The official August NPD data will be released on Thursday, but Wedbush Securities Analyst Michael Pachter has released his sales predictions for hardware and software sales for the entirety of the month. He believes PlayStation 3 hardware sales are up 6% for the month, with total industry software sales down 30% in comparison to last year.
The predicted hardware totals are:
- PS3 – 240,000
- 360 – 275,000
- Wii – 175,000
- 3DS – 135,000
- DS – 235,000
In regards to software sales, Pachter also added:
Despite a relatively easy comp of down 14%, we expect negative software sales growth to continue in August due to a late Madden launch (on August 30, three weeks after its customary release date due to the NFL lockout, and outside the close of the NPD retail calendar for August) and a very weak release slate. Madden sales totaled $115 million last year, so without the delay, our forecast calls for only a slightly down month.
According to Pachter’s predictions, the recent PS3 price cut seems to have made a difference, with total PS3 sales only trailing the top selling console spot by 30,000 units. Hopefully, with heavy hitter Resistance 3 shipping to retail this month, that will be enough to bridge the gap to place the PlayStation 3 as the top selling console for September.
[Source]
