It’s that time of the month again — the NPD data has just been released, and all three major players are trying to spin the situation in their favor.
The reality is, however, that total U.S. game sales are down 23% year-over-year. That decrease is largely due to the quality software released in April 2008 (Grand Theft Auto IV, Mario Kart Wii), combined with a lack of stand-out titles in April 2009.
But we digress; how did the consoles fare? While the PS3 and the PSP experienced a significant decrease in sales, the PS2 saw a massive sales surge thanks to its new $99 USD price point. The other "current generation" consoles, the Xbox 360 and Wii, experienced similar drops as that of the PS3 (from a percentage perspective). Meanwhile, the DS dominated, shifting over a million units in the U.S. last month. The exact figures are as follows.
1. DS: 1.04M (+85%)
2. Wii: 340K (-43%)
3. Xbox 360: 175K (-47%)
4. PS2: 172K (+87%)
5. PS3: 127K (-42%)
6. PSP: 116K (-31%)
Regarding software sales, only one PlayStation title, The Godfather II, crept its way onto the top 10 chart last month.
1. Wii Fit – Wii – Nintendo – 471K
2. Pokemon Platinum – DS – Nintendo – 433K
3. Mario Kart Wii – Wii – Nintendo – 210K
4. Wii Play – Wii – Nintendo – 170K
5. The Godfather II – 360 – EA – 155K
6. Resident Evil 5 – 360 – Capcom – 122K
7. New Super Mario Bros. – DS – Nintendo – 119K
8. Mario Kart DS – DS – Nintendo – 112K
9. Guitar Hero Aerosmith – 360 – Activision – 110K
10. The Godfather II – PS3 – EA – 91K