NPD: Wii leads video game industry to 'biggest sales month ever'
By Donald Melanson 
posted January 15th 2010 1:31PM
posted January 15th 2010 1:31PM
Well, what a difference a couple of months and a holiday season can make. Just after finding that the video game console market shrunk by a fifth in October, NPD is now back with a new report that finds that December was the video game industry's "biggest sales month ever." Specifically, the group found that console sales jumped 4% compared to last December, with the Nintendo Wii unsurprisingly leading the way with 3.81 million units moved (up from 2.15 million the previous year). That's followed by the collective DS offerings at 3.31 million and, somewhat surprisingly, the PlayStation 3, which racked up sales of 1.36 million (its first time cracking the one million mark) compared to the Xbox 360's 1.31 million. Of course, no one's expecting sales to stay at quite that lofty level, but NPD says that the spike in December sales might well indicate that 2010 could be a recovery year.
Go PS3!
umm...yeah... Next...
@B3astofthe3ast
I agree. You know what I truly wish for Sony to do?
Seriously concentrate on the software of the PS3. Pull an Apple and find a way to bring up the performance just by a software update and make it super easy for developers to make games for it. It's time we see the TRUE potential of the PS3...
The wii stinks
GO PS3
Can't you believe Nintendo only has 4130 workers? Each must get paid like millions.
@techlord HA... but you can't find one new unit at the store at this moment...
Unless Christmas is celebrated every month in 2010, I highly doubt we're in much of a recovery yet. Wall Street may have rebounded, but jobless claims and home foreclosures are up, and overall retail sales are down. That doesn't really scream 'recovery'.
I'd be happy to be wrong.
@Coffee Its about time someone said something that makes sense. Leave it to wall street to make money off of people losing their jobs and try to sell it as recovery.
@xmiketheripperx
You got it almost right. You just left out a critical point.
Leave it to Politicians to use Wall Street (which is make money off of people losing their jobs) to try to sell it as a recovery to save their own asses from getting the boot.
Now they need to invest that money into a better next-gen console. But I also want to see Zelda and Star Fox make a comeback.
@AndrewS
Nintendo, just give me Wii HD (with HDMI and Netflix) and I will be happy!!!
@Electromodo I heard there will be Netflix in the future. I can't say about HD
Man, that Wii is like the worst console ever....
(There's sarcasm and CA speak in there somewhere.)
so is the wii still a fad? i think not, the reason the will sells so well is because it has no competition. ps3 and 360 go head to head in the hd powerful gaming rig arena but the wii is all lone in the casual market.
@saturnblackhole
And how much is this ''will'' worth?
@OCEAN CLAK lol
@saturnblackhole You're absolutely right. The Wii is in a freakin' class of it's own. Big N doesn't even care if they're first in graphics, they'll still rake in the dough either way. Well played, Nintendo.
@saturnblackhole the wii sells because it's cheap and has a very marketable gimmick
@iName
The Wii does not sell because it is "cheap". The 360 arcade costs the same or less than the Wii. And anything that is continuing to sell well after 3 years is not still riding the wave of a gimmick. The Wii sells because it is aimed at large segment of the market that is ignored by Sony and Microsoft. That market includes casual games and young gamers, and older gamers who are not looking for an immersive 3D shooter, or Grand Theft Anything. They want something fun and simple that the whole family can enjoy together. The Wii delivers that in spades. Just because it doesn't deliver the type of experience that YOU want, or that the people who own it do not use it the way that YOU expect a console to be used, does NOT make it an inferior product. If they were competing for the same market as MS and Sony, then it would be inferior. But they are not.
@glennS
Exactly! Agree 100%.
I tried to get my parents to play 360 or PS3 but they wouldn't give it the time of day. As soon as the Wii came out, they can't keep their hands off of it. Wii is aimed at a crowd that nobody targeted until now. Most people over 40 could care less about the latest HD experience, they just want a simple deterrent from everyday life. when is the last time you saw a PS3 or 360 being used in a nursing home?
@PBB Whenever I see "could care less" I immediately start hammering the rank down button as if my life depended on it.
@glennS You make some good points but the fact that they aren't competing means they know ththe Wii isn't as good of a gaming console. Also I would like to know the total sell of all 3 units to date then see whose on top. Bottom line nintendo had one good year in three
Congrats MS! Great games and best online experience! Imagine what sales would have been if it wasn't for the RROD issues a few years ago.
@mailbox01 a few years ago? the rrod is still alive and well...
@taytayclark
I think he's referring to the fact that If you were to go out and buy a 360 today, the chances of getting the RROD are pretty much slim.
(Or within the acceptable failure rate that every company sets)
With millions of first and second gen consoles sold, you'll be hearing about the RROD for years to come. Kinda like how even though windows 7 has REALLY been out for almost a year, you still hear alot of people complain about vista.
@mailbox01 - You can't be serious! The RROD itself is a contributing factor to 360 the sales numbers, imagine how many people were forced to get a new console when their first one died because of RROD, and how many people went out to get newer machines with Jasper boards inside to get rid of it! That's definitely not the case with either PS3 or Wii.
Well publicized hardware issues didn't stop the PS1 or PS2 from selling like hotcakes.
@PBB
lol @ Vista reference XD
That just means this month, eBay is going to have its biggest Wii sales ever
@MDFreaK76
dont forget amazon, the top 5 christmas sales were all Wii related
Yo Nintendo, I'm really happy for you and I'm gonna let you finish but Sony had one of the biggest selling consoles of all time!
@ChazClout sup kanye west?
Wii
A Game Cube with motion sensing controllers, and 2001 technology
TYPICAL Wii GAMES
Quiz Games, Cooking Games, Brain Training Games, Exercise Games, Board Games, PS2 Ports, Puzzle Games
Expect to see more Wii for sale on Ebay or gathering dust
PS3 AND 360 Rule for true video games
@OCEAN CLAK: Gathering dust, yes. eBay, not so much.
just remember that nintendo was there way before sony and microsoft came along with there consoles. nintendo is taking a different approach with gaming. old school gamers such as myself prefer nintendo over 360 and ps3. i do have a 360 but do not play it much as i do with the wii.
@Silent Warrior
I start gaming on arcades(Double Dragon, Final Fight, Street Fighter, Mortal Kombat etc), then I went to SNES with Mario World, Donkey Kong Country etc. But now I'm 30 years old, even though that I think Wii had some fun games like Wii Sports and Wii Kart, it's the least console that I touch, I spend more time even on my DS than on my Wii. When comes to games, I like killer graphics, that's why my handheld of a choice is PSP and my console is a PS3.
I'm not into multiplayer games, so Live for me it's not a necessity.
@Unverified User Word I use my 360 way more than my Wii I might use my iPod more than it
still doesn't mean it's the better of the 3
@iName
But i think it is best of the 3.
xbox360, then control have.. how many buttons?, 10, 15?, 5 axis?. it is INSANE!. And for some games you must use almost all buttons.
The same as the ps3. The plus of the ps3 is that is also a blu-ray player and it is fine.
In opposite, most wii games are just "shake it or point it" and it is fairly easy to play.
You must known that the so called group of young adult (20-40 year old) count, while the group of teens.. they don't work, i.e. they don't have a direct acquisitive power. And several young adult group have small children and this fit perfectly for those Mario games.
It is still quite amazing how many 'hard core' gamers like to diss the Wii just because it doesn't live up to their own expectations. Newsflash - it is not aimed at you. My kids love it. They also enjoy their hand-held games from Leap Frog Learning. Someone care to take a shot the Leap Frog Leapster or Didj because they are inferior to the PSP ? See how silly that sounds.
@glennS Nerds tend to think they are better than everyone else. The rest of the world does not.
@glennS We read your comment the first time and compareing the LeapFrog to the PSP is just ignorant.
@glennS We read your comment the first time and compareing the LeapFrog to the PSP is just ignorant.
Wow that's a lot of Wiis!
Glad to see PS3 doing well. The guys over at Sony did a fantastic job with the Slim.
Go Sony! :)
@mailbox01 - You can't be serious! The RROD itself is a contributing factor to 360 the sales numbers, imagine how many people were forced to get a new console when their first one died because of RROD, and how many people went out to get newer machines with Jasper boards inside to get rid of it! That's definitely not the case with either PS3 or Wii.
@fikhl
I don't think so.
It is not quite correct that most people purchase another xbox360 just because the RROD since it is under the warranty.
But, it is not under the warranty a banned console and most hardore gamers (teen and brats) owns 2 xbox360, one for play online and a modded console.
Wii is only worth getting for homebrew and usb loaders.
With 12-15% unemployment, people have to do 'something'.
Buy.com sold 1500 of these in 40 minutes during the holidays... A $169.99 price helped also.
the headline should read "Wii smashes more than screens in record console sales"
ps3 rules