January 2009 NPD Group US Sales Numbers

Hardware

Wii – 679,200
NDS – 510,800

360 – 309,000
PS3 – 203,200
PSP – 172,300
PS2 – 101,200

Software

1. Wii Wii Fit – 777,000
2. Wii Wii Play – 415,000
3. Wii Mario Kart Wii – 292,000

4. 360 Left 4 Dead – 243,000
5. 360 Call of Duty: World at War* – 235,000
6. 360 Skate 2 – 199,000
7. Wii Guitar Hero: World Tour* – 155,000
8. NDS New Super Mario Bros. – 135,000
9. NDS Mario Kart DS – 132,000

10. 360 Lord of the Rings: Conquest – 113,000

*Includes all versions of that game for that system, except for versions bundled with consoles.

^The numbers on the right represent units sold.

I’m a tad surprised Wii Fit is seeing such impressive numbers in January, you’d think consumers wouldn’t be buying such expensive games if it’s not the holiday season. Also surprising is the re-emergence of New Super Mario Bros.; I continue to underestimate the long-term selling power of these games. Otherwise, it seems that Guitar Hero is pretty effectively outselling Rock Band, and I imagine that’s because Rock Band doesn’t have a game + guitar SKU, which seems to be just the right price point. Harmonix doesn’t seem concerned with its sales, though, so that’s fine by me. Also, I imagine Skate 2 would have been higher on this list had it been released earlier in the month.