NPD (Circana) 2011 Full Year Results: Discussion Thread

[Welfare]

Dates in Tracking: January 02, 2011 - December 31, 2011 [52 Weeks]

Console Full Year Results​

Month	Wii	Xbox 360	PS3	PS2
January	319,000	381,000	267,000	21,000
February	455,000	535,000	403,000	29,000
March	290,000	433,000	365,000	28,000
April	172,000	297,000	204,000	21,000
May	236,000	270,000	175,000	10,000
June	273,000	507,000	276,000	10,000
July	190,000	277,000	145,000	8,000
August	190,000	308,000	218,000	8,000
September	240,000	438,000	374,000	20,000
October	249,000	393,000	245,000	15,000
November	863,000	1,688,000	894,000	25,000
December	1,060,000	1,730,000	950,000	18,000
Total Year	4,537,000	7,257,000	4,516,000	213,000
Life To Date	38,748,000	32,864,000	19,977,000	46,127,000

Handheld Full Year Results​

Month	DS	PSP	3DS
January	291,000	76,000	-
February	457,000	78,000	-
March	460,000	188,000	398,000
April	257,000	89,000	194,000
May	198,000	68,000	97,000
June	386,000	120,000	143,000
July	290,000	63,000	90,000
August	165,000	?	235,000
September	145,000	?	260,000
October	180,000	?	250,000
November	350,000	?	795,000
December	630,000	260,000	1,606,000
Total Year	3,809,000	>942,000	4,068,000
Life To Date	51,085,000	>19,419,000	4,068,000

KEY
[#0] = Full Year
[#1] = January
[#2] = February
[#3] = March
[#4] = April
[#5] = May
[#6] = June
[#7] = July
[#8] = August
[#9] = September
[#10] = October
[#11] = November
[#12] = December

[3DS] = Nintendo 3DS
[NDS] = Nintendo DS
[PC] = Personal Computer
[PS2] = PlayStation 2
[PS3] = PlayStation 3
[PSP] = PlayStation Portable
[WII] = Wii
[X360] = Xbox 360

Major Hardware Impacts (Price Drops/SKU/Bundle) [In NPD Tracking]
Prices at the start of the year
[PS3] $349 320GB
[PS3] $299 160GB
[X360] $399 Kinect 250GB Bundle
[X360] $299 Kinect 4GB Bundle
[X360] $299 250GB
[X360] $199 4GB
[WII] $199

[PS2] $99

[PSP] $199 Go Model
[PSP] $169 3000 Model
[NDS] $169 DSi XL Model
[NDS] $149 DSi Model
[NDS] $129 Lite Model

[#2] February - 4 Weeks
[PS3] [Week 4] $299 Killzone 3 160GB Bundle

[PSP] [Week 4] Price Drop: $199 Entertainment Packs > $159
[PSP] [Week 4] Price Drop: $169 3000 Model > $129

[#3] March - 5 Weeks
[3DS] [Week 5] $249 Aqua Blue Version
[3DS] [Week 5] $249 Cosmo Black Version

[PS3] [Week 5] [Walmart] $299 Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters 160GB Bundle

[NDS] [Week 2] $179 DSi Model Pokemon Black Bundle
[NDS] [Week 2] $179 DSi Model Pokemon White Bundle

[PSP] [Week 1] Price Drop: $199 Go Model > $149

[#5] May - 4 Weeks
[WII] [Week 3] Price Drop: $199 > $149
[WII] [Week 3] $149 Black Version Mario Kart Wii + Wii Wheel Bundle
[WII] [Week 3] $149 White Version Mario Kart Wii + Wii Wheel Bundle

[PSP] [Week 4] $159 3000 Model MLB 11 The Show + Gran Turismo Bundle

[#6] June - 5 Weeks
[PS3] [Week 1] $299 Call of Duty: Black Ops 160GB Bundle

[NDS] [Week 2] Price Drop: $129 Lite Model > $99

[#8] August - 4 Weeks
[PS3] [Week 3] Price Drop: $399 Sports Champions + Move + PS Eye 320GB Bundle > $349
[PS3] [Week 3] Price Drop: $349 320GB > $299
[PS3] [Week 3] Price Drop: $299 160GB > $249
[PS3] [Week 3] $299 inFAMOUS 2 320GB Bundle

[3DS] [Week 2] Price Drop: $249 > $169

[#9] September - 5 Weeks
[3DS] [Week 2] $169 Flame Red Version

[X360] [Week 1] [Walmart] $249 Kinect Adventures + Kinect 4GB Bundle (August 29 - September 5)
[X360] [Week 4] $399 Gears of War 3 320GB Bundle

[NDS] [Week 2] $169 DSi XL Model Metallic Rose Version

[PSP] [Week 1] $159 Madden NFL 12 + Need for Speed: Shift Bundle

[#10] October - 4 Weeks
[X360] [Week 3] $399 Kinect Adventures + Carnival Games: Monkey See Monkey Do + Kinect 250GB Bundle
[X360] [Week 3] $299 Fable III + Halo: Reach 250GB Bundle

[WII] [Week 4] $149 Black Version New Super Mario Bros. Wii Bundle

[#11] November - 4 Weeks
[X360] [Week 2] $399 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 320GB Bundle

[PS3] [Week 1] $299 Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception 320GB Bundle
[PS3] [Week 3] $249 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 BD 160GB Bundle

[NDS] [Week 2] $169 DSi XL Model Blue Version Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem Midnight Bundle
[NDS] [Week 2] $169 DSi XL Model Metallic Rose Version Mario vs. Donkey Kong: Mini-Land Mayhem Bundle

[PSP] [Week 3] $159 Cars 2 + FIFA 12 Bundle [Week 3]

Black Friday - November Week 4
[3DS] $199 Cosmo Black Version The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D Limited Bundle
[3DS] $199 Flame Red Version Super Mario 3D Land Bundle

[X360] $399 Kinect Adventures + Carnival Games: Monkey See Monkey Do + Kinect + 3-month XBL card 250GB Bundle [GameStop]
[X360] [GameStop] $299 Fable III + Halo: Reach + 3-month XBL card 250GB Bundle
[X360] [Best Buy] $199 Fable III + Halo: Reach 250GB Bundle
[X360] [Radio Shack] $199 4GB Kinect Bundle
[X360] [Best Buy] $199 4GB Kinect Bundle + $100 gift Card
[X360] [Walmart] $199 4GB + Gears of War 3 + 3-month XBL card + $50 Walmart.com gift card
[X360] [Walmart] $199 4GB Kinect Bundle + $50 gift card
[X360] [Toys R Us] $199 4GB Kinect Bundle + $10 gift card
[X360] [GameStop/Kmart] $149 4GB Console
[X360] [Target] $139 4GB Console

[PS3] $249 Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One + LittleBigPlanet 2 160GB Bundle
[PS3] [Sam's Club] $239 Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One + LittleBigPlanet 2 + Cosmic Blue Dual Shock 3 160GB Bundle
[PS3] [GameStop] $199 Ratchet and Clank: All 4 One + LittleBigPlanet 2 160GB Bundle
[PS3] $199 160GB

[WII] [Walmart] $99 Blue Version

[PSP] [Walmart/Amazon/Toys R Us/Kmart] $99 3000 Model

[#12] December - 5 Weeks
[3DS] [Week 2] $169 Pearl Pink Version Nintendogs + Cats: Toy Poodle and New Friends Bundle
[3DS] [Week 2] $169 Pearl Pink Version Nintendogs + Cats: French Bulldog and New Friends Bundle

---

[#0] Top 20 Software Full Year Result​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	X360, PS3, WII, PC	8	-
2	NEW	Just Dance 3	WII, X360, PS3	13	-
3	NEW	Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	X360, PS3, PC	8	-
4	NEW	Battlefield 3	X360, PS3, PC	10	-
5	NEW	Madden NFL 12	X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2	18	-
6	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, WII, NDS, PC	-	-
7	NEW	Batman: Arkham City	X360, PS3, PC	11	-
8	NEW	Gears of War 3	X360	15	-
9	7	Just Dance 2	WII	-	-
10	NEW	Assassin's Creed: Revelations	X360, PS3, PC	7	-
11	NEW	Pokemon White	NDS	43	-
12	-	Zumba Fitness: Join the Party	WII, X360, PS3	-	-
13	NEW	NBA 2K12	X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2, PC	13	-
14	NEW	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	WII, NDS, X360, 3DS, PS3, PSP, PC	41	-
15	NEW	Pokemon Black	NDS	43	-
16	10	NBA 2K11	X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2, PC	-	-
17	NEW	Mortal Kombat	PS3, X360	37	-
18	-	Michael Jackson: The Experience	WII, X360, PS3, NDS, PSP	-	-
19	NEW	NCAA Football 12	X360, PS3	25	-
20	NEW	L.A. Noire	X360, PS3	33	-

[PC]

Rank	Prior Year	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	Star Wars: The Old Republic	2
2	NEW	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	8
3	1	StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty	-
4	3	The Sims 3	-
5	2	World of Warcraft: Cataclysm Expansion Pack	-
6	NEW	Battlefield 3	10
7	NEW	The Sims 3: Generations	31
8	NEW	The Sims: Medieval	41
9	NEW	The Sims 3: Pets	12
10	NEW	Portal 2	37
11	NEW	Rift	44
12	NEW	Dragon Age II	43
13	12	The Sims 3: Late Night Expansion Pack	-
14	-	The Sims 3 Deluxe	-
15	5	Civilization V	-
16	8	World of Warcraft: Battle Chest	-
17	4	World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack	-
18	NEW	Total War: Shogun 2	42
19	NEW	The Sims 3: Outdoor Living Stuff	48
20	NEW	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	8

Top 20 Ranked by REVENUE (Data as of November 2023)​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	8
2	NEW	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	8
3	NEW	Madden NFL 12 [EA Sports]	18
4	NEW	Battlefield 3	10
5	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
6	NEW	Just Dance 3	13
7	NEW	Gears of War 3	15
8	NEW	Batman: Arkham City	11
9	NEW	Pokemon Black/White	43
10	NEW	Assassin's Creed: Revelations	7
11	NEW	Mortal Kombat (2011)	37
12	NEW	NBA 2K12	13
13	5	New Super Mario Bros.	-
14	NEW	NCAA Football 12 [EA Sports]	25
15	12	Just Dance 2	-
16	NEW	L.A. Noire	33
17	-	Zumba Fitness	-
18	NEW	FIFA Soccer 12 [EA Sports]	14
19	NEW	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure	11
20	NEW	Marvel vs. Capcom 3	46

---

[#1] January (January 02 - January 29) - 4 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, WII, NDS, PC	-	-
2	2	Just Dance 2	WII	-	>500,000
3	NEW	Dead Space 2	X360, PS3, PC	1	452,000
4	NEW	Little Big Planet 2	PS3	2	353,000
5	-	Zumba Fitness: Join the Party	WII, X360, PS3	-	>300,000
6	9	NBA 2K11	X360, PS3, PSP, WII, PS2, PC	-	261,000
7	4	Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood	X360, PS3	-	-
8	-	Dance Central	X360	-	-
9	8	Michael Jackson: The Experience	WII, NDS, PSP	-	-
10	NEW	DC Universe Online: The Next Legend Is You	PS3, PC	2	195,000

Software Revenue (thanks to Wedbush)
[WII] $179,000,000 (-20% YOY)
[X360] $170,000,000 (+8% YOY)
[PS3] $141,000,000 (+24% YOY)
[NDS] $72,000,000 (-13% YOY)
[PSP] $10,000,000 (-37% YOY)

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $551 million

Wedbush Securities and Piper Jaffray Companies further analysis
22 games sold over 100,000 (18 in 2010) (Wedbush)

Various Software​

Game	Platform	Sales
Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3	750,000
Dead Space 2	X360, PS3	441,000
Donkey Kong Country Returns	WII	165,000
uDraw Studio & Tablet	WII	26,000
Dead Space 2	PC	11,000

Guitar Hero (and other Hero music games) sales were down 56% from last year. (Wedbush)
Rock Band sales were down 80% to $2 million. (Wedbush)

[PS3] Under one-fifth of PS3 sales were Move bundles: <53,000 >45,000 (1/6) (Wedbush)
[X360] Just under three-fifths of Xbox 360 sales Kinect bundles: <229,000 (Wedbush)
[X360] [PS3] Xbox 360 Kinect console bundles again outsold PS3 Move console bundles by almost 5:1 (Wedbush) (~50K Move vs ~225K Kinect?)

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
2	NEW	Dead Space 2	1
3	NEW	LittleBigPlanet 2	2
4	2	Just Dance 2	-
5	7	Wii Fit Plus	-
6	11	NBA 2K11	-
7	-	Zumba Fitness	-
8	10	New Super Mario Bros.	-
9	17	Dance Central	-
10	NEW	DC Universe Online	2
11	6	Madden NFL 11 [EA Sports]	-
12	3	Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood	-
13	15	Kinect Sports	-
14	12	Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit	-
15	13	Michael Jackson: The Experience	-
16	4	Donkey Kong Country Returns	-
17	-	EA Sports: Active 2	-
18	14	Gran Turismo 5	-
19	20	The Sims 3	-
20	18	Mario Kart: Wii	-

---

[#2] February (January 30 - February 26) - 4 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, WII, NDS, PC	-	-
2	NEW	Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds	X360, PS3	2	790,200
3	2	Just Dance 2	WII	-	554,000
4	6	NBA 2K11	X360, PS3, PSP, WII, PS2, PC	-	-
5	3	Dead Space 2	X360, PS3, PC	-	-
6	5	Zumba Fitness: Join the Party	WII, X360, PS3	-	301,000
7	NEW	Bulletstorm	X360, PS3, PC	1	285,600
8	NEW	Killzone 3	PS3	1	279,900
9	9	Michael Jackson The Experience	WII, NDS, PSP	-	-
10	NEW	Mario Sports Mix	WII	3	-

Call of Duty: Black Ops now the best-selling game in the US ever, topping Wii Play.

22 games sold over 100,000 copies (20 in 2010)

[X360]

Placement	Game	Sales
1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
2	Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds	>392,000
3	Bulletstorm	-

[PS3]

Placement	Game	Sales
1	Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds	>397,000
2	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
3	Killzone 3	-

[WII]

Placement	Game
1	Just Dance 2
2	Mario Sports Mix
3	Michael Jackson The Experience

[NDS] [PSP]

Placement	Game
1	New Super Mario Bros. DS
2	Mario Kart DS
3	Mario VS Donkey Kong: Mini Land

Various Software​

Game	Platform	Sales
Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3	775,000
Dead Space 2	X360, PS3	312,000
Mario Sports Mix	WII	200,000
de Blob 2	ALL	<75,000
Dragon Quest VI: Realms of Revelation	NDS	50,000
uDraw	WII	25,000

Various Software LTD​

Game	Sales
Call Of Duty: Black Ops	13,700,000
New Super Mario Bros. DS	9,000,000
New Super Mario Bros. Wii	8,000,000
Donkey Kong Country Returns	2,000,000
Pokemon SoulSilver	2,000,000

[X360] [PS3] Kinect bundles > Move bundles 5:1 again

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
2	NEW	Marvel vs. Capcom 3	2
3	NEW	Killzone 3	1
4	4	Just Dance 2	-
5	2	Dead Space 2	-
6	NEW	Bulletstorm	1
7	6	NBA 2K11	-
8	8	New Super Mario Bros.	-
9	7	Zumba Fitness	-
10	15	Michael Jackson: The Experience	-
11	5	Wii Fit Plus	-
12	3	LittleBigPlanet 2	-
13	9	Dance Central	-
14	11	Madden NFL 11 [EA Sports]	-
15	NEW	Mario Sports Mix	3
16	13	Kinect Sports	-
17	16	Donkey Kong Country Returns	-
18	-	Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock	-
19	14	Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit	-
20	19	The Sims 3	-

---

[#3] March (February 27 - April 02) - 5 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	Pokemon White	NDS	4	>1,300,000
2	NEW	Pokemon Black	NDS	4	>1,100,000
3	NEW	Homefront	X360, PS3, PC	3	-
4	NEW	Dragon Age II	X360, PS3, PC	4	-
5	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, NDS, WII, PC	-	-
6	NEW	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	WII, X360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC	2	-
7	NEW	Crysis 2	X360, PS3, PC	2	-
8	4	NBA 2K11	X360, PS3, PS2, WII, PSP, PC	-	-
9	NEW	MLB 11: The Show	PS3, PSP, PS2	4	-
10	NEW	Fight Night Champion	X360, PS3	5	-

[3DS] Top 10

Placement	Game	Sales
1	Street Fighter 3DS	95,000
2	Pilotwings Resort	<47,000
3	Lego Star Wars	-
4	Rayman	-
5	Tom Clancy Ghost Recon	-
6	Super Monkey Ball	-
7	Nintendogs+Cats Golden Retriever	-
8	Ridge Racer	-
9	Steel Diver	-
10	Nintendogs+Cats French Bulldog	-

[3DS] Least sold game was Combat of Giants: Dinosaurs 3D

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $457,000,000

[NDS] Pokemon White + Pokemon Black: 2,500,000
[NDS] Pokemon White #1 of any Pokemon SKU in debut month
[NDS] Pokemon Black #3 of any Pokemon SKU in debut month

[3DS] [NDS] Despite 3DS hardware debut being lower than the NDS November 2004 debut, 3DS sold more software in March 2011 than DS did in November 2004.

Top 20 Revenue​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	Pokemon Black/White	4
2	NEW	Homefront	3
3	NEW	Dragon Age II	4
4	1	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
5	NEW	Crysis 2	2
6	NEW	MLB 11: The Show	4
7	NEW	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	2
8	NEW	Fight Night Champion [EA Sports]	5
9	NEW	Major League Baseball 2K11 [2K Sports]	4
10	7	NBA 2K11	-
11	2	Marvel vs. Capcom 3	-
12	4	Just Dance 2	-
13	NEW	Masters: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 [EA Sports]	1
14	3	Killzone 3	-
15	6	Bulletstorm	-
16	9	Zumba Fitness	-
17	8	New Super Mario Bros.	-
18	NEW	NASCAR 2011: The Game	1
19	11	Wii Fit Plus	-
20	10	Michael Jackson: The Experience	-

---

Quarter 1 (January 02 - April 02) - 13 Weeks​

Rank	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking
1	Just Dance 2	WII	-
2	Pokemon White	NDS	4
3	Pokemon Black	NDS	4
4	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360	-
5	Call of Duty: Black Ops	PS3	-
6	Zumba Fitness	WII	-
7	Michael Jackson: The Experience	WII	-
8	Homefront	X360	3
9	NBA 2K11	X360	-
10	Dance Central	X360	-
11	Killzone 3	PS3	6
12	LittleBigPlanet 2	PS3	11
13	Marvel vs. Capcom 3	PS3	7
14	Kinect Sports	X360	-
15	Marvel vs. Capcom 3	X360	7
16	Dead Space 2	X360	10
17	Donkey Kong Country Returns	WII	-
18	New Super Mario Bros.	NDS	-
19	New Super Mario Bros. Wii	WII	-
20	Bulletstorm	X360	6

Platform Ranking
[X360] 8
[WII] 5
[PS3] 4
[NDS] 3

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[#4] April (April 03 - April 30) - 4 Weeks​

"The NPD Group has added several retailers to its panel, including Toys R Us, with the April 2011 release of its Retail Tracking Service covering Video Games."

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	Mortal Kombat	PS3, X360	2	>1,000,000
2	NEW	Portal 2	X360, PS3, PC	2	637,000
3	6	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	WII, NDS, X360, 3DS, PS3, PSP, PC	-	-
4	5	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, NDS, WII, PC	-	-
5	-	Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters	X360, PS3, WII	-	-
6	7	Crysis 2	X360, PS3, PC	-	236,000
7	-	Just Dance 2	WII	-	-
8	-	Michael Jackson The Experience	X360, WII, PS3, NDS, PSP	-	-
9	1	Pokemon White	NDS	-	-
10	8	NBA 2K11	X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2, PC	-	190,000

Mortal Kombat 2011: Just under 900,000, >1,000,000 with special editions

[PS3] If SOCOM 4's accessory bundle sales counted, it would have been in the Top 10 as well.

Top 10 Individual SKUs (not in order)
[X360] Mortal Kombat
[X360] Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12: The Masters
[X360] Michael Jackson: The Experience
[X360] Portal 2
[X360] Crysis 2
[PS3] Mortal Kombat
[PS3] SOCOM 4
[WII] Just Dance 2
[NDS] Pokemon White
[NDS] Pokemon Black

Life to Date
[NDS] Pokemon White + Pokemon Black: >2,800,000
[X360] Kinect Sports: >3,000,000 Worldwide
[X360] Dance Central: >2,500,000 Worldwide

Top 20 Revenue​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	Mortal Kombat (2011)	2
2	NEW	Portal 2	2
3	1	Pokemon Black/White	-
4	4	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
5	13	Masters: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 [EA Sports]	-
6	7	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	-
7	5	Crysis 2	-
8	NEW	SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals	2
9	20	Michael Jackson: The Experience	-
10	-	WWE All Stars	-
11	12	Just Dance 2	-
12	9	Major League Baseball 2K11 [2K Sports]	-
13	2	Homefront	-
14	10	NBA 2K11	-
15	6	MLB 11: The Show	-
16	16	Zumba Fitness	-
17	17	New Super Mario Bros.	-
18	18	NASCAR 2011: The Game	-
19	-	Dance Central	-
20	3	Dragon Age II	-

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[#5] May (May 01 - May 28) - 4 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	L.A. Noire	X360, PS3	2	899,000
2	NEW	Brink	X360, PS3, PC	3	>401,000
3	NEW	LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game	WII, X360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC	3	-
4	2	Portal 2	X360, PS3, PC	-	-
5	1	Mortal Kombat	PS3, X360	-	292,000
6	4	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, WII, NDS, PC	-	-
7	-	Zumba Fitness: Join the Party	WII, X360, PS3	-	-
8	10	NBA 2K11	X360, PS3, WII, PS2, PSP, PC	-	-
9	7	Just Dance 2	WII	-	-
10	3	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	WII, NDS, X360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC	-	-

Brink's 401,000 does not include PC

[3DS] Dead or Alive: Dimensions: <20,000

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $265,000,000
[X360] Software: $140,000,000
[X360] Hardware + Accessories: $125,000,000

Top 20 Revenue​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	L.A. Noire	2
2	NEW	Brink	3
3	1	Mortal Kombat (2011)	-
4	2	Portal 2	-
5	NEW	LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game [Disney]	3
6	4	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
7	3	Pokemon Black/White	-
8	16	Zumba Fitness	-
9	6	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	-
10	14	NBA 2K11	-
11	11	Just Dance 2	-
12	17	New Super Mario Bros.	-
13	9	Michael Jackson: The Experience	-
14	7	Crysis 2	-
15	NEW	MX vs. ATV: Alive	3
16	8	SOCOM 4: U.S. Navy Seals	-
17	5	Masters: Tiger Woods PGA Tour 12 [EA Sports]	-
18	12	Major League Baseball 2K11 [2K Sports]	-
19	NEW	DiRT 3	1
20	18	NASCAR 2011: The Game	-

---

[#6] June (May 29 - July 02) - 5 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	1	L.A. Noire	X360, PS3	-	419,000
2	NEW	Duke Nukem Forever	X360, PS3, PC	3	376,300
3	NEW	Infamous 2	PS3	4	369,200
4	3	LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game	WII, X360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC	-	200,900
5	NEW	Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D	3DS	2	283,200
6	6	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, WII, NDS, PC	-	-
7	8	NBA 2K11	X360, PS3, WII, PS2, PSP, PC	-	-
8	5	Mortal Kombat	PS3, X360	-	-
9	NEW	Cars 2	NDS, WII, X360, PS3, PC	2	-
10	9	Just Dance 2	WII	-	-

Various Software​

Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
Alice: Madness Returns	X360, PS3	3	<120,000
Dungeon Siege III	X360, PS3	2	80,000
Child of Eden	X360	3	<35,000
Resident Evil: The Mercenaries 3D	3DS	1	<30,000
Wii Play: Motion	WII	3	<30,000
Shadows of the Damned	X360, PS3	2	<25,000
Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition	PS3, X360	1	<20,000

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	inFamous 2	4
2	NEW	Duke Nukem Forever	3
3	1	L.A. Noire	-
4	6	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
5	5	LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game [Disney]	-
6	NEW	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	2
7	3	Mortal Kombat (2011)	-
8	7	Pokemon Black/White	-
9	10	NBA 2K11	-
10	12	New Super Mario Bros.	-
11	NEW	Cars 2 [Disney Pixar]	2
12	4	Portal 2	-
13	NEW	F.E.A.R. 3	2
14	NEW	Alice: Madness Returns [American McGee's]	3
15	11	Just Dance 2	-
16	8	Zumba Fitness	-
17	18	Major League Baseball 2K11 [2K Sports]	-
18	NEW	Red Faction: Armageddon	4
19	NEW	Hunted: The Demon's Forge	5
20	9	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	-

---

[#7] July (July 03 - July 30) - 4 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	NCAA Football 12	X360, PS3	3	796,000
2	9	Cars 2	NDS, WII, X360, PS3, PC	-	-
3	6	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, NDS, WII, PC	-	-
4	4	LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game	WII, NDS, X360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC	-	-
5	10	Just Dance 2	WII	-	-
6	-	Major League Baseball 2K11	X360, WII, NDS, PS3, PS2, PSP, PC	-	-
7	-	Zumba Fitness: Join the Party	WII, X360, PS3	-	-
8	-	Fallout: New Vegas	X360, PS3, PC	-	-
9	-	New Super Mario Bros DS	NDS	-	-
10	8	Mortal Kombat	X360, PS3	-	85,000
11	NEW	Just Dance: Summer Dance Party	WII	2	-

Catherine: 78,000
Shadows of the Damned: 14,000

8 games sold over 100,000 (19 in 2010)

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $250 million
[X360] Kinect Fun Labs: 1,000,000 downloads

[WII] Top 8 LTD

Placement	Game	Sales
1	Wii Play	13,040,000
2	Mario Kart Wii	10,640,000
3	New Super Mario Bros. Wii	8,360,000
4	Wii Fit	8,170,000
5	Wii Fit Plus	7,060,000
6	Wii Sports Resort	6,450,000
7	Super Smash Bros. Brawl	5,280,000
8	Just Dance 2	5,090,000

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	NCAA Football 12 [EA Sports]	3
2	4	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
3	11	Cars 2 [Disney Pixar]	-
4	-	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	-
5	10	New Super Mario Bros.	-
6	7	Mortal Kombat (2011)	-
7	5	LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game [Disney]	-
8	8	Pokemon Black/White	-
9	NEW	Catherine	1
10	1	inFamous 2	-
11	15	Just Dance 2	-
12	3	L.A. Noire	-
13	16	Zumba Fitness	-
14	17	Major League Baseball 2K11 [2K Sports]	-
15	13	F.E.A.R. 3	-
16	20	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	-
17	6	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	-
18	-	FIFA Soccer 11 [EA Sports]	-
19	-	Grand Theft Auto IV	-
20	9	NBA 2K11	-

---

[#8] August (July 31 - August 27) - 4 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	Deus Ex: Human Revolution	X360, PS3, PC	1	244,000
2	1	NCAA Football 12	X360, PS3	-	240,400
3	3	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, NDS, WII, PC	-	-
4	NEW	Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension	NDS, WII, PS3	4	-
5	2	Cars 2	NDS, WII, X360, PS3, PC	-	-
6	-	Just Dance Summer Party	WII	-	-
7	5	Just Dance 2	WII	-	-
8	4	LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game	WII, X360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC	-	-
9	-	Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D	3DS	-	84,000
10	6	Zumba Fitness: Join the Party	WII, X360, PS3	-	-

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $232 million

[WII] [NDS] [3DS] Software Year to Date: >50,000,000
[WII] [NDS] Software LTD: 540,000,000

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	1	NCAA Football 12 [EA Sports]	-
2	NEW	Deus Ex: Human Revolution	1
3	2	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
4	5	New Super Mario Bros.	-
5	6	Mortal Kombat (2011)	-
6	3	Cars 2 [Disney Pixar]	-
7	8	Pokemon Black/White	-
8	NEW	Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension [Disney]	4
9	17	The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time	-
10	13	Zumba Fitness	-
11	7	LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game [Disney]	-
12	11	Just Dance 2	-
13	19	Grand Theft Auto IV	-
14	-	The Sims 3	-
15	16	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	-
16	-	Guitar Hero: Warriors of Rock	-
17	14	Major League Baseball 2K11 [2K Sports]	-
18	4	Transformers: Dark of the Moon	-
19	-	Just Dance: Summer Party	-
20	10	inFamous 2	-

---

[#9] September (August 28 - October 01) - 5 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	Madden NFL 12	X360, PS3, WII, PS2, PSP	5	>2,300,000
2	NEW	Gears of War 3	X360	2	>2,000,000
3	NEW	Dead Island	X360, PS3, PC	4	Nearly 1,000,000
4	NEW	FIFA Soccer 12	X360, PS3, WII, PS2, PSP, 3DS	1	>400,000
5	NEW	NHL 12	X360, PS3	3	-
6	1	Deus Ex: Human Revolution	X360, PS3, PC	-	-
7	NEW	Resistance 3	PS3	4	180,000
8	-	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	WII, NDS, X360, 3DS, PS3, PSP, PC	-	-
9	3	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360, PS3, NDS, WII, PC	-	-
10	NEW	Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine	X360, PS3, PC	4	-

Various Software​

Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
Star Fox 64 3D	3DS	4	130,000
The ICO & Shadow of the Colossus Collection	PS3	1	92,000
Kirby Mass Attack	NDS	2	66,000
Bit.Trip Complete	WII	3	<1,000

[3DS] $169 Flame Red Version: 79,000

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $534 million
[X360] Gears of War 3 Week 1 Worldwide: >3,000,000

[NDS] Total Software: 273,000,000
[NDS] has 24 of the top 25 and 43 of the top 50 best-selling handheld software this generation

[3DS] Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D LTD: >500,000

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	Madden NFL 12 [EA Sports]	5
2	NEW	Gears of War 3	2
3	NEW	Dead Island	4
4	NEW	FIFA Soccer 12 [EA Sports]	1
5	NEW	NHL 12 [EA Sports]	3
6	NEW	Resistance 3	4
7	2	Deus Ex: Human Revolution	-
8	3	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
9	1	NCAA Football 12 [EA Sports]	-
10	NEW	Space Marine [Warhammer 40,000]	4
11	4	New Super Mario Bros.	-
12	NEW	Star Fox 64	4
13	NEW	Driver: San Francisco	4
14	5	Mortal Kombat (2011)	-
15	15	LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars	-
16	10	Zumba Fitness	-
17	NEW	Ico & Shadow of the Colossus Collection	1
18	14	The Sims 3	-
19	7	Pokemon Black/White	-
20	8	Phineas and Ferb: Across the 2nd Dimension [Disney]	-

---

Quarter 1 + 2 + 3 (January 02 - October 01) - 39 Weeks​

Rank	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking
1	Just Dance 2	WII	-
2	Pokemon White	NDS	-
3	Gears of War 3	X360	2
4	Pokemon Black	NDS	-
5	Call of Duty: Black Ops	X360	-
6	Zumba Fitness	WII	-
7	Madden NFL 12	X360	5
8	Call of Duty: Black Ops	PS3	-
9	Madden NFL 12	PS3	5
10	New Super Mario Bros.	NDS	-
11	Michael Jackson: The Experience	WII	-
12	NBA 2K11	X360	-
13	L.A. Noire	X360	20
14	Dance Central	X360	-
15	Mortal Kombat	PS3	24
16	Mortal Kombat	X360	24
17	Homefront	X360	29
18	Kinect Sports	X360	-
19	NCAA Football 12	X360	12
20	New Super Mario Bros. Wii	WII	-

Platform Ranking
[X360] 10
[WII] 4
[NDS] 3
[PS3] 3

---

[#10] October (October 02 - October 29) - 4 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	Battlefield 3	X360, PS3, PC	1	Almost 2,000,000
2	NEW	Batman: Arkham City	X360, PS3	2	1,500,000
3	NEW	NBA 2K12	X360, PS3, PSP, WII, PS2, PC	4	-
4	NEW	Rage	X360, PS3, PC	4	550,000
5	NEW	Just Dance 3	WII, X360	4	-
6	NEW	Dark Souls	PS3, X360	4	>350,000
7	1	Madden NFL 12	X360, PS3, WII, PS2, PSP	-	-
8	NEW	Forza Motorsport 4	X360	3	-
9	2	Gears of War 3	X360	-	-
10	4	FIFA Soccer 12	X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2, 3DS	-	-
11	NEW	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure	Not in order 3DS, Wii, 360, PS3, PC	3	~103,500

[PS3] Dark Souls >190,000
[X360] Dark Souls: >160,000

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $490 million

[WII] [NDS] [3DS] Nintendo software year to date: >55,000,000
[WII] [NDS] Family Software life to date: >540,000,000

[PS3] inFAMOUS: Festival of Blood is the fastest selling PS3 digital game ever launched on PSN

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	Battlefield 3	1
2	NEW	Batman: Arkham City	2
3	NEW	NBA 2K12	4
4	NEW	RAGE	4
5	NEW	Forza Motorsport 4	3
6	1	Madden NFL 12 [EA Sports]	-
7	NEW	Just Dance 3	4
8	2	Gears of War 3	-
9	4	FIFA Soccer 12 [EA Sports]	-
10	NEW	Dark Souls	4
11	3	Dead Island	-
12	NEW	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure	3
13	NEW	Rocksmith	2
14	NEW	Ace Combat: Assault Horizon	3
15	8	Call of Duty: Black Ops	-
16	5	NHL 12 [EA Sports]	-
17	NEW	The Sims 3: Pets	2
18	9	NCAA Football 12 [EA Sports]	-
19	11	New Super Mario Bros.	-
20	-	Dance Central 2	-

---

[#11] November (October 30 - November 26) - 4 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	NEW	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	X360, PS3, WII, PC	3	8,990,000
2	NEW	Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	X360, PS3, PC	3	2,833,000
3	1	Battlefield 3	X360, PS3, PC	-	<1,310,000
4	NEW	Assassin's Creed: Revelations	X360, PS3, PC	2	1,260,000
5	5	Just Dance 3	WII, X360	-	>1,210,000
6	7	Madden NFL 12	X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2	-	-
7	NEW	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception	PS3	4	700,000
8	NEW	Saints Row: The Third	X360, PS3, PC	2	-
9	NEW	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword	WII	1	>600,000
10	2	Batman: Arkham City	X360, PS3, PC	-	-

#3 - #5 have 50K range between them, either meaning the difference between #3 and #5 is 50K, or the gap between each 3 games is 50K

[3DS] Super Mario 3D Land (Retail + Bundle): 625,000
[3DS] Super Mario 3D Land (Retail): <500,000

Rayman Origins: 50,000

[3DS] Sonic Generations: <20,000
[3DS] Cave Story 3D: <10,000
[3DS] Shinobi 3D: <3,000
[3DS] Ace Combat: Assault Horizon Legacy: <2,000

[3DS] [X360] Super Mario 3D Land and Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary would be in the Top 10 SKU

[WII] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: <100,000
[PC] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: even less than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 WII

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $1.4 billion

[PC] Retail +57% YOY

Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion LTD: ~3,300,000
Batman: Arkham City LTD: Just shy of Batman: Arkham Asylum LTD

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	NEW	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	3
2	NEW	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	3
3	1	Battlefield 3	-
4	NEW	Assassin's Creed: Revelations	2
5	7	Just Dance 3	-
6	NEW	Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception	4
7	NEW	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword	1
8	NEW	Saints Row: The Third	2
9	6	Madden NFL 12 [EA Sports]	-
10	2	Batman: Arkham City	-
11	12	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure	-
12	NEW	Halo: Combat Evolved	2
13	NEW	Super Mario 3D Land	2
14	NEW	Need for Speed: The Run	2
15	9	FIFA Soccer 12 [EA Sports]	-
16	NEW	WWE '12	1
17	3	NBA 2K12	-
18	8	Gears of War 3	-
19	13	Rocksmith	-
20	20	Dance Central 2	-

---

[#12] December (November 27, 2011 - December 31, 2012) - 5 Weeks​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Platform	Weeks in Tracking	Sales
1	1	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	X360, PS3, WII, PC	-	-
2	5	Just Dance 3	WII, X360, PS3	-	-
3	2	Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	X360, PS3, PC	-	-
4	NEW	Mario Kart 7	3DS	4	>1,082,000
5	3	Battlefield 3	X360, PS3, PC	-	-
6	6	Madden NFL 12	X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2	-	-
7	4	Assassin's Creed: Revelations	X360, PS3, PC	-	-
8	-	NBA 2K12	X360, PS3, WII, PSP, PS2, PC	-	-
9	-	Super Mario 3D Land	3DS	-	-
10	10	Batman: Arkham City	X360, PS3, PC	-	-
14	NEW	Star Wars: The Old Republic	PC	2	>600,000

Individual SKU
[WII] #1 Just Dance 3: Nearly 800,000 higher than #2 SKU, 2,000,000 higher than X360 Version
[X360] #2 Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
[WII] #10 The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword

[X360] [PS3] Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: 3,000,000

[3DS] Mario Kart 7 US December > Mario Kart 7 Japan December (up to 12/25)
[3DS] Mario Kart 7 Launch Week saw 3DS sales jump 2.4x (+140%) week over week (Week 2 over Week 1)

Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure: If you combine the sales of software bundles with the character packs which are tracked in the accessories category, the title would rank 4th in December, and 10th for Annual 2011 on dollar sales.

[X360] Total Retail (Software + Hardware + Accessories): $1.5 billion

Revenue Top 20​

Placement	Previous Place	Game	Weeks in Tracking
1	1	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3	-
2	5	Just Dance 3	-
3	2	The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim	-
4	9	Madden NFL 12 [EA Sports]	-
5	3	Battlefield 3	-
6	4	Assassin's Creed: Revelations	-
7	NEW	Mario Kart 7	4
8	17	NBA 2K12	-
9	11	Skylanders: Spyro's Adventure	-
10	10	Batman: Arkham City	-
11	NEW	Star Wars: The Old Republic	2
12	8	Saints Row: The Third	-
13	7	The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword	-
14	13	Super Mario 3D Land	-
15	16	WWE '12	-
16	15	FIFA Soccer 12 [EA Sports]	-
17	-	New Super Mario Bros.	-
18	14	Need for Speed: The Run	-
19	-	Kinect Sports: Season Two	-
20	-	Wipeout 2 [abc]	-

NPD Archives

 

[Lelouch0612]

2011 is definitely the year Nintendo's armor started to crack, quite visibly, in the US.

Exceptional year for Xbox, which had everything between core and casual appeal to make a killing for the upcoming generation.

Lots to digest, but definitely a pivotal year for the market.

 

[KillerMan]

2011 is definitely the year Nintendo's armor started to crack, quite visibly, in the US.

Exceptional year for Xbox, which had everything between core and casual appeal to make a killing for the upcoming generation.

Lots to digest, but definitely a pivotal year for the market.

Still kinda curious to me how 3DS even after the price cut to basically DS level of prices could not repeat even close to the 2010 DS performance in US (also had full BC). DS even had great first quarter of 2011 before release of 3DS. The downfall of DS brand was quick.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

2010's Just Dance 2 and Just Dance 3 both charting top 10 pulling a CoD is something I forgot was a thing. Retirement home Senior Citizens were dancing to the beat! Just Dance 3, if Guinness 2015 is to be believed, is also the biggest third party Wii seller at 9.92. Ubisoft would've paid for it to appear there, I would imagine, and can be taken as basically them disclosing the numbers in a roundabout way?

Fake Edit: https://www.gamespot.com/articles/just-dance-3-sells-7-million-series-climbs-to-25m/1100-6348597/
Which would make the figure above make sense, 7M in a couple months.

The hardware graph Xbox vs PS shows us just what kind of a different world we've been living in since the PS4.

 

[Drblitzk]

Call of Duty: Black Ops now the best-selling game in the US ever, topping Wii Sports

In here I guess you meant Wii Play right?

And oh man, how I miss we getting some kind of numbers at least, and this just shows how comparing games with only rankings nowadays is just a flawed method. Take Deus Ex:HR #1 in August at launch for example, and have it launch any other month and it wouldn’t be top 5, put it in February and it wouldn’t even be in the top 10. Yet it’s second month it went down 5 positions, but number wise it barely drop more than 60k (less than 25%) units, saying a game did good or bad because of it’s position at launch, or that it has good or bad legs just with positions and basically no knowledge of anything around it like some people do nowadays, is not possible.

But yeah, 2011 was a good year for video games that I couldn’t enjoy (started medical residency which is hell and couldn’t spend any moment discussing, or much less, playing, any kind of video game ) this is a cool way to remember it and discover more of it, thanks Welfare.

 

[Astral_lion02]

@Welfare

Nintendo shared the missing PSP numbers:

(Nintendo did the same in 2012 and for some 2013 months)

PS2 LTD is too low too.

Should be >46,3M by that point.

 

[Malden]

Reading that first slide was not expecting to see DS top NPD in 3DS launch month.

 

[fiendcode]

Reading that first slide was not expecting to see DS top NPD in 3DS launch month.

DS and GBA were similar iirc.

 

[Lelouch0612]

Reading that first slide was not expecting to see DS top NPD in 3DS launch month.

Even worse was the 3DS dropping below 100k and being outsold 2:1 by the DS in its 3rd month.

 

[menx64]

I remember the wii and DS games. The 3ds had a low start tbh, but the DS was just an amazing seller.

 

[Malden]

Even worse was the 3DS dropping below 100k and being outsold 2:1 by the DS in its 3rd month.

That too. DS was just a monster.

 

[allan-bh]

Xbox 360 had a stellar year, Kinect was a brief but huge success.

3DS was mediocre, the mobile market eating a slice of the dedicated gaming portable devices became pretty evident.

 

[Lelouch0612]

Xbox 360 had a stellar year, Kinect was a brief but huge success.

3DS was mediocre, the mobile market eating a slice of the dedicated gaming portable devices became pretty evident.

Sales post price-cut were good to great tbh. The problem of the 3DS was that its main gimmick didn't catch on while costing them in terms of performances and even public perception (with risks associated to the 3D for kids).

 

[AuroraMusisAmica]

Also didn't help that 3DS most compelling software for the first 3 months was a (admittedly impressive) port of Street Fighter IV.

Nintendo spent the systems entire lifecycle trying to convince the world of why its gimmick (which peaked in 2009 with Avatar) was necessary. Finally ditching the concept with the 2DS/XL.

Thankfully the 3D was non-intrusive (unlike say, the Wii U GamePad) and the games began to shine through.

But yeah, the 2010s was a disaster for Nintendos hardware philosophy. Thankfully they would learn from their failures.

 

[fiendcode]

DS was not a monster it's first year, lol. Welfare should do the 2005 NPD discussion thread next, I think people would astounded by just how badly DS did (and how well PSP did upfront).

 

[Welfare]

DS was not a monster it's first year, lol. Welfare should do the 2005 NPD discussion thread next, I think people would astounded by just how badly DS did (and how well PSP did upfront).

It was getting down to below 15K a week that summer

 

[Bullexto]

It really does feel strange to see a brand new mainline Zelda game barely making it into the top 10 during its launch month.

 

[Evilnemesis8]

It really does feel strange to see a brand new mainline Zelda game barely making it into the top 10 during its launch month.

Woah, didn't notice it the first time I've read the OP.
Pre-BotW and Post-BotW Zelda is so wild.

 

[allan-bh]

Sales post price-cut were good to great tbh. The problem of the 3DS was that its main gimmick didn't catch on while costing them in terms of performances and even public perception (with risks associated to the 3D for kids).

Still 3DS in the end sold half of NDS and the rival was the failed PS Vita, not PSP.

The market for gaming handhelds shinkred significantly. 3D failed as a gimmick, but 3DS would down sharply anyway.

 

[Pein]

If Microsoft just went back to the 360 route aka out PlayStation, PlayStation, they’d crush it. They can say digital libraries were built up in the previous gens but people buy new consoles for new games.

 

[allan-bh]

If Microsoft just went back to the 360 route aka out PlayStation, PlayStation, they’d crush it. They can say digital libraries were built up in the previous gens but people buy new consoles for new games.

The problem is that without a big mistake from Sony the path is very hard.

360 only had this level of success because of Sony's mistakes with PS3, the same way PS4 only crushed One because of the terrible strategy of Microsoft.

Even if Microsoft become brillant with Xbox, if Sony don't commit a huge mistake, the gains will came slowly.

I believe Microsoft throw in the towel when they decided to launch day one on PC. The strategy since is being a leader in the gaming market as a whole, not in consoles.

 

[Kriegshand]

This started the XBOX leadership until 2013. But oh boy did Microsoft crush the brand after that!

Just Dance was saving the Wii brand from total collapse this year basically alone.
It doesn't happen often that Nintendo is beaten on their own platform this hard.

 

[Lelouch0612]

The problem is that without a big mistake from Sony the path is very hard.

360 only had this level of success because of Sony's mistakes with PS3, the same way PS4 only crushed One because of the terrible strategy of Microsoft.

To be fair, weak PS3 explains the first years of the X360. Its late surge was thanks to MS moves with Kinect most notably.

 

[Astral_lion02]

Even worse was the 3DS dropping below 100k and being outsold 2:1 by the DS in its 3rd month.

Situation like that where the old console eat sales of the new one are really the worse for a console manufacture.

It was the same thing with PS2 selling well in 2007 while PS3 was struggling.

The big mistake of the 3DS launch outside Japan in my opinion was the launch of Pokemon Black/White only on NDS with a special DSI the exact same month as 3DS.
And the marketing for Pokemon never mentionned the fact it was payable on 3DS.
In Europe they were also Inazuma Eleven in february.

For Inazuma Eleven 2 and Pokemon Black/White 2 in 2012 they did not make the same mistake with marketing focusing on the possibility to play it on 3DS and the addition of some exclusives features for 3DS (Pokemon radar).

Reading that first slide was not expecting to see DS top NPD in 3DS launch month.

The "Yes, DS" on That quote say everithing.

Hardware
Nintendo DS (Yes, DS) - 460k
Xbox 360 - 433,000 (Top Selling Console)
Nintendo 3DS - Slightly Under 400,000
Wii - 290k

NPD March 2011 Sales Results [Update 2: Super Street Fighter IV 3D]

5-week tracking month; Reporting Period 2/27/11 through 4/2/11 Software (New Physical Retail only) 2.5 Million combined White + Black 01. Pokemon White Version (NDS) Nintendo - 1.3 Million 02. Pokemon Black Version (NDS) Nintendo - 1.1 Million 03. Homefront (360, PS3, PC) THQ 04...

www.neogaf.com

 

[awng782]

Still kinda curious to me how 3DS even after the price cut to basically DS level of prices could not repeat even close to the 2010 DS performance in US (also had full BC). DS even had great first quarter of 2011 before release of 3DS. The downfall of DS brand was quick.

Price was never a huge issue for 3DS once the it got reduced a few months after launch. The issue was that mobile gaming grew quick from 2011 onward and basically ate up the blue-ocean segment of the NDS's market, so the Touch Generation games and their copycats all lost relevance. Licensed games which were hugely prevelant on GBA/NDS also got hit hard by the rise of mobile and thus largely stopped getting made.

In the end, all the 3DS had were core Nintendo 1st party titles and certain Japanese 3rd party titles. You can see this in the number of games released for 3DS - only the N64 and Wii U had fewer games releases among Nintendo platforms.

 

[IronTed]

Minor nitpick, I recall reading that 3DS August HW sales were 235k. Seems that 253k is a revised number?

 

[Welfare]

Minor nitpick, I recall reading that 3DS August HW sales were 235k. Seems that 253k is a revised number?

I think I mistyped that 8 years ago and never noticed

 

[Welfare]

Revenue Top 20 for the Full Year and month to month as of November 2023 data is in the OP

 

[Josh5890]

PSP LTD >19,419,000

Do we think that there is a chance PSP hit 20m in the US?

 

[Aquamarine]

PSP LTD >19,419,000

Do we think that there is a chance PSP hit 20m in the US?

Yes, according to NPD the PSP eventually sold-through 20.2 million hardware units in the USA. They reached the >20 million threshold in the Jun-12 reporting period.