You’ll find absolutely everything you need to know about US games and hardware sales in America last month below. Alternative, hit this for the full list.

• May NPD: PS3 outsells 360, Wii nearly beats 360 install base
• May NPD: Total sales hit $1.12 billion, show 37% YoY increase
• May NPD: GTA IV beats Mario Kart to top spot
• May NPD: Year-to-date sales hit $6.58 billion
• May NPD: Sony statement focuses on beating 360
• May NPD: Microsoft’s statement keeps attention on “blistering GTA”
• May NPD: Nintendo reaction focuses on Mario Kart and Wii Fit
• May NPD: Lack of GTA hardware boost is a “surprise,” says Frazier
• May NPD: Guitar Hero III leads “battle of the bands”

In fact, the first line of the company’s press release stated: “PS3 Eclipses Xbox 360 Hardware Sales; PS3 Hardware Sales Growth Exceeds 155 Percent Year-Over-Year”.

“PS3 continued its break-out year, selling 208,709 hardware units in May,” the statement continued, “22,106 more units than Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

“Spurred by enthusiasm for Grand Theft Auto IV and the exclusive releases of SingStar for PS3 and Haze, 1.26 million software units were sold for PS3 in May, representing an increase of 234 percent from this time last year.”

SCEA CEO Jack Tretton’s comment stuck with the theme.

“Leading into a pivotal season packed with blockbuster titles and unique online service offerings, consumers have chosen the PS3 as their home entertainment console of choice – showcased by its year-over-year sales growth of 155 percent,” he said. “With its commanding line up of software titles and enhanced movie playback capabilities, the PS3 has seen phenomenal momentum with a software sales increase of more than 234 percent and additional studio support of delivering content in the Blu-ray format.

“The dual platform release of the much anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV title reaffirmed its legacy on the PlayStation platform with a 6 percent higher attach rate than Xbox 360, reinforcing consumer choice of PS3. Poised for continued momentum, PS3 is delivering on its breadth and depth of exclusive titles to its gaming fans with today’s prized exclusive title launch of Metal Gear Solid 4. The media have hailed 2008 as the year of the PS3, and with solid sales and growth opportunities ahead, we feel consumers are saying the same.”

Full thing after the link. Read the rest of our May NPD coverage here.

PlayStation by the Numbers
May 2008

PS3 Eclipses Xbox 360 Hardware Sales; PS3 Hardware Sales Growth Exceeds 155 Percent Year-Over-Year

PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3™) continued its break-out year, selling 208,709 hardware units in May. 22,106 more units than Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (according to NPD May 2008 sales data).

Spurred by enthusiasm for Grand Theft Auto IV and the exclusive releases of SingStar for PS3 and Haze, 1.26 million software units were sold for PS3 in May, representing an increase of 234 percent from this time last year.

* 442,910 of copies of Grand Theft Auto IV were sold for PS3 in May, with more than 1.4 million of copies of the game sold for PS3 in the U.S. to date. More than 32 percent of U.S. PS3 owners have purchased a copy of Grand Theft Auto IV, a 6 percent higher attach rate than Xbox 360.
* PS3 hardware sales momentum is expected to continue in June, spurred by the highly anticipated launch of Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots, exclusively for PS3, as well as the introduction of the special edition Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots PS3 bundle.
* Popularity of the PLAYSTATION®Network continues to rise, with more than 20 million pieces of content downloaded from the PlayStation®Store in May (11.6 million for North America), including the monster hit echochrome. There are currently more than 9 million registered PLAYSTATION Network accounts worldwide (nearly 4.2 million in North America) with more than 160 million pieces of content downloaded from the PlayStation®Store to date.

PSP® (PlayStation®Portable) continued to boast solid sales in May with 182,310 PSP hardware units sold. In June, SCEA launched an exclusive God of War: Chains of Olympus PSP bundle including the Superbad UMD and a PSN voucher to download Syphon Filter: Combat Ops, which will further increase sales of the handheld.
PlayStation®2 (PS2) also had another strong month in May with hardware unit sales reaching 132,708 units, up 6.7 percent over the previous month. More than 42.2 million PS2s have been sold to date.
Power of the PlayStation Portfolio

The PlayStation brand continued to generate impressive sales, earning $331.6 million in May.

* Year-to-date (Jan-May), the PlayStation brand generated close to $2.27 billion in revenue, 46 percent higher than Microsoft, and representing an increase of more than 17 percent year-over-year.
* PlayStation total hardware revenue was $133 million in May, 98 percent higher than Microsoft, and representing a year-over-year growth of over 20.4 percent.
* PlayStation total software revenue in May was $159 million, representing a year-over-year growth of 19.2 percent.

“Leading into a pivotal season packed with blockbuster titles and unique online service offerings, consumers have chosen the PS3 as their home entertainment console of choice – showcased by its year-over-year sales growth of 155 percent. With its commanding line up of software titles and enhanced movie playback capabilities, the PS3 has seen phenomenal momentum with a software sales increase of more than 234 percent and additional studio support of delivering content in the Blu-ray format. The dual platform release of the much anticipated Grand Theft Auto IV title reaffirmed its legacy on the PlayStation platform with a 6 percent higher attach rate than Xbox 360, reinforcing consumer choice of PS3. Poised for continued momentum, PS3 is delivering on its breadth and depth of exclusive titles to its gaming fans with today’s prized exclusive title launch of Metal Gear Solid 4. The media have hailed 2008 as the year of the PS3, and with solid sales and growth opportunities ahead, we feel consumers are saying the same.”

– Jack Tretton, president and CEO, Sony Computer Entertainment America

Microsoft’s post-NPD press release last night stayed firmly on GTA IV sales, while sticking with the now familiar line that Xbox 360 is the best selling console for third-party software sales.

“With 871,000 total unit sales in May, Grand Theft Auto IV on Xbox 360 outsold the other platform’s version 2:1,” said the statement.

“With $110 million in third party game sales in May, Xbox 360 continues to move more third party games than any other console. Lifetime-to-date Xbox 360 has generated $3.9 billion dollars at retail for third party publishers, or 59% of the total in this generation.”

Moving swiftly on from the fact PS3 outsold 360 by a decent margin in the US in May, the firm also promised surprises for E3.

“We still have quite a few aces left up our sleeve,” said the release. “See you at E3 next month!”

Full thing after the break. Read the rest of our May NPD coverage here.

NPD has released its May retail sales data, and Xbox 360 continues to lead the current generation of gaming consoles. Highlights include:

“Grand Theft Auto IV” continues blistering pace on Xbox 360 platform, beating the other platform version by 2:1

· With 871,000 total unit sales in May, “Grand Theft Auto IV” on Xbox 360 outsold the other platform’s version 2:1. (May NPD data)

Xbox 360 generates more dollars at retail for third party publishers

· With $110 million in third party game sales in May, Xbox 360 continues to move more third party games than any other console. Lifetime-to-date Xbox 360 has generated $3.9 billion dollars at retail for third party publishers, or 59% of the total in this generation. (May NPD data)

· 21 of the 25 top selling third party franchise titles with releases this generation, like “Grand Theft Auto IV,” sell best on Xbox 360. Eighteen of those franchises were previous best-sellers, and two were exclusives, on the PlayStation 2. (May NPD data)

· Only Xbox 360 is providing an improved software attach rate for third party games generation-over-generation. Xbox 360 continues to lead the industry with a record-breaking software attach rate of 7.7. (May NPD data)

Xbox 360 games outsell, outplay the competition

· Xbox 360 games rank higher than the competition with 12 games with a Metacritic score of 90 or higher, more than PS3 and Wii combined.

· Top-ranking games helped drive sales of 187,000 consoles in May contributing a global install base of more than 19 million. (May NPD data and Microsoft internal data)

· Game sales contributed to $214 million in total consumer spending on the Xbox 360 platform in May. Lifetime-to-date spending on Xbox 360 tops $9.9 billion, or 51% of share. (May NPD data)

Among 10-26 year olds, Xbox 360 gets more playing time than the Wii and PS3

· As reported in Nielsen’s Consumer Insight newsletter, a summary of Nielsen Games GamePlay Metrics service (which electronically tracks console usage) from April 2007 to February 2008 shows that among 10-26 year olds, Xbox 360 gets on average over twice the game play as the Wii with younger gamers, likely due to a record software attach and a blockbuster games library. The Xbox 360 gets roughly 75 hours of use per month. Wii users spent just 35 hours per month gaming during the same time period.

· Xbox 360 gamers in this age range also play more than their counterparts on PS3, who spend about 53 hours per month gaming.

Xbox 360: E3 bound

· Last month we showcased an all-star lineup of games including “Gears of War 2,” “Fable 2,” “Banjo and Kazooie: Nuts and Bolts,” “Viva Piñata 2,” and “Too Human.” We still have quite a few aces left up our sleeve; see you at E3 next month!

Nintendo chose to lead on Mario Kart and Wii Fit sles in its response to last night’s NPD data, with gigantic hardware figures taking a back-seat – winning in the console space is becoming normal for the firm, clearly.

“The Wii Wheel and Wii Balance Board accessories make game play fun for new gamers while presenting new challenges for those who have been playing a long time,” said NoA marketing head Cammie Dunaway.

“The diversity of the seven Nintendo games represented in NPD’s top 10 for May demonstrates how Nintendo has something for everyone.”

Not to waste the opportunity, obviously, the firm remembered to detail the fact that Wii represented 63 percent of all current-generation consoles sold in May, DS showed 71 percent share of the portable market in the US last month, lifetime sales of Wii now stand at nearly 10.2 million and lifetime DS sales are now at more than 20 million.

As you do. Press release after the link. Read the rest of our NPD coverage here.

NPD Figures Show Strong Consumer Response to Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit

Two Nintendo video games designed to appeal to both novice and expert gamers posted healthy numbers in the May sales charts, according to the independent NPD Group, which tracks sales of video game products in the United States. Mario Kart® Wii and Wii Fit™ finished No. 2 and No. 3 for the month, demonstrating continued consumer response to new controls and experiences.

“The Wii Wheel and Wii Balance Board accessories make game play fun for new gamers while presenting new challenges for those who have been playing a long time,” said Cammie Dunaway, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “The diversity of the seven Nintendo games represented in NPD’s top 10 for May demonstrates how Nintendo has something for everyone.”

Other highlights from NPD’s May U.S. sales report include:

* Wii™ (675,089 sold) and Nintendo DS™ (452,608 sold) again emerged as the two top-selling video game systems.
* Wii represented 63 percent of all current-generation consoles sold in May, while Nintendo DS had a 71 percent share of the portable market.
* Lifetime sales of Wii now stand at nearly 10.2 million.
* Lifetime sales of Nintendo DS are now at more than 20 million.
* Wii Play™ sold more than 295,000 in May, bringing its lifetime sales to more than 5.8 million.
* Of the top 30 best-selling games of May, 19 are made for Nintendo systems, including third-party hits like Guitar Hero™ III: Legends of Rock from Activision, We Ski™ from Namco Bandai, Game Party™ from Midway and Boom Blox™ from Electronic Arts.
* Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time and Pokémon® Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness combined to sell more than 208,000 in May, with lifetime sales of more than 613,000.

“I was surprised by this month’s hardware sales because I did believe we’d see a boost in May,” she said. “GTA IV sales remained very strong so you can’t point to waning interest in the title as contributing to slower hardware sales.”

The data showed that GTA IV sold more than 1.3 million units in the US last month, but that combined PS3 and 360 hardware sales sat at 395,300 – only a slight increase on the 375,100 consoles sold in April.

Read more of Anita’s analysis of May’s NPD data on GameDaily. Read the rest of our NPD coverage here.

PS3 outsold Xbox 360, despite Michael Pachter’s prediction that the situation would be reversed. The news will comes as a blow to Microsoft, who had banked on GTA IV moving hardware for the firm. Full list below.

1. Wii – 675,100
2. Nintendo DS – 452,600
3. PlayStation 3 – 208,700
4. Xbox 360 – 186,600
5. PSP – 182,300
6. PS2 – 132,000

The data also shows that Wii’s install base in America has now hit 10.2 million units, and looks set to easily pass 360′s 10.27 million console sales next month.

Read the rest of our May NPD coverage here.

May’s NPD data has shown that Guitar Hero III is leading the rhythm action stakes in the US over Rock Band this year.

NPD analyst Anita Frazier said, “A lot of folks are interested in the battle of the bands. Year-to-date, Guitar Hero III has sold 2.5 million units compared to Rock Band’s 1.3 million which lands them both in the top 10 titles for the year so far.”

Neither game, however, features in May’s top ten.

Thanks, GameDaily. Read the rest of our May NPD coverage here.

Software sales rose 41 percent to $536.9 million, while hardware figures increased 34 percent to $428.6 million.

Sales of accessories were up 30 percent to $150.8 million.

Read the rest of our NPD coverage here.

May’s NPD data has put GTA IV firmly at the top of US sales, with the 360 version alone being the biggest selling game in America last month. With the game’s PS3 and 360 SKUs combined, the game sold more than 1.3 million units in the US in May. List below.

1. GTA IV – Xbox 360 – Take-Two – 871.3K
2. Mario Kart Wii (w/ wheel) – Wii – Nintendo – 787.4K
3. Wii Fit (w/ Balance Board) – Wii – Nintendo – 687.7K
4. GTA IV – PS3 – Take-Two – 442.9K
5. Wii Play (w/ remote) – Wii – Nintendo – 294.6K
6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl – Wii – Nintendo – 171.1K
7. Iron Man – PS2 – Sega – 130.6K
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock – Wii – Activision – 116.8K
9. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness – DS – Nintendo – 107K
10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time – DS – Nintendo – 102K