Xbox 360 Was 2011’s Top-Selling Game System, NPD Says
The Xbox 360 was the best-selling videogame system of 2011 and for December in the U.S., according to data released late last week by NPD. But sales of it and every other system that was available a year ago were weaker last month on a year-over-year basis. The 360 and PS3 were the only systems available the prior year that saw a sales increase for all of 2011 from 2010, NPD said.
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More than 1.7 million Xbox 360s were sold in the U.S. last month, Microsoft said, citing NPD’s data. That was a slight improvement over the 1.7 million sold in November 2011 (CED Dec 13 p6), but was weaker than the 1.86 million sold in December 2010 (CED Jan 18/11 p3). Its U.S. installed base grew to an estimated 32.7 million. Microsoft said it has sold more than 66 million 360 consoles and more than 18 million Kinect motion sensors for the 360 globally.
The 3DS was December’s No. 2 videogame system. Nintendo of America (NOA) didn’t immediately provide sales data and NPD stopped providing to reporters unit sales data for each system. But an industry source said Friday that 3DS sales soared 102 percent from the more than 795,000 that NOA reported that it sold in November, which translates into about 1.6 million 3DS systems in December. Its U.S. installed base grew to an estimated 4.1 million. The 3DS didn’t ship in the U.S. until March 27.
Wii sales came in slightly ahead of the PS3 for December. An estimated 1.1 million Wiis were sold for the month. That’s better than the more than 860,000 that NOA said it sold in November, but weaker than the 2.36 million sold in December 2010. Its U.S. installed base grew to an estimated 38.8 million. Sales of all DS systems other than the 3DS tumbled 75 percent from the more than 2.5 million sold in December 2010, the industry source said. That translates into about 625,000 DS systems sold in December, an improvement over the more than 350,000 that NOA said it sold in November.
Sony Computer Entertainment America didn’t provide monthly hardware sales data again. But the source said U.S. PS3 sales fell 22 percent in December from the 1.21 million sold in December 2010, so an estimated 943,800 were sold last month in the U.S., an improvement over the 901,000 sold in November 2011. Its U.S. installed base grew to an estimated 19.5 million -- still far behind the No. 1 Wii and No. 2 360. PSP sales tumbled 40 percent from the 425,000-430,000 sold in December 2010, the source said. That translates into sales of about 255,000-258,000 for December, an improvement over the estimated 228,000 sold one month earlier.
Videogame hardware was “particularly hard hit” last month, NPD analyst Anita Frazier said. “Normally, we see sales increase from November to December on an average sales per week basis,” she said. But the 3DS and DS were “the only platforms to realize a unit sales increase versus November, which is highly unusual since typically all platforms enjoy a lift in the biggest month at retail,” she said. “Despite larger percentage decreases versus last year, the Wii and the PS3 were neck and neck in second place” for all of 2011, she said.
Frazier said December was “very rough” for new physical sales of videogame software and accessories also. Because of the strong release slate of content that came to market in Q4, she had estimated December sales would represent a larger portion of total year sales than what resulted, she said. December instead “accounted for just” 23 percent of annual sales, compared to the average of 28 for the past decade, she said. “One bright spot” was the HD console systems, she said. Sales across all product categories for the 360 and the PS3 grew 5 percent year-over-year for 2011, and the two platforms combined “picked up 9 share points in total sales versus 2010,” she said. The 360 platform “accounted for nearly” 40 percent of annual 2011 new physical retail sales across all categories, she said.
Total U.S. videogame hardware sales tumbled 28 percent from December 2010 to $1.32 billion in December, NPD said. For the year, hardware sales fell 11 percent to $5.58 billion.
Total U.S. videogame accessory sales tumbled 27 percent to $628.7 million for December and fell 11 percent to $2.61 billion for the year, NPD said. “A lot of the decline” in accessory sales “can be tied to tough” comparisons against the strong performance of the Kinect and Move motion control systems last Q4, Frazier said. But she said most accessory types within the category saw declines, with headsets being the “one bright spot,” revenue growing 18 percent in December year-over-year.
Total U.S. physical game industry sales tumbled 21 percent from December 2010 to $3.99 billion in December and fell 8 percent from 2010 to $17.02 billion for 2011, NPD said. That includes software, hardware and accessories. Total U.S. physical videogame software sales, excluding PC games, fell 14 percent from December 2010 to $2.04 billion in December and fell 6 percent to $8.83 billion for the year. Overall physical U.S. game sales, including for PCs, tumbled 15 percent to $2.14 billion for December and fell 8 percent to $9.27 billion for the year.
NPD also said the preliminary estimate for total consumer spending on game content via all monetization methods, including new physical video and PC games, used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, downloadable content, and mobile games was $16.3 billion-$16.6 billion. That’s about a 2 percent decline from 2010, it said. Spending on new physical content at retail stores “continues to account for the majority of the total consumer spend on games content,” it said. A final estimate of the total consumer spend on the games industry will be released in March, it said.
Activision’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for the 360, PS3, Wii and PC was the top-selling videogame of December and 2011, NPD said. Ubisoft’s Just Dance 3 for the Wii, PS3 and 360 was No. 2 for both periods. The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim for the 360, PS3 and PC from Bethesda Softworks was No. 3 for both periods. Nintendo’s holiday release Mario Kart 7 for the 3DS was No. 4 for December, but Battlefield 3 from Electronic Arts for the three home consoles was No. 4 for the year and No. 5 for December. EA’s Madden NFL 12 was No. 6 for December and No. 5 for the year.