Any hope that US game industry retail sales would be rounding a corner at the beginning of 2011 were squashed yesterday with The NPD Group's January recap. Total retail sales, including PC and non-PC games, hardware, and accessories, slipped 5 percent year-over-year to $1.16 billion. Though NPD no longer offers precise software or hardware figures, the firm did say that Call of Duty: Black Ops, released in November, was January's top-selling title.

　　Call of Duty: Black Ops failed to break 1 million at retail in January. Today, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter issued a note to investors that provides more color on NPD's report. In terms of console hardware, Pachter pegged the Xbox 360 as the top-selling system in January, echoing Microsoft's announcement of 381,000 units sold. The Wii followed with 319,000 units sold, according to Pachter, with the PlayStation 3 picking up the rear, having sold 267,000 units.

　　Software also saw declines in January, falling 6 percent to $603.1 million. And though it was the top-selling title, Black Ops was a heavy contributor to that shortfall, Pachter said, as it sold only about half of his 1.5 million-unit prediction (or 750,000 units). Nintendo's Donkey Kong Country Returns also vastly underperformed Pachter's expectations, as the analyst said the game sold just one-third of his 500,000 unit projection (about 166,500 units).

　　More casual console titles also performed below Pachter's expectations. THQ's uDraw sold "well below our estimate of 300,000 units," Pachter said.

　　However, it wasn't all bad news. Two companies that exceeded Pachter's expectations were Majesco and Ubisoft. The former was boosted by Zumba Fitness, whose fifth-place finish on NPD's chart amounted to sales of 300,000 units. And while Just Dance 2 only sold about half of Pachter's 1 million-unit expectation, the publisher's sales were still up 63 percent compared to the same month a year ago.

　　You need a javascript enabled browser to watch videos.

　　Click To Unmute

　　Call of Duty: Black Ops - First Strike Starting Block

　　Tears Of The Kingdom Is A Technological Marvel

　　Resident Evil 4 Is A Perfect RemakeHow Alan Wake II Made Me Face My Fear of Horror GamesGameSpot's Top 10 Games of 2023Thompson: The Pop Culture Icon’s Strange Legacy - LoadoutFirearms Expert’s FAVORITE Weapons Of 2023State Of Gaming Handhelds In 2023Like a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Ichiban Kasuga Character Spotlight TrailerHow Lies of P Cracked the Souls GenreLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Chitose Fujinomiya Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Eric Tomizawa Character Spotlight TrailerLike a Dragon: Infinite Wealth - Official Kazuma Kiryu Character Spotlight Trailer

　　Share

　　LinkEmbed

　　Size:640 × 360480 × 270

　　Start at: End at: Autoplay Loop

　　Want us to remember this setting for all your devices?

　　Sign up or Sign in now!

　　Please use a html5 video capable browser to watch videos.

　　This video has an invalid file format.

　　00:00:00

　　HTML5

　　Auto HD High Low

　　Report a problem

　　Sorry, but you can't access this content!

Please enter your date of birth to view this video

　　By clicking 'enter', you agree to GameSpot's

　　Terms of Use and Privacy Policy

　　enter