THQ's mixed martial arts hit UFC 2009 Undisputed reigned supreme over the North American console software charts in May.

The fighting game--developed by Japanese studio Yuke's Osaka--recorded over one million sales between the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 versions, which placed first and fourth place on the list, respectively.

Sucker Punch's PlayStation 3-exclusive action game inFamous, released on May 26, recorded 175,900 sales in its first six days of business.

May's North American console software leaders:

1. UFC 2009 Undisputed (Yuke's Osaka, Xbox 360) - 679,600 units
2. Wii Fit w/Balance Board(Nintendo, Wii) - 352,800 units
3. EA Sports Active Bundle (EA Sports, Wii) - 345,800 units
4. UFC 2009 Undisputed (Yuke's Osaka, PS3) - 334,400 units
5. inFamous (Sucker Punch, PS3) - 175,900 units... Read more

Microsoft today dropped an Xbox 360 statbomb, showering figures on a range of metrics including the fact that the Xbox 360 has now sold over 30 million units worldwide.

After combing through financial reports and rooting around in bins, Shacknews offers the following list of worldwide lifetime console sales:

1. Nintendo DS - 101.78 million units (as of March 31 2009)
2. Nintendo Wii - 50.39 million units (as of March 31 2009)
3. PSP - 50 million units (as of February 13 2009)
4. Xbox 360 - 30 million units (as of May 28 2009)
5. PlayStation 3 - 22.91 million units (as of March 31 2009)

Microsoft also boasts it leads current-generation consoles in attach rate, with 8.3 titles being bought per console, as well as sales for third-party developers--$5.9 billion.

On the community front, Xbox Live's 20 million active accounts have downloaded nearly 1 billion pieces of Marketplace content. Sony announced in February that the PlayStation Network had 20 million registered users, though this includes forum and PSP accounts.

Lacking the monster sales of last April's Grand Theft Auto 4, the NPD charts for April 2009 mark a fairly uneventful period in North American videogame sales.

Wii Fit lead the software pile with 471,000 units sold, with Pokemon Platinum followed up closely with 433,000 units. EA's newcomer The Godfather II captured two slots on the list for over 200,000 combined sales, while Guitar Hero Aerosmith unbelievably beat out Guitar Hero Metallica in its debut month.

"The big story for the month is the performance of portable game hardware sales as propelled by the release of Nintendo's DSi," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier of the system's 1.04 million sales. "The NDS platform accounted for 31 percent of total industry unit sales this month across all categories."

April's best-selling software:

1. Wii Fit w/Balance Board (Nintendo, Wii) - 471,000 units
2. Pokemon Platinum Version (Nintendo, NDS) - 433,000
3. Mario Kart w/Wheel (Nintendo, Wii) - 210,000
4. Wii Play w/Remote (Nintendo, Wii) - 170,000
5. The Godfather II (EA Redwood Shores, 360) - 155,000... Read more

A chart included in European game retailer Game's latest financial papers has revealed the lifetime hardware sales data for the UK games market.

The numbers largely reflect worldwide and European trends, with the Wii in the lead at 4.9 million units sold. The Xbox 360 has been sold to 3.2 million UK gamers, while PS3 sales have totaled 1.9 million.

In the handheld market, the Nintendo DS has pushed 8.8 million units in the UK, while the PSP follows far behind at 3.2 million.

As Edge points out, the data does present one notable difference in trends: the PS3 is currently beating the Xbox 360 in European territories outside of the UK, with 2.6 million sold to the Xbox 360's 2.3 million.

Nintendo has revealed that the Nintendo DSi posted far higher sales during its first week of sale than its predecessor the DS Lite managed when it launched in 2006.

According to Nintendo's internal tracking numbers, a whopping 435,000 DSi units were sold in the first week of sale in the United States. In contrast, the DS Lite sold 226,300.

The third iteration of the Nintendo DS, the DSi slims the console, enlarges the screens and adds two cameras, at the price of removing its Game Boy Advance cartridge slot.

According to NPD data, Nintendo accounted for 58.4% of all hardware sales in March.

Offering a glimpse into the fascinating world of game sales, research group NPD has released its take on the software and hardware sales in the US over 3/1/09 to 4/4/09.

New releases dominated the software chart, with Resident Evil 5 surpassing 1.5 million units thanks to a dual-platform debut, and Halo Wars racking up an impressive 639K.

Meanwhile, Nintendo continued its dominance of hardware sales charts.

The month's ten best-selling consoles games were:

1. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, 360) - 938,000 units
2. Pokemon Platinum Version (Game Freak, DS) - 805,000 units
3. Halo Wars (Ensemble, 360) - 639,000 units
4. Resident Evil 5 (Capcom, PS3) - 585,000 units
5. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 541,000 units
6. MLB 09: The Show (Sony, PS3) - 305,000 units
7. Killzone 2 (Guerrilla Games, PS3) - 296,000 units... Read more

Nintendo's ever-popular Wii has shipped a stunning 50 million consoles worldwide since its 2006 debut, with the company claiming that it's the fastest-selling console ever.

The announcement came just moments ago, as Nintendo CEO Satoru Iwata kicked off his keynote speech at this year's Game Developers Conference.

Nintendo's lineup of Wii and DS titles continues to dominate the North American console sales charts, with Wii Fit once again being named the best-selling video game in the region last month, according to NPD.

Capcom's Street Fighter IV also did well in February, posting combined sales of over 800,000 units across the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 platforms.

The best-selling games of February:

1. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 644,000 units
2. Street Fighter IV (Capcom, 360) - 446,000 units
3. Street Fighter IV (Capcom, PS3) - 403,000 units
4. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 386,000 units
5. Killzone 2 (Guerilla Games, PS3) - 323,000 units
6. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 263,000 units
7. Call of Duty: World at War (Treyarch, Xbox 360) - 193,000 units
8. Mario Kart DS (Nintendo, NDS) - 145,000 units
9. New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo, NDS) - 144,000 units
10. Guitar Hero: World Tour (Neversoft, Wii) - 136,000 units

Nintendo predictably crushed the competition in the hardware sector, while Sony's PlayStation 3 again trailed the Xbox 360 in the race for third place.

February hardware sales follow:... Read more

Nintendo announced today that it shipped the 100 millionth Nintendo DS unit on March 6, 2009--4 years, 3 months and 14 days after the portable debuted at North America.

The company declared that the system "helped redefine what a video game could be" and trumpeted the Nintendo DSi as an example of its continued livelihood. Nintendo further noted that 83 DS games have shipped over 1 million copies, as of 2008's end, with 7 of those shipping over 10 million.

Already released in Japan, the Nintendo DSi represents the third revision of the hardware. It sports a slimmer profile thanks to the removal of the Game Boy Advance slot, bigger screens, two cameras, and the ability to buy and download games online.

The DSi hits Europe on April 3 and North America on April 5, where it will sell for an MSRP of $169.99. The previous model, the DS Lite, has an MSRP of $129.99.

Nintendo continued its steady reign over the industry in January, taking the top three slots on the US console software charts with Wii Fit, Wii Play and Mario Kart Wii.

In the hardware sector, the Wii and Nintendo DS easily lead the field. Microsoft's Xbox 360 claimed a 3:2 margin over Sony's PlayStation 3, while the PlayStation 2 still managed another 100,000 sales.

The industry as a whole performed well despite the economic recession, boasting a 13% bump in total revenue over January 2008.

Let's get down to the numbers. The January 2009 software sales:

1. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 777,000 units
2. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 415,000 units
3. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 292,000 units
4. Left 4 Dead (Valve, Xbox 360) - 243,000 units
5. Call of Duty: World at War (Treyarch, Xbox 360) - 235,000 units... Read more

With the latest round of financial reports, console manufacturers Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft have all provided the latest sales figures for their respective platforms.

By combining these figures with previous reports, Shacknews can now provide an updated glimpse of how each platform is performing in the worldwide market.

As of December 31, 2008, lifetime sales figures were as follows:

1. Nintendo DS - 96.22 million
2. Nintendo Wii - 44.96 million
3. Xbox 360 - 28.5 million*
4. PlayStation 3 - 21.3 million

Worldwide lifetime sales figures for the PlayStation 2 and PSP are not available, as Sony only began reporting sales, not shipments, following the launch of the PS3.

A look at how each platform has sold in the United States follows below... Read more

Citing "the further deterioration of global economic conditions," Microsoft today announced that it will "eliminate up to 5,000 jobs" across the next year and a half.

The cost-cutting measures start now, with Microsoft today axing 1,400 jobs. Affected or soon-to-be affected divisions include R&D, marketing, sales, finance, legal, HR, and IT. Microsoft expects to save roughly $1.5 billion through the cost-cutting initiative.

The company further noted that it sold 6 million Xbox 360s worldwide between October and December 2008. It has yet to specify what, if any, effect the cuts will have on its Entertainment & Devices division, which is responsible for the Xbox 360 console.

"While we are not immune to the effects of the economy, I am confident in the strength of our product portfolio and soundness of our approach," said Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. "We will continue to manage expenses and invest in long-term opportunities... we will emerge an even stronger industry leader than we are today."

Shacknews' analysis of NPD Group's 2008 U.S. console sales data has revealed that Nintendo saw a banner year for total system sales, selling over 10 million Wiis--more than doubling its install base--and moving nearly as many Nintendo DS handhelds.

The 2008 total U.S. hardware sales are as follows:

1. Wii - 10,224,400
2. Nintendo DS - 9,951,500
3. Xbox 360 - 4,735,200
4. PSP - 3,829,300
5. PlayStation 3 - 3,685,000
6. PlayStation 2 - 2,106,100*

In combination with the lifetime figures NPD issued for 2007, the above data allows for an updated look at how each console is performing overall in the United States.

Lifetime U.S. hardware sales, as of December 2008:

1. PlayStation 2 - 43.22 million*
2. Nintendo DS - 27.60 million
3. Wii - 17.60 million
4. PSP 14.30 million
5. Xbox 360 - 13.89 million
6. PlayStation 3 - 6.94 million

While Sony recently claimed 50 million total PlayStation 2 sales in North America, the above figures only pertain to the United States.

(*NPD did not report PlayStation 2 sales for the months of January and May 2008.)

Along with its analysis of the 2008 U.S. video game market, NPD has also its released sales figures for December 2008.

As expected, the Nintendo DS and Wii led the hardware charts, with Wii Play and Call of Duty: World at War among the month's best-selling console games.

December hardware sales were up a small margin of 2% over 2007 on $1.88 billion in sales, while software sales increased 15% to $2.75 billion.

The U.S. console sales for December:

1. DS - 3.04 million
2. Wii - 2.15 million
3. Xbox 360 - 1.44 million
4. PSP - 1.02 million
5. PlayStation 3 - 726,000
6. PlayStation 2 - 410,000

According to NPD, the top-selling console titles in December 2008 were:... Read more

Eight years, three months and thirteen days after the system debuted in North America, Sony today revealed that the PlayStation 2 has sold over 50 million units in the territory, surpassing the "mid-30 million" sales of the original PlayStation.

Despite a lagging software lineup compared to more recent systems, Sony is still confident in the console, with hardware marketing director John Koller telling Gamasutra that "the PS2 is not going away anytime soon" due to its 2009-10 lineup.

The system now has over 1800 games in North America, with at least 130 of them arriving across the past year. Koller did not specify any upcoming key games, though the system will see a variety of sports games, movie tie-ins, and more Guitar Hero.

As for the system's price, Sony seems to be rather content with the existing $129.99 price point, with Koller claiming that the company is "comfortable with the current price."

Retailer Best Buy today released its December sales data, revealing a single-digit decline in videogame sales.

"Video gaming comparable store sales declined by the mid single digits, primarily due to a shift toward software and reduced sales of large-ticket consoles," said Best Buy in a release.

Best Buy's gaming decline is in sharp contrast to videogame-specific retailer GameStop, which recently boasted a 22% increase in year-over-year holiday sales.

The Japanese videogame market shrank for the first time in four years over 2008, dropping 15% on total sales of $6.2 billion, according to sales tracker Enterbrain.

Meanwhile, Gamasutra has word that the UK game market nearly matched Japan's size with a record $6 billion in 2008 gaming-related sales, representing year-over-year growth of 23%. The UK market has now doubled in size over the past five years.

The UK industry's strong growth was largely fueled by enormous sales of Nintendo's consoles and software. The company sold just under 40 million pieces of software in the territory.

The rapid decrease of the Japanese market was attributed to the lack of new console launches.

The fact that PlayStation 3 sales in the United States dropped almost 19% in November 2008 over the previous year is no cause for concern, according to maker Sony.

That's because November 2007 was "an abnormally strong month due to a price cut [with] the introduction of the [$399] 40GB PS3," Sony told CNET News.

In fact, Sony says PS3 sales were up almost 40% in 2008, with early data suggesting the post-Black Friday holiday season brought about a sales increase of over 130%.

"2008 was a pivotal year for PlayStation with the best software line up in the industry [and] a dramatic expansion of PlayStation Network," said Sony Computer Entertainment America sales VP Ian Jackson, listing PlayStation Home and the PlayStation Store's video download platform as examples of the service's growth across the year.

The Xbox 360 has sold over 28 million units worldwide since its 2005 launch, manufacturer Microsoft announced today.

The Xbox 360's lead over Sony's rival PlayStation 3 hardware now exceeds 8 million units, the company claims, with the Xbox 360 outselling the PS3 in Europe by over 1 million. Microsoft's wording suggests the PlayStation 3 has now sold around 20 million units worldwide--in October, Sony revealed the the PS3 was then nearing 17 million.

Before the holiday season kicked off, Nintendo's Wii had sold 34.55 million units.

Microsoft also boasted the latest figures for Xbox Live, stating that the online service now has 17 million active members, recently hit a new record with 1.5 million users online concurrently, and has accumulated over $1 billion in revenue since November 2005.

Along with November's best-selling consoles games, NPD has detailed the month's hardware sales from US retailers. Thanks to the holiday shopping season, each console saw a significant jump that, at least, came close to doubling October sales.

Nintendo's Wii posted a staggering 2.04 million sales, a one-month record since NPD began its tracking in 2001. Last year, the Wii sold 981,000 over the same period.

Sales of Nintendo DS hardware tripled in the past month, while Microsoft finally made good on its promise to outsell the PlayStation 3 by more than a two-to-one ratio. The PS3 sold 466,000 units in November 2007, but only managed 378,000 this year.

The US console sales for November:

1. Wii - 2.04 million units
2. Nintendo DS - 1.57 million units
3. Xbox 360 - 836,000 units
4. PSP - 421,000 units
5. PlayStation 3 - 378,000 units
6. PlayStation 2 - 206,000 units

"The video games industry continues to set a blistering sales pace, overall, with total month revenues 10% higher than last November, even with 7 less days of post-Thanksgiving shopping this year [over last]," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

"With $16B realized for the year so far through November, the industry is still on pace to achieve total year revenues of $22B in the U.S."