PS3 versus Xbox 360: L.A. Noire's May Sales Ranks Breakdown

Coffee Beans:
     L.A. Noire was released on May 17, 2011 for the PS3 and Xbox 360.  The game released with a "Standard" edition with a MSRP of $59.99.
     L.A. Noire was developed by Team Bondi and published by Rockstar Games.  The game received a "Mature" rating from the ESRB with, "Blood and Gore, Nudity, Sexual Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs, Violence" listed as content for gamers/parents to be aware of.

     The May 2011 NPD data was just released for video game hardware/software sales, and L.A. Noire was in the #1 software spot for the month, but the NPD data did not show the sales breakdown between the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game.

     The chart below is not designed to be a replacement of NPD data, but to be a supplement with the NPD data for developers and investors alike, that may be interested in sales data.

     Were more crimes apparently solved on the PS3 or the Xbox 360 in the first 14 days after L.A. Noire released, based on the game's sales ranks in May?  Let's take a look!

Chart Info:
     The chart below shows the sales ranks for L.A. Noire on the PS3 and Xbox 360, with sales ranks recorded from May 17 through May 31, 2011.  The sales ranks were recorded from the overall "Video Game" sales ranks each day, and the higher the lines on the chart the better the sales rank for each date/time recorded.  All times shown were recorded as Pacific Standard Times.
     Along with the sales ranks, I also recorded the sale price of each version as Amazon.com had them listed at the time.

Click chart to view full size.

Highs & Lows:
     The highest recorded sale rank for L.A. Noire on the PS3 was #1, for 6 days in May.  The game was selling for $59.99 all of those days, and included either a $15 or $20 Amazon.com Video Game Credit for 5 out of those 6 days.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for L.A. Noire on the PS3 was #5 on May 31 around 4:10PM, and it was selling for $59.00 at the time.

     The highest recorded sale rank for L.A. Noire on the Xbox 360 was #1 on May 25 around 8:35PM.  The game was selling for $59.00 at the time.
     The lowest recorded sale rank for L.A. Noire on the Xbox 360 was #5 on May 30 around 8:10PM, and the game was selling for $53.99 at the time.

Overall Sales Rank Average:
     L.A. Noire on the PS3 had an overall sale rank average of #2 for the 14 days it was available in May.
     L.A. Noire on the Xbox 360 had an overall sale rank average of #3 for the 14 days it was available.

     The overall sales rank average was rounded to the nearest whole number.

Critical Reception:
     "Professional" reviews for L.A. Noire started being published on May 17, the day the game released.

     L.A. Noire's current "professional" review score average on the PS3 is 89.59%, based on 50 reviews on GameRankings.com.
     The PS3's version has a 4 out of 5 Stars rating on Amazon.com, based on 134 customer reviews.

     L.A. Noire's customer review score average on the PS3 is 78.50%, when the reviews are converted to a 100% review scale.

     L.A. Noire's current "professional" review score average on the Xbox 360 is 87.85%, based on 56 reviews on GameRanking.scom.
     The Xbox 360's version has a 4 out of 5 Stars rating on Amazon.com, based on 143 customer reviews.
     L.A. Noire's customer review score average on the Xbox 360 is 80%, when the customer reviews are converted to a 100% review scale.

     Review score averages were recorded around 11:30PM on June 13, 2011.

Filtered Thoughts:
     The overall sales average for both versions was very close.  The PS3 version was just over an average of #2, while the Xbox 360 version was closer to having a sales rank average of #3, overall from May 17 to May 31.
     Based on the overall sales ranks averages for the PS3 and Xbox 360 versions of L.A. Noire, we can assume that the PS3 version sold more copies than the Xbox 360 version on Amazon.com; but being that Amazon.com does not provide exact sales numbers, it would probably be a close call.
     Hopefully the NPD data will start providing better sales breakdowns for console games like L.A. Noire, so developers and investors can see how these games are performing on a console basis, and not just on an overall monthly basis.

     While I haven't played L.A. Noire, I have seen the technology used for recording the actors/actresses in the game, and I was really impressed by it.
     Hearing, and seeing, so many good things about the facial recording/scanning technology used in L.A. Noire, makes me hope Rockstar will lease/sell the technology to other companies that might be interested in using it.

Questions:
     If you purchased L.A. Noire, what do you think about the game?  Is it worth the time to investigate and solve the crimes in the game?
     Also, do you hope L.A. Noire is a game that Rockstar will continue to support in the future, possibly with sequels?

If you are interested in L.A. Noire, you can see prices for both console versions on Amazon.com linked below: