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Xbox 360 ruled in February, NPD says

Microsoft's Xbox 360 easily bested the competition, according to market researcher NPD. Xbox was followed by Wii and then PlayStation 3. Black Ops was the top-selling game last month.

Don Reisinger
CNET contributor Don Reisinger is a technology columnist who has covered everything from HDTVs to computers to Flowbee Haircut Systems. Besides his work with CNET, Don's work has been featured in a variety of other publications including PC World and a host of Ziff-Davis publications.
Don Reisinger
2 min read
Microsoft's Xbox 360 is No. 1. Microsoft

February was the Xbox 360's month.

Microsoft's console topped hardware sales last month, according to market researcher NPD, the definitive source for gaming sales data. The Xbox 360 was trailed by the Nintendo Wii and PlayStation 3, respectively.

Unfortunately, NPD stopped providing actual sales figures last year. But that didn't stop Microsoft and Nintendo from releasing such information. Microsoft said that it sold 535,000 Xbox 360 units last month, representing a 27 percent gain year over year. Nintendo says it sold 454,000 Wii units, helping push its total U.S. console unit sales to more than 35 million.

Sony did not reveal unit sales. However, Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter said in a research note today that Sony sold 403,000 PlayStation 3 units last month.

As a whole, the video game industry was up slightly year over year. The industry tallied $1.36 billion in sales in February vs. $1.33 billion in February 2010, NPD reported. Hardware sales were up 10 percent on the month to $466.9 million, while accessories easily bested last year's $210 million figure with a total of $256.9 million in total sales in February. Total software sales, however, were down 8 percent in February to $637.44 million.

Speaking of software, Call of Duty: Black Ops once again held onto the top spot in overall sales, NPD found. Moreover, the title, which set record sales on launch day last year and hit $1 billion in total sales during its first six weeks of availability, has reached yet another milestone.

"It has now become the best-selling game in history, topping Wii Play," NPD's Anita Frazier said in a statement. Actual sales figures were not provided by NPD.

Trailing Black Ops in February was Marvel Vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, Just Dance 2 for the Wii, and NBA 2K11. Dead Space 2 rounded out the top five.