May NPD: Microsoft's statement keeps attention on "blistering GTA"

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!