System and game sales for February 2009 in the USA

23 March 2009

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Posted by:Ferry

February’s American video game sales data from the NPD is in, and like almost any month the past year, it shows an unchanged result: A Nintendo system on top, this time the Wii once again outsold all other systems.

NPD analyst, Anita Frazier, had this to say: “The U.S. video games industry continues to post strong year-over-year comps despite the tough economy. Unit sales increased even more than dollar sales did, reflecting a slightly lower average retail price for all categories as compared to last year.”

Video game hardware overview:
1. Nintendo Wii — 753,000
2. Nintendo DS — 588,000
3. Xbox 360 — 391,000
4. PlayStation 3 — 276,000
5. PlayStation Portable — 199,000
6. PlayStation 2 — 131,000

The Wii Balance Board-exclusive Wii Fit continues strong sales in February thanks to healthy New Years intentions. The NPD mentions that “Consumers picked up nearly 20 million units of video game software in February, a 14% increase over February 2008. The average retail price for games is 4% lower than last year, which is why the dollar sales increase is not quite keeping in pace with the increase in unit sales. — A long-established video game franchise, the Street Fighter property continues to generate impressive sales results. The great performance of the new title, Street Fighter IV, on both the PS3 and Xbox 360, is a testament to the power of carefully cultivating evergreen properties.”

Video game software overview top 10:
1. Wii Fit (Wii) — 644,000
2. Street Fighter IV* (Xbox 360) — 446,000
3. Street Fighter IV* (PS3) — 403,000
4. Wii Play (Wii) — 386,000
5. Killzone 2 (PS3) — 323,000
6. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) — 263,000
7. Call of Duty: World At War* (Xbox 360) — 193,000
8. Mario Kart DS (DS) — 145,000
9. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) — 144,000
10. Guitar Hero: World Tour* (Wii) — 136,000

* Includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware.

Ms. Frazier concluded that “March should be another great month for software sales between Pokemon Platinum, GTA: Chinatown Wars, Halo Wars, the two MLB titles and of course, Resident Evil 5, just to name a few of the key drivers. The sheer quantity of great content coming to market early in the year should keep industry sales humming throughout 2009.”