Response: September 2009 – Microsoft

Gamasutra has Microsoft’s response to the NPD data.  Unsurprisingly, Halo 3: ODST‘s chart-topping performance was a big focus, saying that over five million players have spent over 116 million hours playing ODST’s campaign or Firefight mode, or the Halo 3 mulitplayer included on a second disc.  As usual, Microsoft ignored handheld titles (an area in which they don’t compete) and revealed that they had five titles in the NPD top ten, putting the 360 version of Batman: Arkham Asylum into the chart, with Gamasutra estimating about 200,000 copies sold.

Microsoft also trumpeted their continued success with third-party games, saying that as well as the 360 generating $154 million in revenue this month for third parties, the console has also generated the most money from games sales for third parties in the whole of 2009 so far.

Response: July 2009 – Microsoft

Microsoft’s NPD response put the best positive spin on their NPD data.  While the console showed 0% growth year-on-year, they pointed out that the Xbox 360 is the only console showing growth  for the first seven months of the year so far, making them “the Industry’s Sole Bright Spot in 2009″.  They also pointed out that sports games performed well on the 360 this month, with three different titles in the top ten (one of the games, THQ’s UFC 2009: Undisputed, isn’t actually present in the official NPD top ten, but Microsoft tend to remove handheld games from the chart).

In addition, the press releases plugs the 360′s Summer of Arcade and the new dashboard update, as well as the big games and features on the way for the rest of the year.  The press release:

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.

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 – May PR Reaction: Microsoft

Microsoft’s press release does not currently seem to be public anywhere, but according to Gamasutra Microsoft focused on the 360 being the only home console to have increased its sales for the first five months of the year when compared to the same period in 2008, praising the “resilience” of the system:

The company pointed out that Xbox 360 saw a 22 percent year-to-date increase over 2008, the only home console to do so…

…Microsoft is correct when it says its system exhibits “the most year-over-year resilience of any console” for the month…

…Microsoft credits the success on its current $199 price point for its least expensive model, as well as on its game library and Xbox Live, which was recently announced as having exceeded 20 million active users worldwide.

Microsoft apparently also reiterated its strong Metacritic figures, with 142 Xbox 360 games currently over 80 on the site, more than any other system this generation.

Source:

Gamasutra

News – April PR Reaction – Microsoft

With their first year-on-year decline since the September price cut, Microsoft focused on the success of third-party titles on the 360.  As with last month, Microsoft ignore handheld titles in the top ten, which removes three DS games and adds Guitar Hero: Metallica for the 360 (it also means the other two games are likely Wii or PS3 titles, but Microsoft don’t mention them).  Microsoft’s press release states:

“Sales of third-party games on Xbox 360, a key measure of platform health, hit USD 98 million in April, more than any other system.”

Interestingly, Microsoft actually mention the year-on-year decline, stating that it is only minor, and that for the first four months of the year the 360 is still up compared to 2008:

“Xbox 360 is the fastest-growing game console in the US so far this year, with retail sales jumping 28 per cent year-over-year in the first four months.

In April, Xbox 360 US retail sales were 175,000 units. Although this represents a dip of 7 per cent compared with a year earlier, April 2008 saw the release of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV, significantly boosting Xbox 360 sales this time last year.”

Source:

Microsoft Reaction – GamesIndustry.biz

News – March PR Reaction – Microsoft

With perhaps the most to celebrate this month – the 360 was the only console to show a year-on-year increase and the 360 had the most unit sales of the software in the top ten – Microsoft’s response to the NPD was a happy one.  In it they reference having four 360 games in the top ten despite the NPD chart only featuring three, but this is apparently because Microsoft ignore handheld titles, which removes Pokémon Platinum and adds in Guitar Hero: Metallica.

They also point to the success of third-party games and an increase in content downloaded from Live as reasons to be cheerful.

The full press release follows: