Kotaku

Not so long ago, we ran some ESRB figures revealing that games rated 'M' for Mature are only a very small portion of that which developers released in 2007. However, a new report in which Next Generation compiled some sales statistics from the NPD Group shows us that even though M-rated titles may be few and far between, they sell quite well when compared to their peers with less extreme content. Here you can see how well M-rated titles sold in a boom from 2006 to 2007 (driven by a few AAA titles, for sure).

Hit the jump and I'll show you what all that means when compared to the actual amount M-rated games were released in 2007.

January may have gone to the Wii and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare on the hardware and software sides respectively, but both were bested by an accessory as the biggest selling item, according to the NPD Group. The Wii nunchuk controller claimed that prestigious honor, selling an impressive 375,000 units in the United States.

At only $19.99, it's not surprising that Nintendo is pushing millions of these puppies out the door. All those people who snatched up Wii Play last year—4.12 million of them did—need to spend the earmarked Wii dollars on something. Wii Sports boxing is certainly no fun without it.

Microsoft may have suffered heavily on the hardware side this January due to stock shortages, but Sony isn't going to put an asterisk by its win over Microsoft. It starts off its corporate statement on last month's U.S. sales by pointing out that the PlayStation 3 outsold the Xbox 360 by 17%, boasting of "continued momentum" for the console. Increased PlayStation Network downloads and nearly 3 million PSN accounts, corporate says, illustrate that momentum.

The rest of the statement covers not just the PS3, but the PlayStation "brand" which, Sony says, was number one in both hardware and software in January. The company also chose to focus on its upcoming library, with SCEA CEO Jack Tretton commenting "We have an exceptionally diverse lineup of exclusive games, from Gran Turismo 5 Prologue, Metal Gear Solid 4 and Resistance 2 to more mainstream games such as LittleBigPlanet and SingStar." What? No Killzone 2, Jack?

For the full statement, packed with selective data, read on.

Infinity Ward does it again. After a spectacular November and December in the US of A, Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare sees a respectable January, securing the number one position on the software charts. 2007's number two seller, Wii Play, keeps its second place spot, beating out both Rock Band and Guitar Hero III with 298K copies sold.

Despite being a relatively down month for the Wii and Xbox 360 on the hardware side, the two consoles hold the top seven on the software side. Again, no PlayStation 2 info, but we're not sure if that's based on sales or just missing data. The top ten is after this.

There's a reason that Microsoft issued a preemptive damage control statement earlier today about its current supply issues with the Xbox 360—the console is sitting at the bottom of the NPD Group's January 2008 sales charts with an atypically low 230,000 units sold in the United States. We wouldn't be at all surprised if Nintendo chalks up less than mind-blowing sales of the Wii and Nintendo DS to similar supply problems later tonight. The post-holiday race looks pretty much like a dead heat.

• Wii - 274,000
• PlayStation 3 - 269,000
• PlayStation 2 - 264,000
• Nintendo DS - 251,000
• PlayStation Portable - 230,000
• Xbox 360 - 230,000

But lets give it up for the PlayStation 3. As I predicted in last week's episode of GameTrailers TV, the console outsold Microsoft's box last month, which makes me pretty much the smartest person in the room. Curiously though, no PlayStation 2 hardware numbers were provided by the NPD Group, and we hope to get the data from Sony themselves when they gloat.

Update: PlayStation 2 numbers added, provided by Sony Computer Entertainment.

Having a hard time finding an Xbox 360 in stores lately? You aren't the only one. Overwhelming demand for the console over the holidays has left many post-holiday Xbox seekers in the cold. In a statement yesterday issued in order to soften the blow of what will most likely be disappointing NPD numbers today, Microsoft spokesman David Dennis explains the situation.

"We did not forecast the level of demand that we would see throughout the holidays, and we didn't manufacture as many units as we should have," Dennis said. "It's simply a case of demand outpacing supply demand at this point. We're working as hard as we can to replenish supply with all of our retailers, but we are aware of supply issues across the board at most major retailers in the U.S."

Supply shortages hurt Xbox sales last month [seatllepi.com]

The NPD Group tracks all sorts of consumer product sales, including video games (which you no doubt have heard before). Now they are tracking even more video games, expanding to report numbers of online game subscriptions, including MMOs, gaming sites and services like Xbox LIVE. Their reports will be released quarterly, detailing new subscriptions and renewals. It's a good idea, but what must it feel like to work for the NPD, sitting around in a think tank, cooking up new gaming sales data to track?

"You know, that WoW is kind of a big deal."
"Brilliant! Here's another bonus!"
"You know, Wendy's sounds great for lunch."
"Brilliant! Here's another bonus!"

NPD Launches Online Game Subscription Tracking Report [Gamasutra]

One batch of numbers we didn't touch on from yesterday's NPD sales data figures were the 2007 year-to-date and lifetime-to-date console sales in the US. The figures reveal some enlightening, and for some, distressing, details about the current winners and losers in the US console war. For example, the Nintendo DS, which walked away with the #1 spot in '07, sold a total of 8.5 million units in the US last year, over twice that of the PSP and essentially doubling it's lifetime install base.

The rest of the annual sales are below (now with fresh Game Boy Advance numbers!).

2007 Total Hardware Sales

• Nintendo DS - 8,500,000
• Wii - 6,290,000
• Xbox 360 - 4,620,000
• PlayStation 2 - 3,970,000
• PSP - 3,820,000
• PlayStation 3 - 2,560,000
• Game Boy Advance - 1,120,000

But who's currently reigning supreme in totals?

Last night's barrage of U.S. sales numbers were so overwhelmingly positive for some companies that they actually crawled out of bed early to crow about it. Heck, Nintendo never went to sleep, staying up all night doing coke with Colecovision and Atari and talking about the good old days.

Activision, perhaps a bit more cautious than their first-party counterpart, shot out an email this morning to point out that they are still the number one U.S. console and handheld publisher for 2007. In fact their market share went up an astounding 7.2 percent to a record 17.7 percent. That astounding jump can be attributed to, mostly, Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock which was the number one title across all platforms in December, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, which was number three.

Robert Kotick, Chairman and CEO, Activision, Inc., commented, "For the first time in our history, we were the #1 U.S. publisher for the calendar year. We are well on our way to delivering sixteen years of record revenue growth and by far our most profitable year ever."

I wonder who they're going to buy next?

There's absolutely no doubt that Nintendo is pleased as punch with its performance in the US this past holiday season. It is, no doubt, ecstatic. The Nintendo DS and Wii were the two best-selling platforms stateside not just for the month of December, but for the entirety of 2007. Highlights from the statement we just received include awesome sales of Wii Play, both Brain Age titles and Super Mario Galaxy. Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo's new EVP of sales & marketing says the company is "sold out of virtually all hardware, and much of our stock of software and accessories was sold out as well, thanks to the broad appeal of Wii and Nintendo DS."

Look, it's just good news across the board for the folks in Kyoto and Redmond. The full statement is below. Try not to get too depressed that you don't own any Nintendo stock.

Sony isn't going to let a sales drubbing from the Wii and Xbox 360 this past December get it down. The company did quite alright, by its own accord and thinks the best is yet to come, so says its NPD Group sales response. Sony points out PlayStation total hardware revenue was $714 million for the month, which is not pocket change, by any means and a figure that surpasses both Nintendo and Microsoft's hardware revenue.

Guitar Hero games are still selling better on the PlayStation 2, it says, as is Madden. We even get software info for the PlayStation 3 version of Call of Duty 4, which sold 522,000 copies to the Xbox 360's 1.47 million. Hang in there guys! Full statement after this.

With solid sales of 1.26 million Xbox 360s this past December and impressive software sales from Call of Duty 4 and Halo 3 on the console, Microsoft seems noticeably up on news from the NPD Group that it was responsible for a couple extra billion in revenue. In its response to recently released sales figures, the company points out it did $4.8 billion in sales on its platform, more than Wii, more than PlayStation 3.

Microsoft also mentions that the gap between Xbox 360 and PS3 sales is widening, reminding everyone that multi-platform games like Assassin's Creed and Guitar Hero III are outselling their PS3 counterparts some more than two-to-one. The full MS strut, which includes another reference to Resident Evil 5 hitting this year, is after the jump.

The video game industry saw dollar sales in the U.S. of $17.94 billion last year, an impressive increase of 43% over the previous year, when it sold $12.53 billion worth of video games, consoles, portables and accessories. Sales were up across the board, with the biggest boosts coming from console hardware sales ($5.12 billion in business, up 73%) and accessories ($2.26 billion in business, up 59%). December alone saw $4.82 billion worth of video game goods sold, with over $2 billion worth of video games sold bolstering those figures.

More expensive hardware on the market for the full year certainly contributed to those impressive console hardware sales, but the 8.5 million Nintendo DS portables sold in 2007 had a lot to do with that, too. Look, everyone just made tons of cash, okay?

For a full breakdown of annual spending, plus comments from NPD analyst Anita Frazier, continue.

We won't trot out itprintsmoney.gif this time, because that animated image simply doesn't do justice to newly released hardware sales data from the NPD Group and the staggering figures coming out of Nintendo. The Nintendo DS sold an amazing 2.47 million Nintendo DS units to shoppers in December 2007, nabbing the number one spot and nearly doubling sales of its closest competitor, the Wii. Nintendo DS sales represent about a third of billion dollars in hardware sales alone.

The Wii also had a very good month, beating out console competition the Xbox 360 by a solid 90,000 and trouncing the PlayStation 3, who brought up the rear with a respectable six-figure showing. The December casualty report from the US Console War of 2007 is below.

• Nintendo DS - 2,470,000
• Wii - 1,350,000
• Xbox 360 - 1,260,000
• PlayStation 2 - 1,100,000
• PSP - 1,060,000
• PlayStation 3 - 797,600

NPD sales figures for December show that Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare took the top spot this holiday season, selling 1.47 million copies of the Xbox 360 version alone. The Activision published shooter just narrowly beat out Super Mario Galaxy for the Wii, which settled for number two and 1.4 million sold to software hungry Wii owners.

The rest of the list features familiar faces, with Guitar Hero II and Guitar Hero III selling ludicrous amounts. Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games for Wii takes the tail end of the top ten, making the Sega-predicted 4 million copies sold seem that much more reasonable.

Today's NPD sales numbers reveal that Bungie's Halo 3 was the best selling game in the United States in 2007, with a whopping 4.82 million copies sold. Nipping at Master Chief's heels was Nintendo's own Wii Play. It sold through a staggering 4.12 million units to the masses.

Despite generally negative review scores, it would seem that Wii owners were consumed by the prospect of more mini-games (and a second Wii remote) nearly on par with the thirst that Xbox 360 owners had for more Halo. An impressive feat for Nintendo, but more impressive for Microsoft, considering Wii Play had a seven month head start on the first-person shooter.

The top ten best selling games in the USA for last year are after the jump.

The most recent sales data from the NPD Group is missing a key retailer, reports GameDaily, as Toys R Us data was not factored into October's monthly sales charts. Martin Zagorsek VP at The NPD Group told GameDaily that "we typically add a few retailers and lose one or two" and defends the company's results, adding "overall our market coverage has not changed very much compared to last year." More details on the change in NPD numbers at the original report.

NPD Defends Integrity of its Video Game Data [GameDaily]

How is 2007 looking for the video game industry so far? Pretty damn good, having crossed the $10 billion revenue mark as of the end of October, with its two biggest revenue generating months still to come. If that's a tough number to wrap your brain around, try to imagine an ocean made of cash. It's a lot like that. October '07 saw the industry pull in $1.1 billion, across hardware and software, ensuring that this year will be its best. Much of that revenue can be chalked up to higher console prices for the Wii and PlayStation 3, plus some very strong selling software.

The best selling games, across all platforms, for the year are as follows, with more year-to-date sales data after the jump.

• Halo 3 - 3,700,000
• Madden NFL 08 - 3,200,000
• Guitar Hero II - 2,800,00
• Wii Play (w/ Remote) - 2,500,000
• Pokemon Diamond - 2,100,000
• Pokemon Pearl - 1,500,000
• Spider-Man 3 - 1,400,000
• Guitar Hero III: Legends Of Rock - 1,400,000