A new report out from NPD breaks down the 30 best selling games of the year, across all systems. Nothing really shocking, but there are some interesting trends.
Despite reports of Wii sales slowing at a faster than expected rate, much of which is being blamed on the lack of game selection, a Wii game- New Super Mario Bros.- continues to hold the top spot while two others- Sports Resort w/Wii Motion Plus and Fit Plus w/Balance Board- are in the top 10. The European numbers are even better for the Wii.
The Nintendo DS didn’t fare quite as well, but it does have the second best selling game in Pokeman: Soulsilver Version.
Overall it holds six of the top 30 spots.
Also of note is the rise of PlayStation 3. The PS3 finally seems to be hitting its stride. The consoles are beginning to turn a profit after years of taking a loss on each unit sold, God of War III took the third spot and no doubt helped move some consoles, and if Final Fantasy XIII is any indication, fans are beginning to choose the PS3 versions of multiplatform games. The PS3 version of FFXIII came in 7th, while the Xbox 360’s version was a distant 15th. The PS3 version of Dante’s Inferno also managed to outsell its Xbox 360 counterpart. Overall, the Sony has the most games in the top 30, with nine top sellers.
Things aren’t looking quite as rosy for the Xbox 360. With only seven games in the top 30, Microsoft will need to step it up during June’s E3. The high profile release of the Natal and the upcoming Halo: Reach should help with that.
