April NPD: GTAIV sells like crazy, console sales neck and neck
by Dustin Burg 
{ May 16th 2008 at 9:45AM }
It's that time again when corporate execs are held accountable for their actions, sales figures are calculated and the North American "digits" are revealed. It's time for April NPD! W00t!Last month's video game competition was a heated race between Microsoft and Sony as the Xbox 360 was able to move 188,000 units narrowly beating out the PS3's 187,100. That news on top of Microsoft announcing the 360's 10 million U.S. milestone make it a pretty good month for team Microsoft. Though, Nintendo's Wii continues to dominate even without Grand Theft Auto IV's help moving an amazing 714,200 consoles. Speaking of GTAIV, it rocked the final week of April selling a jaw-dropping 1.85 million units on the 360 alone which is nearly double that of the 1 million units it sold on the PS3. And that's always good to hear. Check the break for a complete rundown of the April NPD hardware and software data.
[Via Joystiq]
April Hardware Sales
1. Wii - 714,200
2. DS - 414,800
3. PSP - 192,700
4. Xbox 360 - 188,000
5. PS3 - 187,100
6. PS2 - 124,400
April Software Sales
1. GTA IV – Xbox 360 – 1.85 million
2. Mario Kart Wii – Wii – 1.12 million
3. GTA IV – PS3 – 1.00 million
4. Wii Play w/ remote – Wii – 360,000
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl – Wii – 326,000
6. Gran Turismo 5: Prologue – PS3 – 224,000
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness – DS – 202,000
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time – DS – 202,000
9. Guitar Hero III – Wii – 152,000
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare – Xbox 360 – 141K
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
DjDATZ @ May 16th 2008 9:53AM
LOL...GTA IV for POS3 got pwned by Mario Cart. Just LOL.
Wiis are selling like CRAZY! Nothing new there though...lol
DjDATZ @ May 16th 2008 9:53AM
Excuse me, that wasn't supposed to be POS3, but PS3.
And yes, I know what POS3 stands for, but that was not the intention.
xboxrulez1985 @ May 16th 2008 9:56AM
I thought 360 was supposed to have a landslide win over ps3 in April....oh well, i got both, so I dont care.
haukke @ May 16th 2008 12:45PM
the larger point if you look at the sales is not that the wii sold more or the ps3 sold less which it did but the amount of software that the 360 sold was still more.it sold 3 times less hardware then the wii but more software and gta sold more then by itself then all the ps3 software combined.it may not move the hardware like nintendo but sells games like crazy.
adam @ May 16th 2008 10:17AM
the point is msft stole sonys one game that even matters.On top of that sold more copys and consoles moved well as well.
msft won the battle now all sony has left is mgs4 which doesnt look that good at all and killzone2 while msft has banjo gow2 ng2 too human penny arcade.
2008 is 360's year period.
DjDATZ @ May 16th 2008 10:30AM
I would have to agree. In 2007, 2008 was shaping up to be Sony's year because of MGS4, FF XIII, Home, and Killzone 2, but with Microsoft's recent stream of announcements on Fable 2, GoW 2, NG2, Too Human, Penny Arcade Adventures, and the GTA IV DLC, I would say that it'll be a VERY VERY interesting year and that NO ONE can guarantee that this is Sony's year. I would go as far to say it will be the 360's year...again.
Oh, and not to mention the results of the GTA IV sales...in which case it's exactly how you said it. Microsoft and the 360 stole one of Sony's and the PS3's most important games.
Ray @ May 16th 2008 11:05AM
dont forget viva pinata 2!!!! lol
adam @ May 16th 2008 11:06AM
You know i have been gaming since i was 6 years old.Im now 24 years old and i have never been into the metal gear series.Not one of my gamer friends through life has really ever been except i kid i knew in 4th grade that was from japan.Now when i look at all my friends that owned games like gow "all of my friends" and gta "everyone i know" i just dont think that mgs series appeals in the u.s to that many people.
People in the u.s love competition they love shooting and blowing shit up.The u.s will be the 360's market when its all said and done.And thats ok because its a american console.With a company like ms the home territory should be all that matters.Sega was a huge phenomenon in the u.s during the genesis days and japan and most of europe was snes territory.
I loved sega because they had more of what i liked.They had games that appealed to american gamers and im american.Thats why i love microsoft.
haukke @ May 16th 2008 1:12PM
they also have left 4 dead and a couple of announcements at E3.there is nothing wrong with viva pinata 2...the first one was a good game, but did not get the recognition it should have.i thought killzone 2 was january.
Neuromancer @ May 16th 2008 10:34AM
It's hard to compete against all the soccer moms and octogenarians that just have to have a Wii for the novelty of wagging a little white stick in the air. ;)
adam @ May 16th 2008 11:00AM
The wii is like a ds.I thing nintendo looked at how well there underpowered handhelds sold.I think they felt that the majority of adults prefered the gameboy series to the hardcore gamegears lynxs and psps.The sales alone showed that.The world wants simple they knew this hell my dad couldnt even program the vcr.
Nintendo is in the game for the average consumer that wants simple.msft and sny are in it for the people that want hardcore.
Bravo6 @ May 16th 2008 11:11AM
The Wii sales are mind boggling. I bought one, played it while my 360 was in the shop, never touched it again once the 360 came back. I need to go ahead and sell it, hasn't been touched in probably 6 months.
Huey2k2 @ May 16th 2008 12:24PM
You just described my experience with my Wii to a tee.
joey @ May 16th 2008 11:13AM
Are we all forgetting the fact that Xbox has a larger install base?
dancingtosirens @ May 16th 2008 11:21AM
Exactly.
Fanboys always forget to actually think for themselves it seems.
With Microsoft's year lead equaling more consoles in the wild.... Of course it's gonna sell more on that system.
The fact is, it didn't sell that much more.
Of course, Dustin will always try to fuel the fanboy fires with any sort of information to belittle the PS3 no matter what.
Which is annoying as hell and why hes my least favorite writer on any of the fanboy sites.
Van Faulk @ May 16th 2008 12:11PM
But I thought that GTA was a playstation franchise? And as such would obviously sell more on the ps3 because it just 'felt right'. That's what sony fanboys have been saying.
What is significant is that even with GTA4, the ps3 couldn't catch the 360. Even with presumeably all those GTA fans jumping onboard to the next gen, it still couldn't quite do it. pachter even said that the ps3 would outsell the 360 this month and look what happened.
slick @ May 16th 2008 11:15AM
what losers, how can you mantion bango kazzo as a killer app, lets be real and none of you have played too human so i wonder how you know it will be crazy and for you people that say metal gear doesnt mean anything check your #'s it sold most of its copies in america, and europe, you see they is only one type of game that represents you system and that is shooters how inovativem i just cant wait intil 6/12/08 to see that look on your faces when you see how well recieved the game of the year will be, then after that i will play your once exclusive bioshock, that little big planet( inovation) that resistance 2, which as a launch title was almost on par with gear, so keep thikng that it is you year when we all know whoes it is
adam @ May 16th 2008 11:25AM
Dude seriously lbp innovation?
Banjo has more innovation infinity customizable vehicles with no limits incorperated into a platformer.
KZ2 aint coming this year sadly and even that game with a ps3 controller doesnt scream play me.
Resistance only sold becuase the ps3 had no games at launch its not a proven title period.People dont even consider it when fps games are mentioned.So a sequal wont even matter.
mgs series is not huge in the united states period.It will sell ok and graphically it looks worse than cod4 sadly.I laughed at the new in game footage and now even all the sony fans wont throw its graphical potential out there anymore.Now there graphical killer is kz2 which imho has nothing on gow2.
360 is satisfying every genre this year from rpg to shooter to platformer to games like ng2.
the 360 is where its at and i suggest you
JUMP IN
2008 YEAR OF THE 360
slick @ May 16th 2008 11:20AM
and one last thing you look at the sales on GTAIV, lets break it down like this Xbox 10million innstalled base in usa it sells 1.8 million, ps3 4.5 million installed base in usa sells 1 million and you people screem victory brak down teh numbers you idiots it sold better on teh ps3 if you people know what attaced rate means, you might me as neive and that fat greenbuurg guy and you sold 900 more xboxs and you are cocky about that the tide is shifting and you cant handle it
adam @ May 16th 2008 11:31AM
Your not getting the point.They outsold them in hardware.They took a franchise that would have sold them what the 360 sold in software increasing there console sales at a alarming rate.The millions on 360 would have been millions on the ps3.
They won plain and simple they stole there piece of the pie.Now whats going to happen in 08 is a 200 dollar 360 while sony is trying to push a 600 dollar 40gb ps3 with mgs4.
You and sdf are in for a big surprise period.
slick @ May 16th 2008 11:41AM
jump in i jumped out after my second xbox broke you see I used to own that system and i moved over to ps3 for many reasons, and when you speak of rpg's i hope you are not talking about lost odessy or blue dragon (snore) and ckeck you reviews and impressions of resistance 1 before you make judgement and gears is a great game never said it wansn't but that game has no substance that story a joke lets be real, gameplay awsome but come on i pay 59.99 msrp from more that just gameplay, and to say that LBP is not inovative, you compare makeing you own level to you costomizing a Vehicle and ratchet and clank kills banjo kazzo
slick @ May 16th 2008 11:43AM
again you seem to not know your facts, the 599.99 limited edtion is only sold on the konami website nd the reason that its is 599.99 its is made of actual gun metal not plastic, the store retail version will be 499.99 comes with the 80gig and a dS3 and i seem to remember that the 40gig is 399.99 and your 20gig system is 349.99 who couts the core lets be real, again you sold more because you heve more that double teh systems you really arent that smart, its sad it really is
Raheem @ May 16th 2008 12:01PM
Slick, you're trying too hard to prove a point which can only be proven with the test of time. If you're so sure, just sit back and enjoy the show, okay? Now let's all go play GTA 4 online :)
adam @ May 16th 2008 12:15PM
You sold your 360 now your missing it because you believed sonys lies.They promised you the features that matter they promissed you the games and never delivered.
Lost odyssey is the best rpg period it was created by the original creator of the ff series you know the guy that made the "good ff's that mattered"
lbp you can make your own level thats innovative?Theres a fucking game on the ds that lets you do that and its was being done in the nes days so your not as smart as you think you are.
Banjo isnt just customizing vehicles.Its infinity possibilitys its like fucking legos you can do anything build anything you want in game period.
Im sorry to hear you jumped ship and now your regreting it.Its no ones fault but your own.Deal with it accept it you got ass raped by sony and now your upset.What are you doing on xbox360fanboy anyway?
i feel you are jealouse and come here often to see what your missing out on.You then post comments because you feel left out and in denial trying to bring people into your weary depression and justify your shitty purchase.Your like a fucking goth kid hating life but living it anyway.
As far as the bundle for mgs4 thats there bundle period.Its a fucking ripoff to begin with and a joke.mgs4 looks like shit resistance was all the ps3 had of course its gonna get "ok" reviews you had a console with 5 games to review.People dont even play resistance while people still play halo2 online.
Im sorry but your in denial you need counseling and you need to stop lying to yourself.Your depriing yourself of any joy by owning that piece of shit machine that features racing games that are simulations and let you bounce of other cars.
yeah the other day i watched a car bounce of another with no damage it was so realistic lmao.
haukke @ May 16th 2008 12:55PM
it is a gun metal gray ps3 with a 40 gig hd....it is not actually made of metal.
Jack @ May 16th 2008 1:07PM
HOW DARE YOU "SNORE" ON LOST ODYSSEY? I mean Blue Dragon. Sure I accept that. Lost Odyssey? "snore"? C'mon that's just plain ignorant.
slick @ May 16th 2008 12:11PM
raheem i fell you man that ll im tryinig to say at the end of the day GTAIV is a great game on whatever system you own i just get tired of these 360 fanboys and there aragance, to say that metal gear series is wack, just bothers be but the talking will stop on june 12th best believe that
adam @ May 16th 2008 12:23PM
It is whack a fucking game that makes you watch it?Yeah we all want to play the phillips cdi again dont we.When people play games they want to play them not watch them.The game sacrifices decent graphics for footloads of video cgi video lmao.
This is not a game that appeals to the masses.People dont want to sneak around for 10 hours watch 25 hours of video and shoot people for 5 hours.
People want to run shoot and kill period.
Japanese people like these kinds of games because there weak minded.They hate hardcore games because they cant handle what americans can in terms of gameplay.Thats why they are so obsessed with fucking wii and hello kitty games.
erivera3 @ May 16th 2008 12:39PM
So does this mean that Halo 3 still holds the record for the most money made opening day and most sold in opening day? Or did GTA 4 beat it? I haven't seen any articles on that so I was curious.
Jack @ May 16th 2008 1:10PM
I think Halo 3 got beaten.
kultyper @ May 16th 2008 1:17PM
i wonder what the numbers were worldwide.
slick @ May 16th 2008 2:03PM
wow adam on top of everthing you are a racist as well, japanese people are weak minded, they are light year ahead of us when it come to electronics and enginering, maybe us americans are weak minded because all we want to do is run and shoot, im gonna stop here because i alread see what type of redneck condedarite flag waving american you al least you dont speak for all of us
simpleanarchy @ May 16th 2008 3:58PM
Hey slick, how many anime wallscrolls do you have hanging in your room?
dabilee01 @ May 16th 2008 5:38PM
hey, slick, we'll all take you a bit more seriously if you would just use better spelling and grammar. i can barely understand your posts because they all read as one long run-on sentence.
dabilee01 @ May 16th 2008 5:41PM
btw, adam, you are an ignorant moron.
gamerismyname @ May 16th 2008 5:45PM
wow, did this guy named adam just call japanese people "weak minded"? Considering by your grammar, sentence structure, and stupid remarks, it seems that you sir, are weak minded. I mean to not like a game is one thing, but what you said is completely idiotic.. you make the rest of us look bad. Maybe you like games where you just run around and shoot, because you are SIMPLE MINDED; in case you don't understand what that means, it means your as dumb as the wall :-)
adam @ May 16th 2008 9:44PM
Its true they are weak minded.Look at how they live there like fucking zombies.These are the same people that were kamamazieng boats in wwii.These are the same people that kill themselves if they fail.
They are weak minded people they are like ants thats why there so advanced technologicaly.Would you call a bee smarter than a human or an ant maybe?they get more done in a day than humans do.
The point im making is japanese people like things simple "hence the wii" There idea of fun is turn based rpg's and games were you feed virtual animals.I mean look at games like dmc hack and slash mash grabage.
There weak minded people they cant comprehend any skill and thinking in games thats why they hate fps games.They like the games to do the thinking for them thats why rpg games are like fucking multiple choice questioners.
You gonna hate on me for saying black people cant play hockey?They can its just that they don't as much because of there ankles are weaker than other races its fact.
Look at the way asians drive for crying out loud.
Im not racist its just fact there simple minded one way people that need a path to follow or there lost hence there hate for open world rpg's.Hence why are there games play the same way.
anthonyjh @ May 17th 2008 1:09PM
Hi adam! You're a bigot!
Rick James @ May 18th 2008 5:39AM
First: Lost Odyssey snore ? Lost Odyssey is more of a Final Fantasy game then the last Final Fantasy game.
Second: MGS4 is a good franchise game, but i don't find what is so good of sneaking around like a rat and killing people hiding behind a wall and watching 10 minutes of computer animated videos.
Third: 360 got a killer line up this year Fable 2 , Ninja gaiden 2, Banjo kazooie, Splinter Cell: Conviction, Penny Arcade, Too Human, GOW2, Alan Wake, & let's not forget about all the multi platforms.
rencor @ Jun 27th 2008 3:55PM
First of all, in MGS games you need strategy, I've played MGS 2 and MGS 3, if you don't think in this game, you won't get pass the first stage. Second of all, Japanese people are not "weak minded" people, it is not a scientific fact, it is just your idiotic opinion based on what games they play, is stupid to say the least. And don't forget, one of the biggest games for 360 this year comes from the hand of a Japanese guy named Itagaki.
It angers me too that all they play are stupid casual games, you can even release a game when all you have to do is poop in a toilet and then clean your ass with the Wii-mote while earning experience points, and it suddenly sells at least 100,000 copies in its first day.
Both consoles have excellent line-ups for this year, but is my honest opinion that 360's line-up is the best. You got MGS4, which is the best title for the PS3 this year, and a candidate of many, many "Game of the Year" awards for this year. But then everything else is just...average. The Resistance franchise does not have the merits YET to be an important franchise, it will be a good game, just that it isn't an established franchise yet. And then LBP, which is seen as "innovative" for casual gamers, but gamers that have played games for decades know that it has been done before, it is a good exclusive title, but nothing special or groundbreaking.
On the other hand, Fable 2 is the beginning of a new era where games can actually interact with other games, an open world RPG in which you decide everything, and then comes Ninja Gaiden 2, a beloved franchise that has many years of history, Gears of War 2, you just have to see the IN-GAME trailers to understand how big this game is gonna be, and Banjo Kazooie 3, another beloved franchise with new gameplay elements from the hands of the studio that brought such memorable games like Kameo, Perfect Dark, and Golden Eye.
The 360 line-up looks better not just because it has more exclusive games, but because those games are established and beloved franchises, and also they look AWESOME. And that's without mentioning other titles like Splinter Cell: Conviction, Halo Wars, Too Human and Infinite Undiscovery.
I also thought this would be PS3's year, but with the delay of important titles, the crap of a game Haze turned out to be (seriously, there are games that fail to deliver on the hype, but this games even failed at being a game at all) and the groundbreaking announce of GOW 2 for NOV of this year, everything looks so different now.