Half a million units sold and two games in the top ten means the portable is continuing to kick ass and take names. Updated with the official Nintendo statement. http://www.nintendoworldreport.com/newsArt.cfm?artid=13350 The NPD Group has released the March 2007 game sales data, and the number one slot in hardware sales shouldn't come as a surprise. The Nintendo DS is far and away driving the industry forward, racking up 508,000 units sold in the 31-day month. The Wii topped all next-gen consoles with 259,000 units reported as sold, though it wasn't the top-selling home platform. That honor went to the PS2, which moved another 280,000 consoles. Rounding out the top half of the hardware list, Microsoft sold another 199,000 Xbox 360s, and Sony sold 180,000 more PSPs.
The Game Boy Advance is also still making a strong showing, with 148,000 more handhelds sold in March. This is about 18,000 more than the PlayStation 3, which only sold 130,000 units. At least it sold more than the 22,000 unit performance of the GameCube.
Moving on to the software numbers, the game/remote combo that is Wii Play took the number four spot on the chart with 273,000 boxes sold. Spots six and seven went to two DS games, Diddy Kong Racing (189K) and Spectrobes (165K). The top selling game of the month might explain why the PS2 had such a strong showing: Sony's God of War II moved 833,000 copies, twice as many as the number two game for the month.
Here's Nintendo's press release indicating that it's the top dog of March.
NINTENDO NEWS: NINTENDO STAYS NUMBER ONE
April 19, 2007 - Nintendo once again claimed the top two spots among the best-selling new video game systems in America in March, according to independent sales data gathered by the NPD Group. Despite widespread shortages for both systems, more than half a million buyers snapped up the portable Nintendo DS™, and Wii™ was once again the top-selling new home video game console.
With the first quarter of 2007 now completed, Wii has already notched over a million systems sold in America this year, while the DS now stands just shy of 1.25 million for the same period. Wii remains the fastest-selling new console in more than a decade, based on NPD sell-through information over the first five months of availability. So far this year, Nintendo has sold more video game systems than all other manufacturers combined.
"The message delivered by both Wii and Nintendo DS is the same one," says Reggie Fils-Aime, president, Nintendo of America. "Innovation is compelling both current gamers and new gamers to experience a new way to play. Nintendo is bringing gaming back to the masses."
While shipments of Wii hardware are expected to grow this month due to increased production, demand for the system remains at unprecedented levels. And it's destined only to intensify with the just released Super Paper Mario™ and the impending release of Mario Party® 8, which brings a new experience to the classic mini-game series using the Wii controllers. For Nintendo DS, the year's most anticipated software release so far this year comes with the arrival of Pokémon® Diamond and Pokémon® Pearl arriving at retail on Sunday.
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Topic: Nintendo DS Dominates March Sales (Read 2964 times)
