Mr. Universal's Blog

With the June 2009 NPD estimates reporting the gaming industry continues to suffer its steepest drop-off in years, it shouldn't come as any surprise that sales for the year would seem sluggish, if not downright anemic.  With no real heavy hitters or break-out smashes (last year we saw a new Smash Bros, Grand Theft Auto, Metal Gear Solid to name a few) consumer interest seems to have dropped considerably.  But what of the 2009 Top Five Sellers for each of the main console competitors, the Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, and Wii?

For that we've got NPD once again to thank (by way of Gamasutra), whose latest report showcases just what's selling on each platform and why 2008 doesn't seem all that far away.  To check out all the action, keep reading for more!

Of the two high-definition consoles, the Xbox 360 is clearly leading its Sony competitor, with Capcom's Resident Evil 5 leading the pack with sales exceeding 1 million copies. UFC 2009 also breaks the million barrier, although placing the rest of the list is somewhat tricky given the various editions of the titles. Call of Duty continues to be a force on the platform, and is the only pre-2009 title represented on the top five listing for the Xbox 360.

The PlayStation 3 list is less flattering, as the top title for Sony's platform, Killzone 2, is estimated to have sold less than 750,00 copies in the US. While the PS3 shares both Street Fighter IV and Resident Evil 5 with its Xbox cousin (thank you Capcom), both sold significantly less on Sony's platform, despite their higher ranking. However its encouraging to see two first-party titles, Killzone 2 and MLB'09, make the list.

Although irrational Nintendo-themed disgust means the figures weren't reported elsewhere (a sign of the decaying influence of the 'hardcore' gaming community?), NPD's top titles for the Wii console positively blew the roof off both HD-powered machines. However, these numbers could be read as both encouraging or troublesome, given that with the exception of EA Sport's Active, the rest of the top five consists of pre-2009 releases. The top three titles for Nintendo's platform are all, unsurprisingly, produced by Nintendo themselves and have sales in excess of 3.06 million, 1.5 million, and 1.4 million respectively.

At a glimpse, the Top Five software sales would suggest that Xbox 360 software is outselling its PlayStation 3 counterpart nearly 2:1, although Sony seems better positioned with their own first-party releases than Microsoft (so far).  The Wii remains the king of the heap, although Nintendo seems to be their own biggest recipient of continued success of the platform.

To be fair, NPD's numbers seem to indicate some confusion in their own aggregate system, as the totals do not include 'special editions', digital online downloads, and a number of factors that might otherwise paint a different picture on emerging consumer trends. As such, these figures (and possibly future reportings from NPD) should be taken as broad overviews of US sales, and not de facto, empirical data.

Thanks to Gamasutra!