NPD has released data on sales of video games in North America in August. There has been a decline of 23% over the same period last year, mainly due to the postponement of the launch of the new version of Madden NFL . The new sports simulation of EA Sports is already witnessing a high volume of sales in the month of September, and traditionally was released in August.
The decline in sales is slightly lower than that recorded in July, in that case was 26% and this was the biggest decline since October 2006. "The majority of sales occur normally in the last four months of the year," says Anita Frazier, market analyst NPD. "Given the schedule of releases for the coming months, retail sales could go on the values of previous years."
The console sales dropped by 12% compared to August 2010. Compared to the previous month, however, sales of consoles are on the rise, especially due to improved results from 3DS and PlayStation 3 , or the two systems that have seen a reduction in price in recent weeks. On 12 August, in fact, the price of Nintendo 3DS fell from $ 249 to $ 169, while the PlayStation 3 fell on Aug. 18 from $ 299 to $ 249 (price reductions take effect in Europe).
Despite the new price of PlayStation 3, however, the best-selling home console in the U.S. in August remains Xbox 360 . Microsoft announced, in fact, sales of 308 000 units a month, driven mainly by the imminent launch of Gears of War Froze Motor sport 3 and 4.
"I believe that Microsoft executives are protecting an inferior technology," said a few days ago, Rob Dyer , vice president of public relations for Sony Computer Entertainment America. "It is good to remember that the Microsoft console can not be content with having larger than 9 GB due to the absence of Blue-ray."
Dyer admits that Microsoft continues to sell more consoles, and estimate the ratio of 1 to 1.6 the difference between the number of PlayStation 3 sold and the number of Xbox 360 sales: thus, for every PlayStation 3 sold are sold 1.6 Xbox 360. Dyer, however, insists that the PlayStation 3 is going very well on the software side, and considers each ratio of less than 1.6 positive for the PlayStation 3 business.
Mortal Combat and Dante's Inferno today are two of the Triple A few games that sell more than a total of PlayStation 3 with ratios of 0.91 and 0.93, respectively. Medal of Honor returns to the ratio in favor of the Xbox 360 with 1.2, and this is repeated with NBA 2K11, 1.2; LA Noire, 1.22, and Portal 2, 1.6.
"Microsoft spends a lot of money to have an exclusive relationship with Activision for the contents of the expansion of the Call of Duty games, which allows you to have the DLC on the Xbox 360 one month earlier than in other formats. But this, if we consider the installed base of consoles, it gives an advantage in the number of copies vendutevisto that the ratio of copies sold for Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 is 1.6 ", explains Dyer. "Many see Xbox 360 as the ideal platform for shooters, but we're not worried. We have reached an agreement with Electronic Arts that will allow us to have Battlefield 1943 Battlefield 3 included on the disc, and this will make the PS3 better than Xbox 360 ".
Despite the gap accumulated from the PlayStation 3 than Xbox 360 in the number of consoles sold in North America, the situation returned to Nippon for the console in Europe, where it continues to be sold in volume slightly higher than Xbox 360. Recently, though, Microsoft has announced plans to subvert this trend and has plans to make the pass in Europe will be available when Gears of War 3, 4 and Froze Motor sport titles Kindest for the Christmas season.
NPD sales data going back to August, we note that the best selling game of the month, given copies of the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC, is Deus Ex Human Revolution . The following NCAA Football 12 and Call of Duty Black Ops.
Posted by: Wasim Javed
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