November NPD shows PS3 selling less than half than 360 [Update]
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Dec 11th 2008 at 8:12PM }
As expected, this month's NPD numbers look grim for PS3. 378,071 hardware units sold in one month is certainly not a figure to scoff at, and we're glad to welcome these new PS3 fans. However, Microsoft's Xbox 360 outsold PS3 more than twofold due to its attractive new $199 price point.It's incredibly costly to fight the console wars, and Sony's high-tech console is a pricey gadget to manufacture. Instead of focusing on the grim, Sony should be proud of its software numbers, with more than 3.5 million units sold in November alone. That represents a year-to-date growth of 150%. Sony can also take comfort in having sold a million hardware units across the entire PlayStation brand, with PS2 and PSP picking up the slack. To see the numbers, click past the break. Update: Software sales added!
While the holiday battle is clearly lost to Sony, fans of the platform can still look forward to 2009, where releases like Heavy Rain and Killzone 2 will undoubtedly reinvigorate sales. However, we urge Sony to consider a price drop -- no matter how insignificant -- as soon as possible. In economic times like these, people are far less willing to buy a $399 system over a $199 one, no matter how much more the PS3 may offer.
- Wii - 2,040,000
- DS - 1,570,000
- Xbox 360 - 836,000
- PSP - 421,000
- PS3 - 378,000
- PS2 - 206,000
1. Gears of War 2 - Xbox 360 – 1.56 million
2. Call of Duty: World at War - Xbox 360 – 1.41 million
3. Wii Play w/ remote - Wii – 796K
4. Wii Fit - Wii – 697K
5. Mario Kart - Wii – 637K
6. Call of Duty: World at War - PS3 – 597K
7. Guitar Hero: World Tour - Wii – 475K
8. Left 4 Dead - Xbox 360 – 410K
9. Resistance 2 - PS3 – 385K
10. Wii Music - Wii – 297K
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 3)
Moe @ Dec 11th 2008 8:16PM
It's over. I'm quitting console gaming and am going to buy a gaming PC.
Andrew Yoon @ Dec 11th 2008 8:16PM
Because PC is such a thriving platform?
Moe @ Dec 11th 2008 8:22PM
The number of PCs sold in November will easily trump the sales of all the Console put together :)
Andrew Yoon @ Dec 11th 2008 8:33PM
Haha, but the number of PCs with dedicated graphics cards that can handle modern games?
B @ Dec 11th 2008 9:18PM
I love how the PC gamers throw that in everytime a PC vs console argument arises. The simple fact of the matter is that A PC IS RESTRICTED TO JUST GAMING. Businesses buy them in bulk, kids buy them for school, not to mention people just buying netbooks just to go online.
microshocky @ Dec 11th 2008 9:34PM
Andrew, there are tons of pc's out there with dedicated graphics systems, powerful systems.
This is why Valve is thriving on there, games on Steam are doing great.
Digital Distribution is taking over on the PC. World of Warcraft makes more money and sales then any of these software sales every month. That's one game on the PC.
And PC's only for gaming? HA. I play on this pc and i'm typing this back to you, i enjoy my ps3 for stuff i cant get on the pc like console and sony exclusives..or games that they gimp on the PC
PSN: John-Paul-Jones @ Dec 12th 2008 1:12AM
How about GTA IV, for example. We all know that the game looked super shit on the PS3 and 360 while the PC version looked freaking awesome. The PS3/360, in my opinion, are not graphically on par with the PS3. The PS3's video card was supposed to be on par with some nVidia #7 series card and we're way past that (correct me if you may, but I think we're on the #11 series).
Henceforth, I will always believe that the PC is the most powerful machine out there just because of the semi-annual hardware updates to trounce the last update. I love my PS3, but I have to give credit where it is due. By the way, PC gaming is not expensive. You can start browsing at newegg and it would show you how relatively cheap you can get a PC gaming rig at a low price - and PC gaming IS NOT dead.
Chin-Poh @ Dec 12th 2008 1:14AM
Why the hate on PC gaming Andrew? I wish it was more thriving though, PC games need to be more scalable, able to be run on lower end computers as well and not poorly coded like the PC version of GTA4.
I hope PC gaming will never die.
Andrew Yoon @ Dec 12th 2008 1:18AM
I'm not hating on PC gaming. Heck, I helped out on our PC gaming site, Big Download. I have a rig, but to think PC is "thriving" beyond WoW is a bit of an overstatement. Unless you think months-late ports of console games are the future of gaming.
Chin-Poh @ Dec 12th 2008 1:22AM
Your correct Andrew. Of course consoles are far cheaper and will attract a much larger audience which then attracts many more developers to develop much more games hence attracting an even larger audience. :)
The PC does have its benefits such as user mods, higher resolutions, higher FPSs, so long as your system can handle it. I can't stand playing Fallout 3 on a console anymore after seeing it run at 60fps on a PC, for those that have a powerful enough system. :)
As I said, PC games do need to be more scalable and run decently even on lower end older systems. It's a shame that WoW is the biggest game on PC. Its still a popular system in some countries and I'm surprised that Street Fighter 4 is coming to PC, I haven't seen a fighting game on PC in years.
I just hope that PC gaming can do better in the future and will never die, let it keep a nice niche of the gaming market just like the PS3.
Levi @ Dec 11th 2008 8:18PM
can't wait to hear the 360 fanboys flame away. God I hate fanboys.
I'm actually in the planning stages of a "Fanboy Wars" indie game... where you kill trolls and fanboys... should be funny...
Bob @ Dec 11th 2008 8:24PM
I wanna be the guy!!! Awesome game! Still cant beat the final boss though :(.
So what the PS3 isn't selling as high? I dont care as long as I'm enjoying it and they keep making games.
Andrew Yoon @ Dec 11th 2008 8:33PM
I want to see it. Heck, I'll get it published on PSN.
Rodz @ Dec 11th 2008 9:28PM
If you wanna be really rich, don't forget to release it on Wii, DS and Iphone too.
Erik Stroud @ Dec 12th 2008 10:13PM
I don't care what they say, I enjoy 360, PS3 and PC all lthe same. All have great games and all have their own special traits. Why be a PC, 360, or PS3 fanboy when you can be a GAMING fanyboy that believes in equality?
Levi @ Dec 12th 2008 10:34PM
I hear that! You're the best!
Aaron @ Dec 13th 2008 10:53AM
That's okay. Those people who purchase the $199 XBOX360s will soon find out how limited the base system is. Then they'll find out the hardware is about as reliable as Windows is when they have to return their systems 3 times over the next year for RROD problems.
Then they'll see the new PS3-only Final Fantasy XIII promos on TV and realize how much of a mistake it was to buy an XBOX360.
We will win this war!!!
Sev @ Dec 13th 2008 10:13PM
I lol'd.
Dartmerc @ Dec 13th 2008 10:19PM
Andrew, don't start telling people you can help get games on PSN.. you'll have mobs of hobby devs knocking on your door :)
JoeTheBlow @ Dec 11th 2008 8:21PM
The rest of the planet says "meh" at your NPD numbers.
Anyway, the Xbox is at the Wii pricepoint, so is competing with the impulse buy crowd.
We're in it for the long haul, MS will kill off the 360 as soon as they seen an opportunity to race ahead to be "first", just like the did to their last console.
PS3 may be pricey, but it'll last longer than that white red-ringed piece of crap.
Apmaddock @ Dec 12th 2008 8:55AM
Word!
Arnon @ Dec 12th 2008 9:17AM
Except MS already announced they want the 360 to last 1 day longer than the PS3 lulz.
rmjohnson124 @ Dec 12th 2008 9:24AM
Not to mention the number of units sold to uneducated parents shopping for their kids for the holidays...REAL gamers know to buy the superior technology in the PS3...
KD in KC @ Dec 12th 2008 10:59AM
Blow --- you may think they are crap, but I just got my PS3 back from service, not my 360.....
I have all three, and the PS3 maybe better on hardware. That's great, it's got blu-ray - perfect, except when myself and two other people I know have failures of the BR - drive within a month of each other.....
The wars go back and forth, it's like '1984' (if you read books), MS is at war with Sony, then it's at war with Nintendo, then it's at war again with Sony...it's never ending.
Be the hater of anything but Sony if you choose, however until Sony puts several things out that really seals the deal, ie - price drop AND, games that come down in price sooner, AND, better download content AND tweaks that the MAINSTREAM can use like user friendly streaming video (I know it can be done now, but joe the plumber and the hockey mom isn't going to do it the way you have to today), it's going to be tough for Sony to unseat the entrenched establishment that M$ has started with Marketplace.
Kudos to Sony if they can, but they aren't there yet. I think it'll be at least another year (2010), but by then, it's going to be 5 years since the Xbox360 came out, and time for a hardware refresh to the next big thing.
The fact that Nintendo is doing so well even in spite of the consoles lack of power, HD, dvd playback, etc, and it is still selling good guns, simply because of the novelty of motion controlling, etc. It's small, cute, and family oriented.
If you look at sales, your going to see that it shows how the world buys stuff. Mainstream Nintendo on top for families, 360 for middle of the roads, and PS3 for the niche that know how best to utilize the hardware.
Badaro @ Dec 12th 2008 7:15PM
Do you honestly believe that Sony will keep this "10-year lifecycle" even if the console doesn't take off?
Syn @ Dec 11th 2008 8:22PM
I have a PS3, PSP, Wii and a Crysis PC. I don't need a 360 seeing how most of the top games get ported to PC anyways.
That being said. Sale figures during an economic time means nothing. I'm not defending the PS3, but if you had a choice of getting your kids a console, and you see one for $199 after your search for a Wii is ruined, Clearly the consume would pick up something cheap. So it's a matter of $ not quality.
Kim @ Dec 12th 2008 10:41AM
Exactly!
Sony, heads up ffs!
Brendan @ Dec 11th 2008 8:24PM
Yeah, but the PS3 is outselling the 360 worldwide, right?
JerJerBinks @ Dec 11th 2008 8:26PM
ROFL. Uh no. PS3 is solidly 3rd this holiday season in every region except Japan.
ryuk @ Dec 11th 2008 8:28PM
actually, yes it is in europe and japan
Matt @ Dec 11th 2008 8:25PM
*sigh*... 836,000 times $199 = $166,364,000
378,000 times $399 = $150,822,000
Only a $15,542,000 income difference, about 10%.
Even if a bunch of elites or pros sold, the arcade still sells the most, and even with Microsoft selling 2x as many units, people are spending nearly the same on both consoles.
However, install base does matter, and I guess the xbox won this month in that view.
JerJerBinks @ Dec 11th 2008 8:32PM
Your equation leaves software out of the picture. Even if the 360 and PS3 were each bought with one game per console its an additional 27 Million into Microsofts coffers. People usually don't buy 1 game, and not everyone is buying the Arcade.
john paul @ Dec 11th 2008 9:14PM
Also how much $ does it take to manufactur a 360 vs. PS3. I know that Sony still doesn't profit with each console sold either (though the smaller chips has dropped the manufacturing cost)
Devin @ Dec 12th 2008 12:00AM
JerJerBinks, you are not counting Blu-Ray sales either or the fact that more people will buy the PS3 in its lifetime worldwide than 360 will due Sony's 10-year lifespan....now if 360 owners are Ok with having to spend another $400-500 on a new Xbox then whatever, but I sure as hell would not be....hints why I got a PS3 and because of all the extras, but I shouldn't have to go there, right? You're a PS3fanboy (/sarcasm)
FeaturePreacher @ Dec 13th 2008 10:10AM
Remember this is just for the month of November. I think sales reach their zenith in December. If you think November isn't too bad for the ps3, just wait until December when the 360 reaches 1 million sold.
ryuk @ Dec 11th 2008 8:24PM
but considering the price of the other two and this economy, it's amazing that it's even holding it's own
JerJerBinks @ Dec 11th 2008 8:25PM
I don't know what people expect, but when your base console costs 2 times the amount of the competition's base console you should expect to get trounced. I think the one thing people forget, is that PS3 sales are still ahead of Xbox sales from their respective launch dates. Next holiday season the PS3 will come down in price, and sales will increase, just like the 360 did this year.
Darlaten @ Dec 11th 2008 8:28PM
"fans of the platform can still look forward to 2009"
LOL - this sounds just like Sony in terms of repeatings its mantra of "there there, it will be better sometime and somewhere in the future".
And while there may be some truth to that, its irrelevant for the present situation. Sony is failing at attracting new buyers - why, because there is nothing out now. Buyers do not want to buy a system on some vague promise that, if history is to be repeated, will be delayed and delayed and delayed.
The real question for potential buyers is "what is out there now?" "What can I do with the system now?"
And when you look at other systems - it appears, rightly or wrongly, that there is more that can be done and more that is available today. If Sony can't event get the "present" working for them - why on earth would anyone think the "future" will work for them?
I do agree with your assessment about a price cut. TPB at Sony are living in a fantasy world for failing to recognize that a price drop is an absolute necessity given what has occured in the World's economy. And ironically, the fact that Sony didnt give a price cut just goes to show you how out-of-touch they have been in terms of marketing in this next-generation era.
I hate to sound negative as I'm a fan of Sony but, increasingly, the ineptitude of this company has been simply astonishihg.
FeaturePreacher @ Dec 13th 2008 10:16AM
I completely agree, but I would add another point. In addition to lowering the price by $100 they should pack in the official bluetooth headset, add persistent voice chat, and make in-game access to music mandatory past a certain date or fix the in-game xmb to make this a system wide feature to make the ps3 more comparable to the more successful system.
Carney @ Dec 15th 2008 11:31AM
Apple shows that you can be massively profitable even with a small market share. Sony is focusing on profitability, not fanboy bragging rights.
That's why, sadly, they have stripped many features from the PS3, including extra USB ports, flash card readers, Super Audio CD capability, and PS2 compatibility. On the upside, that's also why they have switched to the 65 nanometer chip, which is not only cheaper for them but better for us since it runs cooler.
By contrast, Microsoft is losing billions on Xbox, which in the end is a massive effort to keep DirectX relevant for games, which itself is a massive effort to keep Games for Windows viable, and is therefore a sunk cost to defend its lucrative Windows monopoly.
Again, Microsoft doesn't care whether it loses money on Xbox; it's just covering its gaming flank because it knows that if its core OS loses gamers, then it becomes threatened. Windows sales and the Windows license more than make up for Xbox's huge, catastrophic losses.
By contrast Sony is trying to MAKE MONEY.
Tez @ Dec 11th 2008 8:33PM
Who gives a crap? You need big sales numbers to back up your purchase? Selling close to half a mil in a month should not be considered "failure."
B @ Dec 11th 2008 9:29PM
Selling almost half a million units a month in the holidays IS a failure... in fact, they're almost 100k units lower than Nov 2007. You know, back when the Xbox zealots laughed at the platform for having no games?
Tez @ Dec 11th 2008 9:50PM
Look at the economy. I'm amazed it sold as many as it did.
Riley Freeman @ Dec 11th 2008 8:30PM
price f***ing drop. sony stop being so damn stubborn. remember if u lose ur customers lose. u think next gen we are going to want the system that has less users? get ur head out of ur a** AND DROP THE DAMN PRICE
john paul @ Dec 11th 2008 9:19PM
Do you have any idea how much money it takes to make a PS3. It's not that they're stubborn it's that they can't lose any more money on the console as it is. If they lower the price say 50$, that means they're losing 50 dollars on each console sold...I don't think software sales are gonne get them out of that...
bos6268 @ Dec 11th 2008 9:44PM
I agree not every person has 400$ just for a console people see the lower price there going to buy it.
But all Sony has to do get those triple a titles back like god of war and final fantasy and make sure u advertise the heck out of them
kentuckyfried @ Dec 11th 2008 11:58PM
I forget the article posted on ps3fanboy, but isn't Sony losing $150-200 on each ps3 sold?
The manufacturing costs may have come down, but the fact is that the console is still being sold at a loss. That loss is only being offset by software sales.
As much as Sony needs to cut back the price, it isn't a great time to do so, unless they can figure out how to greatly reduce production costs.
If the # of units of 360's have spiked, it's all b/c of Gears and that $200 pricetag. You can't deny that Gears is a huge selling point for that console (maybe even the only outside of Left 4 Dead and Fable 2). Hell, I know somebody who received as a bday gift a few days ago. The fact is that the people doing the buying, they don't typically know about how often the 360 can fail, they're only looking at that $200 price which is unfortunate.
B-rad @ Dec 12th 2008 9:19PM
The 60nm process GPU / CPU chips in the new Jasper generation of XBOX 360's have solved the RROD issue. If you pick up a 360 off the shelf today, it should be just as reliable as the PS3.
Carney @ Dec 15th 2008 11:30AM
I'd rather Sony be financially healthy. Apple is massively out sold by Windows, but it makes a boat load of cash, whereas Windows PC makers struggle to stay afloat.
Bryan @ Dec 11th 2008 8:30PM
at least Sony made more moola not dropping their prices and selling total of million pieces of hardware making around 100$ a pop. The reason I say PS3 is making em 100 dolalrs is because it's probally significantly cheaper without the PS2 cheap and memory card reader USB thing and the fact that they said it will cost cheaper to make and they are making money plus the fact that they dind't drop the price this year.