Great news in the round for game industry professionals with NPD's just released sales figures, which show domestic sales of video game hardware and software in June up 31 percent over the same period a year ago. Reuters (via the Washington Post) reported last night that June total sales of $1.1 billion were also up some 35 percent over May (hardware alone climbed 34 percent to $399 million) suggesting sales were more vigorous than normal for the typically downtempo summer start.
Hardware *
562,000 - Nintendo DS (+25%)
381,800 - Nintendo Wii (+13%)
290,100 - Playstation Portable (+24%)
198,400 - Xbox 360 (+28%)
98,500 - Playstation 3 (+20%)
* Percentages are over May NPD numbers; PS2 and GameBoy Advance sales data not provided this month.
In addition to the PS3's small 19,700 unit June bump, Sony in a statement added that sales at its five largest retailers were up 135% in the last two weeks of July following its $100 price cut on the now discontinued 60 GB Playstation 3. The PSP's sales figures have been healthy all along, so it's not clear whether the 24% gains in June are related to the April price cut or simply in parity with an overall upward industry sales trend.
Software
426,200 - Mario Party 8 (Wii)
293,200 - Wii Play (Wii)
288,400 - Pokemon Diamond (DS)
214,700 - Pokemon Pearl (DS)
197,400 - Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
197,350 - Guitar Hero II (PS2)
177,600 - Guitar Hero II - (Xbox 360)
157,900 - Pokemon Battle Revolution (Wii)
I've left off numbers eight and nine for lack of unit data (Guitar Hero II for the Xbox 360 and Resident Evil 4 for the Wii, respectively) but note that Nintendo owned six of the top ten spots for June between the DS and Wii.
Top 10 Sales, First Half 2007
1. Pokemon Diamond (DS)
2. Wii Play (Wii)
3. Pokemon Pearl (DS)
4. God of War 2 (PS2)
5. Guitar Hero II (PS2)
6. Guitar Hero II (Xbox 360)
7. Mario Party 8 (Wii)
8. Crackdown (Xbox 360)
9. Diddy Kong Racing (DS)
10. Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess (Wii)
While the DS and Wii dominate the last six months in terms of software sales, note Sony's strong presence, despite a complete lack of PS3 software charters.
What's it all mean? Month after month of climbing numbers, especially notable during traditional slow periods (like now), and major games arriving this fall (Halo 3, Grand Theft Auto 4, Mario Galaxy, Metroid Prime 3, Zelda: Phantom Hourglass) signals this is likely to be the biggest year for the games industry yet.
