November sales of video game consoles and software reached nearly $3 billion in November, according to a story posted by the Associated Press today.
The data, which comes from market researcher NPD Group, shows that U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories has jumped nearly 10 percent, compared to November last year.
Nintendo was the most successful in November, with them selling over 2 million Wii's, which according to Denise Kaigler, vice president of corporate affairs at Nintendo, is the most consoles Nintendo have sold in a single month since the console's launch in late 2006. Nintendo's hand-held DS, sold 1.5 million units, joining the Wii in setting a record for the highest console sales in a non-December month.
Meanwhile, Sony's Playstation 3 console sold just 378,000 units in November, trailing behind Microsoft's Xbox 360, which sold 836,000 units. Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg, Xbox 360 product management director, told Reuters that Nintendo were not alone in having an excellent November - "Despite the tough economic times, we recorded our largest November on record. We sold more consoles and more games in November than we've ever done before."
While hardware sales have jumped 10 percent to $1.21 billion this November, compared to last, software sales did slightly better, growing 11 percent to $1.31 billion. Microsoft's Gears of War 2 took the lead, with the game selling 1.56 million copies, followed by Activision's Call of Duty: World at War, which sold 1.41 million. Electronic Arts, who recently issued a profit warning, had just one title within the top ten - Valve's Left 4 Dead.
Overall, U.S. sales of video game hardware, software and accessories reached a total of $2.91 billion in November. Anita Frazier, an analyst at NPD Group, said that the games industry is on track to reach $22 billion in sales this year.
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