据市场调查公司NPD所述，与去年同期相比，2月份游戏硬件、PC游戏、主机游戏和掌机游戏的总销售额从去年的13.3亿美元增长3%至13.6亿美元。这份报告让人充满希望，因为近几个月来视频游戏销售额均逊于往年。核心视频游戏行业并不屈服于其缓慢的增长速度和逐渐过时的硬件，不断地与智能手机、平板电脑、Facebook以及网页游戏争夺玩家。这份报告显示，该行业未必将持续其销售下滑的势头。

游戏软件（包括商店中出售的单机游戏和掌机游戏）本月仍呈弱势，销售额从去年的6.336亿美元下滑5%至6.014亿美元。据NPD分析师Anita Frazier所述，销售额减少部分原因在于单机游戏平均销售价格的下降。

然而，硬件销售较为乐观。得益于微软推出的Kinect体感系统和Xbox Live点卡的销售，配件销售额有所增长。用户可以用Xbox Live点卡来在线购买各种数字服务，如电影和Xbox Live Arcade游戏等。

Xbox 360 Kinect

主机软件零售额增长2%，但掌机游戏销售额却有所下滑。或许是因为玩家等待任天堂3月份发布其3DS掌机游戏系统以及苹果iPhone、iPod Touch和iPad等设备销售带来的冲击，使掌机游戏受到影响。

总体来说，2010年视频游戏销售额减少6%。但游戏业某些分支收益增加，包括社交游戏、手机游戏、网页游戏、二手游戏、游戏租赁和各种平台上的免费游戏。

NPD在报告中指出，美国游戏硬件零售额从去年的4.264亿美元增加10%至4.669亿美元。配件收益从去年的2.1亿美元增长22%至2.569亿美元，主要应归功于微软Xbox 360的Kinect体感配件和索尼PlayStation的Move控制器。

在所有平台的游戏中，位居榜首的还是《使命召唤：黑色行动》，这款由动视暴雪出品的热门射击游戏发布于去年11月份。游戏邦获悉，它也是1月份的销售状元，而且已经超过任天堂Wii主机游戏成为历史上最卖座的游戏。

Capcom的《Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds》屈居第二，这款游戏适用于Xbox 360和PS 3平台。Ubisoft公司的Wii游戏《Just Dance 2》名列第三，这表明音乐游戏并未消亡，只是从吉他游戏转变为舞蹈游戏。Take-Two Interactive的《NBA 2011》和美国艺电的《死亡空间2》分别处于第四和第五位。

与2010年2月相比，今年鲜有大作发布。索尼公司新游戏《杀戮地带3》虽销量不错，但该游戏仅靠其画面效果吸引玩家，位列第八。2月份EA公司发布的《子弹风暴》排名第七。

使命召唤：黑色行动

Frazier表示，2月份最畅销的硬件是Xbox 360，其销售量超过以往任何无假期月份。捆绑Kinect体感元件的250G版Xbox 360提高了该主机硬件的平均售价，微软声称目前Kinect的销售量已超过1千万。2月份所有硬件的销售量都超过1月份，或许这可以间接反映出经济的好转。

任天堂声称，自2006年Wii开始销售起，该主机在美国已售出逾3500万套。游戏邦了解到，这款主机2月份的销售量为45.4万套。任天堂公布数据表明，Wii主机游戏《大金刚国度：回归》销售量超过200万套，《新超级马里奥兄弟》目前也已售出逾900万套。

微软声称，2月份其Xbox 360主机的销售量超过53.5万，与去年同期相比增加27%。用户在Xbox 360上开销总额为4.75亿美元，位列各大主机之首。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，转载请注明来源：游戏邦）

U.S. video game sales finally grow 3 percent during February

Video game players finally bought enough games in February to push the monthly sales numbers above year-ago figures, with February sales coming in 3 percent above a year ago.

Total sales of game hardware, PC games, console games, and portables rose 3 percent to $1.36 billion from $1.33 billion a year ago, according to market researcher NPD. The report is encouraging since many months have been negative compared to year ago numbers. The core video game industry has been struggling with a slow recovery, aging hardware, and increased competition from gamer time from smartphone and tablet games, Facebook, and web games.  But this report shows that the industry is not necessarily doomed to ever-declining sales.

Software sales (console and portable games sold in stores) were still weak in the month, with sales down 5 percent to $601.4 million from $633.6 million a year ago. Dollar sales were down in part because of lower average selling prices for console games, said Anita Frazier, analyst at NPD.

Hardware sales, on the other hand, were healthy. And accessory sales were up thanks to sales of Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensing system and sales of Xbox Live point cards. The latter means that users are starting to buy lots of cards so they can purchase digital content, such as movies or Xbox Live Arcade games, online.

Retail sales of console software were up 2 percent, while portable game sales declined. The portable game business was probably impacted by gamers waiting for Nintendo to launch its 3DS handheld game system in March and by sales of competing Apple iPhone, iPod Touch and iPad devices.

Overall, video games as a whole were down 6 percent in 2010. But the game industry has many growing niches, including social network games, mobile games, browser-based online games, used games, game rentals, and free-to-play games on a variety of platforms.

NPD said U.S. retail game hardware sales were up 10 percent to $466.9 million from $426.4 million a year ago. Accessories were up 22 percent to $256.9 million from $210.0 million a year earlier, largely because of sales of Microsoft’s Kinect motion-sensing accessory for the Xbox 360, as well as Sony’s PlayStation Move wand-like controller.

The No. 1 title on all platforms was once again Call of Duty Black Ops, the hot-selling combat game from Activision Blizzard which debuted in November. Black Ops was also No. 1 in January, continuing a long streak. Call of Duty Black Ops is now the biggest-selling game in history, surpassing Nintendo’s Wii Play game.

No. 2 was Capcom’s Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds, for the Xbox 360 and PS 3. Ubisoft’s Just Dance 2 for the Wii was No. 3, showing that music games aren’t dead but the trend is moving from faux guitar games to dance games. Take-Two Interactive’s NBA 2K11 was No. 4, and Electronic Arts’ Dead Space 2 was No. 5.

For new releases, there were fewer big titles released in February 2011 compared to February 2010. One of the new games that sold well, but not spectacularly, was Sony’s Killzone 3, pictured above. It came in at No. 8. Bulletstorm, also from EA, debuted this month at No. 7.

Frazier said that the best-selling hardware of the month was the Xbox 360, which had its best non-holiday month ever. The 250-gigabyte version bundled with the Kinect sensor was the driver of higher average selling prices for console hardware. Microsoft said it has now sold more than 10 million Kinect sensors. All hardware systems sold more in February than they did in January. That might be a reflection of an improving economy.

Nintendo said that its Wii console sales have now sold more than 35 million units in the U.S. since the console launched in 2006. The console sold more than 454,000 units in February. Nintendo said that Donkey Kong Country Returns for the Wii has now sold more than 2 million units and New Super Mario Bros. Wii has now sold more than 9 million units.

Microsoft said it sold more than 535,000 Xbox 360 consoles in February, up 27 percent from a year ago. Total spending on the Xbox 360 during the month was $475 million, the highest among the consoles. (Source: Venture Beat)