The price drop for the new PS3 Slim had an immediate effect on sales during the month of September. The PS3 came out on top in monthly sales for the first time since…well, since this generation of consoles began. The PS3 sold over 491,000 units in the month of September, beating out the usually dominant Wii by a good 30,000 units. Meanwhile, despite a price drop of its own, the Xbox 360 came in last with over 352,000 units sold.
Interestingly, Microsoft stated they expected this to happen even before the NPD released the sales figures for the month; a rare concession of defeat before that defeat was even official. But, they’re statement also pointed out that it’s not unusual for a console to see a “slight bump” in sales for a “short period” after a price drop. Yeah, uh, didn’t Microsoft just drop the price of their own console? Granted, the price cut for the PS3 was steeper, but still. And if you’re wondering about the price drop for the Wii and its affect on sales, that came right at the end of September so any changes from that won’t be seen until the October numbers are released (although Nintendo says they’ll be pretty good…big surprise that’s what they’d say).
On the software front, Halo 3 dominated the charts once again with an add-on pack that became a full-blown “game” (some still debate that monkier for it) with Halo 3:ODST. Over and million and a half units of ODST sold in the month of September, far out pacing the nearest competitor, Wii Sports Resort, which sold 442,000 units. Madden 10 continued to chart with both the Xbox 360 and Ps3 versions, although interestingly the Wii version didn’t make the top ten. More notably, The Beatles Rock Band continued to chart with the Xbox 360 and Wii versions, but the PS3 version didn’t show up. The other software not was Batman: Arkham Asylum; the PS3 version once again showed up in the top ten, but not the Xbox 360 version, possibly due to the exclusive Joker content of the PS3 version.
All in all, Sony has to be pleased on the console side of things, but maybe a little concerned on the software side. Whether or not the PS3 can maintain this newfound momentum through the holiday season reamains to be seen.
