Big three react to October NPD data

Following the release of October's US sales data by NPD, Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony have all responded by releasing statements on their respective performance.

As usual Nintendo had the most to shout about on the hardware side of things, dominating with the Wii and DS, although Microsoft underlined the performance of the Xbox 360 compared with the PlayStation 3 following its price cut.

Microsoft also had reason to cheer on the software front with the best-selling title being a platform exclusive, while Sony focused on the steady year-on-year growth of the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Network.

The key points from each company is as follows:

Nintendo

• Wii and DS sales bring lifetime US numbers for the platforms to 13.35 million and 23.02 million respectively.
• Hardware sales were up almost 26 per cent over October, and accounted for over 59 per cent of total hardware sales in the month.
• Lifetime sales of Wii Fit - second in the software chart - has now hit 2.83 million.
• "Nintendo provides consumers with the best value not only among video games, but also among most entertainment options," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive VP of sales and marketing. "Nintendo also provides an incomparable range of experiences that everyone can enjoy, whether you've been playing for years or are just getting into videogames."

Microsoft

• The Xbox 360 outsold the PS3 by nearly 2-to-1 in October, as the price cut boosts sales by around 33 per cent per week over September.
• Fable II sold more than 1.5 million units worldwide since launch, while Gears of War 2 sold over 2 million in its first weekend. 1.5 million people played Gears 2 on the first weekend, logging 15 million hours of gameplay.
• The Xbox 360's attach rate is now 8.1, with USD 244 million spent on Xbox 360 titles in October.
• Third party sales share is now 57 per cent on the Xbox 360, with USD 171 million in October and a generation to-date figure of USD 4.5 billion.

Sony

• The PlayStation brand generate USD 369 million in October in total.
• PS3 hardware was up 90 per cent year-on-year, while PS3 software jumped almost 200 per cent in the same time frame.
• PlayStation Network registration has grown by 166 per cent since January, with over 14 million accounts now registered worldwide and 270 million pieces of data downloaded.
• Total PlayStation hardware revenue was USD 131 million - up 19 per cent - while software revenue was USD 209 million, up 23 per cent since last year.