Nintendo stuck to huge DS sales as the focus of its post-NPD release last night, saying Nintendo hardware yet again accounted for the majority of US figures.

“Nintendo systems and software represented 56 per cent of the industry total shares in April, indicating continued strong consumer preference for quality and value,” said NoA marketing boss Cammie Dunaway.

“Looking ahead, we are excited to introduce active-play games like Punch-Out!! and Wii Sports Resort into the market,” she added.

More on GI.

Microsoft’s post-NPD statement spun a year-on-year dip for 360 hardware into a yearly positive.

“Xbox 360 is the fastest-growing game console in the US so far this year, with retail sales jumping 28 per cent year-over-year in the first four months,” said the company.

“In April, Xbox 360 US retail sales were 175,000 units. Although this represents a dip of 7 per cent compared with a year earlier, April 2008 saw the release of the blockbuster Grand Theft Auto IV, significantly boosting Xbox 360 sales this time last year,” added the release.

More on GI.

SCEA ignored the fact PS3 only sold 127,000 units in the US last month in its post-NPD press release, focussing instead on the console’s upcoming slate.

“We’re revving up the new fiscal year with a broad tent of content and services across our platforms with envelope-pushing PS3 games like inFAMOUS, MAG, and Uncharted 2: Among Thieves,” said US comms boss Patrick Seybold.

He added: “We often hear from our customers that they’re surprised by everything the PS3 does in addition to what they purchased the device for – including features like DLNA, free access to Wi-Fi and internet browser In some ways, this serves as a reminder that there’s more we can do to relay the full breadth and power of the PS3.

“We know our consumers have varying entertainment lifestyles from the Blu-ray movie fanatic to photo enthusiast, so we’ve outlined our most aggressive marketing plans to help showcase this tremendous value proposition to all our consumers.

“We’ve got a proven history in delivering the best entertainment experience and there is no doubt the PlayStation brand is staged for another big year.”

Thanks, GI.

DS sold more than 1 million consoles in the US last month, shifting 1.04 million units.

There’s no split on the the figures to tell us how many DSis are included in the figure.

PlayStation 2 outsold it’s younger, shinier brother by 45,000 units: the ancient machine, freshly cut to below $100, sold 172,000 to PS3′s 127,000.

Xbox 360 just managed to hold off the resurging PS2, selling 175,000 machines.

Wii won the home console battle yet again: It sold 340,000 in April.

For the full figures, go here.

As predicted, American games sales were down 17 percent for April compared to the same month last year.

Total sales were at $1.03 billion, down from $1.24 billion in 2008.

Hardware was down 8 percent to $391.63 million, while software dropped a dramatic 23 percent $510.74 million. Tough comps indeed.

Peripherals were down 15 percent to $129.45 million.

“While April sales might appear soft on the surface, it’s important to remember that April is being compared against a month (April 2008) that realized nearly 50 percent growth over April 2007,” said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

“This year’s performance still represents the second-best performance for the industry in the month of April, besting April 2007, which is the previous second-place holder, by 26 percent.

“Given how strong the growth was in the industry last year, there are still some months ahead where year-over-year comparisons may be difficult, but May should be an easier comparison than the last two months have been.”

Wii Fit was the biggest selling game in America last month, with 471,000 units sold.

Pokemon Platinum DS was second with 433,000 units moved, and Mario Kart came third at 210,000 units.

Matter of fact, the top four are all Nintendo titles.

Top ten below:

1. Wii Fit – 471K
2. Pokemon Platinum DS - 433K
3. Mario Kart Wii - 210K
4. Wii Play – 170K
5. The Godfather II (360) – 155K
6. Resident Evil 5 (360) – 122K
7. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) -  119K
8. Mario Kart DS – 112K
9. Guitar Hero Aerosmith (360) – 110K
10. The Godfather II (PS3) -  91K

Hardware Units

Apr-09
PlayStation 2 172K
PlayStation 3 127K
PSP 116K
Xbox 360 175K
Wii 340K
Nintendo DS 1.04M

Top 10 SKU’s April 2009

Publisher Platform Rank # Units
FIT W/ BALANCE BOARD NINTENDO OF AMERICA Wii 1 471K
POKEMON PLATINUM VERSION NINTENDO OF AMERICA NDS 2 433K
MARIO KART W/ WHEEL NINTENDO OF AMERICA Wii 3 210K
PLAY W/ REMOTE NINTENDO OF AMERICA Wii 4 170K
THE GODFATHER II ELECTRONIC ARTS 360 5 155K
RESIDENT EVIL 5* CAPCOM USA 360 6 122K
NEW SUPER MARIO BROS NINTENDO OF AMERICA NDS 7 119K
MARIO KART DS NINTENDO OF AMERICA NDS 8 112K
GUITAR HERO AEROSMITH* ACTIVISION BLIZZARD (CORP) 360 9 110K
THE GODFATHER II ELECTRONIC ARTS PS3 10 91K

NPD has compiled a list of the 20 best-selling PC games at US retailers during April 2009.

Last month, Empire:Total War knocked Wrath of the Lich King off its comfy throne, but it formed a coup and has ascended the throne once more. Good for Blizzard.

1. World Of Warcraft: Wrath of the Lich King
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
3. World Of Warcraft Battle Chest
4. Company of Heroes: Tales of Valor
5. Empire: Total War
6. Left 4 Dead
7. Demigod / Gas Powered Games
8. Diablo Battle Chest
9. The Sims 2 Apartment Life Exp. Pack
10. Spore / EA Maxis
11. Warcraft III Battle Chest
12. StarCraft Battle Chest
13. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack
14. Warhammer 40K: Dawn of War II
15. World Of Warcraft
16. The SimCity Box (SimCity Societies, SimCity 4, Sims SnapCity)
17. Bejeweled Twist
18. Fallout 3 / Bethesda
19. The Sims 2 Pets Exp. Pack
20. Hidden & Dangerous 2

Courtesy of Shacknews.

EEDAR’s released its consoles sales estimates for the US in April, putting 360 numbers significantly lower than Michael Pachter.

The company put 360 at 210,000, PS3 at 160,000 and Wii at 425,000 for the month.

Pachter said earlier that Wii had sold 480,000 units, 360 275,000 and PS3 175,000 consoles.

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