Xbox rising: December sales up 42% from 2009

Nintendo had a good December, selling 2.5 million DS systems and 2.3 million Wii systems, taking the crown for most hardware sold in calendar 2010. That sounds great, until you realize the DS and Wii sold 3.31 million and 3.81 million units respectively in December 2009. Microsoft has much more to brag about, as the Xbox 360 is the only console to see growth year over year, with 42 percent higher sales in 2010 than 2009.
$6.2 billion was spent at retail on Xbox 360 hardware, games, and accessories, making it the console earning the most consumer dollars for the year. 1.9 million pieces of hardware were sold in December—the most successful month for Microsoft since the launch of the system. Nintendo may have come out on top, but sales of the Wii and DS are sliding from last year, while the Xbox 360 is gaining momentum. That's an impressive achievement after so many years of availability. It's also worth pointing out that Microsoft claimed to be supply constrained during December, so the sales might have been higher if systems had been in great supply

The other major success story was Call of Duty: Black Ops, selling a staggering 12 million copies in the US year to date, doubling the sales of the second-best-selling game Madden '11. Software sales were down 5 percent from 2009, but that number only accounts for physical sales. Overall though, the industry is hopeful about the future. "December 2010 represented one of the strongest monthly performances the industry has ever had at retail," said Michael D. Gallagher, president and CEO of the Entertainment Software Association. "It was a robust finish to a year marked by innovation and engaging millions of consumers through a multitude of delivery models.”