July’s American video game sales data from the NPD is in, and for the first time in three years, it shows the Xbox 360 at the top thanks to the Slim console release.
Overall video game retail sales show a very slight decline versus last July, we have to consider the success of Starcraft II this month, which helped the PC games category to realize a 103% increase in dollars over last July. PC Games and video game industry sales combined for an increase of 4% in revenues as compared to July 2009.
The PS3 and the Xbox 360 platforms both saw significant increases over July 2009. In fact, Xbox 360 was the top-selling hardware platform for the month, driven by sales of the new slim format SKU. It’s the first time since September 2007 (Halo 3 launch) that the Xbox 360 was the top-selling hardware platform.
Video game hardware overview:
1. Xbox 360: 443,500
2. Nintendo DS: 398,400
3. Nintendo Wii: 253,900 (tidbit: U.S. reached 30 million this month!)
4. PlayStation 3: 214,500
5. PSP: 84,000
On the software side “The top selling video game for the month, combining platforms, was NCAA Football 11 at 692K units. Achieving even better results this month was Starcraft II (PC/Mac), which sold 721,000 units at retail in July.
LEGO Harry Potter was the second best-selling game for the month with 401,000 units across all platforms. It bested its intro month sales in June of 355,000, although it must be noted it released late in June. In just over a month at retail, it has already sold enough to put it just outside of the top 20 games year-to-date.”
Video game software overview top 10, January 2010 (includes special editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware):
1. NCAA Football 11 (Xbox 360) – 368,000
2. NCAA Football 11 (PS3) – 368,000
3. Crackdown 2 (Xbox 360) – 208,800
4. Super Mario Galaxy 2 (Wii) – 193,000
5. Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (DS) – 141,700
6. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360)
7. Lego Harry Potter: Years 1-4 (Wii) – 133,000
8. Dragon Quest IX: Sentinels of the Starry Skies (DS) – 132,000
9. New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Wii) – 128,000
10. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2* (Xbox 360)
(*includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)
Lastly, the NPD’s Anita Frazier had this to say about accessory trends: “The Xbox 360 1600 point card was the best-selling accessory SKU for the fifth consecutive month. The general success of the Points and Subscriptions cards category within Accessories points to the activity that is happening in the industry outside the traditional retail channel.”
Data courtesy of Neogaf