NPD Tallies April 2010 Videogame Sales in the USA Market - News

by VGChartz Staff , posted on 13 May 2010 / 5,801 Views

For the four weeks ending May 2, 2010 NPD says that video game revenue in the USA totaled $766.2m - down 26% from April 2009. Software revenues fell almost 23% to $398.5m, while hardware fell 37% to $249.3m. Much of the decline is attributable to the DS putting up amazing numbers last April because of the DSi launch that could not be matched.

NPD April 2010 March 2010 M/M April 2009 Y/Y

DS 440,800 700,800 -37% 1,040,000 -58%

Wii 277,200 557,500 -50% 340,000 -19%

X360 185,400 338,400 -45% 175,000 +6%

PS3 180,800 313,900 -42% 127,000 +42%

PSP 65,500 119,900 -45% 116,000 -44%

PS2 ??? 118,300 172,000

NPD didn't provide a PS2 figure, but the system likely sold 60,000-70,000 units given how similarly it has performed to PSP recently. Looking at the five hard figures, hardware sales dropped from 1.80m to 1.15m year over year. With PS2 at ~70,000 in 2010, the dropoff is more like 1.97m to 1.22m. Either way, it is a staggering slide in hardware volume, especially considering both Aprils were four weeks.

The March to April dropoff is less bad, as April was four weeks while March was five weeks. On a weekly basis, DS dropped from 140,160 per week in March to 110,160 per week in April. Wii fell from 111,500 per week in March to 69,300 per week in April. X360 went from 67,680 per week in March to 46,350 per week in April. PS3 slowed to 45,200 per week in April, from 62,780 in March. PSP dropped from average sales of 23,980 in March to average sales of 16,375 per week in April.

Year to date and lifetime hardware figures stand at the following levels through April in the USA by NPD figures.

YTD 10' / LTD April 2010

DS - 2.177m / 40.91m

Wii - 1.698m / 28.82m

X360 - 1.278m / 19.90m

PS3 - 1.131m / 12.26m

PSP - 0.418m / 17.24m

PS2 ~ 0.33m / 45.62m (includes 70,000 estimate for April)

Amazingly enough, PSP sales in Japan from January 3 to May 2 2010 are 880,000 - more than double PSP sales in the USA. Generally, the USA market market is 2-3x larger than the Japanese market.

Much of the drop off in hardware in April can be traced to a lapse in major software releases. Splinter Cell was the only major title released in the period.

NPD Top Ten

Image: GameDaily & NPD

Various gaming websites are saying that Super Street Fighter IV sold 143,000 on PS3 for the month, and Battlefield: Bad Company 2 sold 166,000 on X360 for the month. So we can assume Wii Sports Resort is around 170,000, and that Wii Fit Plus is about 160,000, while Just Dance is probably around 153,000. The X360 version of Super Street Fighter IV apparently sold 108,000 units on X360 as well, so we know at least 11 games topped 100,000 units for the month.

Edit:

Gamasutra has the top twenty - if NPD had combined Pokemon, Monster Hunter Tri would have come in tenth place for the month at 126,000 if the information pertaining to that game that has leaked is accurate.

NPD Top Twenty for April

Next month should be strong for software, but it remains to be seen if hardware will increase on the coming releases.

Contact Vgchartz at jmazel@vgchartz.com

32 Comments

NicholasCage (on 14 May 2010)

VGC over tracked hardware sales. Also Modern Warfare 2 for 360 by a lot.

goldingku (on 14 May 2010)

To support you

XanderZane (on 14 May 2010)

MikeB says:
That's a tiny gap between PS3 and 360. For May Sony's supply issues seem to have improved since March and April, so maybe the PS3 will beat the XBox 360 again for May.

It may all be irrelevant after the Natal is launched and bundled with the XBox 360. We've been through this once before.

Lyrikalstylez (on 14 May 2010)

@MikeB

I doubt it, With Red Dead Redemption and Alan Wake in May
360 is gonna be a beast

GuiltySpartan77 (on 14 May 2010)

to bad the u.s market doesn't like psp

kopstudent89 (on 14 May 2010)

lol.. Did you have to do that on both pages :(

bmmb1 (on 14 May 2010)

@kopstudent89, nope, MH3 is not overtracked by 20k, VGC MH3 April numbers for the US (as opposed to Americas) were 133k, well within a normal margin of error (on anyone's side).

MikeB (on 14 May 2010)

That's a tiny gap between PS3 and 360. For May Sony's supply issues seem to have improved since March and April, so maybe the PS3 will beat the XBox 360 again for May.

Metallicube (on 14 May 2010)

Lol contest gamer, Wii is not losing consumer interest..what planet are you living on? I love how any time the Wii is down, even if only slightly, the haters and doomsday people all point and shot "aha! See the Wii bubble has burst, just like everyone said! People seem to just want the Wii to fail, or expect it to for some reason.. and over and over and over again it continues to prove the doubters wrong.

April tends to be the time in which game sales start to drastically slow down. You can see this in the similar declines from all the other consoles. It's not just the Wii. There is the black console bundle coming out soon in the US, not to mention some hits like Galaxy 2 and Metroid Other M. Basically, Wii isn't going anywhere soon. I still think its best years may be ahead of it, if Nintendo can find another big hit in the Vitality Sensor.

kopstudent89 (on 14 May 2010)

BTW DS numbers are just monstrous to say the least. OK it didnt sell a million units this month, but wow just wow

kopstudent89 (on 14 May 2010)

Yeah 126k is definitely good. a tad 20k overtracked but well done for Capcom :)

megaman79 (on 14 May 2010)

Monster Hunter 3 - NPD April - 126k

http://www.nintendoeverything.com/39442/

NanakiXI (on 14 May 2010)

Americas Console Sales LTD

Wii LTD
NPD - 28.82m (U.S. Only)
VGCHARTZ - 33.25m (Americas)

X360 LTD
NPD - 19.90m (U.S. Only)
VGChartz -23.03m (Americas)

PS3 LTD
NPD - 12.26m (U.S. Only)
VGCartz - 13.83m (Americas)

aoixgp (on 14 May 2010)

@contestgamer, can't wait for your comments on next months NPDs.

CharmedontheWB (on 14 May 2010)

@contestgamer, before you go on your bold predictions, the Wii is still selling better at this point than the PS2 was during the same time in its lifecycle and yet the PS2 still has managed to be the best selling gaming console...so..at that time were you also screaming that the PS2 was doomed???? Meteoric fall...LMAO...you are a sensationalist...PS2 had one of those too at this same time...

contestgamer (on 13 May 2010)

The Wii is plunging faster than a bolder off a cliff. This isn't an anomaly anymore. It's not because it's selling out or demand is outstripping supply. It's because the Wii has lost consumer interest. I won't go as far and call it out as a fad passed yet, but when you look at it, it's meteoric rise is now only being matched by it's meteoric fall. YOY declines were similarly significant all throughout last year aside from December and this year is even more pronounced. Not only is it unlikely to match or outpace 2008 figures but it probably won't even match 2009 numbers...

Tridrakious (on 13 May 2010)

The Elite went from $400 to $300.
So there was a price drop for 360. It happened shortly after the PS3 price drop.

Darth Tigris (on 13 May 2010)

Interesting that the 360, which had no price cut last year, was up YoY.

Still, everything looks bad. ♪ E3, we neeeeed youuuuuu♫

Ail (on 13 May 2010)

I haven't run the exact numbers but hardware wise YoY this is something like a 45-50% revenue drop for Nintendo on its first market for the first month of the new fiscal year...( DS down 58%, Wii down 19% with a 20% lower price per unit)
Obviously they were not expecting the DS to sell as well as last year so they must have accounted for this in their forecast...

deus837 (on 13 May 2010)

Umm where's Monster Hunter on this list?

heruamon (on 13 May 2010)

Meh numbers, but it shows good results yoy for the HD consoles.

MonstaMack (on 13 May 2010)

Splinter Cell Conviction was such a beast, even more so when you consider past Double Agent sales and the fact had a Super Elite Bundle (which were not counted into the sales figures, so probably another 10-20k there alone.)

Bobbuffalo (on 13 May 2010)

wow. Not even SF4 can stop Just Dance o_O

very low sales for all hardware honestly

KillerMan (on 13 May 2010)

''Amazingly enough, PSP sales in Japan from January to May 2010 are 880,000 - more than double PSP sales in the USA. Generally, the USA market market is 2-3x larger than the Japanese market.''

Sad and amazing at the same time.