NPD just released their monthly North America numbers for January 2010 and there were definitely a few surprises. On the software side, the Nintendo Wii continued its sales supremacy by taking five of the top ten spots. Leading the way was New Super Mario Bros.Wii, which sold over 650,000 copies, despite being released in November 2009. Mass Effect 2 also made an impressive debut by selling 572,100 copies in only six days, and Army of Two: The 40th Day made a better than expected debut, selling 246,500 copies for the Xbox 360. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continued its strong performance as well on both the Xbox 360 and PS3. Somewhat disappointing, however, was that both MAG and Bayonetta did not rank in the top ten in sales, even though both had received a lot of buzz before their release.

On the hardware side, the Wii and the DS continued their dominance by taking the top two sales spots, selling 465,800 and 422,200 units respectively. The Xbox 360 sold 332,800 units and nudged out a win over the PS3, which sold 276,900 for the month. Overall sales for the month, however, were disappointing. Software sales declined 13% over last year and hardware sales were down 21%. With so many big titles slated for release in 2010, though, the gaming industry’s fortunes may improve as the year progresses.

Video Game Software Sales, January 2010:

  • New Super Mario Bros.Wii, Nintendo of America, 656,700 (Wii) Mass Effect 2, Electronic Arts, 572,100 (Xbox 360) Wii Fit Plus w/Balance Board, Nintendo of America, 555,700 (Wii) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision, 326,700 (Xbox 360) Mario Kart w/Wheel, Nintendo of America, 310,900 (Wii) Wii Sports Resort w/MotionPlus, Nintendo of America, 297,600 (Wii) Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Activision, 259,000 (PS3) Army of Two: The 40th Day, Electronic Arts, 246,500 (360) Just Dance, Ubisoft, 191,900 (Wii) Darksiders, THQ, 171,200 (Xbox 360)

Video Game Hardware Sales, January 2010:

  • Wii: 465,800 Nintendo DS: 422,200 Xbox 360: 332,800 PlayStation 3: 276,900 PSP: 100,100 PS2: 41,600

Source: Game Informer