Handhelds Drag US Games Higher in '05

Microsoft's botched Xbox 360 lauch could have damaged the industry's report card, but the trio of handhelds came in for the save.

The news in stores was bleak this Christmas, with Xbox 360 hardware shortages hurting sales in North America and Japan, but that hasn't stopped games from having another great year. Just as in the UK, the US has had its best year yet, according to new numbers from NPG Group.

The $10.5 billion that games brought in in 2005 - a 6 per cent increase over 2004 - is even more impressive when you consider that the year before saw some of the biggest games of the generation, such as Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas and Halo 2.

The driving force in the US was undoubtedly the voracious appetite of Americans for all things handheld.

The PSP and DS were neck and neck by the end by the end of 2005, with sales of each approaching 4 million units. In the UK, Sony has said that the PSP installed base has overtaken that of the DS. But in 2005 it was the humble Game Boy Advance that stirred things up, outselling both of its more powerful counterparts.

The best selling game in the US for 2005 was EA's Madden 06 for PlayStation 2; second place went to Pokémon Emerald for Game Boy Advance.

Many industry observers expected that Microsoft's kicking off the next generation with the US debut of the Xbox 360 in November would have boosted the market, but Microsoft's failure to meet demand dealt console sales a heavy blow.

Nintendo will be hoping that its dual-screen portable becomes the machine to have this year - much as it has in Japan, where the system has been sold out for the past few weeks.

The DS is likely to undergo a redesign later this year. An announcement was rumoured for January already, but Nintendo has scuppered that talk, making May's E3 a likely home for the unveiling.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games