Continuing its weekly tradition, sales-tracking marketing research firm NPD has released its regular list of the best-selling PC games at US retailers.

Covering the week of August 17 to 23, the list is mostly unchanged from that of last week. That may soon with next week's list, as that data will include sales of the latest Sims 2 expansion, Apartment Pets.

This week though, the only major difference from week's past is the surprise resurgence of Valve's mega-compilation The Orange Box, which contains Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, Half-Life 2: Episode Two, Portal and Team Fortress 2.

1. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $35 (Average)
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
3. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
4. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
5. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $30 (Average)
6. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $36 (Average)
7. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice / Her Interactive / $18 (Average)
8. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare / Infinity Ward / $50 (Average)
9. The Orange Box / Valve / $33 (Average)
10. Warcraft III Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)

Following yesterday's release of July's top 20 best-selling PC games, marketing research firm NPD Group has issued its list of the top-selling PC titles at United States retailers during the week of August 10-16.

While the list is virtually unchanged from last week's, the impending releases of Maxis' The Sims 2 Apartment Life Expansion Pack and Spore may soon change things.

1. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $38 (Average)
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
3. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
4. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
5. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice / Her Interactive / $20 (Average)
6. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $30 (Average)
7. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $20 (Average)
8. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
9. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare / Infinity Ward / $49 (Average)
10. Warcraft III Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)

Games market research group NPD Group has released its composite list of the 20 best-selling PC games across July. As a reminder of its chart-topping run a few weeks ago, Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice took the number-one slot for July, coming in ahead of chart regulars The Sims and World of Warcraft.

Call of Duty 4 fell out of the top ten last month, leaving the rest of the charts to be mostly filled by the usual suspects. Blizzard, aside from raking its usual piles of profit from World of Warcraft, brought Diablo back into the charts following the hype for the coming release of Diablo 3.

Note that these numbers only represent sales in the United States.

1. Nancy Drew: The Phantom of Venice / Her Interactive / $19 (Average)
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
3. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
4. World of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $38 (Average)
5. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $19 (Average)
6. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
7. World of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
8. World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $28 (Average)
9. The Sims 2 FreeTime Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
10. Warcraft III Battle Chest / Blizzard / $40 (Average) ... Read more

Sales-tracking and marketing research group NPD has chimed in with the latest PC software sales in the United States, covering the week of August 3 to August 9, 2008.

As can be glimpsed below, the latest figures put Blizzard's ever-successful MMO World of Warcraft back at the top of the charts, with the Diablo Battle Chest continuing its chart presence while the Warcraft 3 Battle Chest pops up for the first time since early July.

All told, Blizzard-developed titles make up half of the week's best-selling software, with regulars from Maxis, Her Interactive and Infinity Ward representing the remainder.

1. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $32 (Average)
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
3. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
4. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice / Her Interactive / $20 (Average)
5. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
6. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $33 (Average)
7. Warcraft III Battle Chest / Blizzard / $33 (Average)
8. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $30 (Average)
9. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $20 (Average)
10. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare / Infinity Ward / $49 (Average)

As is just about always the case after the NPD sales numbers come out, the console manufacturers have all released their own statements to remind everyone how incredible they are, and how the various numbers mean they are the best.

Chances are you already know that your favorite console maker is the best, but let's find out if some hyperbole can change your mind.

Nintendo is happy with taking the top two spots of hardware sales, along with five game titles taking up the top 10. Nintendo would also like you to know that they represent 73 percent of the hand-held sales market for July.

"Great hardware goes hand-in-hand with great software,” said Nintendo VP of marketing Cammie Dunaway. Cammie is currently getting her den wallpapered in $50 bills. It's a good look.

When you aren't Nintendo, you have to pull the "strong momentum" card, which is what Sony chose to do.

"Our year-to-date sales growth of 99% for the PS3 reaffirms that consumers are indeed embracing PS3 as their entertainment hub-of-choice with its feature-rich offerings like Blu-ray and our recently announced video delivery service," said Sony president Jack Tretton.

Microsoft at least managed to outsell the PlayStation 2 this month. When you end up in last place in sales, the obvious thing to do is point toward all the awards your product got, as the company noted it dominated the Game Critic and G4TV awards with a 15 to 14 edge over Sony.

Unfortunately, the Microsoft public relations crew couldn't find anyone to quote this month, but rest assured they are quietly confident you will buy their company's product.

The Xbox 360 edition of NCAA Football and the Nintendo DS hardware led console sales at US retailers across July, sales-tracking firm NPD Group revealed today.

According to NPD, July's best-selling console games in the U.S. were:

1. NCAA Football 09 (EA Tiburon, Xbox 360) - 397,600
2. Wii Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 369,600
3. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Vicarious Visions, NDS) - 309,700
4. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 284,000
5. NCAA Football 09 (EA Tiburon, PS3) - 242,500
6. Soul Calibur IV (Project Soul, Xbox 360) - 218,900
7. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 174,500
8. Rock Band Special Edition (Harmonix and Pi Studios, Wii) - 165,800
9. Soul Calibur IV (Project Soul, PS3) - 155,800
10. Sid Meier's Civilization Revolution (Firaxis Games, Xbox 360) - 147,600

Meanwhile, July hardware sales in the United States were as follows:

1. Nintendo DS - 608,400 units
2. Wii - 555,000 units
3. PlayStation 3 - 224,900 units
4. PSP - 221,700 units
5. Xbox 360 - 204,800 units
6. PlayStation 2 - 155,500 units

The gaming industry amassed some $1.19 billion in revenue during the month of July, marking a 28% jump over last month and a 35% year-over-year increase... Read more

Per its weekly tradition, research firm NPD has provided its regular update on the sales of PC software at North American retailers, this time covering July 27 to August 2.

After topping the charts for the past few weeks, Her's Nancy Drew was bested by EA Maxis' regular chart resident The Sims 2 Double Deluxe. Both EA and Blizzard continued their usual domination, with each responsible for 4 of the week's best sellers.

1. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
2. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice / Her Interactive / $19 (Average)
3. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
4. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
5. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
6. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $20 (Average)
7. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
8. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare / Infinity Ward / $43 (Average)
9. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $30 (Average)
10. The Sims 2 FreeTime Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)

PCs are used for gaming more than any console and PlayStation 3 owners are more likely to have multiple consoles, according to the results of the Games Segmentation 2008 report from sales tracking and research firm The NPD Group.

In addition to stating that PlayStation 3 owners are most likely to have other "next-generation" consoles than Wii and Xbox 360 owners, NPD claimed that only 10% of PS2 owners have a PS3. In the realm of portables, 45% of PSP owners have a Nintendo DS, but only 21% of DS owners have a PSP.

Despite the broad declarations, NPD did not provide specific figures for console and PC playtime. Likewise, an exact breakdown showing the ownership patterns of those that have multiple "next-generation" consoles was absent from the release.

Using information gathered back in January and February, the report... Read more

Sales-tracking firm NPD Group today issued its list of the ten best-selling pieces of PC software in the United States across the week of July 20 to July 26, 2008.

Blizzard's Diablo Battle Chest enjoyed its fifth straight week on the weekly charts, owing to the unveiling of Diablo III. The bundle fell to #6 this week from its spot at #4 during the previous reporting period.

This week's list sees the reemergence of Firaxis Games' Civilization IV at #9, first released in the fall of 2005.

1. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice / Her Interactive / $18 (Average)
2. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
3. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $20 (Average)
4. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
5. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
6. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
7. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
8. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard / $30 (Average)
9. Sid Meier's Civilization IV / Firaxis Games / $30
10. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare / Infinity Ward / $50 (Average)

Sales-tracking firm NPD Group today issued its list of the ten best-selling pieces of PC software in the United States across the week of July 6 to July 12, 2008.

Blizzard's Diablo Battle Chest, originally released in 2003, has now appeared on the weekly charts for three weeks straight--a feat attributed to the unveiling of Diablo 3.

Completely absent from the latest list is Funcom's mature MMO Age of Conan, which was #7 last week and #5 the week before.

1. Nancy Drew: The Phantom Of Venice / Her Interactive / $18 (Average)
2. Spore Creature Creator / EA Maxis / $10 (Average)
3. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
4. Diablo Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
5. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $20 (Average)
6. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest / Blizzard / $39 (Average)
7. World Of Warcraft / Blizzard / $20 (Average)
8. The Sims 2 FreeTime Expansion Pack / EA Maxis / $30 (Average)
9. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack / Blizzard $30 (Average)
10. Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare / Infinity Ward / $50 (Average)

The NPD Group today released its monthly sales results for US video game software and hardware sales across June.

Kojima Productions' Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots lead the way on the software side with nearly a million total units sold, while the Nintendo DS and Wii continued to dominate hardware sales.

According to Nintendo, today's data shows that the overall US install base for the Wii is nearly 10.9 million units, making the Wii the "new console leader in the US" and reaffirming it status as the worldwide console leader.

Taking today's figures into account, the Xbox 360 has sold a total of 10.4 million units in the United States since launch. As of April 2008, the Wii had sold 24.5 million units worldwide, while the Xbox 360 had moved 19 million.

June's best-selling console games in the U.S. were:

1. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots (Kojima Productions, PS3) - 774,600 (Roughly 1 million including bundles)
2. Guitar Hero: On Tour (Vicarious Visions, NDS) - 422,300
3. Ninja Gaiden II (Team Ninja, Xbox 360) - 372,700... Read more

In the week following Diablo 3's announcement on June 28, Blizzard's Diablo Battle Chest compilation was the second best-selling PC game at United States retailers. Compiled by sales-tracking firm NPD, the data covers the week of June 29 to July 5.

Containing the original Diablo, Diablo II, and the Diablo II expansion Lord of Destruction, the Diablo Battle Chest hit retailers in 2003. In the week before Diablo 3's official announcement, rumors of its revelation bumped Battle Chest sales up to #10.

1. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack
2. Diablo Battle Chest
3. Spore Creature Creator
4. The Sims 2 Double Deluxe
5. World Of Warcraft: Battle Chest
6. World Of Warcraft
7. Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures
8. World Of Warcraft: Burning Crusade Expansion Pack
9. The Sims 2 FreeTime Expansion Pack
10. Warcraft III Battle Chest

Blizzard's Diablo Battle Chest ranked as the tenth best-selling piece of PC software at US retailers for the week ending June 28, sales-tracking firm NPD Group has revealed.

The sales spike for the action-RPG compilation--which hit in late 2003 and packs Diablo, Diablo II, and Diablo II: Lord of Destruction--came in advance of Diablo 3's official revelation, which occurred on June 28.

Following the announcement of Diablo 3, the Diablo Battle Chest was the best-selling PC title on Amazon.com as of July 3, according to Gamasutra. However, NPD has yet to issue its data, which is culled from multiple retailers, for the week following June 28.

The Battle Chest marked one of two new titles on the list over last week's data. The Sims 2 IKEA Home Stuff Expansion Pack represents the other new entry.

The 10 best-selling PC games for the week ending June 28 were... Read more

Sales of video games in the United States surpassed those of DVD movies during 2007, the Entertainment Merchants Association and GameSpot report.

Across 2007, the US gaming market brought in $18.85 billion according to NPD. Meanwhile, Nielsen reports that DVD sales racked up $16 billion, and the Digital Entertainment Group shows Hollywood's 2007 box office revenue at $9.6 billion.

However, as we noted last August, the claim that video games pull in more money than Hollywood is only true from a certain point of view. While games surpassed both DVD sales and box office revenue, combined, those figures appear to overshadow gaming.

Then again, those numbers don't paint a complete picture of the rivalry between Tinsel Town and games. NPD's 2007 figure for the gaming industry doesn't... Read more

EA Maxis' Spore Creature Creator ranked at #1 in PC games sold in the United States during the week ending June 21, according to data from sales tracking firm NPD.

Released two weeks ago, the utility--offered as a free trial and a $10 retail purchase--allows customers to sample the creation tool from the anticipated life sim Spore, due out September 7 on PC and Mac. Over one million creative, bizarre, and sometimes vulgar monstrosities have since been made.

Spore Creature Creator beat out EA Maxis' The Sims 2 Double Deluxe and Funcom's Age of Conan: Hyborian Adventures, respectively placed in second and third. An official tally of units sold was not made available by the NPD.

The week's top 10 best-selling PC games are viewable below... Read more

Following up on NPD's unveiling of May's U.S. console and game sales figures, Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo were quick to respond to the data which showed the game industry raking in $1.12 billion—a 37% increase over May of last year.

Microsoft celebrated Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV (PS3, 360) as the top selling title two months running, noting that the Xbox 360 version of the game accounted for 871,000 of the total 1.31M units sold in May. The company added that the Xbox 360 leads competitors in software attach rates, with a "record-breaking" attach rate of 7.7.

Meanwhile, Sony boasted 1.26M software units sold last month, representing a 234% year-over-year increase over last year's figures. The company added that it expects hardware sales momentum to continue in June, propelled by the launch ... Read more

The NPD Group has released its U.S. sales figures for May, revealing the Xbox 360 version of Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV as the month's top-selling console game with the Nintendo Wii ranking as the best-selling hardware.

The game industry as a whole amassed $1.12 billion across the month, marking a 37% leap over last year's May figures. Despite its $90 price point, Nintendo's Wii Fit sold 687,700 units and clocked in as the month's third best-selling game.

For the first time since its November 2007 debut, Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare failed to place among the month's ten best-selling titles.

May hardware sales in the United States were as follows:

1. Wii - 675,100 units
2. Nintendo DS - 452,600 units
3. PlayStation 3 - 208,700 units
4. Xbox 360 - 186,600 units
5. PSP - 182,300 units

Meanwhile, May's best-selling console games in the U.S. were:

1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar, X360) - 871,300 units
2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 787,400 units
3. Wit Fit (Nintendo, Wii) - 687,700 units
4. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar, PS3) - 442,900 units
5. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 294,600 units
6. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo, Wii) - 171,100 units
7. Iron Man (Sega and A2M, PS2) - 130,600 units
8. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Vicarious Visions, Wii) - 116,800 units
9. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (Chunsoft, NDS) - 107,000
10. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (Chunsoft, NDS) - 102,000 units

"The continued success of GTA IV is not translating into big hardware sales for either the PS3 or the 360 but there may yet to be a lift in June due to ... Read more

Sales-tracking firm NPD Group has released its U.S. sales figures for April, showing Rockstar's Grand Theft Auto IV as the month's top-selling console title and the Wii as the month's best-selling hardware.

While the Xbox 360 version of GTA 4 sold 850,000 more copies than the PlayStation 3 edition, the hardware race between the two consoles was far closer--the 360 outsold its shiny black competitor by a mere 900 units.

April hardware sales in the United States were as follows:

1. Wii - 714,200
2. Nintendo DS - 414,800
3. PSP - 192,700
4. Xbox 360 - 188,000
5. PlayStation 3 - 187,100
6. PlayStation 2 - 124,400

Meanwhile, April's best-selling console games in the U.S. were:

1. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar, X360) - 1,850,000
2. Mario Kart Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 1,120,000
3. Grand Theft Auto IV (Rockstar, PS3) - 1,000,000
4. Wii Play (Nintendo, Wii) - 360,000
5. Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Nintendo, Wii) - 326,000
6. Gran Turismo 5 Prologue (Polyphony Digital, PS3) - 224,000
7. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (Chunsoft, NDS) - 202,000
8. Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Time (Chunsoft, NDS) - 202,000
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Vicarious Visions, Wii) - 152,000
10. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Infinity Ward, X360) - 141,000

"It's unusual for three games to exceed the 1-million mark in a non-holiday month which just goes to prove that great content can succeed regardless of when it is launched," noted NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Console manufacturers Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have all chimed in on NPD's sales figures for March, which saw Nintendo's Wii once again outsell both Sony's PlayStation 3 and Microsoft's Xbox 360 in North America, and Super Smash Bros. Brawl taking the top spot in software sales with 2.7M units sold.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 broke the PlayStation 3's two-month winning streak for the #2 spot in hardware sales, moving 262,000 consoles in March. Microsoft again suggested that shortages played a hand in the total numbers for the month.

"Going into March, some key U.S. retailers were still experiencing the trickle down effect of Xbox 360 console shortages," a Microsoft representative said. "By the end of March, supply issues had improved and we expect retailers to be fully stocked with Xbox 360 consoles in time for the Grand Theft Auto IV launch."

The company went on to tout a 7.5 software attach rate for the Xbox 360 in March, describing the data as "a record for any game console".

In its response to the data, hardware manufacturer Sony noted that the 257,100 PlayStation 3s sold in March represent a 98% year-over-year growth in sales, while 1.9M software units sold marked a 139% increase over... Read more

Sales-tracking firm The NPD Group today revealed that Nintendo's Super Smash Bros. Brawl has topped the North American software sales charts for the month of March with a staggering 2.7M units sold, knocking Infinity Ward's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare off a four-month reign at number one.

In terms of hardware, the Wii outsold the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360, followed by the Nintendo DS in close second. March hardware sales for the North American market were as follows:

1. Wii - 721,000
2. Nintendo DS - 698,000
3. PSP - 297,000
4. Xbox 360 - 262,000
5. PlayStation 3 - 257,000
6. PlayStation 2 - 216,000

"Nintendo systems represented 58 percent of all video game hardware sold in March in the United States," said Nintendo marketing VP Cammie Dunaway. "We expect our momentum to continue with big upcoming game launches like Pokemon Mystery Dungeon, Mario Kart Wii and Wii Fit."

North America's top-selling console titles during March were:... Read more