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US game sales sink 15% in Feb., BioShock 2 best seller - NPD

Xbox 360 outsells Wii for first time since 2007, analysts blame supply constraints; PS3 sales up 30%; Dante's Inferno PS3 outsells 360; New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Modern Warfare 2, Wii Sports Resort, Mass Effect 2 make chart.

This afternoon, the NPD Group released game-industry sales figures for its February reporting period (January 31 through February 27). The month saw yet another double-digit decline for domestic game sales, which fell 15 percent to $1.48 billion. The drop was steeper than the 10 percent fall analyst Michael Pachter had expected, indicating the industry may be doing worse year-over-year than feared.

For the first time since 2007, the Xbox 360 outsold the Wii.

For the first time since 2007, the Xbox 360 outsold the Wii.

"Honestly, I had expected the industry to perform somewhat better this month," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier. "Nonetheless, strong new releases and Easter gift-buying bodes well for industry performance in March."

On the hardware front, sales sank even more, dropping 20 percent to $534.2 million. The top-selling platform was once again the DS, which moved 613,200 units, including all models. For a change, in second place was the Xbox 360 with 422,000 units, with normal penultimate finisher the Wii in third with 397,000 units. Hot on its heels was the PlayStation 3 with 360,100 units, followed by the PSP with 133,400 units. The PlayStation 2 continues to hang in there, selling 101,900 units.

"The Xbox 360 nabbed the top spot among the three console systems for the first time since September 2007, when Halo 3 was released," said Frazier. "The PS3 enjoyed a 30 percent increase over last year, even while retail supply is reported to remain constrained."

Electronic Entertainment Design and Research's Jess Divinich thinks Microsoft deserves little credit for its hardware victory. "Our extensive retail channel checks have all indicated that, in fact, the Nintendo Wii is in short supply," he said. "We believe February numbers reflect entirely on the Wii being supply constrained and has little to do with declining demand of the product."

BioShock 2 cleaned up in February.

BioShock 2 cleaned up in February.

US software sales mirrored the overall industry decline, also sinking 15 percent year-over-year. The top game product was BioShock 2 for the Xbox 360, which contributed 562,900 copies to the game's 3 million-unit shipment milestone. (The PS3 version did not crack the top 10.) New Super Mario Bros. Wii was in second with 555,600 copies sold, followed by the 360 edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with 314,300 units. The PS3 edition of the controversy-plagued shooter came in sixth with 252,800 units.

Rounding out NPD's February top 10 chart were Wii Sports Resort with Wii MotionPlus (fifth, 272,500 units) and Mass Effect 2 for the 360 (seventh, 246,500 units). The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of Dante's Inferno were neck and neck in eighth and ninth place, selling a combined 467,200 units. It was one of the first times the PS3 edition of a game outsold its Xbox 360 counterpart at launch. (Batman: Arkham Asylum came close.) Last but definitely not least was the PS3 exclusive Heavy Rain, with 219,300 units. (CORRECTION: Heavy Rain was released on Feb. 23, not Feb. 27 in the US, as initially reported.)

FEBRUARY 2010 US GAME SALES

OVERALL DOLLAR SALES

Games $1.48 billion (-15%)
Hardware $534.2 million (-20%)
Software $736.7 million (-15%)
Accessories $206.1 million (-1%)

HARDWARE SALES

DS 613,200
Xbox 360 422,000
Wii 397,900
PlayStation 3 360,100
PSP 133,400
PlayStation 2 101,900

TOP 10 GAMES (by SKU)

Title / Platform / Publisher / Release Date / Units sold
1) BioShock 2 / 360 / Take-Two / Feb-10 / 562,900
2) New Super Mario Bros. Wii / Wii / Nintendo / Nov-09 / 555,600
3) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 / 360 / Activision / Nov-09 / 314,300
4) Just Dance / Wii / Ubisoft / Nov-09 / 275,400
5) Wii Sports Resort with WiiMotion Plus / Wii / Nintendo / Jul-09 / 272,500
6) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 / PS3 / Activision / Nov-09 / 252,800
7) Mass Effect 2 / 360 / Electronic Arts / Jan-10 / 246,500
8) Dante's Inferno: Divine Edition / PS3 / Electronic Arts / Feb-10 / 242,500
9) Dante's Inferno / 360 / Electronic Arts / Feb-10 / 224,700
10) Heavy Rain / PS3 / Sony / Feb-10 / 219,300

Source: The NPD Group

183 Comments

  • Psychokillaz

    Posted Mar 26, 2010 11:12 am GMT

    Yea forgot to mention there is a WII shortage atm too. 360 is benefiting big time it looks like.

  • Psychokillaz

    Posted Mar 26, 2010 11:11 am GMT

    That is the first time in 16 months the 360 has outsold ps3 in hardware. The reason is the PS3 slim shortage. Some cities have zero ps3's atm. FF13, GoW3, MLB The Show & BC2 will smash the top 10 in March!

  • atopp399

    Posted Mar 15, 2010 6:58 am GMT

    My guess is a lot of people are buying their second Xbox since warranties are expiring.

  • kmconstable

    Posted Mar 13, 2010 11:16 am GMT

    I wonder why GS has yet to review Bioshock 2 for the PC given how well it is doing? Oh wait that is because GS is FAIL for PC reviews! Prove me wrong GS and I will stop posting things like this. Funny how you guys posted a BFBC2 review the day after I called you out on not reviewing the game for the PC. I wonder if you will now post a Bioshock 2 review after this post. Are you going to tell me the publisher sent you BS2 late for the PC as well?!

  • Jag-T1000

    Posted Mar 13, 2010 8:33 am GMT

    The Xbox outsold the Wii? Probably because everybody and their grandmas have a Wii already.

  • steelmouth

    Posted Mar 13, 2010 2:45 am GMT

    Bravo ms on beating the wii, hope to get more of that

    Bravo Heavy Rain on making it on the chart with only one day sales (my apologies I had written you off) truth be told ps3 games are scares on the charts so for a rookie to make it with only a single days sales is impressive

  • steelmouth

    Posted Mar 13, 2010 2:45 am GMT

    Bravo ms on beating the wii, hope to get more of that

    Bravo Heavy Rain on making it on the chart with only one day sales (my apologies I had written you off) truth be told ps3 games are scares on the charts so for a rookie to make it with only a single days sales is impressive

  • king_chapeton15

    Posted Mar 13, 2010 12:57 am GMT

    it disgusts me to see that the ps3 version of mw2 is still up there. us pss3 owners need to buy other games instead of that lame shooter.

    made me happy to see heavy rain up there though proves that it wasnt a flaw

  • wondernova

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 11:03 pm GMT

    when will ps3 fans just admit the 360 in the states sells more. the sales are right in front of you! japan on the other hand is a different story. i think the ps3 outsells it 10 to 1! but in U.S. xbox is number one fact. Wii doesnt count. console sells, games dont! besides Wii fit and mario!

  • gskywalker09

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 8:47 pm GMT

    What Sony needs to do is shutdown production of the ps2 & focus solely on ps3 & psp.

  • Digital_DJ_00

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 7:25 pm GMT

    Bioshock 2 cleaned house, awesome.

  • calm_syrface

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 3:41 pm GMT

    X box outsells the Wii? Like purecontrol say...recession. I can find a 360 before I can a Wii these days.

  • purecontrol

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 2:10 pm GMT

    recession

  • zaprct

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 2:06 pm GMT

    @Ventcrawler I really doubt they will sell even half of what FFXIII will sell

  • Ventcrawler

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 12:42 pm GMT

    I want to see the numbers on downloadable games. I bet that FF7 and 8 sell more copies than FF13 this month. seeing FF13 made me want to play them again.

  • thorsen-ink

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 12:35 pm GMT

    @bbdowalt You are correct sir--in my haste in the GDC haze I got that wrong. Correction added. Thanks for letting us know.

  • ethanpaige

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 12:19 pm GMT

    the DS's consistency is really amazing, when you think about it.

  • Ventcrawler

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 12:12 pm GMT

    The PS2 is still selling because the games are all 5-10 bucks and it plays DVDs.


    the DS sells because it has the biggest market base : whiny 5-10 year old children.

  • Flint247

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 10:54 am GMT

    No matter what console you own, there are A LOT of great games coming out this year for each system.

  • im-a-roustabout

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 10:25 am GMT

    @ imaidiot

    Why two people have already thumbed down your comment is beyond me. I sometimes can't stand the people who are in these forums b/c what you said makes perfect sense. I too own all the consoles (except ps3 but as i said in a previous post i can't find any!) and it is nice to play all the great titles for all the systems. Maybe people hate neutral people?

  • im-a-roustabout

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 10:21 am GMT

    @jedikevin2 It's a nice list but L.A Noire is for 360 as well.

    Nice to see the PS3 and 360 sales reach their full potential. Also, it is now March and since x-mas I have had a ps3 fund to buy one, and I have yet to find a ps3 in Atlanta (and I mean the city not out in the boons). I have called best buys and gamestops, toys r us, and not one store in my area has one ps3 new or used! I'm willing to bet if Sony can ramp up production those numbers would be a little bit differently. By how much I don't know, but I just find it interesting that I can't even find ONE measley ps3 in all of metro area Atlanta.

  • gamer082009

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 10:18 am GMT

    @green_dominator

    You are aware that it says "analysts blame supply constraints" ? That's them making a hypothesis..these are the same analyst that are wrong every time. We haven't heard anything from Nintendo about supply problems if memory serves to be correct. Heck there's a ton of Wii's available at every Wal-Mart, BestBuy, and GameStop here where I live. Even Amazon has them..lol, I don't think there was a major supply problem. It's bologna, and once again they're blatantly wrong. The PS3 is the only system with major supply problems. These analyst hate on the 360 every time and then sales figures prove them wrong month after month. Last I checked the PS3 was suppose to be ahead of the 360 last year..now it's this year, and then it'll be next year until this gen is over. Believe what you want..but I go by numbers and facts sir! And I would like to add..go figure a game (Dantes Inferno PS3 version) that rates a 6.5 and sucks would outsell the 360 version..we support good games!

  • santinodrake

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 10:13 am GMT

    Heavy Rain YEAHHHH!!!!

  • jedikevin2

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 10:12 am GMT

    2010 list of Games Still so many great titles to come.
    360 Exclusives
    Crackdown 2
    Halo Reach
    Alan Wake
    Fable 3
    PS3Exclusives M.A.G.
    Heavy Rain
    Yakuza 3
    God of War 3
    PC exclusives Starcraft 2
    Sins of a Solar Empire: Trinity
    S.T.A.L.K.E.R: Call of Pripyat
    Napolean: Total War
    Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War 2- Chaos Rising
    Command & Conquer 4: Tiberian Twilight
    Civilization 4
    Wii Exclusives
    Tatsunoko vs Capcom: Ulitmate All Stars
    No More Heroes 2
    Red Steel 2
    The Sky Crawlers: Innocent Aces
    Endless Ocean: Blue World
    Sin & Punishment 2
    Trauma Team
    Tournament of Legends
    Epic Mickey
    Arc Rise Fantasia
    Fragil Dreams: Farewell Ruins of the Moon
    NBA JAM WII
    Super Mario Galaxy 2
    Calling
    Multi-platform Games
    Darksiders (360, ps3)
    Bayonetta (360, ps3)
    Army of 2: The 40th Day (360, ps3)
    Dante Inferno (360, ps3)
    Final Fantasy 13 (360, ps3)
    Resonate of Fate (360, ps3)
    Read Dead Redemption (360, ps3)
    Nier (360, ps3)
    Back Breaker (360, ps3)
    Dead to Rights: Retribution (360, ps3)
    Supreme Commander 2 (360, PC)
    Splinter Cell: Conviction (360, PC)
    Mass Effect 2 (360, PC)
    Prince of Persia: The Forgotten Sand (360, ps3, PC, wii)
    Alpha Protocol (360, ps3, PC)
    Just Cause 2 (360, ps3, PC)
    Lost Planet 2 (360, ps3, PC)
    Bioshock 2 (360, ps3, PC)
    R.U.S.E. (360, ps3, PC)
    Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (360, ps3, PC)
    Fallout: New Vegas (360, ps3, PC)
    Crysis 2 (360, ps3, PC)
    Dead Rising 2 (360, ps3, PC)
    Brink (360, ps3, PC)
    Section 8 (360, ps3, Pc)
    L.A. Noire (360, ps3)

  • aghost2u

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 10:11 am GMT

    The gaming market has actually done well sidestepping the recession, with businesses closing their doors forever and many people without employment a 15% decrease in video game consoles doesn't seem too awfully bad, does it?

  • HavocV3

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 9:50 am GMT

    lol Ritter.

    you lost any sort of credibility you had in that post once I saw...Vgchartz....

  • RitterXplode posted Mar 12, 2010 9:17 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    RitterXplode

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 9:17 am GMT (hide)

    Congratz X360, it will not last long tho.

    Side note: 50% of world X360 consoles were sold in the US, while it's just 33% for the PS3.
    Total world sales difference between X360 and PS3 is lower than US sales difference.
    Wich means the PS3 is selling better than the X360 in other countries... like mine.
    -> http://news.vgchartz.com/news.php?id=7392

  • madSomnambulist

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 9:16 am GMT

    I'm starting to understand why everyone has desperately stacked their major releases in the past few months, but that has its ups and downs. More than likely, they could see things were kind of running out of gas and wanted to force the issue while possible. The downfall is that it's made people prioritize like crazy what they wanted to buy ASAP. What will matter more is that after the wild rush ends with GoW3 next week, who is going to go backwards and pick up what they had to gloss over for now.

    I don't have any idea how a 15% console gap could be considered a dead comeback for Sony. To me, that looks like a pretty damn even lineup. If the 360 outsells again in March, I'll agree to momentum stopped. Unsurprisingly I get the feeling it's going to hinge on FFXIII despite it not being an exclusive... which console pushed more units? If it isn't the 360 by a fair margin (current NA and EU markshare), it would look concerning.

  • imaidiot

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 9:09 am GMT

    Nice. GOW3 and Heavy Rain should both be on the list and be higher for March. Wii sales will increase when they get over the f aux shortage...trying to increase hype...but the wii does have galaxy 2 and metroid coming out soon. Xbox will continue to do well, but it was surprising to see more Dante's on PS3, since GOW is coming out so soon. I'm glad I have all the systems, and can pick and choose which games I want to play.

  • Sins-of-Mosin

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 8:58 am GMT

    Nice to see the Xbox 360 out selling the Wii by a good amount without a price drop. Seems that all the hope that the PS3 would have momentum in 2010 is gone. I guess I might get my wish and a $200 PS3 by the end of the year.

    MW2 still in the Top 10, really? Nice to see ME2 still in there.

  • cajunstrike

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 8:46 am GMT

    Agreed. With the recent Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 price drops, the development of forthcoming Natal and Move motion technologies, and no major third-party titles such as BioShock 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Grand Theft Auto IV, (Super) Street Fighter IV, Resident Evil 5, Assassin's Creed II, Batman: Arkham Asylum, Tekken 6 and Final Fantasy XIII, it will likely be difficult at best for Nintendo to regain and maintain the monthly console sales lead with its first-party game offerings.

  • monson21502

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 8:29 am GMT

    360 will beat ds next month with the ff13 bundles. seen a ton of people walking out of gamestop at launch.

  • gskywalker09

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 8:02 am GMT

    I've done my part in boosting games sales for ps3 because i just bought Aliens vs Predator & Yakuza 3

  • green_dominator

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 7:51 am GMT

    @gamer082009
    I agree that the 360 is the best system on the block this console generation but they just admitted in the story above that it wasn't anything Microsoft did that earned themselves the #1 spot, it's because Nintendo has resource shortages, if Nintendo was at full capacity it's possible that they would still be #1....
    That said I can't see the draw of the Wii, I've played some of the systems games and honestly I hate it.....
    It's good to know that Bioshock 2 did well in sales.....

  • bbdowalt

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 7:18 am GMT

    Not to nitpick but the US release for Heavy Rain was 2/23 wasn't it, or was it released earlier in outside the US?

  • Dualmask

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 6:59 am GMT

    For your reading pleasure.

  • Mr_Bodywave

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 6:19 am GMT

    umm--you do realize that penultimate means second to last, not second, right?

  • gamer082009 posted Mar 12, 2010 6:14 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    gamer082009

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 6:14 am GMT (hide)

    Holy damn..the 360 outselling the Wii?! I never saw that coming. People just don't get it yet, Microsoft is a force to be reckoned with this time around. Xbox LIVE is too good, and the game lineup for the 360 is so extensive that's it's obviously the better choice. The 360 has the most developer support behind them..much like what the PS2 had back in it's day. Kudos Microsoft for selling nearly Half-million units and making the competition look sad. Although the Wii is still the dominant force total console number wise And how many analyst said the 360 had reached it's peak? Definitely not the case.

  • pete_merlin

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 6:03 am GMT

    Good job bioshock2

  • iano-87

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 5:58 am GMT

    how many ds have been sold to date does anybody know? the figure must be staggering.

  • jedikevin2

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 5:49 am GMT

    @ kevy619

    Never will really know. NPD does not count the majority of pc gaming. I find it funny that they state a universal statement of "US game sales" when they cannot account for all the game sales. It should have been stated "US console game sales".

  • kevy619

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 5:36 am GMT

    interesting, how well did bioshock 2 and mass effect 2 do on pc? Im guessing it must have been pretty good.

  • Rahnyc4

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 5:16 am GMT

    PixelAddict, what you should also think about is

    Who is still buying ps2, cause i dont know anybody who has a brand new ps2.

  • PixelAddict

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 5:10 am GMT

    Two things I always think of when I see these monthly updates:
    1) Who is buying all of these Nintendo DS's???
    2) PS2 STILL sells over 100,000 every single month.

  • Egotte

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 5:03 am GMT

    The whole "Divine" Edition, which was more of a gimmick than anything, probably accounting for the extra sales. It wasn't enough to keep me from getting mine for XBOX 360. And kudos to Microsoft for topping the charts of the consoles last month. Serves Nintendo right for withholding production, only to see them lose their top spot. If more people knew an HD Wii was coming next year, I doubt a large percentage of them would care as much to buy the current model.

  • izmickey

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 4:56 am GMT

    Bioshock 2 looks good. I enjoyed the first one and will eventually play the second. I dont have the money though since i just bought heavy rain, uncharted 2 and preordered GOW 3.....so many games but very little money.

  • Waldkrieger

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 4:19 am GMT

    You just had another post the other day about game sales being up. So, which is it Gamestop? Make up your freakin minds. In fact, quit posting this nonsense because its always the same everytime you do. Up, down, Up, down. How is that news? It's boring and a waste of time. Maybe you haven't realized, but, people aren't going to buy games based on how well sales are doing.

  • FaintRain posted Mar 12, 2010 3:57 am GMT (does not meet display criteria. sign in to show)

    FaintRain

    Posted Mar 12, 2010 3:57 am GMT (hide)

    did the 360 just sell better than the wii and by a vast amount?

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