The May 2009 NPD Group numbers are in for video game industry sales. With the May 2009 sales numbers down 23% from May 2008 numbers, the gaming industry is definitely feeling the economic pinch. Nintendo is still carrying the weight for the industry overall. Nintendo DSi sales and Wii games helped significantly. Even with the lower than usual sales this May, Nintendo's Wii system broke the 20 million units sold mark since its launch, "reinforcing its position as the fastest-selling console in history," said Nintendo.

Nintendo took a little jab at its competitors' upcoming motion gaming technologies, as Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing, stated: "For Nintendo, precision motion controls and social gaming are realities today. Upcoming games like Wii Sports Resort, launching at the end of July, and Wii Fit Plus and New Super Mario Bros. Wii, coming this fall and holiday, will give consumers even more amazing experiences to enjoy."

THQ has a winner with UFC 2009 Undisputed, which just broke 1 million units sold for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms. Wii exer-gaming is doing well, with Wii Fit and EA Sports Active locking a strong 2nd and 3rd place in the top 10. inFamous just came out in the last week of May 2009 and it managed to place a healthy 5th.

Here's the breakdown of May 2009 video game industry sales, based on units, from the NPD Group (via IndustryGamers.com):

Game hardware sales (in units) for May 2009:
1. DS+DSi - 633.5k units
2. Wii - 289.5k units
3. Xbox 360 - 175k units
4. PLAYSTATION 3 - 131k units
5. PlayStation 2 - 117k units
6. PlayStation Portable - 100.4k units

Game software sales (in units) for May 2009:
1. UFC 2009 Undisputed (Xbox 360) - 679.6k
2. Wii Fit w/ Balance Board (Wii) - 352.8k
3. EA Sports Active Bundle (Wii) - 345.8k
4. UFC 2009 Undisputed (PS3) - 334.4k
5. inFamous (PS3)- 175.9k
6. Pokemon Platinum Version (DS) - 168.9k
7. Mario Kart w/ wheel (Wii) - 158.3k
8. Punch Out!! (Wii) - 156.9k
9. X-Men Origins Wolverine Uncaged edition (Xbox 360) - 120.7k
10. Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii) - 109.8k

Looking ahead into the June 2009 month, things are likely going to continue being successful for the Wii with the Wii MotionPlus out. EA has caught on to the benefits of creating games for the Wii platform. It's early support (and bundle) of the Wii MotionPlus with Tiger Woods PGA Tour 10 and Grand Slam Tennis will help sales. EA Sports Active has been topping Wii Fit on the Amazon sales charts lately, so it's likely that it'll be in the June 2009 top 10. The anticipated FPS Wii game, The Conduit, comes in at the end of the month. Ghostbusters: The Video Game, Fight Night: Round 4 and Prototype will help out the Xbox 360 and PLAYSTATION 3 numbers. A PSP Rock Band Bundle may help boost up PSP hardware sales once again. Things can only get better for the video game industry in June 2009.

NPD Group data from IndustryGamers.com.

Write Comment
Name:	Guest
Title:
BBCode:
Comment:

Powered by AkoComment 2.0!