God of War sells 800,000 copies in March

[Morning_Glory]

NPD: March US game-industry sales up 33 percent
Industry-wide growth continues as games, systems, and accessories total tops $1 billion; software rises 15 percent year-on-year as God of War II sells more than 800,000.
By Brendan Sinclair, GameSpot
Posted Apr 19, 2007 4:56 pm PT

The industry-tracking NPD Group released its sales figures for the US March retail period today, and despite at least one analyst's expectations, the streak of significant sales growth has continued for another month.

For the period of March 4 to April 7, game software sales jumped 15 percent over the March 2006 time frame to land at $574 million. Hardware sales were up 69 percent to $370 million, with the overall industry figures (hardware, software, and accessories) totaling $1.1 billion, a 33 percent increase over the previous March.
Like the industry itself, the Nintendo DS continued its strong performance, topping all hardware with 508,000 systems sold for the month. The PlayStation 2 was next in line with 280,000, followed by the Wii (259,000), the Xbox 360 (199,000), the PlayStation Portable (180,000), the Game Boy Advance (148,000), and the PlayStation 3 (130,000).

Software sales were driven by a handful of new releases, with God of War II for PS2 sitting atop the charts, boasting sales of 833,000. That's double the second-place finisher, the Xbox 360 edition of Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2, which pulled in sales of 394,000. The Xbox 360 version of Guitar Hero II saw release in the waning days of the reporting period, but still managed to net sales of 291,000 for the $89.99 guitar-equipped bundle in half a week of release.

Wii Play (packed in with a Wii Remote) continued to be the best-selling title on Nintendo's new platform, moving 273,000 during the March period. Meanwhile, the PS3-exclusive MotorStorm was that system's best seller, rounding out the top five and narrowly missing the 200k mark with 199,000 copies sold.

Shortly after the NPD reported its numbers, Sony and Nintendo sent out statements to present the figures in a favorable light. In its missive, Sony noted that the PS2 outsold all console hardware for the month, and that the PS3 was the only next-gen console to see an increase over its February sales. Sony said that was despite PS3 supply problems in the US in March, as production had been shifted to focus on the system's European launch. The PS3 also launched in Australia in March.

For Nintendo's part, the Wii and DS maker said it "once again claimed the top two spots among the best-selling new video game systems in America," despite what it called "widespread shortages" for both systems. Nintendo's statement also boasted that the Wii is "the fastest-selling new console in more than a decade" over its first five months of US availability, and that it had sold more systems so far this year than "all other manufacturers combined."

A Microsoft representative had not responded to GameSpot's request for comment as of press time.

Top 10 games for March, 2007, based on number of units sold:
1. God of War II--PS2--833,000
2. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter 2--Xbox 360--394,000
3. Guitar Hero 2--Xbox 360--291,000
4. Wii Play with Wii Remote--Wii--273,000
5. MotorStorm--PS3--199,000
6. Diddy Kong Racing--Nintendo DS--189,000
7. Spectrobes--Nintendo DS--165,000
8. MLB 2K7--Xbox 360--165,000
9. MLB '07: The Show--PS2--164,000
10. Def Jam Icon--Xbox 360--148,000
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And here are the top 20 overall best-selling games of March 2007 (Source: IGN) :

1. God of War II (PS2) Sony
2. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon: Advanced Warfighter 2 (360) Ubisoft
3. Guitar Hero 2 W/ Guitar (360) Red Octane/Activision
4. Wii Play (Wii) Nintendo
5. MotorStorm (PS3) Sony
6. Major League Baseball 2k7 (360) 2K Games
7. MLB '07: The Show (PS2) Sony
8. Def Jam Icon (360) Electronic Arts
9. Guitar Hero 2 W/Guitar (PS2) Red Octane/Activision
10. God of War (PS2) Sony
11. Grand Theft Auto: Vice City Stories (PS2) Rockstar
12. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 (Wii) Electronic Arts
13. Crackdown (360) Microsoft
14. Sonic and the Secret Rings (Wii) Sega
15. TMNT (PS2) Ubisoft
16. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) Nintendo
17. Gears of War (360) Microsoft
18. Major League Baseball 2K7 (PS2) 2K Games
19. Warioware: Smooth Moves (Wii) Nintendo
20. Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (PS3) Bethesda
(Does not include portable titles)
____________________________________________

Totals in the top 20:
PS2: 7
PS3: 2
Wii: 5
360: 6
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No surprise for Nintendo, their consoles continue to be the top selling systems. A drop in sales for the 360, though total number of games in the console top 20 is pretty good. PS3 sales raise by a meager 3,000. 360 sales drop by 3,000 though still beat the PS3 by 69,000 more systems.

[ncba93ivyase]

Hmmm...

The Nintendo Game Boy title Pokemon Yellow was released in the USA on Oct. 18, 1999, and had sold 1 million copies within 10 days.

I wonder if Pearl and Diamond's sales can beat GoW2 in just under a week?

[Morning_Glory]

Hmmm...

The Nintendo Game Boy title Pokemon Yellow was released in the USA on Oct. 18, 1999, and had sold 1 million copies within 10 days.

I wonder if Pearl and Diamond's sales can beat GoW2 in just under a week?

Pre-orders for both versions are at 500,000 according to IGN. I'm guessing a big HELL YES if Nintendo ships a million copies.

[mariofreak55]

Hmmm...

The Nintendo Game Boy title Pokemon Yellow was released in the USA on Oct. 18, 1999, and had sold 1 million copies within 10 days.

I wonder if Pearl and Diamond's sales can beat GoW2 in just under a week?

Pre-orders for both versions are at 500,000 according to IGN. I'm guessing a big HELL YES if Nintendo ships a million copies.

I wouldn't be surprised. My store only had preorders for 1/3rd of what they're getting in.