September 2008 NPD sales data coverage: August 31 to October 4. Released on October 16, 2008. September is a 5-week month as opposed to 4 weeks for August.
The Xbox 360 saw its hardware jump 42% over August's numbers after its price cut in early September (adjusting for weekly figures). Microsoft expects the price cut to see substantial benefits during the holiday season. Wii and the DS continued their dominance on the console and handheld side. Star Wars had a strong debut on all three next-gen consoles, though significantly less on the Wii. The timed-exclusive Rock Band 2 charted at #3. Wii Fit saw an increase in sales after nearly 5 months of release. Two PC games, Spore and Warhammer, would have broken into the NPD Top 10 if NPD Group included PC titles.
Notable releases[]
- Rock Band 2 (X360)
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (X360/PS3)
Hardware sales[]
- Wii - 687,000
- Nintendo DS - 536,800
- Xbox 360 - 347,200
- PlayStation Portable - 238,100
- PlayStation 3 232,400
- PlayStation 2 - 173,500
Top 20 software sales[]
According to analyst Michael Pachter, eighteen titles sold over 100,000 units.[1]
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (X360) - 610k
- Wii Fit W/ Balance Board (Wii) - 518k
- Rock Band 2 (X360) - 363k
- Mario Kart W/ Wheel (Wii) - 353k
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS3) - 325k
- Mercenaries 2: World In Flames (X360) - 297k
- Wii Play W/ Remote (Wii) - 243k
- Madden NFL 09 (X360) - 224k
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (Wii) - 223k
- Madden NFL 09 (PS2) - 158k
- Madden NFL 09* (PS3) [100k-158k]
- Lego Batman (PS2) [100k-158k]
- Super Mario Sluggers (Wii) [100k-158k]
- Star Wars: The Force Unleashed (PS2) [100k-158k]
- Kirby Superstar Ultra (NDS) [100k-158k]
- Mercenaries 2: World in Flames (PS3) [100k-158k]
- NHL 09 (360) [100k-158k]
- Lego Batman (Wii) [100k-158k][2]
- Lego Batman (X360)
- Brothers in Arms: Hell's Highway (360)
In addition, two notable PC games were released.
- Spore - 406,000
- Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning - 274,000
Video game revenues[]
- Total sales: $1.27 billion
- Hardware sales: $498 million
- Software sales: $616 million
Analysis[]
- Microsoft
- Nintendo - Unique Controls Put Wii at No. 1 for September NPD
- Sony - PlayStation 3 Hardware Unit Sales Top 232,408
External links[]
- September Sales Dip on Tough Comp (Edge-online.com)
- NPD: Wii/DS Triumphant, Xbox 360 Surges In 'Down' Month
- Gamasutra: NPD Behind the numbers (September)
- September NPD numbers: Star Wars trumps flagging US economy
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