Weekly Sales Analysis, 26 February 2011 - 3DS Launch in Japan - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 04 March 2011 / 6,505 Views
Overview
It is a big week for gaming as the 3DS the first eighth generation platform launched this week in Japan. Its initial shipment sold out in a matter of hours as it managed to sell 374,000. All eight 3DS launch games sold in the top 40 Japan Chart. Besides the 3DS hardware increased slightly for every platform except for the PSP. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 are over 200,000, the Wii and DS are over 150,000, and the PSP is over 100,000. Hardware milestones this week include the Xbox 360 which reached the 53 million mark and the PlayStation 3 which passes 48 million. When it comes to software milestones, ordered in their position this week: FIFA Soccer 11 (PS3) reaches the 4 million mark. One game sold over 500,000, four sold over 200,000, eleven sold over 100,000 and the top 25 sold over 50,000.
Worldwide Hardware
Week on week sales have increased for every platform except for the PSP. The 3DS, the first eighth generation platform, launched this week in Japan with sales of 374,000. The PlayStation 3 is bumped down to second this week, but is still the bestselling home console, with sales of 237,000, an increase of 34,000 (17%). The Xbox 360 is in third this week with sales of 211,000, an increase of 9,000 (4%). The DS is this week’s fourth bestselling platform and second bestselling handheld with sales of 186,000, an increase of 2,000 (1%). The Wii sold 172,000 this week, an increase of 8,000 (5%). The PSP drops 11,000 (-8%) as it sold 125,000 this week. With the release of the 3DS total hardware sales jump 416,000 (47%) to 882,000.
Year on year sales is up for the Xbox 360 and down for every other platform. The Xbox 360 has seen an increase of 35,000 (20%). The PlayStation 3 has the smallest decrease down 17,000 (-7%). The PSP has the second smallest decrease as it drops 26,000 (-20%). The Wii is down 99,000 (-37%). The DS with the biggest drop is down 117,000 (-39%) as the 3DS was just released in Japan, and will launch on March 25 in Europe and March 27 in America. Total sales are up 145,000 (13%) compared to one year ago.
The reason the sales for the week of December 25 aren’t visible is because I wanted the most recent weeks of sales to not be scrunched together where it is hard to see what sold what amount. The gap between the three home consoles widens after being within 50,000 of each other for sixth straight weeks. The reason being the PlayStation 3 increased sales by a much higher percent this week than the other two. [Updated] However do not expect similar growth next week due to Sony being forced to stop shipments in Europe, after being sued by LG. There are reports that retailers have between 2 and 3 weeks worth of stock and shipments will be stopped for a period of at least 10 days.
DS sales remain flat as the 3DS launched this week in Japan. Sales just in Japan are more than the DS and PSP combined. Expect 3DS sales to drop considerably as it is in limited supply and won’t launch in the rest of the world later this month. Even with major releases PSP sales drop for a second straight week.
Worldwide Software
It is a strong week for software as ten games debuted in the top 40, up from two the previous week. Killzone 3 (PS3) is this week’s top game and top debut. The game debuted with sales of 530,000 as it launched all around the globe. The game was developed by Guerrilla games.
Bulletstorm for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 debuted in the top 40 this week. The game debuted at number two for the Xbox 360 version with sales of 302,000. The PlayStation 3 version debuted at number 17 with sales of 64,000. The game launched worldwide and was developed by People Can Fly.
SD Gundam G Generation World (PSP) debuts at number three with sales of 210,000. The game launched in Japan with no plans to be released anywhere else. The game was developed by Tom Create.
Phantasy Star Portable 2: Infinity (PSP) debuts at number four with sales of 207,000. The game launched in Japan with no plans to released anywhere else. The game was developed by Alfa System.
Professor Layton and the Mask of Miracle (3DS) is the top 3DS game as it debuts at number nine with sales of 118,000. The game launched alongside the 3DS in Japan with a current TBA for the rest of the world. The game was developed by Level 5.
Disgaea 4 (PS3) debuts at number 15 with sales of 78,000. The game launched in Japan and will launch in America on September 17th. The game was developed by Nippon Ichi Software.
Nintendogs +Cats (3DS) debuts at number 19 with sales of 63,000. The game launched in Japan and like most other 3DS debuts will launch alongside the 3DS in America and EMEAA. The game was developed by Nintendo EAD.
Samurai Warriors Chronicles (3DS) debuts at number 29 with sales of 46,000. The game launched in Japan and will launch alongside the 3DS in America and EMEAA. The game was developed by Koei Tecmo Games.
Super Street Fighter IV: 3D Edition (3DS) debuts at number 35 with sales of 41,000. The game launched in Japan and will launch alongside the 3DS in America and EMEAA. The game was developed by Capcom.
Ridge Racer 3D (3DS) rounds out this week’s debuts as it launches at number 40 with sales of 36,000. The game launched in Japan and will launch alongside the 3DS in America and EMEAA. The game was developed by Namco Bandai Games.
Other games in the top 10 that are not debuts include Wii Sports at number five with sales of 153,000. Just Dance 2 (Wii) is at number six with sales of 149,000. Wii Sports Resort is at number seven with sales of 130,000. Call of Duty: Black Ops (X360) is at number eight with sales of 120,000 and the PlayStation 3 version rounds out the top 10 with sales of 108,000.
Week on week software totals are up for every platform. The Wii is up 174,000 (8%) to 2.49 million games sold. The PlayStation 3 is up 306,000 (12%) to 2.50 million games sold. The Xbox 360 is up 165,000 (8%) to 2.17 million games sold. The DS is up 29,000 (2%) to 1.42 million games sold. The PSP increases 420,000 (82%) to 935,000 games sold. The 3DS in its first week on sale in Japan managed to sell 344,000 games. Total combined software is up week on week to 9.81 million an increase of 1.39 (16%).
Year on year software total are up for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and PSP and down for the Wii and DS. The Xbox 360 is up 567,000 (35%), the PlayStation 3 is up 399,000 (9%) and the PSP is up 299,000 (47%). The Wii is down 34,000 (-1%) and the DS is down 246,000 (-15%). Total combined software is up year on year an increase of 1.33 million (16%).
This is a new section added this week to the Weekly Sales Analysis. As some people last week wanted the Software Graph back, I decided to go one step further, to not only show this week’s sales but also for the last 10 weeks. Looking at the peak Christmas week, the Wii is a software monster during the holidays selling 17 million games in a single week. By the middle of January software sales became neck and neck and remain relatively near each other compared to what was happening earlier this generation.
The 3DS launching this week only in Japan ended up selling less software than hardware which is not too surprising as most games were under shipped as even pre-orders weren’t satisfied. Expect a drop off with 3DS and PSP software sales next week and the DS to remain flat. The DS will remain in first until the release of the 3DS in the rest of the world at the end of the month.
To view the full chart click here.
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It's interesting to see dedicated games hardware take no hit what so ever from the iOS device onslaught. People still want their quality games experiences.
@trunkswd: you ment the Xbox360 reached the 52 million mark right (the article sais 53 million)?
so since nintendo shipped 400 thousand 3ds and they sold 374 k does that mean it will only sell 26 k this week
You forgot to account for the PS3 price drop in Japan. Sales will probably be up next week.
VGC : PS3 sales won't drop next week, the blocus is for 10 days and the stocks are 2/3 weeks of sales, the impact will be zero !
cool,lots of new graphs and 3ds
As pezus says, Sony has found a way of getting round the embargo so that shouldn't effect things too much I don't think
Thank you for doing this.
Is 3DS seventh gen or eighth gen...
