Analysis – June 2009: Software (System/Publishers)

In this analysis we take a look at the top ten and see how each unit sold divides up amongst the various companies involved.  As this only looks at the top ten chart it doesn’t really reflect the industry’s results as a whole – a publisher with one hundred games selling 50,000 would sell more units overall than a publisher with one game that sells 250,000, but only the latter makes the top ten – so is purely just a little look at the games reaching the very top of the chart.

Analysis – June 2009: Software (Chart Changes)

In this analysis we take a look at all the changes to the chart; what’s in, what’s out, and what is managing to keep its place in the top ten.

The Top 10

The Wii and 360 dominate the top ten this month with four games each, while the PS3 takes the other two spots.  This is the first time this year that there has not been a single DS game in the top ten.

Analysis: June 2009 – Hardware (Sony)

As the video game industry (and probably a large part of Sony’s core potential consumers) await the relaunch of the PSP and either a relaunch or price cut for the PS3, Sony’s consoles had another slow month.  Sony systems did account for 26% of all units sold in June though, and there were four games for Sony platforms in the top 20 (all PS3 games).

As mentioned on this blog last month, June 2008 was a good month for Sony’s consoles, and as such the year-on-year comparisons for June are quite harsh:

Analysis: June 2009 – Hardware (Microsoft)

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 was the only console to show year-on-year growth in June, and 360 games held the top two spots of the chart (in addition to having another four games in the top 20), so there were several reasons for them to be pleased with this month’s results.

Analysis: June 2009 – Hardware (Nintendo)

Nintendo were still very much on top in June.  Ten of the games in the NPD top 20 software chart were for Nintendo systems, including two third-party titles in the third and fourth places, which should help with the perception that third-parties can’t succeed on Nintendo systems.

Nintendo also dominated the hardware charts again, although this was mostly thanks to the DS, as Wii sales were down by quite a significant amount year-on-year:

Analysis – June 2009: Hardware (General)

Last year, June was another good month for the games industry.  With a number of releases selling well (Metal Gear Solid 4 achieved one million sales with bundles, and LEGO Indiana Jones: The Original Adventures also sold over a million across all versions), sales totalled $1.69 billion.  With sales of $1.17 billion (a 30% decline), June 2009 again compares badly with last year, and according to the NPD Group’s Anita Frazier has seen the largest year-on-year decline since September 2000.

Frazier also suggests that this could be the first month to really show some signs of the industry being affected by the economic downturn.

Chart – June Top 20

Gamasutra has received the entire NPD top 20, without figures, which I’ve put below, along with some quick analysis.  The NPD top ten (with figures) can be found here:

Software:

1. Prototype (Activision, Xbox 360)
2. UFC 2009: Undisputed (THQ, Xbox 360)
3. EA Sports Active (Electronic Arts, Wii)
4. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Electronic Arts, Wii)
5. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii)
6. Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360)
7. Fight Night Round 4 (Electronic Arts, PS3)
8. Mario Kart (Nintendo, Wii)
9. Red Faction: Guerilla (THQ, Xbox 360)
10. Infamous (Sony, PS3)
11. Ghostbusters (Atari, Xbox 360)
12. UFC 2009: Undisputed (THQ, PS3)
13. Prototype (Activision, PS3)
14. Pokémon Platinum (Nintendo, DS)
15. Punch-Out!! (Nintendo, Wii)
16. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii)
17. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 (Electronic Arts, Xbox 360)
18. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo, DS)
19. The Legendary Starfy (Nintendo, DS)
20. New Super Mario Bros (Nintendo, DS)

News – June PR Reaction: Sony

Responding to this month’s NPD figures, SCEA’s Patrick Seybold focused on Sony’s post-E3 momentum and the increase in PS3 sales over the last few months:

News – June PR Reaction: Microsoft

In an interview discussing the NPD data with Gamasutra, Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg focused on the console’s continued growth for the first six months of the year:

“Our console sales for the first half of the year actually grew 20 percent from January to June versus the same six months last year.  We’re the only console that grew in the first half of the year.”

He also shared a bit of information about Xbox Live (which isn’t tracked by the NPD Group), including that paid downloads increased by 73% over the past twelve months:

News – June PR Reaction: Nintendo

In their PR response, Nintendo focused on the success of the DS.  While ignoring yet another year-on-year decline for the Wii, the response did point out that the Wii has been the best-selling home console for twenty-one months now, and provided some figures for the Wii MotionPlus peripheral, which apparently sold almost 374,000 units in June: