SCEA responds to February NPD, praises Killzone 2 sales

by Andrew Yoon { Mar 20th 2009 at 1:30PM }

Sony sold 276K PS3 units, 199K PSP units and 131K PS2 units in February. Sales went up across the board since January 2009, but are still down from 2008 levels. Killzone 2 sold 323K copies, becoming the fifth best-selling game of the month. Depending on your fanboy bias, this is either a disaster considering the incredible hype surrounding the title, or this is a terrific accomplishment, considering the game's two-day availability in February.

SCEA's Peter Dille, Senior Vice President of Marketing and the PlayStation Network, responded to this month's NPD numbers. "In February, we had a tremendous kickstart to what promises to be another record year for the PlayStation brand with the launch of mega blockbuster hit Killzone 2, which ranked in the top 5 with only two days of sales in February and has been garnering extraordinary reviews, and a noteworthy 92 Metacritic score. We have no doubt this game will deliver a next gen experience and will be responsible for driving hardware sales throughout the year."

Once again, Dille focuses on the future for the PlayStation platform: "You can also expect an onslaught of unmatched entertainment offerings to hit across our platforms, such as genre-leading PS3 titles like MLB'09: The Show and inFamous, and new content via the PlayStation Network like movies and TV shows from NBC Universal, and an unprecedented line-up of third and first party exclusives to hit the PSP. We have no doubt 2009 will be another year of continued momentum and we remain confident in delivering the best entertainment experience to our consumers."

Hardware Sales for February 2009

-Wii: 753K

74K (+11%)
-DS: 588K

77K (+15%)
-Xbox 360: 391K

82K (+27%)
-PS3: 276K

73K (+36%)
-PSP: 199K

27K (+16%)
-PS2: 131K

30K (+30%)

Top 10 Games of February 2009

1. Wii Fit with balance board - Nintendo - 644K
2. Street Fighter IV - Xbox 360 - Capcom - 446K*
3. Street Fighter IV - PS3 - Capcom - 403K*
4. Wii Play with remote - Nintendo - 386K
5. Killzone 2 - Sony - 323K
6. Mario Kart Wii with wheel - Nintendo - 263K
7. Call of Duty: World at War - Xbox 360 - Activision - 193K*
8. Mario Kart DS - Nintendo - 145K
9. New Super Mario Bros. - Nintendo - 144K
10. Guitar Hero World Tour - Wii - Activision - 136K*

* Includes Collector's, Limited and Bundled Editions

One thing PS3 fans should note are sales of the PS3 version of Street Fighter IV. Although the install base of PS3 is smaller than the 360, it appears Sony has been able to push almost as many units of Capcom's fighter as Microsoft.

Tags: npd, peter-dille, sales, scea, sony

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

dabamf @ Mar 20th 2009 1:38PM

Killzone is arriving for me today! Go March NPD!!!

DeathroW @ Mar 20th 2009 1:48PM

For two days of sales, 323K is pretty gurd.

Still, a victim of sony's advertising.

SimbaDogg @ Mar 20th 2009 2:34PM

oh gah'd...yeah i was just thinking, man...thats not as good as i thought it'd be. But then i remembered it was at the end of the month, but THEN i just realized the 27th was the 2nd to the last day of the month. 323k in two days is actually quite awesome when i think about it. if it breaks 1 million barrier in the first 30 days, that'll be awesome.

JuanDHexen @ Mar 20th 2009 1:53PM

I know many people that were waiting to see the reactions of killzone 2 so did not get it in february. Most of them got it the first week of march and I know they are not alone. I actually didn't think it would sell half as much as it did in two days because like I said everyone wants to wait for other player's reactions so they won't have to waste money in this bad economy. I expect big sales for march.

madforaday @ Mar 20th 2009 1:53PM

I am not worried about sony this year with their line up. Every exclusive for ps3 I will probably get because they interest me. 360 does have one exclusive that looks fun, velvet assassin. Other than that idk what else is coming out for it besides exclusive dlc. Every year sony seems to have 4 Huge titles coming out within that year. I am including The show as a huge title lol. I love baseball and 2k baseball doesnt cut it at all.

tboy123 @ Mar 20th 2009 1:57PM

for 2 days... That is a respectable number.

I can't help but think how many more it could have/would sell if Sony decided to advertise a little, and advertise better when they do.

I have only seen ONE commercial for this game, and it was just two days ago... Everyone go out and buy it now! I need some fresh meat to rip apart!

Oh well, I am part of the February sells. KZ2 is amazing!!!

greg (peevmyster) @ Mar 20th 2009 2:03PM

I have seen this commercial TONS of times. G4, spike, and other channels. I too am part of the february sales, but a couple friends of mine didn't buy til march.

dgknight500 @ Mar 20th 2009 3:18PM

yup... Comedy Central runs it at least 2-3 times a day

Comtar @ Mar 20th 2009 2:05PM

A got a couple points about this...

I think Sony really expected Killzone to be the big Halo FPS game for the PS3 and in my opinion I just had zero interest in it. The first game had so-so reviews... (a 70 percent average right now on Metacritic) and already had an uphill battle to try to hype up a sequel to a so-so game... Didn't matter if Killzone 2 was the end all be all of FPS games... the point is it is a sequel to an average FPS. That's why I had no interest in it, and alot of other people I know had no interest in it for the same reason... everyone I know, and including myself, was saving their nickels for Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5.

I think Killzone 2 may have been on our radars a bit more if it came out during the summer when there is usually a gaming drought. But alot of really good games have come out the last 4 to 5 weeks that it's been really hard to keep up with. I've been joking with my friends that I felt like it was Christmas Rush 2. Killzone 2 just wasn't up on my radar because of this, I felt I had better things to buy.

JuanDHexen @ Mar 20th 2009 2:26PM

honestly I don't see why a ps3 should be missing out on this game. I myself hate FPS and haven't played one since half-life 2 but this game definitely felt really refreshing, but I guess not everyone is into the same stuff. Who knows maybe eventually you will be part of the march or April sales.

myabsolution @ Mar 20th 2009 4:59PM

you make some good points. The franchise isn't as tried and true as a CoD or Halo in terms of FPS games.

If the series is to make a in-roads with gamer's hearts then this is the one to do it... Killzone 3 will probably sell much higher.

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Mar 20th 2009 2:05PM

I'm guessing KZ2 will do around 750k-1 million for the month of March. wishful thinking?? most likely

Game_playa @ Mar 20th 2009 2:10PM

I'm guessing around 750k. More will be great though, but obviously it wont sell as fast as it did during launch.

Kodros @ Mar 20th 2009 3:01PM

In US Sales? No way. More like 300k - 400k

Andrew Ryan @ Mar 20th 2009 3:02PM

It's already reached over 1.0 million wordwide so yeah... Just go to VGchartz. It's risen in sales very quick.

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Mar 20th 2009 3:26PM

I dont trust VGChartz. and Realiztically I'm guessing it will do around 450-550k this month in the US. One thing is certain. it seems to be selling BETTER in EU/UK region

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Mar 20th 2009 3:26PM

**Realistically

myabsolution @ Mar 20th 2009 4:56PM

arent sales of video games mostly done in the first week or two of release? (NA at least)

I don't see it reaching a million but maybe getting to 600K.

Andrew Ryan @ Mar 20th 2009 5:26PM

What do you mean? We're already wrapping up March & Killzone 2 already sold 324K it's first two days. It's not that hard to believe after all the hype over 1 mill people now own it, around the world of course. & LBP & Killzone 2 have sold more in Europe because GG & MM are both European devs & i'm guessing the games HAD to be more popular there. Considering everyone on my PSN list has it(all hardcore gamers) it would make sense & isn't to far off to assume sales have reached 1.16 million units.

Game_playa @ Mar 20th 2009 7:55PM

I meant Total 750k, not just for march

Chris D.(PSN: Aggie_CEO | XBL:The Aggie CEO | Steam: Aggie_CEO @ Mar 21st 2009 12:25PM

well according to the Killzone.com database its already 711,006 that have played online globally.as of right now. I mean sure maybe 100k rented another 50k didnt like it and sold it to someone else. but with 10 days left in the month it could easily sale another 500k globally....

bioshot43 @ Mar 20th 2009 2:39PM

this is not a bad advertise problems this is ps3 owners not doing noting two support ther sistem xbox owners support ther sistem 100% look at halowars .

JuanDHexen @ Mar 20th 2009 3:04PM

couldn't agree more, there is no group that supports their system like x-box owners while many ps3 owners don't give a shit about support.

Thrillhouse @ Mar 20th 2009 8:25PM

support their system? how bout you follow the rule of "buy games that you like." the ps3 and xbox are both made by for-profit companies, it's absolutely silly for you to spend your money on stuff you dont really want just so you can say you're "supporting your system." the video game industry is not a charity, and anyone who does buy games just out of some moral cause is wasting their own hard-earned money and just lining sony and microsoft's pockets for no good reason. if xbox owners are better at 'supporting their system' that's because they're either dumber/richer/more gullible than ps3 owners or the xbox has better games. i will not take a stand on that. btw i'm a ps3 owner so i do have pride in my system, but that pride does not mean i spend my money unnecessarily on crap i dont want.

maxpontiac @ Mar 20th 2009 2:22PM

"Depending on your fanboy bias, this is either a disaster considering the incredible hype surrounding the title, or this is a terrific accomplishment, considering the game's two-day availability in February."

What should have been said ----

Depending on your general use of common sense, this is either a disaster considering the incredible hype surrounding the title, or this is a terrific accomplishment, considering the game's two-day availability in February.

Franck Santos @ Mar 20th 2009 2:31PM

Not bad for only two days sale in February. Unfortunately, we're already seeing Resident Evil 5, Pokemon Platinum and GTA: Chinatown Wars all in the span of the last two weeks among others, so I doubt Killzone 2 will remain in the Top 10 by the end of the month.

And, at the risk of sounding like an extreme fanboy, I think we're all waiting for Sony to actually have a PS3 chart-topper, not just a top-10er.

chibiteer @ Mar 20th 2009 2:50PM

That's a really good number for just two days of sales. The game came out February 27th, 2009 so I'm not surprised by the number.

Oh, and for the people claiming Sony doesn't advertise, just because you don't see them doesn't mean Sony doesn't do it. I just wish Sony would advertise the things the PS3 can do.

They still need to advertise a lot better than this but very good so far Sony.

bluesky_v2.01 @ Mar 20th 2009 3:15PM

I blame the economic crisis.
Personally stopped buying games for now, just renting.

dgknight500 @ Mar 20th 2009 3:17PM

I love me some Killzone... i havent put anything else in my system since the 27th... and I don't want to. This is the best multiplayer experience I've had in a long, long time.

JuanDHexen @ Mar 20th 2009 3:27PM

that makes two of us,Ive been switching between Kz2 and flower.

Lil_Mermaid_Girl @ Mar 20th 2009 4:04PM

At 1st I thought that 5th place was terrible, but I see that it was only two days. That actually is very good. I'm sure some fanboys will make it sound like Killzone was a big flop cause of that though leaving out that it wa sonly 2 days.

alex @ Mar 20th 2009 4:56PM

Considering Gears of War 2 sold over 500K units in 2 days just in the US....yes it is very disappoiinting. Especially if you consider this was suppose to be the blockbuster "AAA" title for the next couple of months. What is worse is that if it barely sells 700K -1M units it is a collasal failure. AAA titles are suppose to sell 1M units minimum. GTA IV, Halo, COD (all of them), all sell several millions, that is what this game has to do.

myabsolution @ Mar 20th 2009 5:02PM

according to vgchartz.

gears2 sold 1.2 million in two days in US alone.

Tez @ Mar 20th 2009 7:03PM

Gears 2 had a ton more hype and marketing behind it. Also, a larger userbase to pull buyers from. I think when considering sales numbers on the PS3, a little perspective is needed. In relative terms, I think 300,000 in the first two days is pretty good, but March is going to be telling.

Kodros @ Mar 20th 2009 8:13PM

"Especially if you consider this was suppose to be the blockbuster "AAA" title for the next couple of months."

It is, haven't you played it yet?

"GTA IV, Halo, COD (all of them), all sell several millions, that is what this game has to do."

First rule, never compare sales of GTA with anything. GTA is in a league of its own when it comes to sales.