American videogame sales for December 2010

2010 game system year-end sales report (Xbox 360, PS3, Wii)
December 2010 NPD sales number for America are in and this time we have our first look at how the entire industry performed for the whole of the year.

According to leading market research company, The NPD Group, total consumer spend on gaming content sits at between $15.4 to $15.6 billion, down overall from last year by 1% or flat. This includes ALL sales (or “consumer spend” in financial speak) for “all monetization methods, including new physical video and PC games, used games, game rentals, subscriptions, digital full-game downloads, social network games, downloadable content, and mobile game apps.”

“Based on this estimate, spending on new physical content at retail continues to account for the majority of the total consumer spend on games content. U.S. retail sales of new physical video game content, which includes portable, console and PC game software, generated revenues of $10.1 billion, a 5 percent decline over the $10.6 billion generated in 2009.

Bright spots came from PC games new physical retail software, which was up 3 percent in 2010, as well as increases in the consumer spend on used games sales, full-game digital downloads and downloadable content, mobile gaming apps, and social network gaming, which offset declines in console and portable new physical game sales, rentals, and subscriptions.

Here is how the system sales for December 2010 breakdown:

1. Nintendo DS – 2.5 Million (-24%)
2. Wii – 2.36 Million (-38%)
3. Xbox 360 – 1.86 Million (+42%, best ever sales by 420k units)
4. PS3 – 1.21 Million (-11%)
5. PSP – Sales Not Tracked by NPD

Regarding hardware (all quotes from Anita Frazier of the NPD unless otherwise stated):
“In 2010, the Xbox 360 platform was the only system to enjoy a year-over-year increase in unit sales over 2009. December 2010 is the best month ever for Xbox 360 hardware sales.”

“For the month of December, the Nintendo DS was the best-selling hardware system, achieving an install base of over 47 million units sold in the U.S., which now surpasses that of the PS2.”

Here is the videogame software sales breakdown for December 2010:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC)
2. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
3. World of WarCraft: Cataclysm (PC) – 1.5 million copies sold
4. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (360, PS3)
5. Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii)
6. Disney Epic Mickey (Wii)- 1.32 million copies sold
7. Madden NFL 11(360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP)
8. Michael Jackson: The Experience (Wii, NDS, PSP)
9. NBA 2K11(360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC)
10. Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (360, PS3, Wii, PC)

Gran Turismo 5 came out late November and sold 560,500 copies. It’s also interesting to note that both Kinect Sports and Dance Central are bonafide hits, selling over 1 million copies in America alone!

And to make things more interesting, here is the list of the top best-selling games OF THE YEAR:

1. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, PC, NDS)
2. Madden NFL 11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP)
3. Halo Reach (Xbox 360)
4. New Super Mario Bros. Wii
5. Red Dead Redemption (360, PS3)
6. Wii Fit Plus (Wii)
7. Just Dance 2 (Wii)
8. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (360, PS3, PC)
9. Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood (360, PS3)
10. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, PS2, PSP, Wii, PC)

Regarding Software:
“The best-selling game for the month, and for the year, was Call of Duty: Black Ops. Year-to-date it has sold more than 12 million units across all platforms, which is more than twice as many as the second best-selling title of the year, Madden NFL ’11. This might lead some to think the industry is becoming more hit-driven with sales more concentrated among the top titles, but in fact, sales of the top 10 titles this year represented about the same percentage of total unit sales as they did last year.”

“The top five games of the year are Call of Duty: Black Ops, Madden NFL ’11, Halo: Reach, New Super Mario Bros. Wii, and Red Dead Redemption.”

“On an SKU basis, games that are in the top 10 for the month that aren’t reflected in our title-level best-selling list include Kinect Sports from Microsoft, UDraw Studio with UDraw Tablet from THQ, and Dance Central from Microsoft. Outside of Black Ops and Assassin’s Creed, the top list on both a SKU and title level basis reflects an array of content that is appealing outside the core audience for gaming that you might expect to sell well during the holiday timeframe.”

“PC game dollar sales were up 62% in December led by sales of World of Warcraft: Cataclysm expansion pack. For 2010 new physical PC game sales, Starcraft II: Wings of Liberty and World of Warcraft: Cataclysm are the best-selling games, representing 14% of total pc game unit sales for the year.”

“Among the top 10 titles for the month, two are third-party Wii games including Just Dance 2 from Ubisoft, which was the best-selling game for the month at the SKU level, and Epic Mickey from Disney.”

And here are some final words and what was, overall, an amazing year.

“December 2010 represented one of the strongest monthly performances the industry has ever had at retail. It was a robust finish to a year marked by innovation and engaging millions of consumers through a multitude of delivery models,” said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association “Computer and video games led all other entertainment options as we responded to consumers’ demands for creative content on every platform from consoles to smart phones to handheld game devices. I look forward to a strong 2011 with a great pipeline of titles, many of which will be unveiled at the global center of video games—the E3 Expo.”

“The dynamics of games content purchasing changed dramatically in 2010 with options ranging from the physical product to digital downloads on connected devices as well as in-store digital kiosks,” said Anita Frazier, industry analyst, The NPD Group. “The increasing number of ways to acquire the content has allowed the industry to maintain total consumer spend on content as compared to 2009, and we should expect 2011 to be a growth year in the games industry as the consumer demand for gaming continues to evolve.”

Thanks to NeoGAF