October NPDs – PS3 Stumbles, 360 Surge, Wii Explodes,

Hardware

1. Wii – 803 000
2. Nintendo DS – 491 000
3. Xbox 360 – 371 000
4. PlayStation Portable – 193 000
5. PlayStation 3 – 190 000
6. PlayStation 2 – 136 000

Software

1. 360 – FABLE II, Microsoft, Oct. 08, 790 000
2. WII FIT W/ BALANCE BOARD – Nintendo of America, May-08, 487 000
3. 360 – FALLOUT 3, Bethesda Softworks, Oct-08, 375 000
4. WII – MARIO KART W/ WHEEL, Nintendo of America, Apr-08, 290 000
5. WII PLAY W/ REMOTE, Nintendo of America, Feb-07, 282 000
6. 360 – SAINTS ROW 2, THQ,  Oct-08, 270 000
7. PS3 – SOCOM: U.S. NAVY SEALS CONFRONTATION, SCEA, Oct-08, 231 000
8. PS3 – LITTLE BIG PLANET, SCEA, Oct-08, 215 000
9. 360 – NBA 2K9, Take 2 Interactive, Oct-08, 202 000
10. 360 – DEAD SPACE, Electronic Arts, Oct-08, 193 000

My Predictions (From GAF)

[360] 300k
[NDS] 500k
[PS2] 150k
[PS3] 220k
[PSP] 240k
[WII] 600k

Wow. What a month. The Wii exceeded my expectations considerably. The Xbox 360 did 70K more than I expected and the PS3 did quite a bit worse than I expected. In fact, it seemed like I overshot all the Sony numbers. Looks like that price drop for Microsoft isn’t just a one time surge. Congrats to Microsoft and the price cut.

The ball is in your court, Sony.

Software wise, I had an inkling that Fable II would top the charts. The lack of Fallout 3 in the top 10 is very odd. Did all that talk about the Xbox 360 version being superior stop people from picking it up? (I know it did for me.)

The LittleBigPlanet numbers can be taken as disappointing, but you have to consider the niche aspect of it. Not everyone gets it. I watched the TV commercials and I wouldn’t be surprised if a lot of mainstream gamers out there brushed it off as a child’s toy. No guns, no go. I guess it’s also worth mentioning that LBP was available on store shelves for only four days.

I wonder if the Dead Space numbers will disappoint EA. I mean, it is a new IP which lacked a demo. I hope their expectations were realistic.