Nintendo Smashes US Rivals

More time at the top for the Wii and the DS.

Looking at the latest US sales charts, it's hard to imagine that at one point people were skeptical of both the DS and the Wii. They're not doubting anymore.

The US hardware and software rankings for June from research firm NPD Group (courtesy of Kotaku) show Nintendo's new console dominating the other new home systems while the DS continues to outplay the PSP.

The top game for the month in the US was Mario Party 8, which sold 426,000 units. That was enough to keep it ahead of Wii Play, which added another 293,000 to its tally. The new Pokémon DS games and Microsoft's racing sim, Forza Motorsport 2, rounded out the Top 5.

The Wii continues to outsell both PS3 and Xbox 360 in the US. Nintendo sold another 381,000 Wiis, compared to 198,000 Xbox 360s and 98,000 PlayStation 3s.

But things could look different next month. According to a Sony statement reported by Reuters, the PS3 has more than doubled sales in the two weeks since the US price drop was announced. We'll have to wait until next month to see if that was enough to displace the Xbox 360.

The DS is still the overall top-selling piece of hardware in the US, the portable adding another 562,000 units to its bulging installed base.

Below are the Top 10 games and the hardware rankings for June in the US:

Software

1. Mario Party 8 (Wii)
2. Wii Play with remote (Wii)
3. Pokémon Diamond (DS)
4. Pokémon Pearl (DS)
5. Forza Motorsport 2 (Xbox 360)
6. Guitar Hero 2 with Guitar (PS2)
7. Guitar Hero 2 with Guitar (Xbox 360)
8. Pokémon Battle (Wii)
9. Resident Evil 4 (Wii)
10. The Darkness (Xbox 360)

Hardware

1. DS - 561,900
2. Wii - 381,800
3. PSP - 290,100
4. PlayStation 2 - 270,700
5. Xbox 360 - 198,400
6. Game Boy Advance - 109,400
7. Playstation 3 - 98,500

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo