The combination of a new hardware model and lower price made PlayStation 3 the best-selling home game machine in the U.S. for the month of September 2009 for the first time ever, the NPD Group reported today. Sony was able to sell 491.8K units 32.4K units short from unseated the Nintendo DS with 524.2K units.
Total sales of videogames in the U.S. were $1.28 billion dollars, up 1% from last September.
U.S. Hardware Sales, September 2009:
Nintendo DS 524.2K
PlayStation 3 491.8K
Wii 462.8K
Xbox 360 352.6K
PSP 190.4K
PlayStation 2 146.0K
Top 10 Software Sales, September 2009:
Halo 3: ODST (360, Microsoft) 1,520,000
Wii Sports Resort (Wii, Nintendo) 442,900
Madden NFL 10 (360, Electronic Arts) 289,600
Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS, Nintendo) 258,100
Although it's a little too soon for specific figures, "The consumer response has been very strong to the price reduction," Nintendo of America president Reggie Fils-Aime tells the Financial times.
"There are literally millions of consumers out there who want a Wii and had been on the sidelines," he says. "They’d been waiting for that little nudge to go out and pick it up - the price decline, the sampling, the launching of key software like Wii Fit Plus - we believe it’s what’s pushing them over the edge to get into the category."
Nintendo is the best company in the world, according to new rankings from the publication BusinessWeek.
Nintendo topped other notable and respected companies including Google, Apple, and Amazon.com. Technology, telecommunications, and internet companies peppered the top 40 list, which also included construction, petroleum, medical, and other industries.
The "World's Best Companies/Global Top 40" list was compiled for BusinessWeek by management consulting firm A.T. Kearney, which ranked companies by not only their sales, market cap, and value, but also more abstract traits like a focus on innovation, strong leadership, and a clear vision for the future, BusinessWeek said.
Not only is Nintendo kicking it's competitors ass in sales it looks like it's the place to be if you want in on the video game business.
Sony saw a dip in PS3 sales to a respectable 51,055 units shipped. For the second week in a row, Pokemon Soul Silver and Pokemon Heart Gold led Japanese charts, as the new slim PlayStation 3 hardware experienced a mild decrease. Total sales of Pokemon Souls Silver & Pokemon Heart Gold where 443,133 units. Microsoft is still trying to gain some sort of traction in Japan with only 4,965 total units shipped.
Tales of Vesperia for Sony PS3 also made the top three with 216,593 total units falling 6000 short from the number one spot. Sony sales will spike tremendously this holiday season due to the release of a 250GB PS3 bundle, Uncharted 2, and Final Fantsy XIII in Japan. From the looks of it, Sony may be making some serious head way to catch up with the Xbox 360.
DSi 66,073 PS3 51,055 PSP 21,073 Wii 16,698 DS Lite 13,555 Xbox 360 4,965 PS2 2,723
Today at TGS Developer Capcom, announced two new games, one of which happens to be a PS3 exclusive, and the other a new IP for the Nintendo DS. The games announced were, Ghost Trick a supernatural Puzzle Mystery for the DS, and the second game announced was, Sengoku BASARA Samurai Heroes, also know as Devil Kings in the US. Devil Kings has always appeared on the Playstation platform, and this new installment would be the third in the franchise, and Capcom has made some much need adjustments to the series.
Capcom have also recruited Hiroyuki Kobayahi as Producer, from the Devil May Cry series. The story mode for both the Wii & PS3 version will remain the same, and for the first time Devil Kings will have online co-op play, which is exclusively on the PS3. Devil Kings 3 is set to release in North America and Europe in 2010.
Sengoku BASARA Samurai Heroes, Ghost Trick Coming to North America and Europe in 2010 TOKYO, JAPAN — September 24, 2009 — Capcom®, a leading worldwide developer and publisher of video games, announced today that two titles on display at the 2009 Tokyo Game Show will be coming to North America and Europe in 2010. New Capcom titles Sengoku BASARA™ Samurai Heroes and Ghost Trick (working title for North America and Europe), displayed to the Japanese gaming public for the first time in Tokyo, will be making the transition to western gamers next year.
Sengoku BASARA Samurai Heroes, the latest in Capcom’s popular samurai action series, makes it first appearance on both the PlayStation®3 computer entertainment system and Wii™. Set during a tumultuous period of Japanese history, Sengoku BASARA Samurai Heroes allows players to take up the swords of more than a dozen fierce samurai warriors in huge battles against hundreds of opponents. Players will be able to unlock playable characters, as well as supporting generals who will make it easier to command and lead armies with the ultimate goal of re-writing history to rule all of 16th century Japan. The action is fast-paced and stylish, taking combat cues from producer Hiroyuki Kobayashi’s other big series, Devil May Cry®. The game’s main campaign will be the same on both gaming platforms, with the addition of online co-op for the PlayStation 3.
Ghost Trick combines mystery, logic puzzles and the supernatural into a new experience on Nintendo DS. Part adventure game, part puzzle game, Ghost Trick’s gameplay will challenge player’s brains while its distinctive art style and character designs courtesy of members of Capcom’s Ace Attorney® series, will please the eye. In Ghost Trick, players become Sissel, an amnesiac ghost who must use his ghostly powers to protect the lives of several people while attempting to uncover the secrets behind his own untimely demise. Sissel can “possess” items within the world, such as flicking a switch to shock an unwary assassin or floating a bike through the air to scare mortals and even rewind time by four minutes to prevent further deaths.
It's official, Nintendo has cut the price of the Wii to $199.00 On the heals of Sony's recent price cut and introduction of the PS3 Slim price cut to $299,00 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 Elite dropping to $299.00 with additional $50.00 off. Nintendo was obviously under press to follow suite with it's motion control cash cow.
Nintendo Wii, is falling into place as the entry level of choice for new gamers. With these recent price cuts, this will open the doors to many future Xbox 360 and PS3 owners.
Nintendo looks like they will be upgrading the Nintendo Wii match the competition with HD graphics and more horse power. Square Enix boss Yoichi Wada expects Nintendo to release a new console by 2011.
Wada told the Financial times he feels Microsoft's Project Natal is "fantastic and could become standard," the exec feels new motion control devices from Sony and Nintendo are unlikely to have a major impact.
"Present game machines already have a lot of functions: they are a network terminal, a Blu-ray or DVD player, and a gaming machine," said Wada. "Compared to these three pillars, the [new motion] controllers are quite limited, so the impact may be small. They are an extension of the gaming function."
During the month of August, the internet was increasingly dominated by leaked retail flyers showing console price drops. Or, at least it was until Sony unveiled the $299 PlayStation 3 Slim on August 18 and Microsoft announced the $299 Xbox 360 Elite on August 26, confirming the leaks.
With the PS3 and 360 Elite now just $50 more than the Wii and with Nintendo experiencing their first sale slump, analysts have been predicting that it isn't a question of if Nintendo will drop its console's price, but when it will. The answer to that question may have been solved today, when Kotaku reported it had obtained an advance copy of a Toys R Us flyer (pictured) which will be included in newspapers starting on Sunday, September 27. In the retailer's distinctive font, the flyer declares "Wii Price Cut! $199.99 (Was $249.99).
Sales of the Nintendo Wii has slumped and analyst is predicting the trend to continue. With Sony and Microsoft enjoy the benefits of the newly implemented price cuts, Nintendo may be facing the pressure to cut the price of the Nintendo Wii very soon.
Wii sales were 227,400 during August, down 39 per cent year-on-year, and the downward spiral is set to continue next month, unless Nintendo offers fresh deals or lower prices to consumers.
"With the core PS3 and Xbox 360 models priced only USD 50 higher than the Wii, we expect year-over-year sales of Wii hardware to continue their annual declines until the company either changes its bundle or lowers price," said Pachter.
"Wii unit sales are 50 per cent below last year’s level over the last five months, and we think that September sales will repeat the pattern."
SquareTrade, the largest independent warranty provider in the world has declared the the Nintendo Wii is the most reliable console on the market. Squaretrade compared malfunction rates the Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox360 and the Sony PS3 and found that the Wii is the least likely to turn into a mini Chernobyl. The Nintendo Wii had a failure rate just one-fourth of the Sony PS3 and one-ninth of the Xbox 360.
SquareTrade also provide great news for all Xbox 360 owners, the study found with the introduction of the "Jasper" chipset in late 2008 has helped solved the Infamous RROD problem which has plague Microsoft since the debut of the Xbox 360.
Now many may argue that people obviously play their Sony PS3 and Microsoft Xbox 360 way more than people play their Wii. The Ps3 and 360 has a steady and still growing community of hardcore gamers so they tend to play a lot more. The Wii tends to lean and cater towards a more, casual, family-based demographic.
After accounting for usage, the Wii still ranked the least likely to fail, with a 0.31 percent failure rate per day of use. The Ps3 on the other hand failed 75 percent more frequently and the 360 lagged far behind with a 435 percent(not a typo) the failure rate of the Xbox 360.
With GamesCom out of the way, there's still another games event on the calendar: the Tokyo Game Show. For this year's TGS, Sega will be showing off a pretty balanced lineup that includes handheld sequel Valkyria Chronicles 2, the PS3 and Xbox 360 RPG End of Eternity, and PS3 exclusive Yakuza 4. Here's the complete list:
* The House of the Dead Overkill (Wii) * Bayonetta (PS3/X360) * Chin Sports (Wii) * Let's Make a Pro Soccer Club! 6 Pride of J (PSP) * Phantasy Star Portable 2 (PSP) * End of Eternity (PS3/X360) * Puyo Puyo 7 (Wii, NDS, PSP) * Valkyria Chronicles 2 (PSP) * Yakuza 4 (PS3)
Note that according to Andriasang, Yakuza 4 isn't listed at the official site but is included in press materials Sega handed out hence its inclusion.
Nintendo Makes Wii Internet Channel Free, and better yet Offers Refunds
Nintendo sent a message to Wii owners late last night announcing the Nintendo Wii Internet Channel would no longer cost 500 Wii Points to purchase and if you had spent money to add the channel to your library, you're being offered a refund that can be applied to any NES game in the Virtual Console marketplace.
You won't be able to purchase an NES game until the promotion begins in late October.
The news also comes with word that the Internet Channel has been updated with a newer version of Adobe Flash, allowing users to access more websites than before. Many are reporting Facebook loads properly now, in addition to improved accessibility for a number of video-based websites.
The combination of a new hardware model and lower price made PlayStation 3 the best-selling home game machine in the U.S. for the month of September 2009 for the first time ever, the NPD Group reported today. Sony was able to sell 491.8K units 32.4K units short from unseated the Nintendo DS with 524.2K units.
