Xbox 360 stays on top in January with 270K in tough field
updated 08:50 pm EST, Thu February 9, 2012
Xbox 360 sales drop year to year but still ahead
New NPD data has once again given the Xbox 360 the lead in console sales in the US during January, but in grim conditions. At 270,000 systems in the month, it had enough to outpace the Nintendo Wii and Sony PS3, whose sales researchers were keeping secret. However, its performance was noticeably worse than a year ago, where it had moved 381,000 systems.
The dip for Microsoft was likely the result of normal conditions versus the launch of the Kinect add-on in late 2010. Having the Kinect led to millions of sales that fall and early into 2011, both for the motion controller by itself and when it was attached to an Xbox 360 bundle.
It hints that the Kinect might not necessarily have buoyed Xbox 360 sales. Regardless, Microsoft was doing well enough to have had the top spot in US consoles for more than a year and to have knocked the Nintendo Wii from its seemingly guaranteed dominance in all of 2011.
As a whole, the industry's cash intake was down, as the combined hardware and game revenue at retail fell 34 percent to just $750 million.
