14 DAY TRIAL // Sales of videogames declined in January 2010 by 12%, a bad figure but one that looks good when compared to the 21% posted for console sales, in the United States, according to figures released by the NPD Group.
Analysts thought that the fall would be of about 5% just a few days ago. And, in a somewhat surprising move, New Super Mario Bros. for the Nintendo Wii managed to be the best selling videogame, ahead of Mass Effect 2, the space-based role playing experience created by BioWare and published by Electronic Arts.
New Super Mario Bros. for the Wii, which was released in November 2009, succeeded in selling 656,000 units, while the Xbox 360 version of Mass Effect 2, the only that broke into the top ten, managed just 572,100 copies in the five days in was out for in January.
Mass Effect 2 also has a PC version widely available via digital distribution, a channel that the NPD Group does not track for its statistics. Wii Fit Plus, the version, which sells together with the Balance Board peripheral, also managed to move 555,700 units in January, consolidating Nintendo's claim on the top three.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Infinity Ward and Activision Blizzard, released in November 2009, is finally showing signs of slowing down, still managing to sell 326,700 units on the Xbox 360, followed closely by Mario Kart for the Nintendo Wii, a game outed way back in April 2008, with sales of 310,900 units. Wii Sports Resort is in sixth place, followed by the PlayStation 3 version of Modern Warfare 2, which moved 259,000 units in January.
Army of Two: The 40th Day from Electronic Arts took eighth place with sales of 246,500 units, while Just Dance took ninth place, and Darksiders, pitted to be in second place in the charts by analysts, is in tenth with its Xbox 360 version selling 171,200 units.