GameStop has used NPD figures to release some very interesting numbers about the videogame industry as a whole, past and present, in the United States. As part of their annual earnings report.
GameStop says that over 220 million console and handheld videogame systems are in households, which is a figure that includes retro consoles from the past all the way up to the game systems of today’s current generation (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii, DS, PSP. This figure doesn’t count PC or mobile games I assume). This is an astonishing number because it means that over two thirds of the population of the United States (which stands at over 307 million, not including illegals) owns a videogame console of some kind.
In addition, they believe that over 112 million current-generation consoles and handhelds are currently in homes, which is also an amazing number (1/3rd of the population). The current generation started in 2004 with the release of the DS handheld and in 2005 for consoles with the debut of the Xbox 360 and continues today. GameStop, the largest videogame-exclusive retailer in the U.S., says that they used reports published by the NPD Group as the basis for their numbers.
As you can see in the videogame system sales list below, the DS remains the most popular and best-selling platform of the current generation in the United States, with over 38.6 million portable systems sold so far. The Wii, released in 2006, comes in second place at 27.1 million units (despite being released a year after the Xbox 360). Coming in third place is Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console with 18.6 million units sold. Fourth place belongs to the PlayStation Portable, Sony’s powerhouse handheld which was released in 2005 and has sold 16.8 million units. Bringing up the rear is Sony’s home-console, the PlayStation 3, which has sold 11.1 million units since it’s 2006 launch (which was only days after the Wii released).
Wii, due to it’s low initial price point, has a lead of almost 10 million on it’s closest competitor in the USA.
Here is the list of U.S. console and handheld sales numbers:
TOTAL NINTENDO DS U.S. Units Sold
38.6 million units
TOTAL NINTENDO WII U.S. Units Sold
27.1 million units
TOTAL XBOX 360 U.S. Units Sold
18.6 million units
TOTAL PSP U.S. Units Sold
16.8 million units
TOTAL PS3 U.S. Units Sold
11.1 million units
Total current-generation consoles & handhelds sold in U.S.
112 million units
Total consoles & handhelds sold (including retro) in U.S.
220 million units
Via GameSpot