NPD Group Releases November, 2007 U.S. Console Sales Numbers

 

NPD has released their console sales numbers for the U.S., for October, 2007.  The next-gen console sales for the month were:

XBox 360: 770,000 

PS3: 466,000

Wii: 981,000

November marked the second best month ever for the PS3 (December, 2006 is still #1), and the best month yet for the Wii.  It's great to see almost half a million additional PS3s (and Blu-ray players) sold in the last month alone.  Judging by the game and movie sales, the PS3 is definitely making its move finally as a gaming system, and putting the final nails in the coffin of HD DVD.

Looking at all three systems by months after release, the PS3 has now managed to move nearly 2.5 million units in the US, and should be well over 3 million by years' end.  The Wii has managed to push just over 6 million consoles in just 13 months -- a huge accomplishment for Nintendo.  Microsoft's XBox 360 did slightly better than the PS3 in the U.S. during it's first year out, though it of course had no next-gen competition and a lower price point.

Obviously, the XBox 360 has been out considerably longer than the other consoles, so in the interests of fairness, here is a chart that shows the total sales of the consoles over their lifetimes.

Microsoft, of course, remains number 1 in the US thanks to its year-long headstart, but Nintendo is rapidly closing that gap.  That said, the "middle of the road approach" has served Microsoft fairly well thus far.  Their system doesn't have the raw power (or Blu-ray features) of the PS3, nor does it have the radically new controller design of Nintendo's Wii, but they have carved out a sizable chunk of the market for themselves among hardcore gamers, who aren't looking for a system designed to do everything else.  That said, with their US marketshare dropping, and their worldwide marketshare already less than that of the Wii, it remains to be seen how long Microsoft will stick with their latest system.

Holiday sales are still in full swing and if you're looking for a PS3 this holiday there's some fantastic deals to be had, and you can still get 5 free Blu-ray movies by mail with either the 40GB or 80GB PS3 models.  We're almost at the end of the time when you can be an "early adopter" of Blu-ray movies here -- so either get on board now, or be forever known as a follower!