1P Start

According to figures from GamesIndustry.biz (who they got from Media Create), Sony’s PlayStation 3 has overtaken the Nintendo Wii in sales.

In Japan.

This week.

While it is no surprise that the Nintendo DS and PlayStation Portable are #1 and #2. After all, the two handhelds have sold over 70 million units combined. However, the race for third has been a tight-knit, two-horse race between Sony and Nintendo for a while now and until this week the Wii had been able to hold off the PS3’s advances. But, this week Sony finally overtook Nintendo in weekly sales, selling close to 56K units while the Wii sold just under 35K. It continues a downward trend for the Wii, which has continued to slide in console sales for some time.

You Xbox fanboys out there… yeah, it sold 5,800 units. Yippee. Full figures after the break.

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Well, with Call of Duty 4 doing well at retail, it appears that Activision’s holiday performance may improve significantly, says Analyst Arvind Bhatia of Stern Agee & Leach. This prediction was made after a study conducted by Bhatia and Stern Agee & Leach showed that the game had sold out of 90% of contacted retailers.

Our checks indicate the game has been selling extremely well on all consoles and was sold out in the vast majority of stores we checked… At most, a few copies were available at approximately 10% of the stores. Retailers also indicated they expected to continue to sell out of the title in the near term as new shipments arrive.

Bhatia added that, as of now, the average review score for Call of Duty 4 is significantly higher than previous Call of Duty titles. In fact, in the brief chart below I calculated the average scores for each title using figures from GameRankings: (handhelds not included)

Call of Duty - 91.5%
Call of Duty 2 - 88.8%
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One - 78.8%
Call of Duty 3 - 79%
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare - 94.5%

This prediction follows Activision’s record second quarter, where executives predicted that Activision could make over $1 billion between the strong sales of Call of Duty 4 and Guitar Hero III.

[Gamasutra]

Activision, Call of Duty 4, Modern Warfare

Activision has announced that in its first week of sales, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock has sold a most impressive $115 Million, making Guitar Hero III the most successful launch in Activision’s history. Yes, even moreso than Robot Tank, which I still want a remake of.

$115 Million in a week? Gadzooks. Why, with that much green at Activision’s disposal they could actually afford to consume drugs and/or peanut butter and banana sandwiches like rockstars. Or, they could get together with Bungie and build a Duplex out of bricks of $20 bills. The possibilities are endless!

Press Release after the break.

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Well, the numbers are in, and it’s official — Halo 3 is more American than apple pie. In the latest sales chart, released by VGChartz.com, Halo 3 premeired at the top spot, selling 2,634,108 copies in its first four days of release. To put that in perspective, Halo 3 outsold all 49 other games on the VGChartz Top 50 list combined.

By 1.47 Million.

I don’t know about you all, but I think this Halo 3 thing may be fairly popular. Mr. Sterling over at D’toid thinks this may even be the sleeper hit of the year. I’d keep an eye on it, people.

[VGChatz]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Halo 3, Sales Figures, pwnage

From our “Well, duh” department, it appears that the Nintendo Wii absolutely crushed the PS3 in Japan, Reuters reports.

Enterbrain, who is the end-all be-all in terms of sales research, has released their new figures for both the PS3 and Wii. The final numbers?

Nintendo Wii: 1.6 Million
PlayStation 3: 385,492

So, in summary: The PS3 got royally owned in Japan. You know, just like everywhere else. I’m sure, though, with games like Metal Gear Solid 4 on the horizon, the PS3 will have stronger sales. Will it surpass the Wii, however?

…in short: No, probably not. Not as long as the PS3 issues go unaddressed.

[Reuters]

Nintendo, Wii, Sony, PlayStation 3

Enterbrain, a research company from Japan, has reported on this beautiful Friday morning that Halo 3, which was released in Japan yesterday, sold 45,000 copies.

When you consider that Blue Dragon, the highest selling Xbox 360 title in the land of the rising sun, sold 83,000 it’s first week, I’d say Halo 3 may become a moderate success over there.

[Xbox 360 Rally]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 3, Japan

We knew it was going to happen, and true to the hype, Halo 3 has indeed set a single-day entertainment record, gmabbing itself a cool $170 Million in the US alone!

Inside the first 20 hours, over a million users signed onto Xbox LIVE to play Halo 3, which makes September 25th the most active single day ever.

Now, it’s going to take a little bit to find out what Halo 3 made worldwide, but if the US sales chart is any indication… everyone who even touched Halo 3 during production is rolling in money.

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I knew Halo 3 was going to be popular, but this is just re-damn-diculous. According to recently released sales figures, Halo 3 has sold 1.8 million copies in it’s first eight hours. To break that down for you all: That’s 3,750 units sold a minute, every minute, for eight hours.

Holy God.

If this trend continues, Microsoft and Bungie will have made over $190 Million in a single day. That doesn’t include the countless other items being marketed by Bungie and Microsoft, ranging from Stickers & Pins, Action Clix, Keychains, T-Shirts & Hats, and even a few Halo 3 Zunes. Throw all that together, and Master Chief is going to be topping $200 Million, easy.

All that’s left for Bungie is to make Richie-effing-Rich a downloadable multiplayer skin.

[Emily's Counter Spin Blog]

Microsoft, Xbox 360, Bungie, Halo 3, Money

For those of you who weren’t aware, the redesigned PSP Slim/Lite (depends on preference, I guess?) went on sale in Japan yesterday — and according to Gpara, the PSP Slim/Lite sold a mind-boggling 130,000 units in it’s first day.

Those Japanese really love their handhelds, I swear. As I may have mentioned here before (I’m not sure), I’ll be picking up one of those Vader PSPs when the next Battlefront game comes out. Still, though… 130,000 in a day… impressive.

If, suddenly, you’re feeling left out and want in on all the sudden PDPSPA (Public Displays of PSP Affection), I suggest you pick up the Silver PSP/Daxter/Family Guy box set. It’s well worth it.

[Gpara.com]

Sony, PSP, Japan