NPD numbers for the month of March have arrived, and regardless of how Microsoft and Sony attempt to spin them, Nintendo is the clear winner this month. As anyone could have predicted, their rollicking ring-out rumble Super Smash Bros. Brawl delivered a solid roundhouse — but who imagined it would rival the entire rest of the Top Ten list?
Item #1: In a press statement, NPD Analyst Anita Frazer said “you’d never know that the U.S. economy was under distress by looking at the video game industry sales figures.” And how. Total video games sales in the month of March rose to $1.7 billion, a 52% increase from last year. Month after month, the video game industry proves practically recession-proof.
Item #2: Hardware-wise we see Nintendo dominating yet again — whether through enhanced supplies (as Frazer suggests) or the spent holiday consumer regaining that Spring steam — but Sony’s PSP remains strong, likely due to the software sales we’ll discuss in a moment. Bring on the charts!
Wii - 721K
Nintendo DS - 698K
PSP - 297K
Xbox 360 - 262K
PlayStation 3 - 257K
PlayStation 2 - 216K
Item #3: Smash. Brawl. 2.7 million copies. If you remove the two top-selling portable titles from the mix, then you’re left with the following statement: Super Smash Bros. Brawl sold more than all the other (top-ten) home console titles combined. Don’t get us wrong, Vegas brought home some silver dollars as well, and PSP is buoyed by solid portable goodness at spots 5 and 6, but Smash destroys the competition.
1.) Super Smash Bros. Brawl — Wii — Nintendo — 2.7M
2.) Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six: Vegas 2 — 360 — Ubisoft — 752.3K
3.) Army of Two — 360 — EA — 606.1K
4.) Wii Play w/ Remote — Wii — Nintendo — 409.8K
5.) God of War: Chains of Olympus — PSP — Sony — 340.5K
6.) Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII — PSP — Square Enix — 301.6K
7.) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock — Wii — Activision — 264.1K
8.) Major League Baseball 2K8 — 360 — Take Two — 237.1K
9.) Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare — 360 — Activision — 237K
10.) Army of Two — PS3 — EA — 224.9K
Even as PSP works wonders, Sony’s PS3 is slipping in software sales. Its only entry on the top ten list, the PS3 version of Army of Two, sold less than half that of its 360 counterpart.
Stay tuned; next month we’ll have the numbers for Grand Theft Auto IV and Mario Kart Wii.
Editor’s note: As always, if you were in any way offended by the use of the NPD logo, we strongly encourage you to take a relaxing bath and remember that you’re reading a game website.
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