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According to sales figures released by American market research group NPD for December 2009, Nintendo maintains its dominance over the other consoles by a huge margin. Even the combined sales of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 could not match up to Nintendo Wii staggering sale of 3.81 million units. Nintendo’s handheld had an equally impressive December performance, selling 3.31 million units as opposed to its closest competitor PSP, which moved a paltry 654,700 units. With the high and mighty Nintendo outselling the hell out of its competition, it was left for Sony and Microsoft to duke it out for what is left of the market share. Sony did fare better than Microsoft in this duel, but only by a small margin. Things are getting darker for PSP as even after the release of the new model, sales have reportedly declined by 35.8%, year over year.
December 2009 Hardware Sales:
1. Nintendo Wii: 3.81 million
2. Nintendo DS: 3.31 million
3. PlayStation 3: 1.36 million
4. Xbox 360: 1.31 million
5. PSP: 654,700
6. PlayStation 2: 333,200
It’s pretty much status quo on the software front for the consoles. Nintendo continues to see impressive sales of games on Wii, but this is still restricted to first part titles. Similarly, Microsoft one again showed that is capable of successfully moving third party titles for its platform. PlayStation 3 barely makes its presence felt, with a single third party title figuring in the top ten.
December 2009 Software Sales:
1. New Super Mario Bros. (Wii): 2.82 million
2. Wii Fit Plus (Wii): 2.41 million
3. Wii Sports Resort w/Motion Plus (Wii): 1.79 million
4. CoD Modern Warfare 2 (360): 1.62 million
5. CoD Modern Warfare 2 (PS3): 1.12 million
6. Wii Play w/Remote (Wii): 1.01 million
7. Mario Kart w/Wheel (Wii): 936,100
8. Assassin’s Creed 2 (360): 783,100
9. Left 4 Dead 2 (360): 728,500
10.Mario & Luigi: Bowser’s Inside Story (DS): 656,700
Things were even more static and predictable on the PC games front, as Activision and EA dominating the annual sales chart with the Sims and World of Warcraft franchise respectively. Dragon Age Origins did make it to the top 10, but only at number nine. This list does not include sale of games through digital distribution platforms, which many PC gamers have adopted as their primary medium of purchasing games.
The top 10 PC selling games of 2009
1. The Sims 3
2. World of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King Expansion Pack
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
4. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest
5. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
6. World of Warcraft Blizzard Entertainment
7. The Sims 3: World Adventures Expansion Pack
8. Spore
9. Dragon Age: Origins
10. Empire: Total War