How Halo and Nintendo Dominated 2007

Year-end NPD figures for the most popular hardware and software of last year.

Work on movies and TV shows came to a standstill in November after the more than 12,000 members of the Writer's Guild of America took to the streets to demand fairer treatment from their studio bosses. The strike has wreaked havoc with popular entertainment coming out of Hollywood, delaying movies and pulling several shows off the air. But there have been several winners in all of this, not least of which is the games industry.

As TV viewers deal with the effects of the strike, so other forms of home entertainment pick up some of the slack. A study by consulting company Interpret, reported by the Hollywood Reporter, says that 26 per cent of those who responded in a survey were spending more time playing video games. Movies and TV shows on DVD were also popular.

"As top shows disappear from primetime, viewers may go back and view critically lauded TV series they missed the first time around, play more video games or watch more movies on DVD," Michael Dowling, chief executive of Interpret, told the Hollywood Reporter.

The bedlam in Hollywood has only added to what has turned out to be the biggest year yet for video games in the US. Total sales across the industry were slightly below $18 billion in 2007 - a 43 per cent rise over 2006 sales.

You can thank hardware in general and Nintendo in particular for much of that. According to research firm NPD Group, total hardware sales were up 54 per cent and reached $7.04 billion while software sales hit $8.64 billion. Another $2.26 billion was spent on accessories.

The record-setting pace of the industry in 2007 will likely be tough to match. Analysts are already predicting growth to be lower, as people turn their attention away from hardware.

"While we will continue to see strong hardware sales, particularly if prices come down again, the spotlight now turns from hardware to software," Anita Frazier, an analyst with NPD, said in a statement reported by Kotaku.

The numbers for December, also released this week, show Wii and DS as runaway winners. Nintendo sold 2.47 million DSs in the US in December and another 1.35 million Wiis.

The impressive Wii sales are despite widespread shortages that in December led Nintendo to offer a Wii coupon program, allowing people who could not find a Wii the chance to pay in December for a console to be delivered in January.

Xbox 360 sales are still strong, too. Microsoft said that it sold 1.3 million consoles in December - about 50 per cent more than was seen for the PS3, which sold around 800,000 for the month. Both the PlayStation 2 and the PSP sold just over a million units each as well.

The best-selling game in the US in December was Activision's Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Xbox 360. The shooter sold another 1.47 million copies taking full-year sales to 3.04 million - enough to put it in the No. 3 spot for the year.

Other big sellers in December included Super Mario Galaxy (1.4 million sales) and Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock for the PlayStation 2, which sold 1.25 million copies.

But the biggest game of 2007 was also the most obvious candidate to take the crown. Halo 3, Microsoft's third and final game in the current Halo story arc, sold more than 4.8 million copies since its release in late September, putting it some way ahead of the next-best seller, Wii Play. Nintendo's minigame collection, which also includes a Wii remote, sold 4.12 million copies in 2007.

The rankings for the top software and hardware in December and during 2007 are below:

Software - December 2007

1. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 1.47 million
2. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 1.40 million
3. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 1.25 million
4. Wii Play with remote (Wii) - 1.08 million
5. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) - 893,700
6. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) - 742,700
7. Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day (DS) - 659,500
8. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 655,200
9. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (360) - 624,600
10. Mario & Sonic: Olympic Games (Wii) - 613,000

Software - 2007

1. Halo 3 (Xbox 360) - 4.82 million
2. Wii Play with remote (Wii) - 4.12 million
3. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (Xbox 360) - 3.04 million
4. Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - 2.72 million
5. Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - 2.52 million
6. Pokémon Diamond (DS) - 2.48 million
7. Madden NFL 08 (PS2) - 1.90 million
8. Guitar Hero II (PS2) - 1.89 million
9. Assassin's Creed (Xbox 360) - 1.87 million
10. Mario Party 8 (Wii) - 1.82 million

Hardware - December 2007

1. Nintendo DS - 2.47 million
2. Wii - 1.35 million
3. PlayStation 2 - 1.1 million
4. Xbox 360 - 1.26 million
5. PSP - 1.06 million
6. PlayStation 3 - 797,600

Hardware - 2007

1. DS - 8.50 million
2. Wii - 6.29 million
3. Xbox 360 - 4.62 million
4. PlayStation 2 - 3.97 million
5. PSP - 3.82 million
6. PlayStation 3 - 2.56 million

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo