US sales tracking and research firm The NPD Group has just revealed sales figures for the country’s videogame industry for the month of May 2011. The picture painted is not quite as rosy as April 2011’s, with sales across hardware, software and accessories showing a 14% decrease to $743 million.

May 2011 Hardware Sales

The four week tracking period shows that the Xbox 360, PS3 and PSP all experienced unit sales increases over May 2010. Results showed that videogame hardware sales for May 2011 decreased by 5% to $228.9 million.

The Xbox 360 was the best-selling console for May, realising nearly a year and a half of month-over-month unit sales increases. The Xbox 360 sold 270 000 units, recording a sales increase of 39%, while the PS3 sold 177 000 units (+15%).

Sales of the Nintendo 3DS were characterised as “light” by NPD Analyst Anita Frazier, but are expected to be boosted for the rest of the year by a strong line-up for the handheld console, including The Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time 3D.

According to NPD Analyst Anita Frazier, “Combined sales of the PS3 and Xbox 360 (HD hardware) are up 28% for the month and 21% year to date. Although the declines in console hardware sales in 2011 are attributable to the Wii, the platform remains the best-selling of this generation at nearly 36 million installed in the U.S.”

“At the current rate of growth and decline (on a year-to-date basis) for each of the respective console systems, a year from now the Wii will still enjoy the lead in install base in the U.S., although both the Xbox 360 and PS3 will close the gap. Of course, new details on hardware introduction could certainly change the picture.”

May 2011 Software Sales

Software sales in the US for May 2011 were recorded at $400.1 million, dropping 21% from the same period last year.

LA Noire topped the software chart with 899 000 copies sold across both PS3 and Xbox 360 platforms. Brink came in second with less than half of those sales at 401 000 copies across Xbox 360 and PS3 platforms only.

After dominating last month’s results, Portal 2 and Mortal Kombat (down from its debut of 900 000 copies to 292 000 copies) continued to sell well at numbers 4 and 5 respectively. Other titles that featured in the Top 10 included newcomer LEGO: Pirates of the Caribbean (number 3), Call of Duty: Black Ops (number 6), Just Dance 2 (number 9) and LEGO Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (number 10).

Frazier commented, “This month’s story really is about a light new release schedule as compared to last year. There were 42 new SKU’s introduced in May as compared to 58 last May, and 72 in 2009. This is reflected in the share of dollars contributed by May releases, which was 28% in 2011 as compared to 41% last year.”

May 2011 Software Sales Chart

• 1.) L.A. Noire (360, PS3) - Take 2 Interactive - 899 000 units
• 2.) Brink (360, PS3, PC) - Bethesda Softworks - 401 000 units for 360 and PS3 only
• 3.) Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) -Disney Interactive Studios
• 4.) Portal 2 (360, PS3, PC) – EA
• 5.) Mortal Kombat 2011 (PS3, 360) - Warner Bros. Interactive - 292 000
• 6.) Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC) - Activision Blizzard
• 7.) Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, 360, PS3) - Majesco
• 8.) NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC) - Take 2 Interactive
• 9.) Just Dance 2 (Wii) - Ubisoft
• 10.) Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, NDS, 360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) – LucasArts

May 2011 Videogame Industry Sales Totals

• May 2011 Videogame Sales - $743.1 million (-14%)
• May 2011 Videogame Hardware Sales - $228.9 million (-5%)
• May 2011 Videogame Software Sales - $400.1 million (-21%)
• May 2011 Videogame Accessories Sales - $114 million (-6%)

Source: NPD