PS3 versus Xbox 360: L.A. Noire's May Sales Ranks Breakdown

Coffee Beans:
     L.A. Noire was released on May 17, 2011 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.  The game released with a "Standard" edition with a MSRP of $59.99.
     L.A. Noire was developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games.  The game received a "Mature" rating from the ESRB with, "Blood and Gore, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence" listed as content for gamers/parents to be aware of.

     The May 2011 NPD data was just released for video game hardware/software sales, and L.A. Noire was in the #1 software spot for the month, but the NPD data did not show the sales breakdown between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

     The chart below is not designed to be a replacement of NPD data, but to be a supplement with the NPD data for developers and investors alike, that may be interested in sales data.

     Were more crimes apparently solved on the PS3 or the Xbox 360 in the first 14 days after L.A. Noire released, based on the game's sales ranks in May?  Let's take a look!

Sega's Advertising Failure - Conduit 2?

Coffee Beans
Conduit 2 was released on April 19, 2011 for the Wii with a MSRP of $49.99.

Conduit 2 was developed by High Voltage Software, and published by Sega.  The game received a "Teen" rating from the ESRB with "Animated Blood, Language, Mild Suggestive Themes, Violence" listed as content for gamers/parents to be aware of.

It was officially announced on March 29, 2010 that Conduit 2 was in development.  The game is a direct sequel to the original game, The Conduit, but it has several new features such as local multi-player and WM+ control support.  Conduit 2 can also be patched(and has been) to hopefully address any issues that may pop-up in the game.

With Conduit 2 being the sequel to one of the Wii's most-hyped FPS games, did Sega's approach of not advertising Conduit 2 with any commercials, and relying only on name-recognition payoff for them?  Let's take a look!

PS3 vs. Xbox 360: Portal 2's April Sales Ranks - Analysis with Chart

Is this guy coffee proof?

Coffee Beans:
     Portal 2 was released on April 19, 2011 for both the PS3 and Xbox 360.  The game released with a "Standard" edition with a MSRP of $59.99.
     Portal 2 was developed and published by Valve, and distributed by Electronic Arts.  Portal 2 received an "Everyone 10+" rating from the ESRB, with "Fantasy Violence, Mild Language" listed as content for gamers/parents to be aware of.

     Did more PS3 or Xbox 360 owners apparently purchase Portal 2 during its 11 days on the market in April?  Let's take a look!

PS3 vs. Xbox 360: Mortal Kombat's April Sales Ranks - Analysis with Chart

Coffee Beans:
     Mortal Kombat was released on April 19, 2011 for both the PS3 and Xbox 360.  The game released with a "Standard" edition for $59.99, a "Collector's Edition" for $99.99, and a "Tournament Edition" for $149.99.
     Mortal Kombat was developed by NetherRealm Studios, and published by Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment.  The game received a "Mature" rating from the ESRB, with "Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Partial Nudity, Strong Language" listed as content for parents to be aware of.

     Did more PS3 owners or more Xbox 360 owners apparently purchase Mortal Kombat during its 11 days on the market in April?  Did the PlayStation Network crash/downtime affect Mortal Kombat's sales ranks on the PS3 compared to the Xbox 360 version, and was this apparent?  Let's take a look!

September 2010 - Nintendo Wii Consoles Sales Ranks

The Coffee Beans:
     Nintendo had the Black Wii console bundle and the White Wii console bundle for sale during September.  Both bundles include the Wii system, with Wii Sports, Wii Sports Resort, Wii Remote, Nunchuk, and a Wii MotionPlus unit as well.  The Wii console bundles sell for $199.99.
     We already looked at the September 2010 PS3 consoles sales ranks, and the September 2010 Xbox 360 consoles sales ranks.  As I stated in both those posts, the chart below is not designed to replace, or predict, NPD sales numbers for September; but it is designed to be a visual aid and hopefully a good supplement with the NPD data, giving us an idea of what the sales breakdown may be within each console's skus.
     So, according the sales ranks, were more consumers purchasing the Black Wii bundle, over the White Wii bundle, like last month?  Let's take a look...

Click chart to enlarge

The Coffee Brew:
     The chart above shows the Amazon.com sales ranks for the Black and White Wii console bundles, during the month of September.  The sales ranks were recorded on 16 different days for the Black Wii bundle and 15 days for the White Wii bundle, between September 3 and September 29, 2010.
     The breaks in the lines are for days where I didn't have a sales rank recorded.  The first instance was on September 9 around 11:40PM, where I had the sales rank for the Black Wii bundle, but couldn't find one for the White Wii bundle.
     The second break was on September 22, what was supposed to be around 11:15PM.  I had the data for the PS3 and Xbox 360, but somehow didn't have sales ranks recorded for the Wii bundles.  Even with those breaks, it seems the sales ranks were pretty steady for each Wii bundle during the month of September.

Highs & Lows:
     The highest recorded sale rank in September for the Black Wii console bundle was #11, on September 3 around 11:45PM.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for the Black Wii console bundle was #26, on September 12 around 11:10PM.

     The highest recorded sale rank for the White Wii console bundle was #72, on September 29 around 4:55PM.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for the White Wii bundle was #134, on September 19 around 9:30PM.

Thoughts:
     I think it's safe to assume the Black Wii bundle is still the favored bundle for consumers purchasing new Wiis, based on this data.  While the Wii has been seeing a decline in monthly NPD numbers for a few months now, I think it will be interesting this holiday season, to see if the Wii has a major rebound like it did last year.
     When I looked at the individual sales ranks from August, compared to September's, the White Wii bundle saw the most significant fluctuation in its sales ranks, mostly being down compared to August.
     If this data is reflective of larger retail stores' sales, when looking at the NPD sales numbers for September, I think it will be safe to assume a near 2-to-1 ratio of Black Wii bundles sold, versus White Wii bundles.
     Kind of interesting to note, at the time of writing this, Amazon.com has the Black and White Wii bundles on sale for $174.99.  
Link - Wii with Wii Sports Resort - Black
Link - Wii with Wii Sports Resort - White
The Black Wii bundle has a sale rank of #3 now, and the White Wii bundle has a sale rank of #17 now.  I wonder if this is a simple "sale" on Amazon.com, or if they are temporarily dropping the price to clear inventory for new Wii bundles, perhaps with the Wii Remote Plus in them?

Questions:
     Do y'all think the Wii will pick momentum back up during the holidays, and have significant leads each month over the PS3 and Xbox 360?  Or, do you think the Xbox 360 and PS3 may start passing the Wii's monthly sales on a more regular basis now?
     I think it will be interesting to see if/when North America gets the Red Wii bundle, and how that will do.

If you are interested in either the Black Wii bundle or White Wii Bundle, you can see prices for them on Amazon.com linked below:
  

September 2010 - Xbox 360 Consoles Sales Ranks

The Coffee Beans:
     Microsoft had three main Xbox 360 consoles available for sale during the month of September.  Each Xbox 360 was at a different price point, and one of the Xbox 360 consoles was not available for purchase until September 14(pre-order was available before it released).
     As I stated in my, "September 2010 - PS3 Slim & PS3 Move Bundle Console Sales Ranks" post earlier this week, the chart below is not designed to replace, or predict, NPD sales numbers for September; but it is designed to be a visual aid and hopefully a good supplement, giving us an idea of what the sales breakdown may be within the different console Skus.
     When looking at the chart, the higher the line is on the chart, the better the sales ranks were for the console sku listed.
     Was Halo: Reach a system seller for Microsoft in September?  Let's take a look...

Click chart to enlarge

The Coffee Pot(what's in the chart):
     The chart above shows the sales ranks for the 4GB Xbox 360 priced at $199.99, the 250GB Xbox 360 priced at $299.99, and the 250GB Xbox 360 Halo: Reach bundle priced at $399.99, during the month of September.
     The sales ranks were recorded on 17 different days during September, between September 3 and September 29, 2010.

Highs & Lows:
     The highest recorded sale rank for the 4GB Xbox 360 was #34, on September 3 around 11:45PM.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for the 4GB sku was #77, on September 27 around 11:55PM.

     The highest recorded sale rank for the 250GB Xbox 360($299.99) was #17, on September 8 and 9.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for the 250GB sku was #43, on September 19 around 9:30PM.

     The highest recorded sale rank for the 250GB Xbox 360 Halo: Reach bundle was #4, on September 9 around 11:40PM.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for the Halo: Reach bundle was #57, on September 28 around 11:30PM.

Thoughts:
     I think it's interesting when looking at the chart, that the 250GB Halo: Reach bundle at $399.99, outranked the regular 250GB Xbox 360 sku priced at $299.99, for 13 out of the 17 days that sales ranks were recorded.
     If the NPD releases console specific numbers, I would expect to see the 250GB Xbox 360 Halo: Reach bundle leading all consoles for the month of September.
     I know people say the Halo games are system sellers for Microsoft, and I think it's safe to say that Halo: Reach was a system seller during September, with what this data shows.
     Being that the data doesn't represent sales numbers, but possibly represents how the console skus are selling at retail; I think when comparing these ranks, to the PS3 sales ranks during September that I showed earlier this week, the Xbox 360 will sell more units in September than the PS3.

Questions:
     Did any of you purchase an Xbox 360 during September?  If so, which Xbox 360 unit did you go with, and was Halo: Reach a determining factor in your purchase?

If you are interested in any sku of the Xbox 360, you can see prices on Amazon.com linked below:
  

September 2010 - PS3 Slim & PS3 Move Bundle Console Sales Ranks

Brewed Info:
     The chart is not designed to replace, or even predict, NPD numbers for September, but is designed to be a visual aid and hopefully a good supplement to give us an idea of what the sales breakdown may be within the PS3 console Skus.
     Remember when looking at the chart, the higher the line is on the chart, the better the sales ranks were for the consoles.

Click chart to enlarge

Coffee Beans(what makes up the chart):
     The chart above shows the sales ranks for the 160GB PS3 priced at $299.99, and the 320GB PS3 Move bundle priced at $399.99, during the month of September.  The sales ranks were recorded on Amazon.com with the dates and times recorded, when each sales rank was captured, on 17 different days in September.
     The sales ranks were captured between September 3 and September 29, 2010.  The highlighted days on the chart, from September 18 through September 29, are days that reflect when the 320GB PS3 Move bundle was actually available for purchase, not just "pre-order".

Highs & Lows:
     The highest recorded sale rank for the 160GB PS3 was #12, on September 3 around 11:45PM.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for the 160GB PS3 was #25, on September 29 around 4:55PM.

     The highest recorded sale rank for the 320GB PS3 Move bundle was #19, on September 18 around 11:00PM.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for the 320GB PS3 Move bundle was #102, on September 3 around 11:45PM.

Thoughts:
     September 2010 was an interesting month for consoles.  Sony released the new Sony 320GB PS3 Move bundle for $399.99, on September 17, and Microsoft had three consoles available for purchase in September: the Xbox 360 4GB, Xbox 360 250GB, and the 250GB Halo: Reach bundle(available on September 14).
     While we don't know the official NPD numbers for September yet, I think it will be interesting to see if they give an estimate for how the Sony Move bundle for $99.99, and the console bundle, sold during September.

Questions:
     Have any of you played with the PS3 Move controller and Navigation controller?  If so, what do you think of it from what you have played?  If you haven't played it, is the Move something you are interested in picking up for your PS3?
     I am interested in the controllers, just to see how well they perform in FPS games on the PS3.  I was in Best Buy earlier this week, and saw they had the PS3 Move on display.  I couldn't figure out how to navigate the PS3 menu using just the Move controller, so I was stuck with watching a demo video; not actually playing any demo.

You can see prices for the 160GB and 320GB PS3s, as well as the Sony Move game bundle and PlayStation Move Navigation Controller on Amazon.com linked below:
      

Sin & Punishment: Star Successor's Sales Ranks (6-27-10 thru 8-5-10)

Quick Brew Info:
     Sin & Punishment: Star Successor was released on June 27, 2010, on the Nintendo Wii.  The game released with a MSRP of $49.99, and is the sequel to the original Sin & Punishment from the Nintendo 64.
Sin & Punishment: Star Successor was developed by Treasure, and published by Nintendo.

(click chart to enlarge)

Chart Info:
     The chart above shows the sales ranks for Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, with data captured between June 27, 2010 and August 5, 2010.  The higher the line on the chart, the better the sales rank is for the game.
There are thirty-two sales ranks used in the chart, with the date and approximate time captured shown on the chart.

Highs & Lows:
     The highest recorded sale rank for Sin & Punishment: Star Successor was #100, on June 28, around 12:45AM.
The lowest sale rank for Sin & Punishment: Star Successor was #1,158, on August 5, around 2:30AM.

Critical Reception:
     Being that Sin & Punishment: Star Successor was released in Japan in October 2009, and in Europe on May 7; reviews for the game started being published for those versions well before the North American version was released.

     Sin & Punishment: Star Successor currently has a review score average of 86.18%, based on 37 reviews from GameRankings.com.

     Sin & Punishment: Star Successor's customer review score average on Amazon.com has a current average of about 4 out of 5 Stars.  The 4 out 5 Star customer rating would put the game at about an 80% review score average, so a little lower than the "professional" review score average.

Thoughts:
     When Nintendo released a commercial for the game back in June, it made me wonder what the impact would be on the sales for the game.  I never recorded Sin & Punishment: Star Successor's sales rank above 100, and it seems like the game has fallen off rather quickly on the Amazon.com charts.

     When the NPD data was released for June, Sin & Punishment: Star Successor wasn't listed in the "Top 20", and by looking at the sales data from Amazon.com, it is probably safe to say it won't appear on July's NPD "Top 20" report either.

Questions:
     If you played Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, would you recommend the game to Wii owners at its current price?


If you are interested in Sin & Punishment: Star Successor, you can see prices for it on Amazon.com below: