February NPD data show DS, Wii on top

Another month, another batch of hardware and software sales data estimates from the NPD Group. The February numbers show Nintendo hitting the competition with a one-two punch of hardware dominance -- nearly half a million DS units and a third of a million Wiis were sold in North America in February. The Playstation 2 continued its impressive afterlife with roughly 300K in sales, while Sony's new system continued its slow start, selling only 127K units for the month -- even less than the somewhat-defunct Game Boy Advance.

On the software front, Crackdown was the top seller for the month, giving the Xbox 360 had the top selling game for the fourth month in a row (In January it was Lost Planet. In December and November, Gears of War). A free Wii remote sent Wii Play soaring to the No. 2 spot, while the DS rehash of Diddy Kong Racing premiered at No. 3. In more bad news for Sony, perennial favorite Guitar Hero 2 was the only game for a Sony system to make the top 10 this month.

Continue reading for a complete breakdown of the top-selling hardware and software for the month.

NPD North American hardware sales -- February '07

• Nintendo DS - 485K
  

• Nintendo Wii - 335K

• Sony PS2 - 295K

• Microsoft Xbox 360 - 228K

• Sony PSP - 176K

• Nintendo GBA - 136K

• Sony PS3 - 127K

• Nintendo GameCube - 24K

NPD North American software sales -- Feburary '07

1. Crackdown (Xbox 360) – Microsoft – 427K

2. Wii Play w/ remote (Wii) – Nintendo – 371K

3. Diddy Kong Racing (DS) – Nintendo – 262K

4. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii) – Nintendo – 130K

5. Guitar Hero 2 w/ guitar (PS2) – Activision – 130K

6. Gears of War (Xbox 360) – Microsoft – 119K

7. Major League Baseball 2K7 (Xbox 360) – Take-Two – 113K

8. Lost Planet: Extreme Condition (Xbox 360) – Capcom – 111K

9. WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Wii) – Nintendo – 109K

10. NBA Street Homecourt (Xbox 360) – Electronic Arts – 102K