amiibo

The NPD Group is an independent market research company that tracks sales across various industries and how they perform in North America. Naturally, the game industry is tracked by this group and each month's results are based off of new games sold at retailers. Be sure to note, NPD does not track digital or second hand sales.

In terms of Nintendo exclusive software, nothing actually managed to chart in the top ten. It's rather disappointing considering that titles such as Mario Tennis: Ultra Smash, Animal Crossing: amiibo Festival, and Yo-Kai Watch all released in this period, but to be fair, it didn't seem like any of these would necessarily light up the charts. Considering that Nintendo games were facing competition from the likes of Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Fallout 4, Star Wars: Battlefront, and Assassin's Creed: Syndicate, it was always going to be an uphill battle. However, Just Dance 2016 - a multiplatform title - did manage to come in at number ten, with the Wii version selling the most units.

It's not all bad news, though, as Nintendo did manage to move 11 million amiibo figures in this period. Additionally, software sales of the PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U were the highest they've ever been, and saw a 34 percent jump over December 2014, the previous high. Hardware sales also broke records, with combined sales of the 'Big Three' consoles being the highest ever. Granted, the Wii U probably didn't significantly contribute to this, but let's not forget that it was Target's best-selling item online during Black Friday.

Generally speaking, the eighth generation consoles continue to outsell and outpace seventh generation console equivalents in both hardware and software, though it doesn't take an industry analyst to realize that the Wii U itself has failed to hit the heights of its predecessor, sales-wise. For the full breakdown, check it out here.

What do you think? Did any of the sales results surprise you? How do you think Nintendo could improve its outlook? Share your thoughts in the comments below.

[source venturebeat.com]