Wii and DS help US hardware sales rise 98%

February hardware sales in the US are up by 98 per cent, according to the latest data released by NPD.

Thanks largely to impressive performance from the Nintendo DS and Wii, sales for February 2007 were US $402 million (EUR 301.7m).

Software sales also rose by 28 per cent to US $441 million (EUR 331m), compared to US $345 million (258.9m) during the same period in 2006.

The DS sold 485,000 units during February, while the Wii moved 335,000 units despite Nintendo struggling to maintain a continuous supply of its latest home console.

"We're gratified that the explosive appeal of the Wii, in terms of both new players and new ways to play, has created unprecedented demand, substantially beyond supply," commented Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo in North America.

Sony's PlayStation 3, due in Europe next week, registered disappointing sales figures in comparison. The next-gen home console sold 127,000 units and was outsold by the PlayStation 2 at 295,000 units and the PSP's 176,000 units.

Microsoft's Xbox 360, a console released in November 2005, managed to sell 228,000 units, and even the Game Boy Advance range of handhelds put in a better performance than Sony's next-gen machine, shifting 136,000 units.

Nintendo also enjoyed considerable success in the software sales charts, with the top three sellers all exclusive to the company.

Wii Play sold 371,000 copies, while Diddy Kong Racing for the DS moved 262,000 units and Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess sold 130,000 copies.

Of the US $96 million increase in sales over last year, Nintendo and Microsoft product accounted for US $79 million.

Sales were higher than figures expected from analyst Wedbush Morgan.

"Overall sales were much higher than our US $415 million forecast as next-generation console software sales substantially exceeded our estimates," offered Michael Pachter, senior analyst at the firm.

"Next-generation software sales totalled US $275 million, compared to our US $240 million forecast. The upside was primarily attributable to dramatically higher than expected sales of 360 and Wii games," he said.

"The sales pattern over the last few months had suggested to us that consumers are less concerned about the transition than they have been in prior console cycles. Demand for the PS3 is tracking below our expectations, while demand for the Wii remains strong," added Pachter.

The top three selling titles for each console follow:

Wii

Wii Play (Nintendo)

Legend of Zelda: The Twilight Princess (Nintendo)

WarioWare: Smooth Moves (Nintendo)

Xbox 360

Crackdown (Microsoft)

Gears of War (Microsoft)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

PlayStation 3

Resistance: Fall of Man (Sony)

Virtua Fighter 5 (Sega)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

DS

Diddy Kong Racing (Nintendo)

New Super Mario Bros. (Nintendo)

Mario Kart DS (Nintendo)

PlayStation 2

Guitar Hero 2 (Activision)

Major League Baseball 2K7 (Take 2)

WWE Smackdown Vs RAW 2007 (THQ)