360 and PS3 sales surge but US market still down
Overall market down 6 per cent to $1.10bn; software sales down 15 per cent in another slow month
Total US industry revenue was down 6 per cent in June from $1.17 billion to $1.10 billion, despite a month of increased hardware sales for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3.
With the release of the new slimmer Xbox 360 and price cuts on the Elite model, sales were up 88 per cent year-on-year, with 451,700 units sold. The PlayStation 3 also jumped 85 per cent compared to last year, with 304,800 units.
Revenues for total hardware sales in the US were up 5 per cent to $410.7 million, with unit sales up 35 per cent. Nintendo's DS was still the best-selling system overall, with another 510,700 in the hands of consumers. The Wii sold 422,500 units, and the PSP 121,000.
"Hardware sales saw a notable uptick from May on an average sales per week basis, and all three current gen console systems saw unit sales increases over last year; in particular, the Xbox 360 and the PS3," wrote NPD analyst Anita Frazier.
"The Xbox 360 experienced its second largest non-holiday month after September 2007 when Halo 3 launched, and the PS3 has now garnered 11 consecutive months of year-over-year unit sales increases."
Software struggled through the month, with sales down 15 per cent to $627 million, and the the top three best-selling games remaining the same as last month. The only two new releases in the top ten during the period were Toy Story 3 on DS at seven, and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 on Wii at nine, although Just Dance broke the top ten at five.
The top ten best-selling games in the US for June follow:
- 01 Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360) - 582,900
- 02 Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) - 548,400
- 03 Red Dead Redemption (PS3) - 380,300
- 04 New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) - 200,900
- 05 Just Dance (Wii) - 174,800
- 06 Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
- 07 Toy Story 3 (DS)
- 08 UFC 2010: Undisputed (Xbox 360)
- 09 LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii)
- 10 UFC 2010: Undisputed (PS3)