NPD: PS3 outsells 360, DS in January

The NPD Group has released US videogame sales figures for the month of January, reporting sales of USD 1.18 billion.

Year-over-year sales appear to be down 6 per cent, without taking into account the fact that January 2007 contained five weeks rather than the four weeks in January 2008.

Even with one less week, software sales in January 2008 increased 11 per cent to USD 610.6 million which the NPD's Anita Frazier attributes to higher prices - especially for Guitar Hero and Rock Band bundles, both of which made the top ten software sales chart.

Hardware sales were down 25 per cent to USD 377.8 million, with the Wii once again leading the pack with sales of 274,000 units.

The PlayStation 3m however, took second place with 269,000 units sold - putting it ahead of the PS2 (264,000) and the Xbox 360 (230,000). The PS3 also outsold both the Nintendo DS (251,000) and the Sony PSP (230,000).

In terms of software sales, however, the PS3 only managed to place one game in the top ten - Call of Duty 4, which came in at number eight. The Xbox 360 version of Call of Duty 4, on the other hand, remained in the top spot for the third consecutive month.

"Based on this month's results, software sales are off to a fantastic start," said Frazier. "Accessories are also very hot, so the industry looks to be pretty healthy out the gate."

The Top 10 best-selling US games for January 2008 were:

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360); 330,900
2. Wii Play with remote (Wii); 298,100
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock with guitar (Wii); 239,600
4. Rock Band bundle (Xbox 360); 183,800
5. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock with guitar (Xbox 360); 182,700
6. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii); 172,000
7. Burnout Paradise (Xbox 360); 144,100
8. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3); 140,000
9. Mario Party (DS); 138,500
10. Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (DS); 133,000