Xbox 360 Notches Rare Triumph Over Wii in February [Npd Group]

The Xbox 360 clocked in with a rare victory over the Wii among console sales in the United States for February, according to figures released today by the NPD Group. More

BioShock 2 is Entitled to February’s Top Spot for U.S. Sales [Npd Group]

BioShock 2 ended New Super Mario Bros. Wii ’s two-month hold atop the U.S. console sales charts, edging the Nintendo platformer by 7,000 units to take February’s top honors. More

NPD Top 20 Shows How MAG, Bayonetta Fared In January [Only In The U.s.]

Well-read sales analysis enthusiasts are already well aware that some of January’s most anticipated games did not become January’s bestselling games . While some new properties, like THQ’s Darksiders, managed a top ten showing, some settled for the top 20. Gamasutra ’s monthly, more in-depth and less instant analysis of the month’s bestselling games shows that two of January’s bigger names, Sega’s Bayonetta and Sony’s MAG, managed to find a place near the top of the charts, but did not perform well enough for top ten bragging rights. Bayonetta managed to score somewhere above 100,000 sales on the Xbox 360, with the PlayStation 3 version not charting, moving less than 100,000. Whether that’s good or bad is up to Sega and PlatinumGames, but we were hoping for better for the game, given its three weeks worth of sales. MAG managed to outsell Bayonetta with only five days on the market, potentially good news for Zipper Interactive and fans of the PS3 shooter. Not as good as Mass Effect 2, which released the same day in the U.S., but not a bad start. There’s more to all this NPD data analyzing than just focusing on individual games that succeeded to varying degrees, which you can read at Gamasutra. NPD: Behind the Numbers, January 2010 [Gamasutra]

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NPD Top 20 Shows How MAG, Bayonetta Fared In January [Only In The U.s.]

Nintendo Is January’s Hardware Winner Once Again [Npd Group]

Wii fever swept the United States in January, another 465,000 units of Nintendo’s white wonder snatched up by consumers. Hey, when you’re selling that many copies of New Super Mario Bros. you’re gonna need a Wii to play it on. Nintendo once again took the top two spots in the hardware race in the U.S., with the Nintendo DS platform moving another 422,000 units. Combined with Wii sales for the month, that’s another 910,000 smiling owners of Nintendo hardware. The Xbox 360 put some distance between it and the PlayStation 3, with Microsoft outselling Sony on the now-gen console war by nearly 56,000 units. Fortunately for the PlayStation Family, PSP and PlayStation 2 sales combine to give Sony 418,600 units sold to brag about. Almost as much as the DS! The U.S. hardware contest, according to NPD Group from January 3 to January 30, was…. Wii – 465,800 Nintendo DS – 422,200 Xbox 360 – 332,800 PlayStation 3 – 276,900/li> PSP – 100,100 PlayStation 2 – 41,600 Total hardware spend was $353.7 million, way down from the previous January when U.S. consumers blew $446.8 million on consoles and handhelds.

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Nintendo Is January’s Hardware Winner Once Again [Npd Group]

Nintendo Is January’s Hardware Winner Once Again [Npd Group]

Wii fever swept the United States in January, another 465,000 units of Nintendo’s white wonder snatched up by consumers. Hey, when you’re selling that many copies of New Super Mario Bros. you’re gonna need a Wii to play it on. Nintendo once again took the top two spots in the hardware race in the U.S., with the Nintendo DS platform moving another 422,000 units. Combined with Wii sales for the month, that’s another 910,000 smiling owners of Nintendo hardware. The Xbox 360 put some distance between it and the PlayStation 3, with Microsoft outselling Sony on the now-gen console war by nearly 56,000 units. Fortunately for the PlayStation Family, PSP and PlayStation 2 sales combine to give Sony 418,600 units sold to brag about. Almost as much as the DS! The U.S. hardware contest, according to NPD Group from January 3 to January 30, was…. Wii – 465,800 Nintendo DS – 422,200 Xbox 360 – 332,800 PlayStation 3 – 276,900/li> PSP – 100,100 PlayStation 2 – 41,600 Total hardware spend was $353.7 million, way down from the previous January when U.S. consumers blew $446.8 million on consoles and handhelds.

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Nintendo Is January’s Hardware Winner Once Again [Npd Group]

Video Game’s Survive Recession, But At What Cost? [Well Played]

Despite the recession and a drop in video game sales last year, December was the biggest month in the history of video games. A combination of console price cuts, a holiday rich in spending and the recent release of several chart-busting titles helped the game industry pull in $5.53 billion in December alone, according to the NPD Group . But December was one of only four months to see an increase in sales compared to 2008, leading to a drop in annual sales of eight percent in an industry once described as recession proof. “Clearly, 2009 was tough year for consumers and the national economy. However, the bigger picture is one that underscores the industry’s strength; 2009 and 2008 were the highest grossing years in our industry’s history,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association, the U.S. association representing computer and video game publishers. “That said, our industry’s structure is solid, and I anticipate a strong 2010 with a pipeline full of highly-anticipated titles.” Much of 2009’s sales came from Nintendo, which had seven of the ten top selling console and portable games of the year and record breaking hardware sales. Nintendo’s DS sold more than 11.2 million in 2009, a U.S. calendar-year sales record, and the Wii finished the year with 9.6 million sold, with nearly one-fifth of Wii consoles sold since it’s 2006 launch happening in November and December of last year. “Wii, Nintendo DS Lite and Nintendo DSi combined to sell more than 7 million units in the month of December alone,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Clearly there is overwhelming consumer demand for fun games, motion controls and value. This remarkable hardware sales surge presents a tremendous software opportunity for Nintendo and its third-party partners as we head into 2010.” And Nintendo isn’t the only company excited about 2010, Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter writes in his monthly report on the video game industry that it is a “relief to finally put 2009 behind us” adding that 2010 is going to be a big year. This year starts out with a bang, rolling out an unprecedented number of big titles. Many of these possible blockbusters were initially set to hit stores last holiday, but were pushed back into early this year, creating the potential for a second big run of game purchases. Among the standouts are Dark Void, Bayonetta, Mass Effect 2, Darksiders, MAG and Army of Two. February and March also have a share of big games hitting, leading many to speculate that 2010 could show not just a rebound of the game industry, but a surge in sales. Pachter calls the release schedule for the first half of this year “one of the strongest in history”. While it looks like the industry as a whole has weathered the economic storm, that doesn’t mean it was left unchanged. Diving down into the numbers shows that a bulk of the industry’s revenue was generated by a handful of the biggest publishers, companies like Electronic Arts, Activision and Nintendo. Smaller studios were absorbed or shut down. This consolidation of development power will likely have a lasting impact on video game innovation and creativity. Only time will tell whether it will be a positive one.

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Video Game’s Survive Recession, But At What Cost? [Well Played]

Nintendo Hardware Sells More Than 7 Million To Win December ‘09 [Npd Group]

Nintendo hardware dominated the holidays last year, with the Wii and Nintendo DS crushing the hardware competition, according to new sales figures from the NPD Group . The Wii alone outsold the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, PSP and PlayStation 2 combined, moving 3.81 million units in the United States last month. It was followed closest by the Nintendo DS and DSi, with 3.31 million sales (combined) for the portable platform. Those impressive Wii and DS sales destroyed last year’s Christmas haul , when the two platforms combined to sell over 5 million units. This year’s boost was likely due to better Wii availability, the new $199 USD price and the help of New Super Mario Bros. Wii. Sony bested Microsoft in December, the PlayStation 3 outselling the Xbox 360 by about 50,000 units. The PSP and PlayStation 2 combined for nearly 1 million units sold. Here’s the tally, from 11/29/09 – 1/2/10, according to the NPD Group. Wii – 3,810,000 Nintendo DS – 3,310,000 PlayStation 3 – 1,360,000 Xbox 360 – 1,310,000 PSP – 654,700 PlayStation 2 – 333,2000 Video game hardware sales for December 2009 totaled $2.19 billion USD, up 16% from December 2008’s take of $1.89 billion. Christmas is saved!

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Nintendo Hardware Sells More Than 7 Million To Win December ‘09 [Npd Group]

NPD: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Stomps The Competition, More Than 2.8 Million Sold [Npd Group]

In December, New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold another 2.82 million copies to U.S. consumers, pushing the game past the 4 million mark in the United States, according to the NPD Group . That’s the start of good news for Nintendo. Nintendo also sold another 2.4 million copies of Wii Fit Plus and 1.79 million copies of Wii Sports Resort last month, securing the top three spots on NPD’s list of December’s bestselling games. Nintendo had six of the top ten bestselling games for the month, representing more than 9.62 million games sold across the Wii and DS platforms. And that’s just in the top ten. The Xbox 360 had three of the top ten, with Modern Warfare 2 moving another 1.63 million, Assassin’s Creed II (783.1K) and Left 4 Dead 2 (728.5K) also charting high. Modern Warfare 2 represented the PlayStation 3’s only top ten showing, another million-plus copies sold. Here’s the tally, from 11/29/09 – 1/2/10, according to the NPD Group. 01. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) – 2,820,000 02. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) – 2,410,000 03. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) – 1,790,000 04. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) – 1,630,000 05. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) – 1,120,000 06. Wii Play (Wii) – 1,010,000 07. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) – 936,1000 08. Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 360) – 783,1000 09. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) – 728,500 10. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS) – 656,700 Video game software sales for December ‘09 totaled $2.58 billion USD. That’s good, but still down from December ‘08, which saw software sales reach $2.77 billion USD.

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NPD: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Stomps The Competition, More Than 2.8 Million Sold [Npd Group]

NPD: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Stomps The Competition, More Than 2.8 Million Sold [Npd Group]

In December, New Super Mario Bros. Wii sold another 2.82 million copies to U.S. consumers, pushing the game past the 4 million mark in the United States, according to the NPD Group . That’s the start of good news for Nintendo. Nintendo also sold another 2.4 million copies of Wii Fit Plus and 1.79 million copies of Wii Sports Resort last month, securing the top three spots on NPD’s list of December’s bestselling games. Nintendo had six of the top ten bestselling games for the month, representing more than 9.62 million games sold across the Wii and DS platforms. And that’s just in the top ten. The Xbox 360 had three of the top ten, with Modern Warfare 2 moving another 1.63 million, Assassin’s Creed II (783.1K) and Left 4 Dead 2 (728.5K) also charting high. Modern Warfare 2 represented the PlayStation 3’s only top ten showing, another million-plus copies sold. Here’s the tally, from 11/29/09 – 1/2/10, according to the NPD Group. 01. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) – 2,820,000 02. Wii Fit Plus (Wii) – 2,410,000 03. Wii Sports Resort (Wii) – 1,790,000 04. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (Xbox 360) – 1,630,000 05. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (PS3) – 1,120,000 06. Wii Play (Wii) – 1,010,000 07. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) – 936,1000 08. Assassin’s Creed II (Xbox 360) – 783,1000 09. Left 4 Dead 2 (Xbox 360) – 728,500 10. Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS) – 656,700 Video game software sales for December ‘09 totaled $2.58 billion USD. That’s good, but still down from December ‘08, which saw software sales reach $2.77 billion USD.

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NPD: New Super Mario Bros. Wii Stomps The Competition, More Than 2.8 Million Sold [Npd Group]

Report: Modern Warfare 2 PC U.S. Retail Sales About 170,000 In November [Npd Group]

Infinity Ward ’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 had a monstrous November, moving more than 6 million copies in the U.S. on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3. The retail PC version also contributed, but to a less impressive degree. According to a new report from Gamasutra on last month’s NPD figures, the PC version of Modern Warfare 2 moved “nearly 170,000″ copies at retail. That doesn’t include figures for Steam, Valve’s digital distribution system, which are likely to have been significant—today, over 100,000 Steam users were playing the game online at the same time, but we’re not sure how that breaks down to retail and online sales. Still, at least 170,000 copies to a group of gamers that balked at the lack of dedicated servers and a higher-than normal price tag is…. pretty good? Regardless of Modern Warfare 2’s success or failures on the PC side of things, Gamasutra’s in-depth look at November’s NPD estimates are good reading for the sales obsessed gamer. NPD: Behind the Numbers, November 2009 [Gamasutra]

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Report: Modern Warfare 2 PC U.S. Retail Sales About 170,000 In November [Npd Group]

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