Xbox 360 Tops Console Sales

Xbox 360 Tops Console Sales in September and outsells PS3 5:1

As the holiday season heats up, September 2007 is sure to go down in history as one for the record books. The launch of one of the greatest properties in entertainment history, “Halo 3” (Microsoft Game Studios), was largely responsible for driving the biggest month in US video game history with consumer spending on games reaching an all time high for 2007.

· NPD reported that in the US, Xbox 360 was the #1 console for the month; outselling PS3 5:1

o Xbox 360 sales built upon its growth from last month, showing a 50 percent increase for the month of September selling an average of 105,600 consoles per week. Total sales were more than 528,000 Xbox 360 consoles sold, compared to 501,000 for Wii and 119,000 for PS3.

o PS3 sales posted an average weekly decline of 27 percent.

· Xbox 360 software revenue at retail outsold PS3’s software portfolio 8:1 and Wii’s 4:1, selling 3 times more than both platforms combined.

o For the month of September according to NPD, Xbox 360 software represented 74 percent of total software sales for the next generation market compared to 17 percent for Wii and 9 percent for PS3. Even without the sales of “Halo 3” the Xbox 360 portfolio outsold the PS3 portfolio 2:1.

· Additionally, Xbox 360 is home to the best-selling games with the top-rated next-generation titles. According to the world-wide authority in entertainment reviews, Metacritic, Xbox 360 has 80 titles with a Metacritic review score of 80 or higher compared to just 31 for PS3 and 11 for Wii.

o Newly released title “The Orange Box” (Valve) and the highly anticipated title “Mass Effect” (Microsoft Game Studios) have both generated rankings of 97 and higher according to Metacritic. And not to forget “BioShock” (2KGames) which remains one of the year’s highest rated games.

In spite of the unprecedented success of “Halo 3,” Xbox 360 continued to drive third-party games sales across all platforms. PS3 and Wii had ZERO third party titles in the top ten console title list for the month, while Xbox 360 weighed in with 3. Since November, third party partners have seen their titles hit the top ten 27 times for Xbox 360, compared to 2 for PS3 and 1 for Wii.

Everyone knew “Halo 3” would be big -and it didn’t disappoint- but it wasn’t the only good news for the industry. For the month of September, according to the NPD Group data, Xbox 360 held six spots in the Top Ten Console Games. Led by initial sales of “Halo 3” Xbox 360 software is flying off the shelves. Below is a breakout of title sales from the September NPD data:

· In its first two weeks, the three editions of “Halo 3” placed #1, 2 and 3 overall for console title sales - for a total of more than $225 million in sales in the U.S. with 3.3 million units. Average unit prices were $69 per game. The $130 “Halo 3: Legendary Edition” alone sold twice as many units as the top title for PS3 “Heavenly Sword” (SCE); the helmet is mightier than the sword.

· Proving that Xbox 360 is the new home for sports gamers, “Madden NFL ‘08” (EA) on Xbox 360 was again the leading next gen platform with 173,000 units sold, compared to the PS3 at 62,000 and Wii at 58,000. To date, “Madden NFL ‘08” has sold 1.1 million units on Xbox 360, 87 percent more than other next-gen platforms combined.

· Xbox 360 exclusive "BioShock" has sold 641,000 units through the end of September and remains to be on track to sell more than 1 million units. While “Halo 3” and “Madden NFL ‘08” have led the way as the first of a string of titles that are expected to sell more than 1 million units between now and the end of the year.

o As we announced earlier this month Xbox 360 has an unprecedented lineup of titles expected to sell at least a million units worldwide, including new and upcoming releases such as “Call of Duty 4®: Modern Warfare™" (Activision), "Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock" (RedOctane/Activision), "Mass Effect" (Microsoft Game Studios)

· Rounding out the top titles for Xbox 360, “Skate” (EA) came in at #6. The Xbox 360 version of the innovative titles outsold the PS3 version 6:1.

Gamers buy gaming consoles to play games, and Xbox 360 has the best lineup on the market. This, paired with the newly priced points of $349.99 (U.S.) for Xbox 360 and $449.99 (U.S.) for Xbox 360 Elite which includes the addition of two games with every console “Forza Motorsport 2” (Microsoft Game Studios) and “Marvel Ultimate Alliance” (Activision) for a retail savings of more than $100, provides gamers with an unmatched interactive entertainment experience.