NPD Says The PS3 Price Cut Worked
The NPD numbers covering September (five weeks from August 30th to October 6th to be exact) are out, and the PlayStation 3 price cut to $299 seems to have worked. Microsoft cut their console down to size as well, of course, and even Nintendo decided to take a dip in the profitability of their console with their drop to $199, boosting everyone’s numbers, but the PS3 outsold everything except for the DS.
The DS didn’t exactly blow its doors off, though. The DS sold 524k, the PS3 sold 491k, the Wii sold 462k, the Xbox 360 sold 352k, and the PSP (pre-Go, remember) chugged along at 191K. In last place, limping along, is the PS2 with 142k units sold. The 360′s number is nothing to sneeze at, but it looks like that PS3 price cut showed that consumers still really did want a PlayStation 3 after all this time. Does Microsoft consider that along with having sold a full 110,000 units less than the Wii this time a problem?
September was also notable for stopping a long slide of months where game sales were down significantly from the previous year. This is no small feat, even if this month just meant staying on par with 2008. New consoles on the market could have been a big part of that and if the holidays are good to those new console owners it could very well be a very happy holiday for all three console makers after all.
Seen at Gamespot.
Tags: Microsoft, Nintendo, Nintendo Wii, playstation 3, playstation portable, price cut, PS3, PSP, Sony, XBOX 360
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I can't believe how well the PS3 is performing in sales lately. I thought Sony was toast this generation. Then again, anything is possible with big enough price cuts. Wii and 360 both have more to offer per dollar than PS3.
You just have to wonder how long it will last. Without a decent online service they can't expect to stay number 1 for long. They have already lost this generation, they need to start thinking about how to pull themselves out of the stink.
I would not go so far as to say they have lost this round in the console wars, but they have a heck of a rock to climb out from under. I have always felt that $299 was the magical number that Sony needed to get the PS3 down to in order to garner some success. And this has proven true with a nice uptick in pricing. It also helps that there is only one SKU on the market right now, although that looks to change soon with a second unit with a bigger hard drive. Microsoft has challenges ahead of them, because while they did drop the price, it did not feel as significant, because they already had a model at $299. Also, people associate the black unit as a higher cost unit, even though it has actually dropped in price.
Microsoft does still have the technical superiority when it comes to ease of development and online service. Sony also still has been dogged with the complex development issue, which can be seen in titles like Bayonetta, Ghostbusters and numerous others.
All of that said, it is nice to see the horserace tighten up a bit, with all three console makers doing quite well. And the game business can use a nice shot in the arm after some disappointing sales markers the past several months.
You just have to wonder how long it will last. Without a decent online service they can't expect to stay number 1 for long. They have already lost this generation, they need to start thinking about how to pull themselves out of the stink.
I would not go so far as to say they have lost this round in the console wars, but they have a heck of a rock to climb out from under. I have always felt that $299 was the magical number that Sony needed to get the PS3 down to in order to garner some success. And this has proven true with a nice uptick in pricing. It also helps that there is only one SKU on the market right now, although that looks to change soon with a second unit with a bigger hard drive. Microsoft has challenges ahead of them, because while they did drop the price, it did not feel as significant, because they already had a model at $299. Also, people associate the black unit as a higher cost unit, even though it has actually dropped in price.
Microsoft does still have the technical superiority when it comes to ease of development and online service. Sony also still has been dogged with the complex development issue, which can be seen in titles like Bayonetta, Ghostbusters and numerous others.
All of that said, it is nice to see the horserace tighten up a bit, with all three console makers doing quite well. And the game business can use a nice shot in the arm after some disappointing sales markers the past several months.