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December NPD: No wonder you're broke this month

ludwig kietzmann
Updated ·2 min read

Welcome to the introductory paragraph, where we discuss the NPD's latest US video game sales data and how it reveals 2007 to be a ludicrously lucrative year for the industry. The gaming hobby which once drew empty stares and disappointed glares from your parental units has capped a phenomenal year with December sales amounting to $4.82 billion. With the year's total sales (excluding PC games) enjoying a 43% increase over 2006 to reach $17.94 billion, it seems the industry can outright buy your uninterested mom and dad with nary a second thought.

Perhaps you should consider putting your entire family (they're made out of meat, after all) up for sale in order to recoup your part of December's $2.37 billion spent on software. Unsurprisingly, the best-selling game of 2007 was Bungie's Halo 3, followed by a $10 peripheral pack-in and Infinity Ward's world war now shooter, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. You'll find the software chart after the break.

Finally, those eager to engage in their regular fanboy squabbles need only look at the hardware sales chart below and adjust their pointless arguments accordingly. Though the Xbox 360 came close to closing the gap between itself and the Wii, Holidaze 2007 undoubtedly belonged to Nintendo, shortages and all.

- DS Lite: 2.47m

940K (61%)
- Wii: 1.35m

369K (38%)
- Xbox 360: 1.26m

490K (64%)
- PS2: 1.1m

604K (122%)
- PSP: 1.06m

493K (87%)
- PS3: 797K

331 (71%)



Hardware totals for 2007 (life-to-date in parentheses)

DS: 8.50 million (17.65 million)
Wii: 6.29 million (7.38 million)
Xbox 360: 4.62 million (9.15 million)
PS2: 3.97 million (41.12 million)
PSP: 3.82 million (10.47 million)
PS3: 2.56 million (3.25 million)


December Software

  1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) -- 1.47m

  2. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) -- 1.40m

  3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) -- 1.25m

  4. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) -- 1.08m

  5. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) -- 894K

  6. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) -- 743K

  7. Brain Age 2 (DS) -- 660K

  8. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) -- 655K

  9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Xbox 360) -- 625K

  10. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii) -- 613K

Software totals for 2007

  1. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) -- 4.82m

  2. Wii Play w/ Remote (Wii) -- 4.12m

  3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) -- 3.04m

  4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) -- 2.72m

  5. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) -- 2.52m

  6. Pokémon Diamond (DS) -- 2.48m

  7. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) -- 1.90m

  8. Guitar Hero II (PS2) -- 1.89m

  9. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) -- 1.87m

  10. Mario Party 8 (Wii) -- 1.82m