BioShock 2 Tops U.S. Console Sales in February as NPD Reveals Hardware and Software Figures

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With February 2010 now behind us, research firm NPD Group has released its regular breakdown of the past month's U.S. console hardware and software sales.

A few interesting tidbits: The Xbox 360 outsold the Wii for the first time since September 2007, which is when Halo 3 was released. The PlayStation 3 edition of BioShock 2 is nowhere to be found despite the Xbox 360 version topping the chart. The bonus-packed PlayStation 3 edition of Dante's Inferno outsold the regular Xbox 360 iteration.


BioShock 2 and Heavy Rain

Also, Heavy Rain managed to make the tail end of the top ten despite hitting February 23--an impressive accomplishment, considering it only had four days to do so.

    Top Ten U.S. Console Games - January 31 through February 27, 2010
    1. BioShock 2* (2K Marin, Xbox 360) - 562,900 units
    2. New Super Mario Bros Wii (Nintendo, Wii) - 555,600 units
    3. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2* (Infinity Ward, Xbox 360) - 314,300 units
    4. Just Dance (Ubisoft, Wii) - 275,400 units
    5. Wii Sports Resort* (Nintendo, Wii) - 272,500 units
    6. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2* (Infinity Ward, PS3) - 252,800 units
    7. Mass Effect 2* (BioWare, Xbox 360) - 246,500 units
    8. Dante's Inferno: Divine Edition (Visceral, PS3) - 242,500 units
    9. Dante's Inferno (Visceral, Xbox 360) - 224,700 units
    10. Heavy Rain (Quantic Dream, PS3) - 219,300 units
    (*includes CE, GOTY editions, bundles, etc. but not those bundled with hardware)

    U.S. Hardware Sales - January 31 through February 27, 2010
    1. Nintendo DS - 613,200 units
    2. Xbox 360 - 422,000 units
    3. Wii - 397,900 units
    4. PlayStation 3 - 360,100 units
    5. PSP - 133,400 units
    6. PlayStation 2 - 101,900 units

Overall, the U.S. video game market was down 15%--$1.48 billion in February 2009 compared to $1.26 billion in February 2010--with the biggest drop (20%) coming in the hardware sector while software was down 15% and accessories down just 1%.

Chris Faylor was previously a games journalist creating content at Shacknews.

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