The sales boost Sony was hoping for hasn't come through yet, as the May NPD numbers show an ever-dominant Nintendo sitting on its perch far above the rest of the pack, with the Xbox 360 in distant second, and the PS3 trailing everyone by a significant margin.
As you know, Nintendo absolutely owned the first quarter of the year, and with 338,000 more Wii consoles sold in May, the sales show no sign of slowing down. Still, the DS took top honors, with 423,000 units sold. These amounts almost look anomalous, for the sales of every other system are so far below Nintendo's preternatural numbers. As this trend continues month after month, Nintendo's domination is becoming a fact of life. When will it end?
The 360 sold a disappointing 154,900 units, down from April's 174,000. The system has a strong library of games with many standout hits, but increasing evidence of a price drop as well as widespread Internet complaints of reliability issues may be keeping the system from selling in higher numbers. Whether or not a price reduction is in the works, it may be what Microsoft needs to get more customers interested in the system.
The news is mixed for Sony this month. The PSP's price reduction paid off big; the system sold 221,120 units in May to eclipse even the PlayStation 2, which sold 187,800. These are strong numbers, and the PlayStation 2 is still seeing impressive exclusive content in games like Odin Sphere. The bad news is that the PlayStation 3 sold an abysmal 81,600 units in the same time frame. Sony is trying to leverage the PSP's relative success to boost PlayStation 3 sales numbers, but without a price drop and more exclusive games, the system is having a rough time fitting into the competitive hardware market. Luckily, Sony is beginning to hint at a price drop, and with Metal Gear Solid 4, Lair, and Final Fantasy still exclusive, things could look up this holiday season.
To date video games sales are up 47 percent from last year, but a closer look at the numbers shows that only Nintendo systems and Sony's last-generation hardware are moving in real volume. While Microsoft may try to hang on to its current price points as long as it can, at this point it looks like only a price drop will help it shift more units. If the company is able to reduce the price of their hardware near the release of Halo 3, it would be a one-two punch that could send sales skyrocketing during the holiday rush. Sony has a more complicated road ahead, with a price drop being almost essential to staying competitive while it tries to turn its strengths with the PS2 and PSP business into PS3 sales. Fortunately, it looks like one is on the way. Nintendo is in an enviable position: all it needs to do is worry about getting enough hardware into the market to meet demand.
reader comments