PS3 outsells Xbox 360 for the first time but Wii still rules supreme

Alex Zaharov-Reutt
Sunday, 17 February 2008 13:07

Opinion and Analysis

Kotaku Australia has republished Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO, Jack Tretton’s press release, where Tretton claims that the PS2 sold 264,000 units in January, and boasts that of all the consoles out there, the PS2 sold more software than any other, which I suppose is a bit like regular DVDs still massively outselling Blu-ray and HD DVD discs.

While Sony will naturally publish figures that portray Sony in the best light, here are the main claims that Tretton is making in response to the NPD figures:

- The PlayStation brand was #1 in both hardware and software in January.
  - The PlayStation brand sold more hardware units than Nintendo and Microsoft combined (764K versus 530K and 230K, respectively).
- PlayStation total hardware revenue was $196 million in January; surpassing the total hardware revenue of Microsoft and Nintendo combined.
- PlayStation total software revenue in January was $224 million, 38% higher than Microsoft.

Here is NPD’s wrap of the month from Gamespot’s NPD article:

THE NPD GROUP's JANUARY 2008 US GAME INDUSTRY SALES

Category / Total / Change
Video Games: $1.18 billion -6%
Video Games Hardware: $378 million -25%
Video Games Software: $550 million +11%
Video Game Accessories: $191 million -4%
Total Sales Per Week: $295 million +18%

Hardware Sales (in units sold)
Wii: 274,000
PlayStation 3: 269,000
Nintendo DS: 251,000
PlayStation Portable: 230,000
Xbox 360: 230,000

Game Software (in units sold)
1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (360, Activision) - 331,000
2) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 298,000
3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii, Activision) - 240,000
4) Rock Band (Xbox 360, MTV Games) - 184,000
5) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360, Activision) - 183,000
6) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 172,000
7) Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360, EA) - 144,000
8) Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (PS3, Activision) - 140,000
9) Mario Party DS (DS, Nintendo) - 139,000
10) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS, Sega) - 133,000