The latest figures from NPD show that US video game sales (software, hardware and accessories) increased by 34% in February to $1.33 billion.

Nintendo dominates hardware sales

Hardware sales were recorded at $480 million, up by 19%. The Nintendo DS sold 587 600 units, almost double its January sales, to make it the best-selling console for February. Nintendo’s handheld beat last month’s top console, the Wii, which sold 432 000 units, again almost doubling its January sales.

The PS2 sold more than its successor to finish in third place with 351 800 units. The PS3 beat the Xbox 360 for a second month with 280 800 units while the Xbox 360 moved 254 600 units and the PSP 243 100 units.

Taking a closer look at software sales

Software sales amounted to $669 million, showing a whopping 47% increase. Activision’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360 was again the top selling software title, moving 296 200 units during February. Following closely was Capcom’s Devil May Cry 4, which sold 295 200 copies on the Xbox 360 to take second place and 233 500 copies on the PS3 in fourth place.

Nintendo’s Wii Play was in third place with 289 700 copies followed by the Wii version of Activision’s Guitar Hero III which sold 222 900 copies. Sega’s Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for the Nintendo DS moved 205 600 copies to end in sixth place and Microsoft’s Lost Odyssey for the 360 landed in seventh with 203 600 copies. Touchstone’s Turok for the 360 was in eighth place with 197 700 copies and the PS2 version of Activision’s Guitar Hero III followed with 183 800 copies. MTV/EA’s Rock Band for the Xbox 360 rounded off the top ten with 161 800 copies.

The three giants comments

Microsoft claimed that the Xbox 360 was still supply constrained for February’s NPD reporting period, but promised that the situation would be improved by the time Grand Theft Auto IV launched. Microsoft stated that “$332 million was spent on the Xbox 360 platform this month, capturing 39 percent of the generation’s ecosystem” in comparison to the PS3’s $235 million and the Wii’s $283 million.

According to Microsoft the Xbox 360 boasts a US installed base of 9.6 million while the PS3 has 3.8 million and the Wii 8.1 million. In addition, the software attach rate of a Xbox 360 is 7.2, almost double that of the PS3 and Wii.

Sony is placing its faith in its PS3 exclusive titles such as Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots to increase PS3 sales. Sony also pointed out that the PS3’s year-on-year sales growth has increased by 120% and of course that the PS3 outsold the Xbox 360, again.

Meanwhile the Nintendo camp believes that their “momentum has not let up since the holidays,” and will “continue throughout the year” because they “have the industry’s strongest lineup of games for everyone from core to casual gamers.” Nintendo peddled the fact that it sold over 1 million hardware units, accounting for 47.6% of hardware.

The publisher continued by pointing out that “Nintendo DS games topped all software sales, with more than 3.6 million units sold,” and that “consumers purchased nearly 2.9 million software units for Wii. Four of every 10 games sold were for Nintendo systems.”

Hardware Sales for February 2008

1. Nintendo DS – 587 600
2. Wii – 432 000
3. PS2 – 351 800
4. PS3 – 280 800
5. Xbox 360 – 254 600
6. PSP – 243 100

Top Ten Software Sales for February 2008

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Activision, Xbox 360) – 296 200
2. Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom, Xbox 360) – 295 200
3. Wii Play with Wii Remote (Nintendo, Wii) – 289 700
4. Devil May Cry 4 (Capcom, PS3) – 233 500
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision, Wii) – 222 900
6. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega, NDS) – 205 600
7. Lost Odyssey (Microsoft, Xbox 360) – 203 600
8. Turok (Touchstone, Xbox 360) – 197 700
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Activision, PS2) – 183 800
10. Rock Band (MTV/EA, Xbox 360) – 161 800

US Game Industry Totals for February 2008

Below is a list of the category, followed by the total and the change in brackets.

• Video games - $1.33 billion (+34%)
• Video games hardware - $480 million (+19%)
• Video games software - $668.7 million (+47%)
• Video game accessories - $185.3 million (+36%)

Source: NPD