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Videogames still selling strong in recession

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By JOHN GAUDIOSI, Special to LTW

Editor's note: John Gaudiosi covers the videogame industry for LTW.

RALEIGH, N.C. - As more people stay home to save money, they’re continuing to spend money on videogames. Following a record year in the U.S. that saw total videogame sales top $22 billion, January game sales raked in $1.3 billion according to The NPD Group. That’s up 13 percent over last January, which kicked off the record year.

Across the board, game sales were up. Fueled by Nintendo Wii and Nintendo DS, hardware sales were up 17 percent in January to $445.4 million. Game software sales were up 10 percent to $676.6 million. And game accessories were up 11 percent to $209.8 million.

Nintendo continues to sell out of Wii hardware as quickly as it stocks retail shelves. And there’s no slowdown for its portable Nintendo DS, either. Combined, these two game devices sold over 1.1 million units in January. Nintendo sold 679,200 Wiis and 510,800 Nintendo DS portables. Rounding out the hardware sales, Microsoft sold 309,000 Xbox 360s. Sony’s three consoles brought up the rear with 203,200 PlayStation 3s, 172,300 PSPs and 101,200 PlayStation 2s sold in January.

Nintendo also ruled the software sales as five of the Top 10 games for January were for a Nintendo platform – including the top three games. Wii Fit showed that Nintendo buyers don’t care how long a game has been on a shelf, selling 777,000 units in January for the top spot. Wii Play, an even older title, sold 415,000 units and continued its very long record pace. Mario Kart Wii raced to the third spot with 292,000 units sold.

Electronic Arts had a good January. Left 4 Dead on Xbox 360 continued to attract gamers with 243,000 units sold. Skate 2 sold 199,000 copies on Xbox 360. And Lord of the Rings: Conquest for Xbox 360 sold 113,000 copies, proving the Hollywood license is still viable years after the films were through.

"Only two of the Top 10 games this month were new releases,” said Anita Frazier, videogame analyst, The NPD Group. “The continued strength of games that have been in the market for some time clues us into just how many new consumers are coming into the industry. This broadening of the audience for gaming will help buoy the industry through these tough economic times, provided they have enough compelling content to keep them interested."

And February has some huge game releases, including Capcom’s Street Fighter IV and Sony Computer Entertainment’s Killzone 2.

Here are the Top 10 selling titles (ranked by units):

1. Wii Fit - Wii – Nintendo – 777K
2. Wii Play w/ remote - Wii – Nintendo – 415K
3. Mario Kart w/ wheel - Wii – Nintendo – 292K
4. Left 4 Dead - Xbox 360 – EA – 243K
5. Call of Duty: World at War - Xbox 360 – Activision Blizzard – 235K
6. Skate 2 - Xbox 360 – EA – 199K
7. Guitar Hero World Tour - Wii – Activision Blizzard – 155K
8. New Super Mario Bros. - DS – Nintendo – 135K
9. Mario Kart DS - DS – Nintendo – 132K
10. Lord of the Rings: Conquest - Xbox 360 – EA – 113K

Gaming Guru

John Gaudiosi is a national journalist who has been covering the video game business for more than a decade. In addition to blogging for WRAL.com, he also writes about gaming for Wired Magazine, The Washington Post, Xbox.com and Yahoo! Games. Read more articles…