We always hear a lot about attach rates or tie-in ratios, which are basically the average number of games sold per system. So, if you’ve got an attach rate of 1, that means you would have sold, say, 10 million systems and 10 million games. Microsoft constantly boasts its large attach rate, but how do the rest of the current generation of systems hold up by comparison? You might be surprised to find out.
After Nintendo announced its global attach rate, Joystiq inquired with the NPD Group to find out their attach rate for the five major platforms. Xbox 360 of course leads the way with 7.5 games, followed by the Wii at 5.3, DS at 4.7, PS3 at 4.6, and PSP at 4.2. Honestly, I’m not sure if I should be more surprised by the Wii’s being as large as it is, or the PSP being so close to the rest of the pack. It’s rare to see a PSP game crack into the top ten best selling games each month, while games like Call of Duty 4 and particularly Wii Play have taken up permanent residence on the list.
The last time we got these figures, the PS3 was in the threes, so you can see that PS3 owners are slowly expanding their game library. (Well, either that or Blu-ray owners can’t help but pick up a copy of Uncharted.) With Grand Theft Auto IV, Wii Fit and Mario Kart Wii all releasing very soon, you can expect to see the consoles’ attach rates jump. The only thing guaranteed aside from that is the next Microsoft press release touting their historic attach rate.