June sales of video game hardware, software and accessories grew 53 percent to $1.69 billion, according to market researcher NPD Group. Hardware sales grew 54 percent, software grew 61 percent, and accessories were up 25 percent.
Nintendo came up on top. No surprise there, as the company sold 666,700 units of its Wii game console and 783,000 units of its DS handheld gamer layer. But Sony managed to outsell Microsoft by a wide margin, thanks in part to the debut of the marquee PlayStation 3 game, "Metal Gear Solid 4." (Pictured above). The stealth fighting game from Konami sold more than 774,000 copies, making it the top game of the month. Worldwide, Sony said MGS4 sold more than 2.4 million units.
MGS4, which I have been playing and am thoroughly enjoying, has stunning graphics quality and a story that unfolds with long, movie-like scenes. It's the kind of game that shows off the processing power of the PlayStation 3 and it has been bundled with the PS 3's more expensive $499 version since its debut. But Nintendo is still cleaning up with the larger market, thanks to more accessible games that appeal to non-gamers, such as its recently introduced "Wii Fit" exercise game, which was fourth on the list of June's best-selling games. Nintendo's Wii, which sells for just $249, is also enticing players who are intrigued with its unique, motion-sensitive game controller, which players use by waving it around like a wand. Nintendo had six of the top ten games during June.
Sony sold 405,500 PlayStation 3 consoles, up 311 percent from a year earlier. Microsoft, by contrast, sold only 219,800 Xbox 360 consoles in June. Sony sold 337,400 PlayStation Portable handhelds and 188,800 PlayStation 2 consoles.
Going forward, both Microsoft and Sony are going to have to think hard about their pricing as consumers face $5 a gallon gas prices. Microsoft introduced a new model and discounted its models with smaller hard drives on Sunday, while Sony announced a plan on Tuesday to rejigger its own PS 3 offering. Nintendo, meanwhile, is selling out its machines still and has no plans to prices, said Cammie Dunaway, head of sales and marketing at Nintendo of America.
But the big news is that the recession has had no effect on gamers and that all three companies continue to prosper from strong demand. Consumers are staying in their homes and deciding that games offer a good value for their entertainment dollar, said Anita Fraizer, an analyst at NPD. According to the Entertainment Software Association, which sponsors the E3 show, about 38 percent of households now have game consoles and roughly 65 percent of homes play either console games or PC games.
Even if growth stalls later this year, Frazier predicted sales would top $22 billion, compared to $18.8 billion in 2007. With 10.9 million units sold in the U.S., the Wii has now overtaken the Xbox 360 as the top selling game console.