March NPD figures: PSP sales up 18%
According to NPD sales in February, the PSP has continued to show a strong continuation of sales. More specifically, the PSP sales jumped 18% compared to last March, selling 297,000 units worldwide. Sure, the 18% jump may be a little modest, and it’s nowhere near as astounding as sales figures in Japan have been the past few weeks or so, but they numbers are still respectable, beating out the Xbox 360, Playstation 3, and Playstation 2 in sales.
Another piece of news to note is that PSP software, yes, software, secured two spots on the top 10 selling games of the month, something that hasen’t really been seen up to this point. It would be safe to say already that Final Fantasy 7 - Crisis Core and God of War - Chains of Olympus will outsell every other PSP game released last year.
in other news, the Wii and DS blew away all other consoles, and the Playstation 3 took a backseat last month to the Xbox 360, but only by 5,000 units.
Here are the NPD sales figures for the month of March:
US VIDEO GAMES INDUSTRY - MARCH 2008
Software: $945.6m (+63%)
Hardware: $551.3m (+46%)
Accessories: $220m (+58%)
Total Games: $1.7 billion (+57%)
TOP-SELLING HARDWARE - MARCH 2008
Wii–721,000
Nintendo DS–698,000
PlayStation Portable–297,000
Xbox 360–262,000
PlayStation 3–257,000
PlayStation 2–216,000
TOP-SELLING SOFTWARE - MARCH 2008
Title / Publisher / Release Date / Units
1) Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) / Nintendo / March 2008 / 2.7M
2) Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2* (360) / Ubisoft / March 2008 / 752.3K
3) Army of Two (360) / Electronic Arts / March 2008 / 606.1K
4) Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) / Nintendo / Feb. 2007 / 409.8K
5) God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) / Sony / March 2008 / 340.5K
6) Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII (PSP) / Square Enix / March 2008 / 301.6K
7) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) / Activision / Oct. 2007 / 264.1K
MLB 2K8 (360) / Take-Two Interactive / March 2008 / 237.1K
9) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare* (360) / Activision / Nov. 2007 / 237K
10) Army of Two (PS3) / Electronic Arts / March 2008 / 224.9K
*Includes Collector’s, Limited, Legendary, Bundles (Guitars) Editions
Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII
Set seven years prior to the events of the first FINAL FANTASY VII, the Shinra Company is rapidly increasing its influence through its monopoly on mako energy and military might. With the burgeoning city of Midgar as its base and symbol of prosperity, Shinra is on the verge of establishing absolute dominance over the world.
SOLDIER is a group of skilled combat operatives within Shinra. The elite within the group — those strong enough to be deemed SOLDIER 1st Class — are respected and idolized by the citizenry. Zack is a young SOLDIER 2nd Class who aspires to become a 1st. He spends his days carrying out assignments under the guidance of his 1st Class mentor, Angeal. During an operation in Wutai, a large number of SOLDIER member, led by 1st Class operative Genesis, go missing. The severity of the situation prompts Shinra executives to deploy even more SOLDIER operatives in hopes of bringing an end to the war with Wutai—and conducting an investigation into the mass desertion. The ones assigned to the mission are Zack, Angeal, and the 1st Class hero who is known the world over as Sephiroth…
What truths lie behind Genesis’s disappearance? What secrets bind the three SOLDIER 1st Class operatives? For Zack, a cruel and fateful struggle awaits…
In Final Fantasy VII: Crisis Core, players can experience the D.M.W (Digital Mind Wave) system, which enhances the real-time battle system, allowing players to unleash special attacks or call upon various Final Fantasy summons. Players can also witness graphics and CG cutscenes coupled with voice acting in a 16:9 widescreen presentation, made possible by the PSP system hardware.
Monster Hunter 2nd G DLC!
Looks like the new Monster Hunter 2nd G expansion is already a prime target for downloadable content! Capcom has revealed that a new downloadable quest will be made available tomorrow. The quest takes place in the desert fighting three new terrifying monsters! No word on how it will be released. With PSN’s current makeover no new files will be added to the database until the process is done. We will update you tomorrow when the file goes live and tell you where the file will be made available.