GameRatty: Sony's Turn to Spin the NPDs: 410% Increase Year-Over-Year for PS3 Software

This is cache of http://feeds.feedburner.com/~r/GamingToday/~3/292503311/. Cache is the snapshot of article that we took when we index feed.
To see original page click here.
We are not affiliated with the authors of this article and not responsible for its content.

Sony's Turn to Spin the NPDs: 410% Increase Year-Over-Year for PS3 Software

2008-05-17 21:46:10 by Chris in Gaming Today

Okay, with Microsoft out of the way, it’s now Sony’s turn to give their spin on the NPD Group’s data for last month. Of the three current-gen consoles, PlayStation 3 sold the least in April (albeit by an extremely slim margin) and, overall, Sony platforms didn’t have a particularly good month. So what angle would Sony take?

The main talking point focused on year-over-year sales growth. The PS3 sold 127% better than last April, which isn’t huge, but software sales were up 410% to over two million units, thanks in large part to Grand Theft Auto IV.

Sony was also proud that, with 1 million copies of GTA sold, 23.6% of PS3 owners in the U.S. had purchased a copy, which is a 29% higher attach rate than GTA had on Xbox 360. (According to their math, the game had an attach rate of around 16.75% on 360.)

I found it somewhat amusing that the press release claims the PS3 “continues [its] blockbuster year” when, from a hardware standpoint, it really had a poor month. But that’s a minor gripe; what else do you expect from a press release.

Hit the jump for the full press release.

PS3 Continues Blockbuster Year:
> PS3 Hardware Sales Growth Exceeds 127% Year-Over-Year; PS3 Software
> Sales Up 410% Year-Over-Year
> Total PlayStation Hardware Sales Top 505,363 Units
>
> PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued its benchmark year with 187,071
> hardware units sold in April (according to NPD April 2008 sales
> data). This represents a year-over-year sales growth of over 127%.
> More than 2 million software units were sold for PS3 in April,
> representing a year-over-year growth of 410%.
>
> Spurred by the tremendous legacy of the Grand Theft Auto franchise
> on PlayStation, over 1 million copies of Grand Theft Auto IV for PS3
> were sold in April in North America, with 23.6% of U.S. PS3 owners
> purchasing a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, a 29.0% higher attach rate
> for the title than Xbox 360. Enthusiasm for Grand Theft Auto IV
> combined with the launches of Haze and SingStar for PS3, is expected
> to continue to lift PS3 hardware sales through May.
> Grand Theft Auto IV and Gran Turismo 5 Prologue mark the beginning
> of a monster 2008 software line-up for PS3, including the highly-
> anticipated exclusive titles Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the
> Patriots, SOCOM: US Navy SEALs Confrontation, Resistance 2, and
> LittleBigPlanet to name a few. These blockbusters promise to further
> drive PS3 sales through to the holiday season.
> Fueled by the launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue on the
> PLAYSTATION®Network, approximately 6 million pieces of content have
> been downloaded from the PlayStation®Store in North America since
> this time last month, with more than 73 million pieces of content
> downloaded from PLAYSTATION Store in North America to date. There
> are currently over 3.9 million registered PLAYSTATION Network
> accounts in North America.
> The recently introduced DUALSHOCK®3 wireless controller for PS3 also
> proved to be a hot-seller, with sales exceeding $10.9 million in
> April.
>
>
> PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued to boast strong sales in April
> with 192,696 PSP hardware units sold, representing a sales increase
> of 5.4% year-over-year. Fueled by enthusiasm for the exclusive
> blockbusters God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final
> Fantasy VII, the top two selling titles the platform of the month,
> more than 1 million software units were sold for PSP in April.
>
>
>
> PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had another strong month in April with
> hardware unit sales reaching 124,376 units. More than 42 million
> PS2s have been sold to date in the U.S.
>
>
>
> Power of the PlayStation Portfolio
>
> The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales,
> earning $387 million in April.
>
> ·          Year to date (Jan-April), the PlayStation brand generated
> over $1.9 billion in revenue, representing an increase of 17.6% year-
> over year.
>
> ·          PlayStation total hardware revenue was $126.2 million in
> April, representing a year-over-year growth of over 19.4%.
>
> ·          PlayStation total software revenue in April was $215.1
> million, representing a year-over-year growth of 68.6%.
>
> CEO Perspective
>
> “Clearly, the tremendous legacy of Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation,
> combined with the blockbuster launch of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue
> packed a one-two punch with consumers at retail this month. The
> proof is in the numbers and, in April, PlayStation 3 hardware sales
> experienced a 127% increase over April of last year. PS3 momentum is
> fueled by enthusiasm for Blu-ray as the definitive high def standard
> and the growing number of consumers gearing up for some of the most
> anticipated titles of the year, exclusively for PS3, including the
> June release of Metal Gear Solid 4, and other great exclusives in
> the second half on the year, such as Resistance 2, SOCOM:
> Confrontation and LittleBigPlanet to name a few. With exciting
> PlayStation Network innovations and our strongest console-driving
> titles of the year still on the horizon, PS3 remains on pace for a
> breakthrough year.”
>
> - Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment
> America