The latest analysis from the NPD Group is in, revealing the US outlook on console hardware sales and the top selling games for December 2010. Whilst there are always numerous economic forces at play, keeping an eye on US trends is a quick way to assess the overall global health and performance of the video gaming industry. Below are highlights from NPD Group analyst, Anita Frazier.
“Among new physical video game sales in December 2010, the Wii and the 360 platforms generated the greatest dollar sales of all platforms, at 32% and 31% of dollar sales respectively, across all categories including hardware, software and accessories,” said Frazier.
Hardware
Nintendo sold more than 2.5 million Nintendo DS systems and more than 2.3 million Wii systems in December alone, bringing their lifetime U.S. sales totals to more than 47 million and more than 34 million, respectively, claimed Nintendo via a press release citing NPD stats.
“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,” said Frazier.
Software
“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,” said Frazier.
“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,” said Frazier.
“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,” said Frazier.
Accessories
“December 2010 is the biggest month for accessories sales in history, due to a hefty increase in the average retail price driven by specialty controllers. The Kinect was the best-selling accessory item for the second month in a row, following its release in early November,” said Frazier.
| NPD Group’s U.S. Games Industry Sales (New Physical Sales Channel*) – December 2010 | |||
| 5- week month; December retail reporting period 11/28/10 through 01/01/11 | |||
| Dollar Sales | Dec ’09 | Dec’10 | CHG |
| Total Video Game Sales (New Physical Channel) | $5.55B | $5.06B | -9% |
| Video Games Hardware | $2.19B | $1.84B | -16% |
| Video Games Software (Console+Portable – New Physical Sales only) | $2.57B | $2.37B | -8% |
| Video Games Accessories | $778.4MM | $853.2MM | 10% |
| Total Software Sales – (Console+Portable+PC – New Physical Sales Only) | $2.67B | $2.53B | -5% |
| December 2010 Top 10 Games (New Physical Retail only; across all platforms incl. PC) | Rank | Publisher | |
| Call of Duty: Black Ops** (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC) | 1 | ACTIVISION BLIZZARD | |
| Just Dance 2 (Wii) | 2 | UBISOFT | |
| World of Warcraft: Cataclysm** (PC) | 3 | ACTIVISION BLIZZARD | |
| Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood** (360, PS3) | 4 | UBISOFT | |
| Donkey Kong Country Returns (Wii) | 5 | NINTENDO | |
| Disney Epic Mickey** (Wii) | 6 | DISNEY INTERACTIVE STUDIOS | |
| Madden NFL 11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP) | 7 | ELECTRONIC ARTS | |
| Michael Jackson The Experience** (Wii, NDS, PSP) | 8 | UBISOFT | |
| NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PSP, PS2, PC) | 9 | TAKE 2 INTERACTIVE | |
| Need for Speed: Hot Pursuit (360, PS3, Wii, PC) | 10 | ELECTRONIC ARTS | |
| *NPD’s monthly point-of-sale data reports on U.S. Games Industry Sales occurring from new physical purchases at retail which is the largest channel for games sales, but it does not represent 100% of industry sales; it does not account for consumer purchases made via digital distribution, used game sales, subscriptions, mobile game apps, rentals, or social network games. NPD’s Games Industry: Total Consumer Spend, a new report on the total consumer spend against the games industry, will be issued quarterly and will be NPD’s official estimate of the consumer spend on the industry going forward. | |||
| **(includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware) | |||
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