back to article Xbox 360 reverses plunging console sales trend

Games console sales in the US fell 38 per cent last month when compared to June 2008, market watcher NPD's latest numbers show. Microsoft alone can take some solace. It was the only console maker to shift more units in June 2009 than in June 2008. Back then, it sold 219,000 Xbox 360s. In June 2009, some 240,600 were sold. …

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  1. Andrew Johnson 3

    Replacements

    Probably the big reason for this is that the XBoxes these people bought last year all had the fatal Red Ring of Death and were forced to buy a new one...

  2. Your alien overlord - fear me

    might it be

    that everyone who wants a console has now got one ?

  3. Aortic Aneurysm
    Thumb Down

    Or is it...

    due to the fact that the cheapeast xbox can be picked up for under £100?

  4. Si 1

    Unusual

    Not to say I don't think the 360 is worth it as Iove mine, but why such a spike in sales when there aren't any AAA releases to prompt it? Maybe it's because the Arcade model is the cheapest system on the market?

  5. TeeCee Gold badge

    Gotta be asked.

    Is that "sold" or "shipped"?

    I'm wondering if all the ones shipped out to replace RROD'd ones sold last Christmas are in those figures.......

  6. Barry Tabrah
    WTF?

    Just suppose...

    I haven't bought a new console in over a year now. I guess it could be because of the financial downturn, or more likely it's because I've already got one!

    When was a new console last released? Are there thousands of people out there putting off getting a new console for this long? Or maybe, just maybe, everyone who wanted a console has already bought one.

    Game sales would be a better indicator of the financial console situation. I know that I have to consider the price of games more these days.

  7. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Calm before the storm....

    when Project Natal will pretty much wipe out the opposition next year, unless Sony has something secretly buried away in the labs......watched a demo last week expecting another disappointing eye-toy type gismo, but was completely gob-smacked. Natal doesn't seem to have got much coverage here though.......

  8. Tony Smith (Written by Reg staff)

    @Andrew Johnson 3

    Replacements are handled separately and don't enter retail sales figures.

  9. Rob Beard
    Troll

    Monkey Islanf

    I'd put it down to the then upcoming release of The Secret Of Monkey Island Special Edition on XBOX Live Arcade (which has now been released). Maybe a whole load of Monkey Island fans didn't have an XBOX 360 and got one just for this game (and maybe already have a Wii for the Tales Of Monkey Island game which is coming out on WiiWare).

    Hey it's as good as an explanation as any. It's the reason I bought an XBOX 360 Elite (that and the fact I was too impatient to wait 2 extra months for my birthday so got one on Fathers Day).

    Or it could be due to Project Natal, or simply because the Wii recently has had nothing but party games, I mean what is that Birthday Party game about FFS?!?

    (Before anyone rants, yes I do have a Wii, I really do enjoy Wii Sports, Super Mario Galaxy and Wii Fit and I'm really looking forward to Wii Sports Resort, New Super Mario Bros Wii, Super Mario Galaxy 2, Red Steel 2 and the new Raving Rabbids game).

    I still won't buy a PS3 though, they're just too expensive (the XBOX 360 Elite was more than I really wanted to spend!).

  10. Paul Hates Handles

    <3 xbox

    @Andrew - also, consoles with the 3 red rings are covered by a 3 year warranty :)

  11. Test Man
    Stop

    @Tony Smith

    Except when people haven't exchanged their console with Microsoft and just gone out and bought yet another one.

  12. MarkOne
    Stop

    @Tony Smith

    Not when large swathes of consumers who don't read online blogs don't know about RROD warranty.

    Based on the 3 or 4 people I know that threw theirs away and bought new, I reckon at least a million of those 360's are retail replacements.

  13. MarkOne
    Grenade

    re: Calm before the storm....

    Pretty much everyone has said, now the Microsoft E3 hype has died down and everything has come out in the wash, the Sony technogy is the better balanced of the 2, and it's also more accurate.

    With the Wand and PS3Eye, you have the best of both worlds. The Eye can do facial and body movement recognition, and with the wand you get the precision movements too.

    You only have to look at Microsofts pre-recorded demonstration, and the faked "live" bit to see they are having problems gettting to to work right now, and that it's in the REALLY early stages of development. The Sony was was shown working live in a real demonstration.

    I suspect the Sony Wand (or whatever it ends up looking like and being called) will beat Microsoft's to the market by 6 months at least AND end up better.

    That said, it's likely that Microsoft will just shove what they have out on the market early regardless of if it works or not, just they they did with the 360 itself.

  14. Tom Adair

    last years sales

    You have to consider these console sales in context with the game releases though, last year there were three big selling titles out in April through June: Wii Fit, GTA IV and MGS4... none of the three platforms have a comparably big title recently released at present.

  15. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    What Xbox haters miss...

    The thing XBox haters miss in their RROD conspiracy theories is perhaps the most important fact.

    The XBox 360 is just that much more fun than the PS3, it has more, better games, a better online community and you can buy 2 of the standard 60gb model for the price of a PS3.

    The 360 is still selling well simply because it's a good, fun, solid console.

    I say solid because the RROD problem was fixed around the end of 2007, hence why it doesn't make news anymore and the only people who bring it up are ignorant Microsoft haters.

    The 360 is beating the PS3 for one reason and one reason only, it's just that much better an offering when all factors are taken into account.

  16. Philip Edwards

    @Replacements

    Why does everyone always jumps on the RROD bandwagon? I had a launch 360 that worked perfectly for two years when I traded it for an Elite. That 360 has been running perfectly since then.

  17. Anonymous Coward
    Stop

    @ Tony Smith

    And how would anybody know that the xbox my son bought last spring was a replacement for one that died out of warranty? That replacement was a retail sale.

  18. Xris M
    Dead Vulture

    Strange

    Strange sales figures seeing as there haven't been any decent games released for the 360 this year.

    As for NATAL, el Reg hates NATAL and everything it represents but when it revolutionises the gaming industry I will be standing outside of their offices gloating and laughing at them.

    If it doesn't.....well who cares.

  19. Iain 4

    Re: Shipped or Sold?

    NPD reports sold numbers, not shipped. So will not include any replacements under RROD.

  20. Tony Smith (Written by Reg staff)

    @Xris

    I don't recall any of use ever saying Natal was bollocks. I certainly don't hate it, and I don't believe any of my colleagues do either. Get a grip.

  21. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Could just be the 360 is the best supported of the consoles

    The PS3 is more expensive and even a cursory glance shows that it has precious few 'must have' exclusive titles whereas those available on PS3 and 360 tend to look better on the Microsoft machine. I don't know if it's lazy coding or bad support from Sony or the desperate lack of texture memory on the PS3 - but some PS3 games are running in lower resolutions than the 360, have lower frame rates and some horribly blocky textures.

    As for the Wii sales falling. Simple - once you've played Wii Sports, what else is there that's worth having? The Wii is a complete bust as a games platform, Nintendo seems to have forgotten to release games for it, preferring a series of gimmicks like Wii Fit and Wii Music which don't have much long appeal and are ridiculously expensive.

    I'm on my 3rd 360, whereas my PS3 and Wii have behaved perfectly; but it's clear Microsoft have won this generation of consoles - they've tapped into popular sentiment and got a compelling set of exclusives.

  22. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Xbox is simply the best gaming console

    I should know, I'm currently waiting on my 4th replacement machine from Microsoft. But i still play it and buy games for it because it's such a good gaming machine, with a great online infastructure, better controllers, better games, better graphics and more selection.

    My PS3 has sat there as an expensive ornament, briefly being used for Drakes Fortune (brilliant), Little Big Planet (over-hyped crap) and Ratchett & Clank (not as enjoyable as the PS2 versions)

    The Wii was a gimmick, only decent games have been the Nintendo produced ones and they have very short lives.

    I've also noticed in the shops like Game, that many of them seem to be concentrating on the PS3 the least - it's has the smallest section and an abysmal game selection.

    The sad thing is that I was a huge PS2 fan and was hoping the PS3 would deliver so much more than it actually has.

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