Video game hardware, software sales mostly flat in Sept.

While some might applaud the new batch of sales numbers for the month of Sept., they show that the sector, like many others in the world during this still shaky financial times, is feeling the bite just like everyone else. It is hard to imagine what hardware numbers might look like if Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft hadn’t slashed the prices on their respective home console systems. Even with those price cuts, NPD data for the month showed a meager 1 percent gain over the same period a year ago, with total videogame related sales in the U.S. of around $1.28. Again, if not for cuts, it would have been more downward trending for the sector. Still it’s hard to ignore that compared to August, sales were up considerably in Sept.

On the hardware front, the one relevant console that did not get a price cut, the DS (which includes the DSi and DS Lite), was at the top of the heap moving over half a million units in the month. The good news for Sony - if there really is any in a month that was mostly flat - is that it managed to beat out the Wii and Xbox 360 in the month with 491,000 units. The Wii was close by with almost 463,000 units and the Xbox 360 managed to move nearly 353,000 units. The PSP moved right around 190,000 units in Sept., - which we assume includes both the old model and the new PSP go. Finally, the PS2 managed to move 146,000 units.

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The DSi Revolution Begins

No doubt our readers are savvy enough to know that the DSi is in stores today, giving North American gamers access to the device that makes the young girls cry in Japan. Now geeky American men and women can begin their journey on that trail of tears with a down-payment of right around $170 USD.

I’m not going to knock the DSi, but do the extra features really bring enough to the table to warrant a purchase if I already own a DS Lite? Some will say yes because its feature set is pretty nifty, but when I fooled around with it at GDC I wasn’t all that impressed. I don’t feel like manipulating pictures of people on my hand-held when I can do that stuff in Photoshop, and the selection of bite sized aps and games aren’t all that exciting. But it’s way too early to make a judgment: as Nintendo fills up its DSiWare store and adds new features to the device via software we’ll know if its worth it or not. If you don’t currently own a DS Lite, then there’s no reason not to buy one of course.

So what’s the difference between the DSi and DS, for those thinking of running out and buying one? The unit has improved speakers and its two screens are larger - measuring at around 3.25 inches. The DSi is 74.9 mm high x 137 mm wide x 18.9 mm thick, when closed which makes it slightly thinner than the DS light. Other features and changes? The power switch has been changed into a button, two VGA 0.3 megapixel digital cameras (one on the internal hinge and another the outer shell), no Game Boy Advance, an ARM processor clocked at 133 MHz, 16 MB of RAM, 256 MB of internal Flash memory, wifi support, and a new store that uses a points system just like the Wii Shop Channel.

Nintendo DS: 100 Million Units Strong

Hey, here is a bit of a non-shocker for you: The Nintendo DS handheld has shipped over 100 million units worldwide, as of March 6, 2009. Yeah, I know that no one is surprised by this, but I am positive this will not stop Nintendo from celebrating this impressive milestone. Nintendo is sure to blow that number out of the water when it releases the latest iteration of the handheld, the DSi, in Europe and North America in April.

Another important milestone for Nintendo is software sales: as of December 2008, 83 DS titles have shipped over one million copies each, with 7 of those titles pushing 10 million units each. Spiffy.

The DSi, which has had a great start in Japan, gives users two cameras, sound recording and playback capabilities and support for DS titles. The only thing bad about it is that it eliminates the GBA slot, which some peripherals (Guitar Hero) used..

Japanese Hardware Sales: Feb. 16 - 22, 2009

Media Create has released hard sales numbers for the week of Feb. 16 - 22, 2009 with the Xbox 360 continuing to shock the Japanese market thanks to the Square Enix’s Star Ocean: The Last Hope. While Microsoft’s console continues do well, it’s not beating out the DSi or the PSP - despite both platforms off from the prior week’s sales.

The DSi moved nearly 42k units, the PSP nearly 30K and the Xbox 360 slightly over 25K. The Wii was down 19 percent to nearly 17K, followed by the PS3 at around 16K, the DS Lite at nearly 10K and the good old PS2 at a little over 5K. Exact numbers with percentages below:

1. DSi: 41,839 Units (- 21.77 percent)
2. PSP: 29,552 Units (- 13.73 percent)
3. Xbox 360: 25,334 Units (+ 157.64 percent)
4. Wii: 16,973 Units (19.24 percent)
5. PS3: 16,149 Units 2,507 (13.44 percent)
6. DS Lite: 9,975 Units (- 32.65 percent)
7. PS2: 5,029 Units (- 5.68 percent)

Japanese Hardware: Feb. 9 15, 2009

Japanese hardware sales data is in for the week of Feb. 9 - Feb. 15, with the DSi and the PSP fighting for supremacy at the top of the charts, according to Media Create. The Nintendo Wii and PS3 and fighting for supremacy as well, with the old fan favorite DS light edging out the Xbox 360 and PS2 for the week. Here are the numbers:

1. DSi: 53,483 Units
2. PSP: 34,256 Units
3. Wii: 21,016 Units
4. PS3: 18,656 Units
5. DS Lite: 14,810 Units
6. Xbox 360: 9,833 Units
7. PS2: 5,332 Units

DSi Gets Dated and Priced for U.S. Market

With all the different video game news that’s been coming out lately, one thing suspicious in its absence is any mention of the Nintendo DSi. Well, Nintendo can’t have any of that, so the company took this morning to finally give the U.S. market a date to mark on its calendar, as well as a price to start saving up for. In a release sent out this morning, Nintendo announced that the DSi will hit U.S. shelves on April 5th at a retail price of $169.99. For the fashion conscious gamer out there, the DSi will make its stateside arrival in black, but not white. Giving the import markets something more to salivate over, the U.S. will initially replace the white model with a new blue color.

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DSi U.S. Launch Date Rumors

According to a report on Game | Life, citing another report from IGN, the new Nintendo DSi will be released on April 4 for around $180 USD. Of course Nintendo has not officially announced plans for the deployment of this new DS system in North America, but IGN is citing “multiple sources close to Nintendo.”

The Nintendo DSi is 12 percent thinner than the Nintendo DS Lite, has two VGA digital cameras, larger screens (3.25 inches), better speakers, a power button instead of the switch found on the DS Lite, five brightness settings, a new SD card slot for data storage and multimedia content, the ability to update firmware when needed, and 256 MB of internal flash memory. One thing the DSi doesn’t have is a GBA slot, and the battery now only last 16 hours, as opposed to the DS Lite’s 19 hours - mainly due to the additional brightness settings.