According to the latest U.S. videogame industry sales data released by The NPD Group, the leading provider of consumer and retail information and insights, the hottest selling game for August is not the one nearly every media outlet is calling "the best game ever." It is in fact one of the longest running franchises in gaming, Madden NFL 08. Even more surprising is the fact that it sold best on the Xbox 360, the first time an Xbox version of the game has outperformed all others at release according to Anita Frazier at NPD.

It seems like gamers didn't believe the hype and instead chose to put their money into a proven performer in August. While Madden 08 was released a week before Bioshock, it outperformed the game on the same platform by a ratio of nearly 2:1. Bioshock actually landed in third place for the month selling 490.9 thousand units in its first 10 days behind Madden 08 on the PS2 with the PS3 version coming in fourth for the month. Still a good performance by Bioshock which will most likely continue into September and the upcoming holiday season.

Madden 08 is by far the winner for the month taking three of the top four spots and sucking up six of the top twenty places for the month. Guitar Hero 2 shows amazing staying power and the ability to rock gamers as the PS2 version maintains a top ten performance almost a year after its initial release and beating out its successor Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the 80's on the same platform.

In console sales Nintendo continued to dominate with Wii sales totally 403.6 thousand units, nearly 46% more than the next console, with the DS hot on its heels with 383.3 thousand units moved. In third was the Xbox 360, no doubt driven by the five game titles that made the top twenty for the month on the platform. Surprisingly, in last place for the month was the PS3 being outdone by its younger sibling the PS2 and by its portable cousin the PSP.

The year-to-date numbers are up across the board from last year including a massive 108%  increase in console sales which reached $2.3 billion already, no doubt fueled by the release of the Nintendo Wii and the PS3 late last year and rolling into this year. Along with console hardware there has been a 74% increase in videogame hardware sales and a 55% rise in accessories for the year. Nothing shocking really considering that when you buy a new platform you generally need to buy new accessories for it as well.

Here are the U.S. Sales Numbers for the month of August 2007:

  Source: The NPD Group U.S. Videogame Industry Sales 5 Aug - 1 Sep.

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