March saw the release of a number of highly anticipated titles such as God of War III, Final Fantasy XIII, Battlefield: Bad Company 2 and Pokemon HeartGold / SoulSilver. The sales of the new titles seem to have injected some life back into the videogame industry in the US, with the latest data from US tracking firm NPD Group showing that sales increased by 6% to $1.52 billion in March.

Software sales also recorded an increase, up 10% to $875.3 million, while accessories shot up 11% to $206.8 million. Hardware sales, however, continue to suffer, dropping 4% to $440.5 million.

According to NPD analyst Anita Frazier, “In terms of total revenue, March 2010 is the third best non-holiday month on record behind March 2008 and June 2008.”

Hardware happenings

The Nintendo DS was the top selling console for the month with 700 800 units, followed by the Wii with 557 500. The Xbox 360 just managed to pip the PS3 to third place, selling 338 400 units while the PS3 sold 313 900. The PSP was next with 119 900 and the PS2 nipping at its heels with 118 300.

Frazier commented “Wii experienced its best non-holiday sales month (hardware) since March 2009. Looking at Nintendo DS sales, March 2010 marks the first non-holiday month the platform has broken the 700K mark since June of ‘09, and was the top selling platform across consoles and portables for the month.”

“Sony’s PS3 hardware posted its eighth consecutive month of year-over-year increases. For the first time since its launch in the U.S., the PS3 has four titles in the Top 10, and was also the leader in console software sales.”

God of War III does not disappoint

Sony’s PS3 exclusive God of III sold 1.1 million copies, debuting at number 1 on the software chart. It is interesting to note that God of War III beat the introduction of God of War II, which launched in March 2007, by 32%.

Pokemon SoulSilver was new at number 2 with 1.02 million while Pokemon HeartGold debuted a little lower down the chart at number 5 with 761 200 copies. Together SoulSilver and HeartGold sold just over 1.78 million copies.

The PS3 version of Final Fantasy XIII debuted at number 3 with 828 200 copies while the Xbox 360 finished in sixth place with 493 900, scoring a combined tally of a respectable 1.32 million copies and earning it the honour of being the best launch of any item in the franchise, most probably entirely due to its multi-platform launch.

Frazier elaborated “The next closest was Final Fantasy XII, a PS2 exclusive, which launched and sold 896K units in Nov ‘06. FFXIII sales in its introduction month were 48 percent greater than that of FFXII.”

Battlefield: Bad Company 2 also scored well with 1.276 million copies sold in total, with the Xbox 360 version selling 825 500 copies to earn fourth place and the PS3 version 451 200 copies to finish eighth with 451 200 copies.

According to Frazier, “In its first month of sales in the U.S., Battlefield: Bad Company 2 bested the launch of Battlefield: Bad Company by +170 percent. Even considering that the first was launched later in its introduction month while BC2 enjoyed nearly a full month of sales, the increase is impressive.”

It wasn’t all new entries in the Top 10 with evergreens New Super Mario Bros. Wii at number 7 with 457 400 copies and Wii Fit Plus with 429 600 at number 9. MLB 10: The Show for the PS3 slid into tenth with 349 200 copies.

Although Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was conspicoulsy absent on the chart this month, Frazier revealed that it still passed a milestone, becoming the second best selling game of all time after Wii Play.

US Videogame Industry Totals for March 2010

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

• Video games - $1.52 billion (+6%)
• Video games hardware - $440.5 million (-4%)
• Video games software - $875.3 million (+10%)
• Video game accessories - $206.8 million (+11%)

Hardware Sales for March 2010

• Nintendo DS – 700 800
• Wii – 557 500
• Xbox 360 – 338 400
• PS3 – 313 900
• PSP - 119 900
• PS2 – 118 300

Top Ten Software Sales for March 2010

• God of War III (Sony, PS3, March 10) – 1.1 million
• Pokemon SoulSilver (Nintendo, NDS, March 10) – 1.02 million
• Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix, PS3, March 10) – 828 200
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA, Xbox 360, March 10) – 825 500
• Pokemon HeartGold (Nintendo, NDS, March 10) – 761 200
• Final Fantasy XIII (Square Enix, Xbox 360, March 2010) – 493 900
• New Super Mario Bros. Wii (Nintendo, Wii, November 09) – 457 400
• Battlefield: Bad Company 2 (EA, PS3, March 10) – 451 200
• Wii Fit Plus (Nintendo, Wii, October 09) – 429 600
• MLB 10: The Show (Sony, PS3, March 10) – 349 200

(Figures include Collector’s Edition and non-hardware bundles)

Source: NPD