Microsoft Sells 1.9 Million Consoles In December, Sees Year-Over-Year Growth

Earlier today, we reported that Microsoft was seeing strong sales of its home videogame console, the Xbox 360. So strong, in fact, that Larry Hryb (or Major Nelson, if you prefer) was told that Microsoft had literally "run out" of the consoles. With stock supposedly tight in January and February as well, Major Nelson was quick to note that if they didn't get first place in console sales from the NPD group with their results today, it would be due to strong sales, and not the opposite. Microsoft has released the NPD's highlight reel for the 360, and sure enough, Microsoft's console is doing very well.

The NPD reports that the Microsoft Xbox 360 is the only console that saw year-over-year growth through December at 42%. That makes the Xbox 360 the fastest-growing console in 2010. Their records show that a total of $6.2 billion was sold in 2010, which means that the most money was spent at retail outlets on the Xbox 360, versus the other current generation consoles.

Microsoft sold 1.9 million consoles in December, which marks Microsoft's biggest month for the console yet. The NPD's highlight reel also points out that three of the top ten selling videogames in December launched on the 360: Call of Duty: Black Ops (which was also a multi-platform release), Kinect Sports, and Assassin's Creed Brotherhood (which was another multi-platform title). So, we'll have to see how Nintendo's and Sony's numbers were in the console race, before we can compare the month of December against the competition.

Highlight Reel

December 2010 NPD highlights include:

· Xbox 360 was the only console to show year-over-year growth at 42%, making it the fastest-growing console in 2010. (Source: NPD Group, December 2010)

· With $6.2 billion spent at retail, more money was spent on Xbox 360 than any current generation console in 2010. (Source: NPD Group, December 2010)

· December Xbox 360 console sales remained strong, with 1.9 million units sold, our biggest month ever in the history of Xbox 360. (Source: NPD Group, December 2010)

· During the month of December, three of the top ten console game titles were for Xbox 360 including: "Call of Duty: Black Ops," "Assassin's Creed Brotherhood," and "Kinect Sports." (Source: NPD Group, December 2010)

In order to keep up with holiday demand in December for Xbox 360 and Kinect, Microsoft pulled units from its January and February production. Despite this, Microsoft still experienced out of supply situations in late December, and it expects supply constraint to continue in January and February as it works with retail and manufacturing partners to expedite production and shipments to replenish the channel.