Game Console Sales Pick Up In June

What a strange month June was for the video game industry.
The sales numbers for May had console sales down in year-over-year figures with software up.  This month was a complete reversal of that with console sales skyrocketing, up five percent over June 2009.  It was easy to expect the Xbox 360 to jump due to the new Xbox 360 Slim, but all of the consoles were up.  (numbers in parentheses were the numbers for May 2010)

• Nintendo DS - 510,700 (383,700)
• Xbox 360 - 451,700 units (194,600)
• Nintendo Wii - 422,500 (334,800)
• PlayStation 3 - 304,800 (154,500)
• PlayStation Portable - 121,000 (59,400)

Who in the world is buying all of these Nintendo DS units?  I also somewhat thought we would see it drop like a rock this month with the announcement of the 3D version coming, but instead its sales jumped.  Do people not want 3D gaming?  Do they not pay attention to the news?  Would be interesting to find out.
While May saw software sales up year-over-year, they were down for June.  While Red Dead Redemption sold 1.5 million copies its first month, it failed to break one million in its second month of release.  The top ten games for June were:

1. Red Dead Redemption – Xbox 360
2. Super Mario Galaxy 2 – Wii
3. Red Dead Redemption – PS3
4. New Super Mario Bros. Wii – Wii
5. Just Dance – Wii
6. Wii Fit Plus w/ Balance Board – Wii
7. Toy Story 3 – DS
8. UFC 2010: Undisputed – Xbox 360
9. LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4 – Wii
10. UFC 2010: Undisputed – PS3

Notably missing was Tiger Woods PGA Tour 11, which has sold 32 percent as many copies as last years version in the same time frame. Guess it doesn’t really matter how high quality a game is when you have a highly controversial figure involved in a sex scandal on the cover.
Overall sales were down six percent to $1.1 billion compared to $1.17 billion in June 2009.