NPD figures have revealed that only one of the PlayStation 3’s exclusive first-party titles has managed the one million milestone, with sequel opening sales ”exceptionally weak.”
385K units of Resistance 2 sold in the US it’s opening month, to an install base of 6 to 7 million. Sony’s hits on the PS3 simply ”aren’t of the same magnitude” to its competition.
”One could also look at Resistance 2 which has sold less than 750,000 units in six months on the market, to a userbase of 6 to 7 million owners. For a game promoted as the latest and best on the platform, opening month sales of 385,000 units seems exceptionally weak,” pointed out GameSetWatch’s Matt Matthews.
While investing in new IP is all well and good, something Sony should be patted on the back for noted Matthews, they just aren’t returning substantial enough profits for them.
Gears of War 2 enjoyed sales of 1.56 million units it’s opening month in the US, to an install base of 12.4 million console owners, reaching 2.3 million sales by the end of the second month.
Comparing Microsoft’s and Nintendo’s ”biggest hits to Sony’s games is unfair,” some could say added Mathews. ”However, the issue is quite simple: Of Sony’s biggest software ventures of the past three years, which have been as successful as Microsoft’s on the Xbox 360 or Nintendo’s on the Wii?”
”Even adjusting for the installed bases, Sony’s hits on the PlayStation 3 simply aren’t of the same magnitude as those of its competition on their respective platforms.” LittleBigPlanet has secured between half and three quarters of a million sales in the US.
”The games that have sold well on the PlayStation 3 are almost all sequels.” By this trend, God of War 3 and Gran Turismo 5 should perform very well for Sony when they release, ”presumably sometime in 2010,” and will have completed their migration of all major franchises to PS3. Are you a freedom lovin’ American with a PS3, videogamer?
Source: VG247
