As the NPD Group released its 2003 industry figures, Nintendo decided to tell the world the rest of the story, namely, how well Nintendo has been doing in relation to the competition. Here's the official word from the company:

DID YOU KNOW?

NPD Data Reveals Nintendo #1 in Several Categories

January 22, 2004 -- If awards were handed out today for the stars of the video game industry in 2003, Nintendo would walk home with an armful more than any other company. According to independent retail sales data just released by NPD Funworld, Nintendo was named No. 1 in the following categories by the nation's game players:

- No. 1 Selling System: Game Boy® Advance, with 8.1 million sold in 2003

- No. 1 Fastest-Growing System: Nintendo GameCube™, with a 40 percent unit sales increase over 2002 (compared to a 25 percent decline for Sony's PlayStation 2, and flat sales for Microsoft's Xbox)

- No. 1 Fastest-Growing Game Seller: Nintendo GameCube, with a 77 percent unit sales increase over 2002

- No. 1 Hit Maker: Four of the year's top seven sellers played only on Nintendo (Pokémon® Ruby and Pokémon® Sapphire for Game Boy Advance; The Legend of Zelda®: The Wind Waker™ and Mario Kart®: Double Dash!!™ for Nintendo GameCube)

- No. 1 Sales Growth: Corporate retail revenues increased 16 percent over 2002

- No. 1 Landmark: Game Boy Advance just sold its 20 millionth system in America!