I don't buy alot of PS3 games either. I mainly have the PS3 for it's great exclusives. I bought Heavanly Sword, R&C, Uncharted, GT, Folklore and some PSN games. For the most part I play on my PC. Mostly shooters, RPGs and (point & click) Adventures.

I'm even waiting on GTA4 for the PC. Past experiences with console versions of GTA haven't been positive for me.

pennywise969 @ Apr 25th 2008 8:56AM

I am one of the people brining that number down. I have owned a PS3 since late February and still dont own a game for it. Ive rented a few through Gamefly, but my first game I buy will probably be Metal Gear 4.

To me, the PS3 is a Bluray player that also happens to play games. The 360 is a game system that also happens to play dvds. Unless a certain game is PS3 exclusive or the PS3 version has something significant to offer that the 360 version doesnt, the 360 will continue to be my primary gaming console.

I would be interested to see the attach rate of Bluray disks to PS3s if they could track such things.

marklar @ Apr 25th 2008 12:39PM

I agree - I think most non-gaming consumers bought the PS3 as a cheap blu-ray player rather than a gaming console

Kellian @ Apr 25th 2008 8:58AM

Should anyone be shocked? If you go to GameStop's site and run a search for PS3 RPGs that are "available to ship" it's only going to show you 1 game... Oblivion. And this isn't the only Genre of games seriously lacking from the PS3 library.

Sony needs to step it up and start filling in the gaps where third party developers aren't bothering - asking people to Wait for things, well, it's only going to work for so long (if you believe it's working at all.)

Saddest part of all is when PS3 Fanboys start losing their zeal for Sony because Sony hasn't delivered....

Matt B @ Apr 25th 2008 8:58AM

I have 12 games on disc and 5 PSN games. About to have 13 games tuesday when GTA drops.

jq71586 @ Apr 25th 2008 8:59AM

I'm sorry wasn't HD-DVD's supposed saving grace their attach rate numbers?

How's that working out?

You can get statistics to say anything you want 90 percent of the time, 50 percent of the time.

SDVDEV @ Apr 25th 2008 9:02AM

People have 4-5 games when they buy the system and that makes it last? When i get a new system i usually buy 2 games, 3 at most. now i only have 3 games or so. who has time to play 5-10 games anyway? and all these comments about 360 will change soon. with mgs4 and all the titles coming out this year i will be glad i bought my ps3 and sold my 360 last year. the 360 is only better for games now because it has been out an extra year or so and it is at its peak. the ps3 has not peeked yet and the 360 will start to fade in the next year or two while the ps3 will be peaking in a year or two. 360 is a great system and people are entitled to their opinions but dont judge the ps3 to the 360 when they havent been out the same amount of time.

chimaera9 @ Apr 25th 2008 9:05AM

I've had a PS3 since it came out, and I only have 8 games for it so far. Since December, I haven't bought anything new. Personally, I feel like the variety in games is lacking--too many rehashed FPS's and not enough exclusives and original titles. I'd like to see more great games like Uncharted and Eye of Judgement rather than another cookie-cutter FPS. MGS4 is a great exclusive, but I've never been a Kojima fan, so not much to get excited about. At least we have Soul Caliber IV coming in a couple months! Games like "Force Unleashed" and "Fallout 3" are a long ways off, though. If things remain like this, I'll probably not be buying more than 6 or so games a year--I wonder if other gamers are feeling the same way about the lack of selection?

JAH75157 @ Apr 25th 2008 9:14AM

well with all the great games coming out, i know that i'm going to be buying more. i just think there needs to be more good games.

(here come the what abouts......)

Brian Spence @ Apr 25th 2008 9:20AM

The PS3 is for adults with lives and jobs. We can afford the system, but we don't have as much time for games. So we only buy the big releases, and I predict with the number of big releases this year that there will be a higher attach rate soon.

Nate @ Apr 25th 2008 9:26AM

That's certainly the case for me. i'd love to have time to play Folklore, DMC4, Burnout, UT3 and other games I haven't purchased, but I have a 50 hour a week job and a fiance and other constraints on my time. I recently picked up a PSP because I could play it on public transportation on the way in to work, simply because I couldn't find enough time to play the PS3.

russell @ Apr 25th 2008 11:14AM

thats EXACTLY how i feel. its very much targeted to veteran games. and by veteran i mean people who have been playing games since they were in the single digits. not people are still in their single digits.

Kenology @ Apr 25th 2008 12:17PM

#27 was supposed to be posted under Brian Spence's comment (sorry):

I don't think that's a viable excuse for PS3's lower attach rate.

The XBox 360 caters to the same age group (13 - 30) and has an out of this world attach rate (though it has been out for a year longer than both Wii and PS3).

nyenyec @ Apr 25th 2008 9:17AM

Do the Wii numbers include Wii Sports and Wii Play which you get from the system and your second controller?

SharpShooter @ Apr 25th 2008 9:22AM

Yep.

Nate @ Apr 25th 2008 9:23AM

I think they've said they don't include Wii Sports but do include Wii Play.

Kenology @ Apr 25th 2008 12:12PM

Nate is right. Wii Play is included, but Wii Sports definitely isn't.

Syn @ Apr 25th 2008 9:20AM

I'd prefer to know which games were bought the most when a console is bought.

I mean... Someone could buy a 360, and pick up 7 that are just shovel ware.

7 games @ $60 each, I don't think someone is dropping an extra $450 when they buy a 360.

Kenology @ Apr 25th 2008 12:15PM

I don't think that's a viable excuse for PS3's lower attach rate.

The XBox 360 caters to the same age group (13 - 30) and has an out of this world attach rate (though it has been out for a year longer than both Wii and PS3).

Credge @ Apr 25th 2008 9:23AM

I've got three games for my PS3:

Assassins Creed
Uncharted: Drakes Fortune
Rock Band

Oddly, I would only have two games for the 360 if I owned one:

Assassins Creed
Rock Band

There isn't a single 360 exclusive that really gets my interest. The only PS3 exclusive to even make a blip on my radar was Uncharted.

This gen of gaming has been terrible. If my PS3 didn't play Blu-Rays I wouldn't have bought one nor would I have bought a 360. In fact, all the money spent on my PS3 would have gone towards my Wii. Hell, I can still play Rock Band on my Wii (no DLC is not an issue for me). All in all, this gen has been terribly disappointing. Nothing but tired rehashes of games we've been playing since 95.

Dullshimmer @ Apr 25th 2008 9:27AM

I don't really understand the whole 360 is for hardcore gamers argument. The argument to me should be the 360 is more for gamers who want a lot of online functionality, which Sony hasn't delivered, yet (at least hopefully yet). Sure the 360 has a few more games, but it's also been out longer, hence why the PS3 doesn't have any RPGs yet. Granted with Eternal Sonata, Disgaea 3, and Valkyrie Chronicles coming out this year that will change.

Personally I have 9 PS3 games since buying mine about October or so of last year, not to mention a number of PSN titles too. So I don't know I've been happy,even if a number of people aren't...

koehler83 @ Apr 25th 2008 11:22AM

Those numbers are radically different than the NYT numbers from earlier in the week or last week.

I dont know who to believe. I do know that I dont care. My attach rate for both PS3 and Wii are higher than the average Xbox number, with PS3 being by far the highest at 8 BDs, 3 Full game downloads and something like 10 PSN titles and a bunch of DLC.. Thats all I can do.

Speaking of DLC.. the whole attach rate has become skewed by it. It further improves the Xbox number and further diminishes the Nintendo number.

Kenology @ Apr 25th 2008 12:23PM

Who to trust on videogame sales!? NPD or New York Times!? That is hilarious.

Calel @ Apr 25th 2008 9:39AM

Bought my PS3 in novemberish, since then I've bought 7 PS3 games, like 5 PSN titles, rented a bunch more and I have a job that doesn't respect "my free time". Oh and as an XBOX owner, I bought 0 X360 games. They aren't worth it anymore, maybe big name exclusives I'll rent, but I can't afford to build a library for shoddy hardware, and the online services aren't so distinct that I feel gypped on PSN over XBL. When Sony gets the in-game messaging and invites down, I'll never look back.

jimhead @ Apr 25th 2008 9:46AM

in my household the ratio is 10 to 1

Patrick @ Apr 25th 2008 9:42AM

First off, the Wii nor the 360 are stand alone high def players. As hard as it may be for us gamers to believe, there are people who will by the PS3 just for blu-ray.

Secondly, the PS3's install base has recently been increasing pretty well over the last 6 months, but there haven't been too many "big name" games. Those will come in the next 6 months.

Third, I think due to the fact that the 360's has some games that are a year older than the PS3, you're more likely to see some "Bargin Bin" 360 games. Again, most gamers avoid those games, but they sadly make great gifts from Aunts, Uncles, and Grandparents who don't know any better.

Of course we're already on 2 pages of comments, so this probably won't even be read, but that's my $0.02

Brodie-san @ Apr 25th 2008 9:51AM

@Patrick
I read it!

And I agree. A bigger library automatically means a bigger attach rate. I have 7 games since December and have literally not picked up the likes of COD4 and Warhawk (and I REALLY want them!) not because I see my PS3 as a blue-ray player (I have yet to play a blu-ray movie on my machine!) but because I just don't have the time to play them. They'd just sit there, taunting me, ashamed at my lack of affection towards them.

This is more due to the fact that I'm finding it hard to game at the moment. Is anyone else experiencing this infliction?

I'm actually thinking about getting up super early on the weekends before my girlfriend just get a few hours in.

There's nothing worse than having games you desperately want to play but can't find the time to do so.

GRT @ Apr 25th 2008 9:54AM

The PS3 is arguably the best blu-ray player on the market. People that buy it as a blu-ray player probably won't buy any games for it, and that skews the attach rate.

I don't think its anything to fret about, though.

JimmyD @ Apr 25th 2008 9:59AM

If I use the UK as an example the 360 has been out twice as long so in theory the attach rate should be twice that of the ps3 but it is actually less so that would infer that the ps3 is doing nicely as for the wii when christmas came around if you wanted to buy one you had to buy a bundle with about 4 goes (most of which were usually) which will have jacked their number up.

Personally I have 11 for my ps3 in 12 months of having the consoles (which will be 16 by the end of june - just over one a month) - my wii on the other hand has 3 including wii sports which may go up to 5 by June.

I would agree with some that the start of 2008 has been very slow for games on the ps3