Research firm NPD has published console sales figures from July 2009. As was expected, console sales were down significantly from the previous month , most notably for Sony and Nintendo. Furthermore, overall revenue earned from console sales was down 29-percent in July 2009 compared to July2008.
Due to the fact that June had five whole weeks in it and July only had 4, the data represents the average weekly sales in each month.
Weekly Average Jun 08 Jul 09 Change
Wii 72,340 63,125 -13%
360 48,120 50,725 +5%
PS3 32,940 30,450 -8%
PS2 30,540 27,000 -12%
While the Wii maintained its number 1 spot, it did lose significant ground to the Xbox 360. In June the Wii was the highest selling console by a margin of 30,220 units over the Xbox 360. In July the difference was only 12,400 with the Xbox 360 the only console showing month-to-month growth.
The PS3 saw a slight drop in sales from June into July, and the PS2 and Wii saw the greatest decline in overall console sales.
While the month-to-month figures reflected a negative growth rate, the year-on-year figures are significantly worse.
July 08 July 09 Change
Wii 555,000 252,500 -55%
360 204,800 202,900 -1%
PS3 224,900 121,800 -46%
PS2 155,500 108,000 -31%
The Wii saw massive drop of 302,500 units sold in July 09 compared to July 08. Microsoft managed to hold its ground with just 1900 less consoles sold in July 09 than July 08.
Perhaps the most alarming figure in the stats is the 46% drop off in year-on-year sales of the PS3. Equating to 103,100 less consoles sold in the July 09 compared to July 08, Sony can scarcely afford a negative console sale growth rate.
The slowdown in console sales should be triggering warning bells for Sony, Nintendo and to a lesser degree Microsoft. The rumored PS3 and Xbox 360 price cuts will be necessary if the companies want to even come close to selling as many consoles in 2009 as they did in 2008.
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