Gamertell

It’s that time of month again - the NPD group has released the hardware and software sales for April, and the results are anything but surprising. GTA IV had an incredible debut, sitting pretty at the top spot with 1,850,000 (Xbox 360 version) and the third spot with 1,000,000 (PS3). In between was Mario Kart Wii (Wii - duh) at 1,120,000. Hardware sales show the Wii and DS still on top, followed by the PSP, Xbox 360, PS3 and PS2.

The full lists, from 1up:

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According to a new post at GameLife, the NPD group is reporting stellar $1.7 billion in hardware and software sales for the month of March 2008. Nintendo took the biggest piece of the pie, with the Wii (721 thousand) and DS (698 thousand) and the insane sales of top title Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii), at a staggering 2.7 million units. The PSP also had an excellent month, with third place sales (297 thousand) and two games in the top ten sales chart (God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII).

Here are the charts, from the post:

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In January 2008, the game industry pleasantly surprised analysts by continuing the strong sales trend of the holidays. But the bigger surprise was the fact that the Wii was seriously threatened by the PS3 in the US.

According to NPD’s January hardware and software sales figures, the Wii had a slender sales advantage over the PS3 – barely hanging on to its lead. So analysts from Wedbush Morgan and simExchange got down to dissecting the sudden surge in PS3 sales and below par Wii sales.

Wedbush Morgan’s lead videogame analyst Michael Pachter feels that the Wii’s below par sales in January 2008 could be due to…

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Jeff Bell, who heads global marketing at Microsoft’s gaming business, updated Reuters about the Xbox 360 shortage in the U.S during an interview and blamed it on the company’s failure to foresee the sudden increase in demand. Until now it was Nintendo that was finding it difficult to meet demand for its current gen console.

Bell told Reuters, “We are really running short of product here in the United States,” and the Xbox 360 is out of stock in..

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Research company NPD Group has been releasing monthly US video game retail sales figures, making it the leading authority when it comes to video game sales data and consumer behavior around the globe. A lot of changes have swept the games industry in recent times and, in a bid to keep pace with the industry, NPD will now also track paid online subscriptions.

It will very soon begin releasing a Video Game & PC Subscriptions report every quarter. The report will cover paid subscriptions to video games, MMO/PC games, gaming websites, and…

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According to a new post at GameLife, sales of PC games are suffering even in an era of unprecedented growth within the industry. Recently released NPD numbers indicate that PC titles are only accounting for 14% of the industry-wide $18.5 billion software revenue in 2007. Apparently, there is some contention involving digital distribution: sales of games handled over online services such as Valve’s Steam aren’t accounted for by the NPD numbers. The post also notes that even the top selling games did disappointing business outside of the number one title (World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade).

Many in the industry are looking at the figures as a bad sign for the future of PC gaming, citing everything from the cheaper alternative of next-gen consoles (which are beginning to compete with high end PC’s) to the rampant piracy that occurs surrounding popular titles. The 2007 PC sales chart (from GameDaily) is certainly telling:

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According to Kotaku, the latest NPD numbers indicate that 2007 was a very good year for the game industry, with overall sales up 43% from 2006. The industry got an especially healthy boost in terms of console hardware sales (worth $5.12 billion, up 73% from the previous year), no doubt partially due to the Wii Madness that prevailed throughout the year. As the other NPD numbers show, however - hardware in general was extremely profitable this year, across the platforms.

The article also points out the phenomenal success of the Nintendo DS (with 8.5 million sold), but is quick to point out that with growth across the board, everyone made money this year.

The numbers:

Video Games - $17.94 billion (+43%)
Video Games Hardware - $7.04 billion (+54%)
Console Hardware - $5.12 billion (+73%)
Portable Hardware - $1.92 billion (+19%)

Video Games Software - $8.64 billion (+34%)
Console Software - $6.64 billion (+39%)
Portable Software - $2 billion (+18%)

Video Game Accessories - $2.26 billion (+52%)

Wow. All those claims of 2007 being the “best year ever!“ for games just may be right, at least from a sales perspective.

Read [Kotaku]

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The US video game industry hit a purple patch in August 2007 as revenue shot up to a staggering $1 billion, according to a NPD Group report. This is a 46% rise from the industry’s revenue of $679 million in August, 2006. It seems that Christmas has come early for the video game industry, and it only can get better from here.

The industry earned its billion dollars in August 2007 on back of strong Wii hardware and Madden NFL 08 sales, both of which are bankable and consistent performers…

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The NPD group (an independent consumer research firm) just released the official sales numbers for videogame hardware and software in June 2007. Overall, results are unsurprising, reflecting increased sales on nearly every platform, and Nintendo’s continued success with the Wii and DS systems.

The Nintendo DS continues to dominate over all hardware sales, with 561,000 units. The Wii follows at 381,800, with the PSP moving 290,100 units, Xbox 360 selling 198,400 and the PS3 bringing up the rear with 98,500. Of course, this reflects the pre-PS3 price drop.

On the software side…

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