USA Q1 Console Shipments
Nintendo is still king of the sales charts, and they're showing little sign of slowing down any time soon. The DS owns the number one slot for the first quarter, with 1.23 million units sold, and the still supply-constrained Wii is in the number two slot with 1.02 million sold. It's hard to say what Nintendo could have done if they had been able to flood the retail channel with systems, but this is still an overwhelmingly positive result for the Japanese giant.
People need games to play on all those systems, though, but only three games kept slots on the top 10 sales charts in March: Wii Play with Remote at number 4, Diddy Kong Racing at number 6, and Spectrobes by Disney Interactive at number 7. Nintendo has sent out a press release claiming that so far this year they have sold more hardware than all the other manufacturers combined, and Reggie Fils-Aime takes the opportunity to crow a little about the company's success. “The message delivered by both Wii and Nintendo DS is the same one,” he said. “Innovation is compelling both current gamers and new gamers to experience a new way to play. Nintendo is bringing gaming back to the masses.” While this may come off as hubris from other console manufacturers, Nintendo has the numbers to back up such bold statements.
Data source: NPD Group
Microsoft is showing respectable hardware sales with 199,000 pieces of hardware sold, but they continue to rule the charts in terms of software. 360 owners certainly like buying games, and that translates into almost four of the top 10 slots going to Microsoft. Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 came in at number two with 394,000 sold, and Guitar Hero 2 had a good showing at number three with 291,000 units sold of that $90 game. Major League Baseball 2K7 holds the number eight slot with 165,000 sold. Lastly, Def Jam Icon sold well despite our issues with the game's quality, moving 148,000 units to come in at number 10. Microsoft isn't showing anything remarkable here, just steady representation with some quality games.
Sony had a rougher time overall, but the PlayStation 2 is continuing to make them proud: that system sold 280,000 units to hold the number two slot. The PlayStation 3 came in at seventh place with 130,000 sold, beating only the GameCube and the original Xbox in sales. Embarassingly, the GBA beat out the PlayStation 3 in the standings, although the PSP outsold both of them with 180,000 portables sold. In their official statement, Sony claimed that they “continue to find ourselves supply constrained in March due primarily to the shift in manufacturing focus to the PS3 PAL version to support the launch of the system in Europe.”
One has to question if the PlayStation has truly been supply constrained in any market, especially with reports of European retailers selling the system at a loss to move their existing units. Sony did take the number one slot in software sales with the epic God of War 2, a game we thoroughly enjoyed.
Trends
When you took the numbers for the first quarter of this year, the trends become clearer: Nintendo has become a sales monster in gaming. The Wii has sold 1,029,000 units so far, and the DS has sold an astounding 1,232,000 units. The third place seller doesn't even come close as the PS2 has sold 874,000 units year to date. The low price and game library of Sony's last-gen system are powerful weapons. The 360 comes in fourth with 721,000, and the PSP takes the fifth place with 567,000 units sold. The PlayStation 3 lags behind with a respectable 500,000 units since the year's beginning, beating only the GameCube in sales. That system's death rattle was good for 69,000 units.
It's hard to say what we'll see going forward; gaming is hits-driven, so a large release could shake things up for Microsoft or Sony. Nintendo seems to be maximizing their hardware sales, and they literally have no place to go but down in terms of sales in 2007, although more software in the top ten would be a welcome sight. The PlayStation 3 is finding it hard to gain momentum in the face of its competition, but the PlayStation 2 remains a popular choice at retail. The industry remains strong, and consumers are faced with some hard choices as they decide who to support with their dollar.
Quelle: Nexgenwars.com
. Man kann doch nicht die ganze Zeit nur Wii Sport und Wii Play spielen oder sich an den ollen Kamellen der VC erfreuen 
. Gut, der Wii ist billiger als die PS3, ist aber dennoch uninteressant wenn´s keine guten Spiele gibt, warum also läuft der so gut?
