Andrew Martin

No real changes from last month.

NPD submitted its figures for July, and it makes for an engaging read.  As those with sharp memories might recall, many analysts predicted that the PlayStation 3 price drop/fire sale would result in a sales surge.  The reality is a mixture of good news and bad news.

The good news is that the PS3 dominated the Xbox 360 in Canada.  They placed second and third, respectively, to Nintendo's Wii.

The bad news is that Sony's combination game console and Blu-ray player didn't pull off such a comeback in the United States.  It did, however, outsell the Game Boy Advance by nearly a 2-to-1 ratio.

Hardware sales are as follows:

Nintendo Wii:  425,000
Nintendo DS:  405,000
Sony PS2:  222,000
Sony PSP:  214,000
Xbox 360:  170,000
Sony PS3:  159,000
Game Boy Advance:  87,000

As for the games, NCAA Football 08 for the 360 took top honors, followed by Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks the '80s and Wii Play.  People are still buying Mario Party 8 in large numbers, so I won't be getting back on the wagon this month.  Additionally, Activision's banner month also included great sales for Guitar Hero II and their DS Transformers cash-in.

Finally, for all you Gordon Gekko types out there, hardware and software sales skyrocketed over the same period last year.  Be sure to check back for further developments.