May NPD: Buoyant

"Safe and steady" was the theme of May's NPD figures, with no console either enjoying a majestic surge or suffering a crushing collapse -- the DS simply registered a decent if unspectacular 9% rise in hardware sales. As it turns out, that bump was timely, because it meant the console reached 20 million units sold in North America, a landmark that has now been passed in all major regions.

Of course, we could snicker at how the PSP only clinched 29% of the handheld market, and so we will.

• Wii: 714.2K

  39.1K (5.5%)

• DS: 414.8K

  37.8K (9.1%)

• PSP: 192.7K

  10.4K (5.4%)

• Xbox 360: 188K

  1.4K (0.8%)

• PS3: 187.1K

  21.6K (11.5%)

• PS2: 124.4K

  8.3K (6.7%)

Software sales are waiting past the break.

May software sales

1. Grand Theft Auto IV -- Xbox 360 -- 871.3K
2. Mario Kart Wii (w/ wheel) -- Wii -- 787.4K
3. Wii Fit (w/ Balance Board) -- Wii -- 687.7K
4. Grand Theft Auto IV -- PlayStation 3 -- 442.9K
5. Wii Play (w/ remote) -- Wii -- 294.6K
6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl -- Wii -- 171.1K
7. Iron Man -- PlayStation 2 -- 130.6K
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock -- Wii -- 116.8K
9. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness -- DS -- 107K
10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time -- DS -- 102K