NPD: Price cuts cause surge in hardware sales

Market research firm The NPD Group has revealed its US game hardware sales data for the month of August, 2009, showing an overall 25 per cent decline in hardware-based revenue over the same period last year, but with some much-needed good news in the form of increased unit sales month-over-month.

With the exception of Sony's PlayStation 2, all hardware sold more units in August than in July. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 in particular had strong showings, due to recently-implemented price cuts. The PlayStation 3 saw unit sales increase 72 per cent over those of July.

"The price cuts implemented on the PS3 and 360 hardware already made an impact on unit sales, despite having been executed fairly late in the month," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "It will be interesting to see the full impact of the new price points on September sales."

It should also be noted that Sony's revised PlayStation 3 Slim hardware did not premiere on US store shelves until September 1, and that its sales are not reflected in this month's NPD data.

Though its unit increases were not as significant, Nintendo's DS and Wii consoles continue to top the charts, at 552,900 and 277,400 units respectively.

"There is a lot of speculation about Wii and whether Nintendo will take a price cut as sales comps to last year show declines," said Frazier. "I do think it's interesting to note that the Wii is still selling at levels comparable to what the PS2 was doing at about this point in its lifecycle."

NPD's full hardware chart follows.

Nintendo DS - 552,900
Nintendo Wii - 277,400
Xbox 360 - 215,400
PlayStation 3 - 210,000
PlayStation Portable - 140,300
PlayStation 2 - 105,900

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/article...hardware-sales