Following NPD's unveiling of April's U.S. console game and hardware sales, Microsoft, Nintendo and Sony have all checked in with their take on the data that saw Nintendo's Wii and DS top the hardware charts and the Xbox 360 outsell the PlayStation 3 by a mere 900 units.

With a whopping 1.85 million copies sold, the Xbox 360 edition of Grand Theft Auto IV was the month's top-selling console title, followed by 1.12 million units of Mario Kart Wii and 1 million copies of Grand Theft Auto IV for PlayStation 3.

Sony Computer Entertainment America president and CEO Jack Tretton claimed that "PS3 momentum is fueled by enthusiasm for Blu-ray" and "PS3 remains on pace for a breakthrough year."

"The tremendous legacy of Grand Theft Auto on PlayStation, combined... Read more

Sales-tracking firm NPD Group has released its U.S. sales figures for April, showing Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV as the month's top-selling console title and the Wii as the month's best-selling hardware.

While the Xbox 360 version of GTA 4 sold 850,000 more copies than the PlayStation 3 edition, the hardware race between the two consoles was far closer--the 360 outsold its shiny black competitor by a mere 900 units.

April hardware sales in the United States were as follows:

1. Wii - 714,200
2. Nintendo DS - 414,800
3. PSP - 192,700
4. Xbox 360 - 188,000
5. PlayStation 3 - 187,100
6. PlayStation 2 - 124,400

Meanwhile, April's best-selling console games in the U.S. were:

1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar, X360) - 1,850,000
2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 1,120,000
3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar, PS3) - 1,000,000
4. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 360,000
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo, Wii) - 326,000
6. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Polyphony Digital, PS3) - 224,000
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (Chunsoft, NDS) - 202,000
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (Chunsoft, NDS) - 202,000
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Vicarious Visions, Wii) - 152,000
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, X360) - 141,000

"It's unusual for three games to exceed the 1-million mark in a non-holiday month which just goes to prove that great content can succeed regardless of when it is launched," noted NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Sony Computer Entertainment announced today that Polyphony Digital's driving simulation series Gran Turismo has shipped over 50 million units across the world.

The franchise debuted in 1997 on the original PlayStation, and made the shift to PlayStation 2 with Gran Turismo 3: A-Spec in 2001. The series' first PlayStation 3 retail release recently arrived in the form of Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, which is meant as a sample of the eventual Gran Turismo 5.

While North America has only received five Gran Turismo games so far, Japan and Europe have seen seven due to Gran Turismo Concept 2001 Tokyo (PS2) in 2002 and Gran Turismo 4 Prologue (PS2) in 2003.

Sony noted that of the 50 million units shipped, 2 million of those were Gran Turismo 5 Prologue. However, it was not clear if Prologue's contribution only referred to physical copies, or if it included digital downloads of the title through the online PlayStation Store.

Take-Two Interactive today announced that Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto 4 has done a whopping $500 million in sales since the game's release last week.

Some 6 million copies of the game have been sold worldwide, 3.6 million of those coming in just the first day. Although the numbers exceed industry predictions, Take-Two was confident about selling six million copies before launch. The news should help Take-Two in its efforts to thwart Electronic Arts' current takeover bid. EA's offer has been for $26 per share, while Take-Two's stock closed Tuesday at $26.35 and should go even higher on this news.

Capcom vet and Game Republic founder Yoshiki Okamoto says that the market for Nintendo's DS may be destined for a market crash similar to Atari in 1983.

Speaking on Nintendo's wildly popular Nintendo DS, Okamoto suggested that the system's rapid growth and glut of available software might indicate an impending doom for the market, particularly in North America.

"I think it's a fact that the market blew up more rapidly than even [Nintendo] thought it would," Okamoto told Gamasutra. "And the faster something expands, the easier it is for it to deflate again, right? I hope they come up with a way to avoid this with the DS. But for one thing, there are way too many titles out all at once."

"You've started hearing the phrase 'Atari crash' pretty frequently," he added. "People are talking about how the second 'Atari crash' is around the corner. And Nintendo is the one that has to figure out a way to stop it."

The infamous Atari crash in 1983 was prompted by a number of factors, including increased saturation of consoles and products on the market. The crash nearly destroyed the then-fledgling game industry.

Rental agency Blockbuster has announced several efforts to expand its presence in the video game sector, beginning with the placement of high-profile video games such as Mario Kart Wii and Grand Theft Auto IV in the formerly movies-only "New Releases" section.

The company further boasted that all of its corporate-owned branches in the United States are now stocking and selling software, hardware and accessories for the PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, Wii and Nintendo DS.

To celebrate, the Blockbluster revealed an exclusive PlayStation 3 bundle--containing a 40GB PS3, HDMI cable, Traveller's Tales Transformers: The Game, Blu-ray Remote Control, Spider-Man 3 Blu-ray disc, and 12-week PS3/Blu-ray rental card--is now selling for $499.99.

The retailer had previously attempted to get into the retail games business through the opening of GameRush stores within select Blockbuster locations, which allowed gamers to buy and trade gaming paraphernalia for new and used games and hardware.

Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed (PC, PS3, X360) spearheaded a 36% boost in 2008 sales over last year, the company announced today.

Ubisoft's full-year sales for its 2007-2008 fiscal year totaled EUR 928M, or roughly $1.45B at current exchange rates, a 36.4% increase over last year's figure of EUR 680M / $1.02B. Fourth quarter sales were up 10%, clocking in at EUR 217M / $340.5M.

The company cited the performance of Ubisoft Montreal's Assassin's Creed for the boost in numbers, which it said sold over six million copies since launch. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (PC, PS3, X360) also added to Ubisoft's burgeoning moneypile, recording nearly two million units sold since it hit shelves in March.

Pacific Crest Securities analyst Evan Wilson suggested that game publishers could achieve greater financial success by elevating talent and pushing key development figures as a reason to get consumers interested in a project.

"There are very few people in this world who know how to create hits. Not create a hit, but create multiple hits," Wilson told MTV Multiplayer. "Those creative minds should be recognized and remunerated in the video game industry for their contribution as much as other forms of media."

"From a business perspective, that might be more expensive, but if the reward is better selling games the trade-off is worth it," he added.

Wilson went on to suggest that despite that potential, many publishers see development icons as interchangeable in terms of franchise development, noting that Take-Two would likely develop a BioShock sequel with or without ... Read more

Sales-tracking firm The NPD Group today revealed that Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl has topped the North American software sales charts for the month of March with a staggering 2.7M units sold, knocking Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare off a four-month reign at number one.

In terms of hardware, the Wii outsold the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, followed by the Nintendo DS in close second. March hardware sales for the North American market were as follows:

1. Wii - 721,000
2. Nintendo DS - 698,000
3. PSP - 297,000
4. Xbox 360 - 262,000
5. PlayStation 3 - 257,000
6. PlayStation 2 - 216,000

"Nintendo systems represented 58 percent of all video game hardware sold in March in the United States," said Nintendo marketing VP Cammie Dunaway. "We expect our momentum to continue with big upcoming game launches like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit."

North America's top-selling console titles during March were:... Read more

Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, X360) publisher Take-Two Interactive is expecting the title to achieve $400 million in sales during its first week at retail, if the word of Variety's sources are to be believed.

Developed by Take-Two subsidiary Rockstar North, the crime-filled and multiplayer-enabled open-world title is slated to launch on April 29.

Assuming those unnamed sources are correct, the company further believes it will sell over six million units of the game. Given that Grand Theft Auto IV is arriving on two platforms across multiple territories worldwide, that isn't such a far-fetched figure.

Such a strong performance would dethrone Bungie's Halo 3 (X360) from its spot at the top of the record books. In the week after its September 25 launch, the much anticipated shooter set a new record for a video game launch by bringing in over $300 million in sales.

In that same time span, 2.7 million gamers played Halo 3 online and logged a total of 40 million hours in the title. This led to Hollywood blaming Halo 3 for poor ticket sales, with some predicting a similar fate for the films hitting theaters after GTA 4.

Publisher Ubisoft has revealed that, despite some technical complaints, it sold nearly 2 million copies of the Ubisoft Montreal-developed Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (PS3, X360) to retailers since its mid-March release.

According to the company, this marks a "better than expected" performance.

Prompted by the strong sales, Ubisoft has raised its sales target for the 2007-08 fiscal year to 920 million euros (roughly $1.43 billion). Total sales for the fiscal year were previously expected to be around 875 million euros (roughly $1.36 billion).

"2008 is off to be a record year for the videogame market and our games have performed remarkably well in this context," said Ubisoft president and CEO Yves Guillemot.

Nintendo's highly-anticipated mascot fighter Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii) has sold over 1.4 million copies in the week and the day since its North American on March 9, the company announced today.

According to Nintendo of America, the title has become the fastest-selling video game in the company's history, moving at a brisk 120 units per minute. Of the over 1.4 million figure units sold, more than 874,000 copies were sold on the first day of availability.

"Super Smash Bros. Brawl has made the leap from video game to cultural phenomenon," said sales and marketing vice president Cammie Dunaway.

The next big Wii title from Nintendo is Mario Kart Wii, which will be available at North American retailers on Sunday, April 27.

Despite inquiries from Shacknews, the company has yet to concretely address criticisms that Brawl's online component is suffering from... Read more

Sales-tracking firm The NPD Group today revealed that the Xbox 360 edition of Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare has topped the North American sales charts for the fourth month in a row, ranking as the best-selling console title in February.

In terms of hardware, the Wii outsold the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, with the Nintendo DS reigning as the month's best-selling system. February hardware sales for the North American market were as follows:

1. Nintendo DS - 587,600
2. Wii - 432,000
3. PlayStation 2 - 351,800
4. PlayStation 3 - 280,800
5. Xbox 360 - 254,600
6. PSP - 243,100

"Xbox 360 remained in a supply constrained situation [during February]," Microsoft stated. "The situation is improving and we are confident consumers will soon be able to find the Xbox 360 SKU they seek...we expect [Grand Theft Auto IV] to be one of the biggest titles of the year with huge impact on the Xbox 360 platform."

North America's top-selling console titles during February were: ... Read more

The North American console market pulled in $1.18 billion in January 2008, reports sales-tracking firm The NPD Group. Of that figure, $377.8 million was related to video game hardware, with $610.6 million spent on software and $191 million on accessories.

According to NPD, the month's top-selling console titles in North America were:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, X360) - 330, 900
2. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 298,100
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Vicarious Visions, Activision, Wii) - 239, 600
4. Rock Band Special Edition Bundle (Harmonix, MTV Games, X360) - 183,800
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock Bundle (Neversoft, Activision, X360) - 182,700
6. Super Mario Galaxy (Nintendo, Wii) - 172,000
7. Burnout Paradise (Criterion, Electronic Arts) - 140,000
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, Activision, PS3) - 140,000
9. Mario Party DS (Nintendo, Nintendo DS) - 138,500
10. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Sega, Nintendo DS) - 133,000

In terms of revenue, the Xbox 360 version of Harmonix's Rock Band (PS2, PS3, X360) was the month's top performer, bringing in over $30 million thanks to... Read more

In an unusual week of Japanese hardware sales, Microsoft's slow-selling Xbox 360 saw 475% week-over-week growth in unit sales to edge out Sony's PlayStation 3 by mere hundreds of units--17,637 to 17,434, according to tracking firm Media Create.

Microsoft's console was buoyed by Namco's exclusive Ace Combat 6, which slotted in at #2 on the hardware charts with 76,708 units. Unsurprisingly, Nintendo's marquee title Super Mario Galaxy topped the weekly list with 250,585 units. The debut was lower than some expected given the higher first-week sales of Super Mario Sunshine (GCN) and other flagship games from the Big N, but still outsold any other game by more than three to one during the week of October 29 to November 4.

Despite the bitter battle between the two high-powered consoles, both machines were outsold by the Wii, which topped Xbox 360 by about 20,000 units. Still, the release of Mario's latest outing didn't significantly bump Wii sales, and PSP came in #2 with 59,714 despite having no software in the top ten. In the least surprising news of the week, Nintendo DS trumped all by besting PSP by about 20,000 units.

Nintendo platforms dominated software, with two Wii titles and six DS titles. The other slots were occupied by Ace Combat 6 and a Banpresto-developed Super Robot Wars title for PlayStation 2 that slotted in at #4. Read on for the full list.... Read more

The availability of Sony's and Nintendo's newest consoles brought a significant year-over-year increase to June hardware sales in the U.S., with total hardware sales reaching $398.6 million, up 34% from the same period last year, according to industry trackers at the NPD Group. Home console-only sales increased 69% to $268.0 million, with handhelds actually seeing a 6% year-over-year decrease to $130.6 million. Last year's handheld sales were spurred by the early June launch of Nintendo's redesigned DS Lite in North America.

For current-gen hardware, Wii sales led the pack with 381,800 consoles sold in June, followed by Xbox 360 with 198,400, and PlayStation 3 with 98,500, according to NPD. Though handheld sales were down compared to last June, total units sold of the two handhelds ran well above total console sales, with 561,900 DS units and 290,100 PSPs peddled to portable players.

Nintendo dominated software sales, with Wii and DS titles taking the top four best-selling spots and six out of the top ten. Leading the Mario ... Read more

According to this story on GameSpot, Entertainment Software Association has announced that last year's console and PC sales rose to over $7 billion. This is an increase of more than $650 million compared to 2002's $6.35 billion total. Not all was well though, increased console game sales made up for the fact that PC sales were actually down $200 million.