January NPD: We're saving the games industry, says Nintendo

News by Patrick Garratt Founder & Publisher (Former)

Published on Feb. 13, 2009

Nintendo's post NPD statement doesn't pander to bullshit: the company's "offsetting declines on other platforms" with its astonishing hardware growth, it said.

"Nintendo kicked off 2009 the same way it finished 2008: with a bang," said the firm in a press release.

"While the video game industry grew by $150 million (12 percent) year-on-year, Nintendo's total sales grew by $300 million in January, offsetting declines on other platforms.

Wii sales hit almost 680,000 unit in January, up 148 percent compared to the previous year. DS sales also helped, said Nintendo, with sales up 99 percent YoY to 510,000 units.

The US industry was up 13 percent overall in January.

God bless you, Nintendo!. You're the Superman of US games.

Full thing after the break.

Nintendo Accounts for More Than Total Video Game Industry Growth in January Versus Last Year

Nintendo kicked off 2009 the same way it finished 2008: with a bang. While the video game industry grew by $150 million (12 percent) year-on-year, Nintendo's total sales grew by $300 million in January, offsetting declines on other platforms.

Sales of the Wii™ console in January were up 148 percent over January 2008, with nearly 680,000 units sold, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks video game sales in the United States. Since Wii launched in November 2006, it has sold more than 18 million units in the United States.

Sales of the Nintendo DS™ system in January were also up 99 percent over January 2008, and it once again was the top-selling portable system with more than 510,000 units sold. Since Nintendo DS launched in November 2004, it has sold more than 28 million units in the United States.

"Nintendo's significant contribution to January's industry growth validates our internal research showing that Nintendo continues to expand the gaming audience," said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America's executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. "We are excited to see that consumers, new and existing, are choosing to entertain themselves in new ways with the diversity of our software lineup."

Similar momentum was witnessed in software sales, with 20 of the top 30 games of January made for Nintendo systems. Of those, five games made for Nintendo systems finished in the top 10 best-sellers of January. These games include Wii Fit™ at No. 1 with more than 777,000 sold, Wii Play™ at No. 2 with nearly 415,000 sold, Mario Kart™ Wii at No. 3 with more than 292,000 sold, New Super Mario Bros. for Nintendo DS at No. 7 with nearly 135,000 sold, and Mario Kart™ DS at No. 8 with more than 132,000 sold.