February NPD: Industry sales hit $1.33B, Xbox 360 still trailing PS3
Oh, welcome back gentle and unflinchingly upbeat green arrows! We'd be more inclined to dole out hugs if you weren't so dangerously pointy. Not that we have anything against points, mind you, as we're just about to get to one: According to the NPD group's US video game sales data for February, overall industry sales increased by 34% to $1.33 billion, with software alone responsible for $668.7 million. Console hardware prompted $480 million to change hands, while accessory sales made up the remaining $185.3 million.
The Nintendo DS took back its lead in the hardware race, followed by the Wii and PlayStation 2. Though the Xbox 360 managed to squeeze past the PlayStation Portable, it still trailed behind its monolithic competition. Oh well, we can't say we weren't warned.
- DS: 587.6K
336.6K (134%)
- Wii: 432K
158K (58%)
- PS2: 351.8K
87.8K (33%)
- PS3: 280.8K
11.8K (4%)
- Xbox 360: 254.6K
24.6K (11%)
- PSP: 243.1K
13.1K (6%)
Continue past the break for the top ten in software sales.
Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare still dominated software sales, but was joined by several new entries. Given the large discrepancy in each console's install base, the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 Devil May Cry 4 sales wasn't nearly as large as we expected -- though the ordering on the charts easily vindicates Capcom's multi-platform strategy. We count Lost Odyssey's appearance as another surprise, what with its foppish protagonist and polite, turn-based battles. We thought we were the only ones into that sort of thing these days.
February Software
1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) – 296.2K
2. Devil May Cry 4 (Xbox 360) – 295.2K
3. Wii Play w/remote (Wii) – 289.7K
4. Devil May Cry 4 (PS3) – 233.5K
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) – 222.9K
6. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS) – 205.6K
7. Lost Odyssey (Xbox 360) – 203.6K
8. Turok (Xbox 360) – 197.7K
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) – 183.8K
10. Rock Band (Xbox 360) – 161.8K
