Skip to main content

Long read: The beauty and drama of video games and their clouds

"It's a little bit hard to work out without knowing the altitude of that dragon..."

If you click on a link and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. Read our editorial policy.

NPD June: New Xbox 360 overtakes Wii

As Red Dead adds another million sales.

The launch of the new "whisper quiet" Xbox 360 has propelled Microsoft's console into first place in the US for sales throughout June.

NPD recorded 451,700 sales of Microsoft's new machine, compared to 422,500 Wiis and 304,800 PlayStation 3s. NPD analyst Anita Frazier noted that this was Xbox 360's best "non-holiday" month since September '07 when Halo 3 launched. She also pointed out that this was the 11th consecutive month of PS3 year-on-year growth.

Nevertheless, Nintendo's DS remained the overall hardware leader in June, selling a whopping 510,700 units. PSP improved on May's results but still paled in comparison with 121,000 sales.

Rockstar's Red Dead Redemption dominated the game chart for a second month, notching up 582,900 sales and the crown on Xbox 360, and 380,300 sales on PS3. Total US sales for the game now stand at 2,476,200 units. Frazier said RDR had "captured the top spot for sales on a year-to-date basis".

Sandwiched between Rockstar's game, in second, was Super Mario Galaxy 2 with 548,400 sales.

Numbers dropped off from there: New Super Mario Bros. Wii shifted 200,900 copies to take fourth and Just Dance managed 174,800 units to take fifth.

Wii Fit Plus, Toy Story 3 (DS), UFC 2010 (360), LEGO Harry Potter (Wii) and UFC 2010 (PS3) rounded out the top 10.

One notable absentee from the top 10 this month was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11. "The new Tiger Woods release sold only 32 per cent of what last year's release sold in its introductory month at retail," revealed Anita Frazier. Has EA's champion lost his charm?