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December NPD: MW3, Just Dance 3 and Skyrim lead an overall down month

Jordan Mallory — Thu, 12 Jan 2012 18:31:00 EST

The industry as a whole still managed to bang out $3.99 billion in combined new sales of hardware, physical software and accessories between November 27 and December 31, 2011. This is, however, a 21 percent drop year-over-year, as the industry pulled down a combined $5.07 billion during the same period in 2010.

"Overall industry results are not entirely surprising given that we are on the back end of the current console lifecycle, combined with the continued digital evolution of gaming," said Anita Frazier, an analyst with The NPD Group. "Core gamers continue to be engaged and spend on established franchises across both the digital and physical format using multiple devices for different gaming occasions."

A smooth $2.04 billion of that $3.99 billion total was caused entirely by new physical software sales, a dash for the cash that continues to be lead by Modern Warfare 3. The pseudo-medieval allure of November's second place podium finisher, Skyrim, was not enough to keep its throne for a second term; the Dovahkiin has been usurped by Ubisoft's compulsory neon-dancing simulator, Just Dance 3.

Comparatively, Skyrim got off easy: Uncharted 3, Saints Row: The Third and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, are all absent from December's Top-10 list, just weeks after their respective releases. Skyward Sword wasn't Nintendo's only horse in this race, however, as Mario Kart 7 and Super Mario 3D Land closed out December in fourth and ninth place, respectively. Overall, Nintendo, Ubisoft and Electronic Arts claimed more Top-10 real estate than their competitors, each publishing two of the month's best selling titles.

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November NPD: A new record, with Xbox 360 joined by MW3 and Skyrim on top (Update 2: Sony PR added)

Christopher Grant — Fri, 09 Dec 2011 17:57:00 EST

(Update: Microsoft Chief of Interactive Entertainment Aaron Greenberg has released Xbox 360 sales via Twitter, which are included below.)

It's a little good, a little bad with this year's November 2011 NPD results. While "unit sales grew for console hardware, as well as console, portable, and PC software," NPD analyst Anita Frazier warns that "a decline in average retail price in all categories" besides portable hardware resulted in dollar sales that were flat compared to last November. That said, November 2011 "marks the best November on record for sales of new physical content," besting the previous record holder, November 2008.

Unsurprisingly, the Xbox 360 was the top selling piece of gear for the month and Frazier notes that the "gap between 360 sales and sales of the next best selling platform was the largest we've seen since December 2008 when the Nintendo DS was the top selling system." Microsoft Chief of Interactive Entertainment Aaron Greenberg later added via Twitter that the Xbox 360 sold 1.7 million consoles during the month of November, up 23% year over year. For the month, Nintendo announced it sold more than 860,000 Wii systems, more than 795,000 Nintendo 3DS systems and more than 350,000 Nintendo DS systems.

Meanwhile, Sony declined to provide specific sales numbers for the PS3. According to Sony PR chief Patrick Seybold, "PlayStation 3 is off to a phenomenal start to the holiday season, recording the best ever Black Friday sales period in the console's five-year history. According to the November NPD report the PS3 saw a 70% increase in hardware and a 30% increase in software year-over-year." The PS3 sold 530,000 units last year, which would situate PS3 sales for November 2011 in the neighborhood of 901,000 units.

In the software arena, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 took its perch at the top of the charts, besting Black Ops "by about 7%," while Skyrim managed "a five-fold increase over Oblivion's first month sales" coming in just a half-million units short of matching its predecessor's lifetime sales. Other newcomers include single SKU exclusives like Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception in seventh place and The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword in ninth.

[Image source: onrpg.net]

Continue reading November NPD: A new record, with Xbox 360 joined by MW3 and Skyrim on top (Update 2: Sony PR added)

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October NPD: 3DS rising, a good month for games with 'Bat' in the title (Update: BF3, Batman, RAGE numbers)

JC Fletcher — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 18:50:00 EST

Microsoft claims another month on top for the Xbox 360, with 393,000 units sold for the NPD's October sales period, 20% up year over year and, in the words of MS Chief of Staff for Interactive Entertainment Business Aaron Greenberg, the system's "biggest October ever." Following up is ... the 3DS, randomly bouncing back two months after its price drop, with "over 250,000" sold, according to Nintendo.

Try to look shocked when we tell you that Battlefield 3 topped the software chart. The top six games on NPD's sales chart are all October releases, with Batman: Arkham City, NBA 2K12, Rage, Just Dance 3, and -- believe it or not -- super-hardcore, unfriendly RPG Dark Souls all placing. Find the full top ten after the break.

Continue reading October NPD: 3DS rising, a good month for games with 'Bat' in the title (Update: BF3, Batman, RAGE numbers)

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September NPD: Madden, Gears, Dead Island are hits (Updated with Nintendo hardware numbers!)

JC Fletcher — Thu, 13 Oct 2011 20:25:00 EST

It should come as no surprise that Madden NFL 12 beat everything else in NPD's software chart for the month of September, unless you're really not into sports games and forgot it came out. Second place is also pretty expected, with the massive rollout of Gears of War 3 massively rolling into people's homes. Third place, however, is a bit more interesting -- Dead Island, from semi-obscure publisher Deep Silver, outsold almost everything else based on the strength of that trailer and the word "zombies." Find the top ten after the break.

In hardware, Microsoft reported Xbox 360 takes the top hardware spot once again, touting 438,000 units sold in the month. Nintendo reports sales of 360,000 3DS units in the five week September reporting period, as well as 240,000 Wiis and 145,000 DS systems. Sony has not released official sales numbers for the PS3 or PSP.

In larger trends, total industry sales are down 6 percent year over year, with a mere $1.16 billion changing hands in September.

Continue reading September NPD: Madden, Gears, Dead Island are hits (Updated with Nintendo hardware numbers!)

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August NPD: Annual sales drop again, Deus Ex augments the top spot

Griffin McElroy — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 19:06:00 EST

We're starting to see a trend develop -- a super, super disheartening trend. According to the NPD group, total sales in the U.S. gaming industry dropped 23 percent year-over-year during the month of August; almost exactly the same amount sales declined in July. NPD's Anita Frazier explained, "the bulk of the decline can be attributed to the shift of the annual Madden release from August to September." (The NPD actually counts August 30 as part of September, which seems pretty zany.)

Gaming hardware saw an increase in sales over July, largely fueled by the price cuts endured by the 3DS and PlayStation 3. According to a memo sent out by Nintendo following the NPD report, the 3DS discount moved 185,000 consoles from August 12 through the end of the month. This wave managed to increase dollar and unit sales of handheld hardware to a year-over-year increase over August 2010, which bucks the downward trend followed by the rest of the industry. Hooray for discrete electronics!

Surprisingly, the top-selling game for August was Deus Ex: Human Revolution, which was only on store shelves for five days during the NPD's tracking window. The group doesn't expect the augmented title to rollover its reign into September, instead expecting Madden to reign supreme. Check out August's Top 10 software performers after the jump!

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July NPD: Sales down 26%, NCAA Football leads software

Christopher Grant — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 18:30:00 EST

Ouch! Overall video game industry sales are down 26% in North America for July, year over year, with a 29% dip in console hardware sales mostly to blame. New retail software sales saw a less severe 17% drop, while accessories saw only an 8% drop. Unsurprisingly, on the hardware front, "the platforms that contributed a greater portion of new physical retail dollar sales as compared to last year were the Xbox 360 and the PS3," says NPD's Anita Frazier. She also adds that July 2011 is the industry's "lowest month since October 2006." We'll say it again: Ouch!

As has become the norm, Microsoft trumpeted its performance in an email claiming a "45% share of the overall current-generation console market." Six years into the Xbox 360's lifecycle, the console managed to move 277,000 units "maintaining the number-one console spot in the U.S. for 2011." Frazier notes that, while the Xbox 360 may have had the strongest numbers of the three consoles, July "was the first month that the Xbox 360 saw a year-over-year decline since December 2009." Of course, last July saw a strong sales spike "driven by the introduction of the Kinect-ready slim form factor SKU," Frazier reminds us.

On the software front, July 2011 only saw "17 new releases [...] compared to 29 last July." With NCAA Football 12 taking the top sales spot, reflecting a "15% increase in unit sales versus NCAA 11 in July 2010," Frazier postulates that this year's Madden delay might have prompted football fans to pick up EA's earlier offering. Find the full top ten list after the break.

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June NPD: Duke Nukem Forever is #2

JC Fletcher — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 18:30:00 EST

Yes, it's true. A startling (and vaguely insulting) number of American consumers ignored our review and purchased Duke Nukem Forever, rocketing it to the #2 position on the NPD sales charts for the month of June. Perhaps they just didn't want to ask for refunds on those 14-year-old pre-orders. The Duke occupies a position on the charts just under its equally retro (in a different way) Take-Two contemporary, L.A. Noire.

Also notable on the sales charts is the debut of another time-lost title, The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D. At #5, it is the first 3DS exclusive to chart in the NPD top ten. Find the top ten best-selling games listed after the break.

It's definitely a triumphant month for the past, as total game sales were down from $1.15 billion in June of 2010 to $1.03 billion in June of this year. Once again, however, Microsoft is happy, declaring its Xbox 360 the only console in the US to show year-over-year growth. The Xbox was the top-selling console with 507,000 units which Microsoft claims is "nearly twice as many units as other current-generation platforms" this month.

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May NPD: LA Noire makes the case, Xbox 360 stays on top

Christopher Grant — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 18:54:00 EST

Even though we hid the list of May's top software sellers in North America after the break, we have a suspicion that your unparalleled acumen and unmatched perception will provide the clues necessary to determine what the month's top seller was. Simple. Let's move onto harder stuff.

Without a solid historical basis, determining the month's top-selling console might be difficult. So we'll give you a hint: It's been the top selling console for 11 of the past 12 months. That's right, it's the Xbox 360 which managed to move 270,000 units according to Microsoft, representing 39% year-over-year growth and marking the "seventeenth month of year-over-year hardware sales increases," according to a now routine email boast from Redmond.

Overall video game spending is down 13% year-over-year, dropping from $829.4m to $718.8m; while hardware is only down 5%, video game software was down a whopping 19% from May 2010 to 2011. Looking at the list of top sellers, you'll see a few notable facts: the poorly received Brink managed to arrive in second place; there are two Lego games from two separate publishers; and perhaps most notably, there isn't a single Nintendo-published title on the list. Find the full software rundown after the break.

Continue reading May NPD: LA Noire makes the case, Xbox 360 stays on top

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April NPD: Mortal Kombat wins for Outworld, Xbox is top console again

JC Fletcher — Thu, 12 May 2011 18:30:00 EST

The Mortal Kombat reboot rose up against franchise fatigue, an incapacitated PSN, and space-time-tunneling competition to claim the top spot on the NPD's April sales charts. Turns out there's a big audience out there for seeing inside some dude's body as his bones are breaking. Oh, and for accessible, fast-paced fighting games. (But mostly the X-ray bone breaks.)

According to the NPD, Mortal Kombat sold just under 900K copies. Portal 2, of course, came in at No. 2.

Likely as a result of these two games, total US spending was up 20 percent year-over year, from $802.4 million in 2010 to $961.2 million in 2011. Microsoft can also claim some responsibility for the high numbers -- it informed us that the Xbox 360 was the top-selling console last month, moving 297,000 units (a year-over-year increase of 60 percent).

Continue reading April NPD: Mortal Kombat wins for Outworld, Xbox is top console again

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March NPD: Let Pokemon show you its sales

JC Fletcher — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 19:00:00 EST

The 3DS launched last month to mixed results, as far as we can tell. NPD doesn't report hardware numbers, of course, but the agency reports that in its first seven days on the market, the handheld's performance "compares quite favorably to that of the best-selling dedicated handheld gaming platform of all time, the Nintendo DS." It sold about 100,000 fewer units than the 479,000 DS did in its launch month -- but that was a November.

Nintendo previously said the console had the best first day of any handheld in US history. Even so, it managed not to be the top seller of the month. That honor goes to ... the Nintendo DS.

And here's why. The top two games, unsurprisingly, are both DS titles -- Pokemon Black and White, the latter of which is the best-selling Pokemon game at launch ever, the NPD says. In fact, the only 3DS title on the top 10 is Lego Star Wars 3, and that shares the position with Wii, DS, Xbox 360 and PS3 versions of the same game. The NPD provides no indication of how many copies were sold on any one platform.

Directly under the Pokemans at No. 3 is Homefront, suggesting that as far as gimmicks go, not being very good trumps 3D. A pair of debuts from EA, Dragon Age 2 and Crysis 2, also found their way into the top 10 -- the full list can be seen after the break.

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February NPD: Total sales up, new games come out swinging

JC Fletcher — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 18:30:00 EST

Here's something we didn't expect to say in a non-holiday month or one without the launch of a new DS or something: Total US game revenue is up year-over-year, from $1.3 billion to $1.6 billion. Hardware and accessories both saw gains, while software dipped a bit between February 2010 and 2011.

There's also good news in software top ten chart -- at least, good news for people who like the charts to look different every month, with top-ten debuts for Marvel vs. Capcom 3, Killzone 3, Bulletstorm, and Mario Sports Mix, all of which launched in the month of February. The dance genre continued to dominate, with Just Dance 2, Michael Jackson, and Zumba Fitness holding on.

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January NPD: It's a dance, dance, dance, dance revolution

Randy Nelson — Thu, 17 Feb 2011 19:00:00 EST

The NPD Group's analysis of games industry business for January 2011 has hit -- and the real hits are dancing games. The top 10 best-selling titles for the month include four dancing games: Just Dance 2, Zumba Fitness: Join the Party, Dance Central and Michael Jackson: The Experience. In fact, even the month's two biggest new releases, Dead Space 2 and LittleBigPlanet 2, were outsold by Ubisoft's unstoppable Just Dance sequel (though the former only got one week of sales, having launched January 25).

On the hardware front, sales were down eight percent overall versus January 2010, with software and accessories also dipping by five percent and six percent, respectively. Microsoft has provided specific hardware sales numbers, reporting 381,000 consoles sold for the month, up 48,000 units from January 2010. Sony, for its part, isn't talking hardware, instead saying that PS3 software sales are up 25 percent year-over-year.

Keep reading past the break for the full top 10 in software sales.

Continue reading January NPD: It's a dance, dance, dance, dance revolution

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December NPD: Xbox 360 comes out on top in 2010 revenue

Mike Schramm — Thu, 13 Jan 2011 18:47:00 EST

Microsoft has claimed the year of 2010, as a whopping $6.2 billion was spent on Xbox 360 games and accessories at retail, making it the (financial) king of consoles last year. December's NPD report also shows a 42 percent year-over-year growth for the Xbox 360 and, as expected, Kinect sales were strong, launching Kinect Sports into the top 10 for the month.

Elsewhere in the report, NPD says that total new, physical video game sales are down by 9 percent to $5.06 billion, and video game hardware is down a total of 16 percent to $1.84 billion. In fact, the only tracked category that saw year-over-year growth in December was video game accessories -- the PlayStation Move and Kinect pushed that category up 10 percent from last December to sales of $853 million.

Hit the break to see the best-selling titles of December 2010, according to the NPD's numbers. World of Warcraft's Cataclysm expansion makes a solid appearance at No. 3, and Disney Epic Mickey's status as a "core" game on console with a largely casual audience didn't hurt sales too much, apparently -- it came in at No. 6.

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November NPD: Best month ever for retail, Xbox

JC Fletcher — Thu, 09 Dec 2010 18:30:00 EST

November is traditionally a big, big month for games, thanks to the impending holidays and the temporary financial insanity bestowed upon Americans by the Black Friday Effect. This November may have been the biggest. The NPD reports that last month was the "best November on record in terms of new physical retail sales," ahead of November 2008 by around $30 million. Call of Duty: Black Ops had the biggest first month of any game ever, with 8.4 million copies.

And Microsoft (producer of the best-selling non-DS console) tells us that with 1.37 million consoles sold, November 2010 was not only the biggest November ever for Xbox, it was the biggest month ever. Thanks, Kinect! Thanks, new hardware! Handhelds were actually down vs. previous years, though the DS was still the top-selling console, with the Mario red DSi XL representing the majority of sales. Nintendo said that "over 1.5 million" DS systems were sold last month.

After the break, check out the top-selling games of the month. You already know what's at number one, of course. Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood follows at #2, with surprisingly strong showings for both Fable 3 and Donkey Kong Country Returns down the list.

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October NPD: NBA 2K11 tops charts, Xbox 360 'best selling console in 2010'

Andrew Yoon — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 01:20:00 EST

Here is the second edition of the revised (and less informative) monthly NPD report. With the market research group no longer sharing specific hardware figures, it's noteworthy to point out that only Microsoft has (as of writing) released concrete sales numbers. Major Nelson tweeted that Microsoft sold 325K Xbox 360s in October. Although the figure represents a 32-percent drop from the previous month, it was enough to secure Microsoft's spot as best-selling console of the month. Major Nelson also added that the Xbox 360 "is the best selling console in 2010 [with] 3.5 million" sold so far.

Sony's response doesn't offer console sales numbers, but Patrick Seybold commented on increased momentum for the company's PlayStation Move motion controller. "The PS3 Move Bundle had a 15-percent increase in sales since launch last month, and we're working hard to keep the inventory up across the country to meet strong consumer demand." In addition, Seybold reminded us of the impending launch of Sony's big holiday game: "With next week's launch of the industry's most anticipated title, Gran Turismo 5, we're sure to carry the momentum through the holidays."

Nintendo, as of the time of publishing, had not offered comment.

Software sales jumped 6 percent year-over-year for the month to $605 million. The multiplatform release of NBA 2K11 helped propel it to the top of the charts, undoubtedly aided by EA Sports' cancellation of NBA Elite 11. Fallout, Medal of Honor and Fable all made strong debuts -- but Rock Band 3's 15th-place position in sales has us concerned. NPD analyst Anita Frazier did make a special note in the report, assuring us that "this game has the potential to perform well over the holidays."

The top-ten software breakdown is posted after the break.

Continue reading October NPD: NBA 2K11 tops charts, Xbox 360 'best selling console in 2010'

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September NPD: Hardware down, but Halo Reaches upward

JC Fletcher — Thu, 14 Oct 2010 18:58:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

Welcome to the new NPD report! The agency's new reticence means we have no idea how hardware did in September -- except for the Xbox 360, which was at the top of the charts with 483,989 units sold. The NPD does report that at $383 million, total hardware sales are down 19 percent year-over-year.

We have a bit more information about software, but the format has changed for that as well -- instead of each individual version of a game (on each platform, for example) counting as one game on the list, they've been totaled. So Madden NFL 11 occupies one slot on the top ten this month instead of two.

Halo: Reach would have done well regardless of this change (it's at #1, after all, and on only one platform) but now we see games on the top ten that might have been muscled out by the Maddens -- like Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep and Metroid: Other M. Microsoft, never one to ignore a success story, blasted out Halo: Reach's first-month sales numbers: 3.3 million units. It notes that Reach is "only the third game this generation to surpass 3 million unit sales in the first month." The first? Yup, Halo 3.

Update: Hardware sales figures can be found here.

Embrace change after the break.

Continue reading September NPD: Hardware down, but Halo Reaches upward

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August NPD: It's another mad, mad, Madden year

Alexander Sliwinski — Thu, 09 Sep 2010 18:30:00 EST

Filed under: Weird But True, Opinions, New In Pop Culture

The sun will rise, the moon will set and it would be a sign of the end days if Madden didn't rule August software sales in the United States. The August NPDs are out and Madden NFL 11 sold over 1.8 million units in the month, a six percent increase over last year, with significant increases on PS3. Mafia 2, which Take-Two expects to be profitable, entered with a badda-boom and appears to have sold around 200K units during the month -- the title has been a chart topper in the UK since launch.

The Xbox 360 remains the top-selling console for a second month, but its sales did drop nearly 20 percent from July. The only hardware to see sales gains during the month was the PlayStation 3, which according to the NPD has now seen 13 consecutive months of year-over-year sales increases.

Overall, hardware and software sales were down both year-over-year and year-to-date. Sales for hardware, software and accessories combined was down 10 percent to $818.9M from last year and down 8 percent year-to-date to $8.31 billion. Consoles tried to make up for the sagging handheld market, as NPD analyst Anita Frazier notes, "The 360 and PS3 platforms both grew in dollar sales versus last year. In fact, the 360 platform contributed more than 1/3 of total new physical retail sales across hardware, software and accessories while the PS3 platform contributed over 1/4 of total dollar sales."

Oh yeah, one more thing: the top ten list of titles after the break only charts console and portable SKUs, so it's worth mentioning StarCraft 2 sold another 300K units in August, which would make it the second best-selling game for the month... if it were factored in. Frazer also stated, "PC games retail dollar sales saw a 35% increase over last August."

360: 357K, down 83K (-19.7%)
DS: 343K, down 55.3K (-13.9%)
Wii: 244K, down 9.7K (-3.8%)
PS3: 226K, up 11K (5.1%)
PSP: 79K, down 4.6K (-5.5%)

Continue reading August NPD: It's another mad, mad, Madden year

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July NPD: Xbox 360 takes the lead, first time since Sept. '07

Christopher Grant — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 18:50:00 EST

Compared to last year, July's NPD numbers are fairly static, with overall video game industry sales down just 1% from $850.6m to $846.5m. While software sales were down a sizable 8% with newcomer NCAA Football 11 bringing in the top two spots for a combined 667K units sold, hardware sales were up a hefty 12%, mostly on the back of the newly redesigned (and, ostensibly, fixed!) Xbox 360 S. Looks like there was "unprecedented demand," like Microsoft said.

Most notably, that July sales surge resulted in a minor 2% drop in Xbox sales while every other console suffered double digit drops. This, as you can see in our lineup below, has earned the Xbox 360 the rare opportunity to best the Nintendo DS as the best-selling piece of video game hardware last month. To put things in perspective, NPD analyst Anita Frazier notes, "It's the first time since September '07 (Halo 3 launch) that the 360 was the top-selling hardware platform."

While the list of software sales only charts console and portable SKUs, there is one other game that deserves to be mentioned: StarCraft 2. Despite just five days on the market in July, the much-anticipated RTS sold an impressive 721K units at retail in July. Of course when you factor in digital and global sales, it sold a lot more than that.

360: 444K, down 9K (-2%)
DS: 398K, down 113K (-22%)
Wii: 254K, down 169K (-40%)
PS3: 215K, down 90K (-30%)
PSP: 84K, down 37K (-31%)

Continue reading July NPD: Xbox 360 takes the lead, first time since Sept. '07

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June NPD: Hardware's way up, Red Dead reloads

Christopher Grant — Thu, 15 Jul 2010 18:35:00 EST

Compared to last month's disappointing NPD numbers, with the industry down 5 percent overall, this month's numbers are ... well, they're still sort of a bummer with industry sales down 6 percent, but for nearly opposite reasons! While hardware was down in May, 20 percent year-over-year, it's up 5 percent this month with every console posting positive percentages. The newly revamped Xbox 360 led with the biggest improvement, with sales up 132 percent while the Wii managed to place 3rd, with the lowest overall improvement at 26 percent.

While last month's software sales were up 4 percent, mostly riding on Red Dead Redemption's back, this month's numbers are still Red Dead-heavy, but down 15 percent year-over-year as Rockstar San Diego's horse opus fell from a combined 1.5m units to just shy of 1m. This month's numbers also put Red Dead as the top seller for the year thus far, according to NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Much of the month's software lineup looks the same as last's - there's Super Mario Galaxy, barely dropping at all; there's UFC and Wii Fit; and, of course, New Super Mario Bros. - but we're also welcoming Just Dance back to the top 10 along with newcomers Toy Story 3 on DS and LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 on Wii. Check the full software list after the break.

DS: 511K, up 127K (+33%)
360: 453K, up 257K (+132%)
Wii: 423K, up 88K (+26%)
PS3: 305K, up 150K (+97%)
PSP: 121K, up 62K (+105%)

Continue reading June NPD: Hardware's way up, Red Dead reloads

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May NPD: Red Dead rustles up top spots, Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes third

Christopher Grant — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 20:00:00 EST

Hoo-doggy! Look at them critters go! While video game hardware sales were down 20 percent month-over-month in May - yeah, we're looking at you, handheld sales - software sales were up! Sure, you're right, they're only up 4 percent month-over-month and the industry is down 5 percent in total, but can't you just relax and enjoy the vista? Red Dead Redemption sold 1.5 million units across both the Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms this month and Super Mario Galaxy 2 came in at 560 thousand units on the Wii. Even dear old Alan Wake made the grade, though his sales aren't listed. Find them all after the break.

Of course, these numbers come courtesy of the monthly NPD report, which lists the top 10 selling games (stored after the break) and the hardware sales for North America. The DS continues its free-fall after dropping 37 percent last month, losing another 13 percent. Notably: It's still the best-selling console this month! The Wii is up 21 percent after a 50 percent dip last month, and the Xbox 360 is up 5 percent after last month's 45 percent drop.

Unfortunately, Sony is bringing up the rear, with the PS3 down 15 percent and the PSP down 10 percent. However, NPD's Anita Frazier notes that "The PS3 platform has enjoyed the greatest percentage growth, with platform sales across hardware, software, and accessories up 32 percent for the month, and 28 percent year-to-date." A reminder that it's not always as simple as hardware sales.

DS: 384K down 57K (-13%)
Wii: 335K up 58K (+21%)
360: 195K up 10K (+5%)
PS3: 155K down 27K (-15%)
PSP: 59K down 7K (-10%)

Continue reading May NPD: Red Dead rustles up top spots, Super Mario Galaxy 2 takes third

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April NPD: Sam Fisher's grim month

Mike Schramm — Thu, 13 May 2010 19:30:00 EST

Apparently everybody was paying taxes last month instead of buying games, because despite analysts' expectations, sales for April were way down. As you can see below, sales dropped out on every single console that NPD tracked during April, with the Wii taking the biggest hit, down 50 percent from March. Hardware sales overall fell by 37 percent.

Software sales didn't do any better -- Splinter Cell Conviction was a bright spot and Super Street Fighter IV just barely made the list (which you can find after the break), but otherwise it was all leftovers from March and previous months. NPD reports that last month's 11 percent industry drop-off was the "worst year-over-year decline...since July '09, and the fourth largest year-over-year percentage decline ever." The industry got rained on -- here's hoping April showers bring some May flowers.

-DS: 441K260K (-37%)
-Wii: 277K 281K (-50%)
-360: 185K 153K (-45%)
-PS3: 181K 133K (-42%)
-PSP: 66K 54K (-44%)
-PS2 sales are no longer being tracked by NPD -- goodbye, old friend.

See the top 10 games after the break. (Note: Sales figures for the games ranked six through ten were withheld by NPD for unstated reasons.)

Continue reading April NPD: Sam Fisher's grim month

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March NPD: Pokemon and Kratos catch all the money

JC Fletcher — Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:15:00 EST

The ill-timed announcement of the 3DS wasn't enough to scare consumers off from purchasing new DS systems. Thanks to the combination of a new hardware variant (the big, big, big DSi XL) and new Pokemon games, the dual-screened platform sold like gangbusters. Meanwhile, hardware shortages kept the PS3 from massive sales despite the fact that it had the best-selling game of March (God of War 3).

Speaking of software, we've learned a lot about you from this month. For example, Final Fantasy fans strongly prefer PS3, Battlefield fans strongly prefer 360, and Pokemon fans' dollar votes went to SoulSilver over HeartGold by quite a lot. How do you even decide something like that? Seriously, one of the 1.78 million or so of you who bought it -- take us through your process!

-DS: 701K88K (14%)
-Wii: 558K160K (40%)
-360: 338K>84K (-20%)
-PS3: 314K46K (-13%)
-PSP: 120K13K (-10%)
-PS2: 118K16K (16%)

See the top 10 games after the break.

Continue reading March NPD: Pokemon and Kratos catch all the money

March NPD: Pokemon and Kratos catch all the money originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 19:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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February NPD: Xbox 360 and BioShock 2 sales heat up

JC Fletcher — Thu, 11 Mar 2010 19:02:00 EST

Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg is thrilled with February's NPD numbers, and for good reason. The Xbox 360 took the top spot in home console sales last month, despite not being a Wii. According to the NPD, it's the first time this has happened since the Halo 3 launch in 2007.

BioShock 2 seems to have had something to do with the boost, with the Xbox 360 version topping the software charts (and the PS3 version absent from the top ten). Other notable software milestones: Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is now the third best-selling game of all time, and Just Dance seems to have made a better pact with Satan than even Dante's Inferno did. See the software top ten after the break.

-DS: 613K191K (45%)
-360: 422K89K (27%)
-Wii: 398K68K (-15%)
-PS3: 360K83K (30%)
-PSP: 133K33K (33%)
-PS2: 102K60K (143%)

Continue reading February NPD: Xbox 360 and BioShock 2 sales heat up

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January NPD: Mass Effect 2 debuts at #2, hardware is down

Christopher Grant — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 19:45:00 EST

Sure, last month's NPD numbers post had all sorts of green arrows plastered all about its form -- this month, we knew things would go down. Little known fact: Christmas never occurs in January, and this year is no exception. Without Consumermas driving console adoption, numbers were down across the board; what's not so obvious is that numbers were also down year-over-year. That means that overall sales are down 13 percent since last January, way back in ought nine.

Nintendo's consoles lost the most in sales, with the Wii dropping a hefty 88 percent; however, that still wasn't enough to knock the white wonder from its top spot. The Xbox 360 and PS3 continue their back-and-forth battle, with the Xbox reclaiming its number three spot again, having just reclaimed it in November. A good reason for the Xbox's "victory": the not-available-on-PS3 Mass Effect 2, which pushed an impressive 572,000 units in the six short days following its January 26 release. That still wasn't enough to dethrone New Super Mario Bros. Wii, though, which moved 657,000 units with a full month of sales propelling it.

Beyond Mass Effect 2, the bottom of the software sales list is made up of similar newcomers: Army of Two: The 40th Day in 8th, Just Dance in 9th place, and Darksiders just making the cut. Really, universe? Just Dance made the top ten while the excellent MAG is nowhere to be found? Color us disappointed in all of you.

-Wii: 466K3.34M (-86%)
-DS: 422K2.89M (-85%)
-360: 333K977K (-65%)
-PS3: 277K1.08M (-74%)
-PSP: 100K361K (-72%)
-PS2: 42K291K (-86%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading January NPD: Mass Effect 2 debuts at #2, hardware is down

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December NPD: Nintendo ends 2009 on a high note

Randy Nelson — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 20:00:00 EST

It's time to find out how the US games industry ended the last decade, and the answer is "Nintendo." Wait, that's not a proper answer -- or is it? Consumers continued The Big N's fortunes in December, even in spite of some disparaging comments from third party partners. DS also sold remarkably well, and post-Thanksgiving sales of PS3 managed to surpass those of Xbox 360 by about 50,000 units.

Wii software flew off the shelves, proving that Wii games sell ... as long as they're published by Nintendo. Six of the top 10 titles for December were published by the company. New Super Mario Bros. Wii continues to dominate at retail with nearly three million copies sold in December alone. It's joined in the top three by Wii Fit Plus (2.14M) and Wii Sports Resort (1.79M). Not surprising, given the number of Nintendo consoles sold in the final weeks of the oughts.

-Wii: 3.81M2.11M (+202%)
-DS: 3.31M2.05M (+95%)
-PS3: 1.36M650K (+92%)
-360: 1.31M490K (+60%)
-PSP: 655K361K (+123%)
-PS2: 333K130K (+64%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading December NPD: Nintendo ends 2009 on a high note

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November NPD: Modern Warfare 2 sells 6 million, DS dominates hardware

Randy Nelson — Thu, 10 Dec 2009 20:35:00 EST

The US games industry's performance numbers are out for November and, as expected, software sales were ~~lead~~ dominated by Activision / Infinity Ward's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox 360 and PS3. The game sold 4.2 million copies during the month on Microsoft's console, while the version for Sony's machine sold 1.9 million. Coming in an extremely strong second was New Super Mario Bros. Wii at 1.4 million copies, proving that 1) people still love the plumber and 2) if a Wii game is published by Nintendo, it sells like crazy (well, unless it also has "Wii Music" in its title).

Nintendo lead in hardware sales, with the number of DS units sold skyrocketing by 262% to 1.7 million units -- that's better than the same month last year. Wii sold over two million last November; this year it hit 1.26 million for the month, indicative of the year-long decline in sales the console's been experiencing. Its competitors, Xbox 360 and PS3, sold 820 thousand and 710 thousand units, respectively.

-DS: 1.7M1.2M (+262%)
-Wii: 1.26M753K (+149%)
-360: 820K570K (+228%)
-PS3: 710K389K (+121%)
-PSP: 294K119K (+76%)
-PS2: 203K85K (72%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading November NPD: Modern Warfare 2 sells 6 million, DS dominates hardware

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October NPD: Uncharted 2 takes top spot while hardware sales slow down

Christopher Grant — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:43:00 EST

After the last two months of price drop-fueled sales surges, it's almost comforting to see all these red arrows. Hardware sales are down 17% from last month and down 10% from the year prior, with only the Wii maintaining any upward momentum as we head into the two busiest shopping months of the year. The PS3 lost the highest percentage, but that's hardly surprising following last month's meteoric 134% spike in sales.

On the software side of things, the exceptionally well-received PlayStation 3-exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves took top honors, selling 537K units in just the second half of October. Of course, Sony told us earlier today that the title has broken the coveted million mark (worldwide?) with November sales factored in. The multiplatform Borderlands makes a similarly impressive showing, taking third on Xbox 360 with 418K units sold; however, when you factor in the 113K units sold of the not-top-ten PS3 version (data provided graciously by NPD), you find an impressive 531K in cumulative sales, just missing the top spot.

NBA 2K10 had a strong showing with 524K in cumulative sales, "outselling last year's NBA 2K9 by 60% in its launch month" reports the NPD, while last month's champ, Halo 3: ODST, dropped to sixth with 271K in sales. With just four days on shelves in October, Forza Motorsport 3 made a strong showing at #8 with 175K. Slightly less strong was Kingdom Hearts 358/2 Days' ninth-place showing despite a full month on the shelf. And in last place is the worldwide phenomenon known as FIFA 10 (or, in North America, FIFA Soccer 10). While FIFA 10 may be the "fastest selling sports game ever" in Europe, selling 1.7m in its first week, over here we bought up just 156K copies in a little over a week.

-Wii: 507K44K (+10%)
-DS: 458K66K (-13%)
-PS3: 321K171K (-35%)
-360: 250K103K (-29%)
-PSP: 175K15K (-8%)
-PS2: 118K28K (-19%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading October NPD: Uncharted 2 takes top spot while hardware sales slow down

October NPD: Uncharted 2 takes top spot while hardware sales slow down originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 20:43:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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September NPD: Obviously Destined to Sell Tons

JC Fletcher — Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:10:00 EST

The new, lighter (in both price and weight!) PS3 continues to enjoy renewed sales in its second month beating out every console except for the invincible DS -- and the PS3 got pretty close to that impossible victory. The PS3's sales more than doubled in the last month! In fact, just about everything enjoyed a boost in September, with all the home consoles benefiting from recent price drops, and the PSP launching new hardware (NPD's September sales period ran through October 3). The only "loser" is the DS, which fell in total sales, but still managed to sell more than anything else.

In software (see the chart after the break), unsurprisingly strong debuts took place for both games with Halo on the box and games with Mario on the box. In fact, strong is a bit of an understatement for ODST's 1.52 million units sold. It's not quite 3.3 million units, but for a presumably lower-cost spinoff using an existing engine, it'll do.

In a weird bit of cross-platform fickleness, The Beatles: Rock Band debuted in the top 10 for Xbox and Wii, but not PS3 -- while Batman: Arkham Asylum's PS3 version made a second appearance in the top 10 to the exclusion of the Xbox.

-DS: 524K29K (-5%)
-PS3: 492K282K (+134%)
-Wii: 463K186K (+67%)
-360: 353K138K (+64%)
-PSP: 190K50K (+36%)
-PS2: 146K40K (+38%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading September NPD: Obviously Destined to Sell Tons

September NPD: Obviously Destined to Sell Tons originally appeared on Joystiq on Mon, 19 Oct 2009 20:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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August NPD: PS3 sales soar as gamers go batty for Arkham Asylum in a Madden world

Randy Nelson — Thu, 10 Sep 2009 20:15:00 EST

This year's August NPD sales numbers were, as usual, dominated by EA's monolithic Madden franchise -- but who's that creeping out of the shadows? "I'm Batman."

Rocksteady, Warner Bros. and Eidos officially have themselves a critical and commercial hit in Batman: Arkham Asylum, with the game having sold more than half a million copies across PS3 and 360 in its first week on sale. Even the Joker can't laugh at sales like that.

Hardware saw a slight increase for the month, with the exception of PS3, which saw an impressive 72% jump in sales, no doubt due to early sales of the lower-priced 120GB slim SKU. Wii is still the best-selling home console, but its numbers are gradually dipping down into "maybe we should consider a price cut, too" territory. Here's how sales of the stuff we play are games on stacked up:

-DS: 553K14K (+2%)
-Wii: 277K24K (+9%)
-360: 215K12K (+6%)
-PS3: 210K88K (+72%)
-PSP: 140K17K (+13%)
-PS2: 106K2K (-2%

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading August NPD: PS3 sales soar as gamers go batty for Arkham Asylum in a Madden world

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July NPD: Hardware sales slide, Wii Sports Resort soars

Randy Nelson — Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:40:00 EST

By now, you're already aware that Wii Sports Resort sold more than 500k copies in the US alone during July. Who would ever have thought that a Wii Sports sequel would do so well? Despite the game's success, the platform it calls home saw a 30% drop-off in sales for the month. In fact, see all that red down there? Sales of every console were down.

-DS: 539K227K (-29%)
-Wii: 253K108K (-30%)
-Xbox 360: 203K37K (-15%)
-PSP: 123K41K (-25%)
-PS3: 122K42K (-25%)
-PS2: 108K45K (-29%

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading July NPD: Hardware sales slide, Wii Sports Resort soars

July NPD: Hardware sales slide, Wii Sports Resort soars originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 13 Aug 2009 21:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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June NPD: Prototype rips apart the sales charts

Andrew Yoon — Thu, 16 Jul 2009 19:15:00 EST

You're sure going to see a lot of green arrows in the chart below. However, don't be fooled -- while sales have gone up from last month, overall sales are down from 2008. In fact, total industry sales dropped 31% year-over-year to a measly $1.17 billion.

-DS: 766K132K (+20%)
-Wii: 361K71K (+24%)
-Xbox 360: 240K65K (+37%)
-PS3: 165K34K (+26%)
-PSP: 164K64K (+64%)
-PS2: 153K36K (+31%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading June NPD: Prototype rips apart the sales charts

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May NPD: UFC on top while DS, PS2 take a beating

Randy Nelson — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 20:30:00 EST

THQ's probably quite happy it decided to return to the MMA ring (soon to be joined by EA Sports) with UFC 2009 Undisputed selling 1.01 million units across Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. Other games didn't have it quite so good in their debut month, notably Punch-Out!!, which moved 150K copies on Wii.

DS and PS2 were both down, but May was an up month for PS3 with sales rising 3 percent. Xbox 360 sales remained unchanged over April.

-DS: 634K407K (-39%)
-Wii: 290K50K (-15%)
-Xbox 360: 175K -- 175K (0%)
-PS3: 131K4K (+3%)
-PS2: 117K55K (-32%)
-PSP: 100K16K (-13%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading May NPD: UFC on top while DS, PS2 take a beating

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April NPD: DS breaks a million, PS2 beats PS3

Andrew Yoon — Thu, 14 May 2009 19:30:00 EST

Everything old is new again. The DS makes a resurgence thanks to camera-enhanced DSi, while the PS2 makes substantial gains thanks to its price drop. Pfft? Current gen hardware? That's so passé. We can't wait until the N64 and Dreamcast surge back onto the NPD lists.

- DS: 1.04M477K (+85%)
- Wii: 340K261K (-43%)
- Xbox 360: 175K155K (-47%)
- PS2: 172K60K (+87%)
- PS3: 127K91K (-42%)
- PSP: 116K52K (-31%)

See the software charts after the break. Warning! The list will feature some very old games.

Continue reading April NPD: DS breaks a million, PS2 beats PS3

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March NPD: Capcom wins at software while consoles drop

JC Fletcher — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 19:45:00 EST

Not too much movement this month in terms of NPD hardware sales. Well, there's a systemic downward movement, but in the relative terms that everyone really cares about, nothing. All the consoles are in the same "rank" relative to one another as they were last week. April should prove a bit more tumultuous, with the PS2 price drop and the DSi launch. Consider this the calm before the (report about the previous month's) storm.

-Wii: 601K152K (-20%)
-DS: 563K25K (-4%)
-Xbox 360: 330K61K (-16%)
-PS3: 218K58K (-21%)
-PSP: 168K31K (-16%)
-PS2: 112K30K (-15%)

In software, however, there is big news. Between the PS3 and 360, Resident Evil 5 sold a million and a half damn copies. The other big time winner: Pokemans, of course! NPD's software top ten: let us show you it after the break.

Continue reading March NPD: Capcom wins at software while consoles drop

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February NPD: Street Fighter IV, Wii Fit battle as Nintendo dominates hardware sales

Randy Nelson — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 20:50:00 EST

Zangief's always struck us as a perpetual sourpuss, but he -- and the rest of the Street Fighter IV crew -- must be cracking polygonal smiles right about now. So are Capcom's accountants, sans the polygons (we think).

While Wii Fit was once again at the top of software sales for February, the combined total of SFIV copies moved for PS3 and 360 has the fighter closing in on 1 million units sold in its first two weeks (actually outselling Wii Fit by 205K copies). Reported sales of the PS3-exclusive Killzone 2 are at 323K after a mere 48 hours on shelves, landing it in 5th place. Finally, Wii Play has officially broken the 10 million sold mark in the US.

On the hardware front, Nintendo seems to be doing pretty well with this "Wii" thing, selling almost 3/4 million of whatever they are. DS maintained its second-in-command spot for the month, followed by Xbox 360 and PS3 -- the latter of which only outsold its previous iteration by 79K consoles. Overall hardware sales were up considerably over January.

Fun Fact: The analysts of EEDAR were a little off with their February software revenue and top 10 titles predictions, to the tune of $75 million in sales (NPD's final accounting was $733.5M, EEDAR had expected $659M).

-Wii: 753K74K (+11%)
-DS: 588K77K (+15%)
-Xbox 360: 391K82K (+27%)
-PS3: 276K73K (+36%)
-PSP: 199K 27K (+16%)
-PS2: 131K30K (+30%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading February NPD: Street Fighter IV, Wii Fit battle as Nintendo dominates hardware sales

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January NPD: Industry up 13% over Jan. '08, handhelds down 80% from Dec.

Randy Nelson — Thu, 12 Feb 2009 21:30:00 EST

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360

With the 2008 holiday season behind us, this month's NPD sales data brings with it figures showing the inevitable -- and dramatic -- decline in hardware sold for the month of January '09. For instance, last December the Nintendo DS was the top-selling platform, with 3.04 million units moved that month alone. This month? 511K were sold. (It was still the second best selling hardware after the Wii.)

In the battle to decide who's going to play second fiddle to Nintendo, 360 continues to lead PS3 in sales, but the gap isn't nearly as wide as last month (roughly 106K versus December's 714K). Handheld saw the most significant drop-off in sales, with DS and PSP declining 82% and 83%, respectively.

Software-wise, there are only three platforms -- and companies -- to look at this month. Those would be the Wii, DS and 360 on the hardware representing the hardware on the backs of which EA, Activision and Nintendo rode to software sales success. EA's two most recent major releases, Skate 2 and Lord of the Rings: Conquest, both made it into the top 10.

Fun Fact: Three of this month's top games have something in common other than their publishers: they all have "Mario" in the title and they're all a bit ... dated. Mario Kart DS hit in 2005, New Super Mario Bros. in 2006 and Mario Kart Wii in April of last year. That's-a some lasting power!

-Wii: 679K1.47m (-68%)
-DS: 511K2.5m (-82%)
-Xbox 360: 309K1.1m (-76%)
-PS3: 203K523K (-72%)
-PSP: 172K848K (-83%)
-PS2: 101K309K (-75%)

Check out the software sales chart after the break.

Continue reading January NPD: Industry up 13% over Jan. '08, handhelds down 80% from Dec.

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May NPD: Nintendo still on top, industry sales up 49%

Ludwig Kietzmann — Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:52:00 EST

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

The latest US video game sales data, as compiled by the NPD group, indicates that the popularity of Nintendo's delightful money-printing machines shows no sign of, well, change. The DS and its host of pocket monsters dominated hardware and software sales in May, a month marked by a 49% increase in overall industry sales to $815.5 million. GameDaily BIZ reports that the considerable rise was due in part to console hardware sales climbing 79% to $221.4 million.

The NPD has not yet provided a complete breakdown of hardware sales per platform, but the initial sales ranking gives more than enough food for thought. Sony's PSP grabs the number three spot behind the DS and Wii, trumping the PS2, the Xbox 360 and the PS3. Perhaps that early April price drop is paying off.

We'll add the exact sales numbers into the ranking below as soon as they become available. As always, you'll find the software's top ten after the break.

Nintendo DS: 423K
Nintendo Wii: 338K
Sony PSP: 221K
Sony PlayStation 2: 187K
Microsoft Xbox 360: 155K
Sony PlayStation 3: 81K

[Update: additional numbers added from a Bloomberg report.]

Continue reading May NPD: Nintendo still on top, industry sales up 49%

May NPD: Nintendo still on top, industry sales up 49% originally appeared on Joystiq on Thu, 14 Jun 2007 19:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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NPD: March belongs to DS, PS2

Ludwig Kietzmann — Thu, 19 Apr 2007 21:45:00 EST

Filed under: Nintendo DS, Nintendo GameCube, Sony PlayStation 2, Sony PlayStation 3, Sony PSP, Nintendo Wii, Microsoft Xbox 360, Business

The sheer anticipation that builds up around the NPD Group's monthly video game sales data is like an immense fanboy volcano just waiting to erupt. Predictions are made, forum wars are waged and in the end, some worshippers are left in agony as the facts (here represented by hot molten lava) eat away at their pale flesh. But on to cooler topics -- total industry sales are up by 33%!

The detailed GameDaily BIZ report reveals that total hardware sales rose by 69% in March to $370 million. Of that, console hardware raked in $257 million, making for an increase of 93%. NPD analyst Anita Frazier calls it an "outstanding month," though some console manufacturers might not share that particular sentiment. The North American console sales for March are as follows:

Nintendo DS: 508K
Sony PlayStation 2: 280K
Nintendo Wii: 259K (2.1 million total)
Microsoft Xbox 360: 199K (5.3 million total)
Sony PSP: 180k
Nintendo Game Boy Advance: 148K
Sony PlayStation 3: 130K (1.2 million total)
Nintendo Gamecube: 22K
Microsoft Xbox: N/A

Continue reading NPD: March belongs to DS, PS2

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