NPD figures for April have finally come in and this time, it's a close call between Xbox 360 and PS3. According to the NPD, PS3 sold 187,071 hardware units last month, which represents a year-over-year sales growth of 127%. More importantly, software sales have gone up 410% from last year, with over 2 million software units sold in April. A large portion of that figure comes from
Grand Theft Auto IV, which sold over one million copies on PS3 in North America. The PS3 version had a higher attach ratio, although the Xbox 360 version still outsold the PS3 version almost 2:1. Predictions that PlayStation loyalty from the PS2 era would help PS3 sales were incorrect.
While Sony's home console didn't win any sales contests this month, it has gained a tremendous amount of momentum, especially when one remembers the console at the same time last year. The newly released rumble-ready DualShock 3 controller also sold incredibly well, with sales exceeding $10.9 million in April. By our calculations, that means over 200,000 controllers were sold in April alone. Not bad, huh?
Jack Tretton, president and CEO of SCEA, responded to this month's numbers: "Clearly, the tremendous legacy of Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation, combined with the blockbuster launch of
Gran Turismo 5 Prologue packed a one-two punch with consumers at retail this month. The proof is in the numbers and, in April, PlayStation 3 hardware sales experienced a 127% increase over April of last year. PS3 momentum is fueled by enthusiasm for Blu-ray as the definitive high def standard and the growing number of consumers gearing up for some of the most anticipated titles of the year, exclusively for PS3, including the June release of
Metal Gear Solid 4, and other great exclusives in the second half on the year, such as
Resistance 2,
SOCOM: Confrontation and
LittleBigPlanet to name a few. With exciting PlayStation Network innovations and our strongest console-driving titles of the year still on the horizon, PS3 remains on pace for a breakthrough year."
The Chairman of the Sony Corp., Howard Stringer, stated today at a shareholder meeting in Tokyo that their top management priority is "to restore profitability in our television and game businesses." This comes after Sony's game division predicted profit for for the first time in three years, due to reduced cost of producing the PS3 and broadened game software lineup. Sony's game division has lost over 3.4 billion dollars the past two years under his leadership, so it isn't surprising profits in that area are in Stringer's (and obviously, Sony's) best interest.
Currently, the 
