January Video Game Sales Up 13 Percent
Sales of video game hardware and software grew 13 percent in January, according to fresh January numbers from NPD Group. Overall software and hardware sales were $1.33 billion in North America, up from $1.18 billion from the same period a year ago. Game hardware, led by sales of the Wii, were up 17 percent to $445.4 million, while software saw a year over year increase of 10 percent, raking in $676.6 million in January.
679,200 Wii consoles were sold in January beating out the rest of the pack handily, with the DS taking the second spot for the month, moving 510,800 units. Microsoft’s Xbox 360 came in a distant third moving 309,000 consoles, followed by the PS3 (203,200), PSP (172,300), and PS2 (101,200).
On the software front Nintendo dominated the top two spots with Wii Fit and Wii Play in January. Nintendo managed to sell 777,000 units of Wii Fit in January and 415,000 units of Wii Play. Nintendo’s Mario Kart Wii also managed to move a respectable 292,000 units.
Microsoft had five games in the top ten games for January: Left 4 Dead, Call of Duty World at War, Skate 2, Lord of the Rings: Conquest, and Gears of War 2. Third-party games raked in $139 million in January. Sony didn’t have any games in the top ten.
While the industry has had a rough couple of weeks filled with layoffs, buyouts, closures and cancellations, the big picture and maybe the one that matters most (sales) continues to look good. Whether or not the industry will continue to grow or contract as the year unfurls, remains to be seen, but this is certainly cause for a little bit of excitement and - dare I say it - hope.
