The NPD Group recently released its US game-industry sales figures for December. But before the disappointing numbers were released, Microsoft had already announced Xbox 360 sales numbers for the month. December saw 1.9 million of the consoles sold--a 42 percent year-on-year increase--thanks in large part to the Kinect motion-sensing system.
The PS3 came in third with 1.21 million units sold.
Today, analysts reacted to the sales numbers, with their reports shedding more light on the overall sales picture. In a note sent out this morning, Wedbush's Michael Pachter revealed that the Wii was December's top-selling console, moving 2.36 million units during the month. While more than the 360, the number actually represented a 38 percent decline when compared to Wii sales during December 2009.
As for PlayStation 3 sales, the console sold 1.21 million units during the month, just beating Pachter's 1.2 million estimate. That's an 11 percent year-over-year decline from last year, when the console was still enjoying a sales boost from a late-August price drop to $300.
Overall, hardware sales were down in December, falling 16 percent to $1.84 billion when compared to the year prior. Software sales were down 5 percent at $2.53 billion, with accessories up 10 percent to $853.2 million. Total US game retail sales for the month fell 9 percent to $5.06 billion.