While the Nintendo Wii was the biggest console seller last year, NPD numbers show that the Xbox 360 was in fact the big winner. More money was spent on Xbox consoles, games and accessories than any other console.
In the US, gamers poured $13.7 billion (£6.99bn) into the games industry. Of that number, $4.8bn was spent on Xbox consoles, games and accessories. That compares with just $3.5bn spent on the Nintendo Wii franchise and $2.2bn in the PS3 universe.
In December 2007, a whopping 1.3 million Xbox 360 consoles were snapped up by seasonally-charged American shoppers. That compares to the 798,000 PlayStation 3 consoles which Sony flogged over the same period.
Xbox 360 sits pretty
Microsoft's gaming franchise was further helped by the fact that 11 of the top 20 games of 2007 were Xbox 360 titles. Blockbuster games like Halo 3 and Bioshock were Xbox-exclusive, which always helps.
Seven of the top twenty were Nintnedo Wii titles, and only three PS3 games managed it onto the list.
What this all adds up to is that almost 45 per cent of consumer spending in the US games market in 2007 was focussed on the Xbox 360 console.
Are things looking good for Microsoft in 2008? Or is this going to be the year of the PS3?
