June NPD Sales Wrap-Up

NPD Group has released the latest sales figures for the month of June 2011 and it's not a good sign. The entire retail video game industry is down roughly 10% overall across consoles, software, and accessories. However, these figures don't cover the fast-growing digital market, which very well could be making up for or even exceeding the missing 10%.

Consoles sales, despite being down year over year, still managed to sell significant figures, though the Xbox 360 took the lead by a large margin selling a whopping 507,000 units. Gift card and credit deals at a number of major retailers coupled with the 'Buy a PC, get a free Xbox 360' deal and strong Kinect sales are responsible for such a gain. Mircosoft believes that the Xbox 360 will overtake the Nintendo Wii in consoles sold in North America by the end of the year.

Speaking of the Nintendo Wii, it sold roughly 273,000 units. Numbers weren't released for the PlayStation 3, but according to the math, it managed 276,000 units. This is particularly strong considering the consumer distrust following the PSN fiasco.

L.A. Noire took the top spot in software sales, unsurprisingly. But to the shock of many, Duke Nukem Forever was the second best-selling software for the month, despite terrible review scores and an entirely poor reception. PS3-exclusive inFamous 2 sat comfortable in 3rd place, which is quite a feat considering the competition and the fact it is restricted to only one platform. Other titles, such as Child of Eden and Shadow of the Damned, sold extremely poorly. Child of Eden only managed 34,000 units even with discounts at retail, while Shadow of the Damned sold even less at 24,000 copies sold. Call of Duty: Black Ops remains in the top 10 even after being on the market since November. Here is the complete top 10 in software:

1. L.A Noire (360, PS3)
2. Duke Nukem Forever (360, PS3, PC)
3. inFamous 2 (PS3)
4. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC)
5. Legend of Zelda: Ocarina of Time (3DS)
6. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC)
7. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC)
8. Mortal Kombat (PS3, 360)
9. Cars 2 (NDS, Wii, 360, PS3, PC)
10. Just Dance 2 (Wii)

Analysts are quick to point the finger at console manufacturers saying that price drops are needed to facilitate further growth within the industry for both consoles and software.