US Hardware Sales and the Non-GTA IV Effect

The NPD Group's games sales data for the US is in, showing that Grand Theft Auto IV did not give hardware sales the boost that some expected - or in fact predicted as a foregone conclusion.

187,000 Xbox 360s were sold during May and 209,000 PS3s were shifted. That compares to 188,000 360s sold and 187,100 PS3s moved in April. PS3 sales obviously rose, but the amount is not particularly astounding. Especially when you compare that to the 675,000 Wiis sold, down slightly from last month's 714,200 sales.

“The continued success of GTA IV is not translating into big hardware sales for the PS3 or the 360”, uttered NPD analyst, Anita Frazier. “But there may yet be a lift in June due to gift-giving for Father’s Day and graduations.”

On the handheld front, 452,000 DSes were sold, while 182,300 PSPs were shifted.

Grand Theft Auto IV continued to sell well through May, racking up 871,000 sales on the 360 and 443,000 for the PS3. The game has now sold 4.2 million copies in total in the US. GTA IV was followed by Mario Kart Wii, which shifted 787,400 units, followed by Wii Fit, which sold 687,700 copies.

Overall, the industry did well. Total sales were at $1.12 billion (£575.4 million), a year on year increase of 37%. Software sales were up 41% to $536.9 million (£275.9 million) while hardware sales were up 34% to $428.6 million (£220.2 million). Accessory sales also saw a boost, up 30% to $150.8 million (£77.5 million).

You can see the Top 10 games in the US for May below.

GTA IV - Xbox 360 - Take-Two - 871,300
Mario Kart Wii - Wii - Nintendo - 787,400
Wii Fit - Wii - Nintendo 687,700
GTA IV - PS3 - Take-Two - 442,900
Wii Play - Wii - Nintendo - 294,600
Super Smash Bros. Brawl - Wii - Nintendo - 171,100
Iron Man - PS2 - Sega - 130,600
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock - Wii - Activision - 116,800
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness - DS - Nintendo - 107,000
Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time - DS - Nintendo - 102K

^{Sources: New York Times, Game Daily}