THE NPD GROUP's DECEMBER 2007 US GAME INDUSTRY SALES

Category / Total / Change
Video Games: $4.82 billion +28%
Video Games Hardware: $1.83 billion +17%
Console Hardware $1.3 billion: +21%
Portable Game Hardware: $525,700 +7%
Video Games Software: $2.37 billion +36%
Console Software $1.8 billion: +47%
Portable Game Software: $574,900 +11%
Video Game Accessories: $621,600 +37%

Hardware Sales (in units sold)
Nintendo DS: 2.47 million
Wii: 1.35 million
Xbox 360: 1.26 million
PlayStation 2: 1.1 million
PlayStation Portable: 1.06 million
PlayStation 3: 797,600

Game Software (in units sold)
1) Call of Duty 4: Modern Combat (360, Activision) - 1.47 million
2) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii, Nintendo) - 1.40 million
3) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2, Activision) - 1.25 million
4) Wii Play with Wii Remote (Wii, Nintendo) - 1.08 million
5) Assassin's Creed (360, Ubisoft) - 893,700
6) Halo 3 (360, Microsoft) - 742,700
7) Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day (DS, Nintendo) - 659,500
8) Madden NFL 08 (PS2, Electronic Arts) - 655,200
9) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (360, Activision) - 624,600
10) Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games (Wii, Sega) - 613,000

While the major developments over last month's Gerstmann-gate fracas kind of petered out in the midst of vehement official denials, the reverberations are still being felt around Gamespot. Frank Provo, a freelancer and major contributor to the site for nearly eight years, recently announced he would no longer be contributing to the site.

Provo made no bones about the reason for his departure. "I believe CNet management let Jeff go for all the wrong reasons," he wrote. "I believe CNet intends to soften the site's tone and push for higher scores to make advertisers happy." And Provo is in a position to know, according to an earlier post on his LiveJournal. "All the proof I need is in the way the staff reacted to Jeff's dismissal and to what went on in the closed door meeting that took place on November 30th," he said. "Any staffer that continues to work there once this fervor dies down does so with the fear that, one day, management will ask them to soften up their tone and scores... and they will either have to swallow their integrity and abide, or risk taking a stand and being let go," he added back in December.

All that remains to be seen now is whether Provo's will be alone in his action or whether others will follow his lead and depart what Provo calls "the ultimate soul-crushing work environment."

US GAME HARDWARE SALES, NOVEMBER 2007
Nintendo DS - 1.53 million
Nintendo Wii - 981,000
Xbox 360 - 770,000
PlayStation Portable - 567,000
PlayStation 2 - 496,000
PlayStation 3 - 466,000

TOP 10 GAME SOFTWARE TITLES, NOVEMBER 2007
1) Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360) - Activision (Corp) - Nov 2007 - 1.57 million
2) Super Mario Galaxy (Wii) - Nintendo - Nov 2007 - 1.12 million
3) Assassin's Creed (360) - Ubisoft - Nov 2007 - 980,000
4) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (PS2) - Activision - Oct 2007 - 967,000
5) Wii Play (with remote) (Wii) - Nintendo - Feb 2007 - 564,000
6) Mass Effect (360) - Microsoft - Nov 2007 - 473,000
7) Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (PS3) - Activision - Nov 2007 - 444,000
8) Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii) - Activision - Oct 2007 - 426,000
9) Halo 3 (360) - Microsoft - Sep 2007 - 387,000
10) Assassin's Creed (PS3) - Ubisoft - Nov 2007 - 377,000

I have been a member of Gamespot since 2000. I have always been a top of the line paying member. If Jeff was fired because of his Kane & Lynch review. I will cancel my subscription and never return to Gamespot again.

I have bought, played & enjoyed Eidos games before. If this is true. I will never purchase another Eidos game again. Make a better #$%^ing game Eidos.

And to Cnet. @#$% you. You have absolutely proven that you will take money over honest reviews. Knowing your reviews are bull@#$%, I would not want to see any of your further reviews again. They would not be trustworthy reviews.

F@#$ you C&*(suckers!

That is as eloquent as I can put it.

http://www.petitiononline.com/removegs/petition.html

Top 10 best-selling games of October 2007, according to NPD Group

Halo 3 (regular, collector's, and legendary versions)--Xbox 360--434,000
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (with guitar)--Xbox 360--383,000
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (with guitar)--Wii--286,000
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (with guitar)--PS2--271,000
Legend of Zelda: Phantom Hourglass--DS--263,000
Wii Play with Wii Remote--Wii--240,000
The Orange Box--Xbox 360--238,000
Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock--PS2--232,000
FIFA Soccer 08--PS2--130,000
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day--DS--117,000

October 2007 hardware sales, according to NPD Group

Wii--519,000
Nintendo DS--458,000
Xbox 360--366,000
PSP--286,000
PS2--184,000
PS3--121,000

Top 10 best-selling games of September 2007, according to NPD Group

Halo 3 (all versions)--Xbox 360--3.3 million
Wii Play with Wii Remote--Wii--282,000
The Legend of Zelda: The Phantom Hourglass--DS--224,000
Madden NFL 08--PS2--205,000
Skate--Xbox 360--175,000
Madden NFL 08--Xbox 360--173,000
Metroid Prime 3: Corruption--Wii--167,000
BioShock--Xbox 360--150,000
Brain Age 2: More Training in Minutes a Day--DS--141,000
Heavenly Sword--PS3--139,000

September 2007 hardware sales, according to NPD Group

Xbox 360--528,000
Wii--501,000
DS--496,000
PSP--285,000
PS2--215,000
PS3--119,000

What do you do when you have chosen a career path that you have invested seven years of your life into, only to realize that you are not doing what you are passionate about?

You have no college education and what you really want is to work in the video game industry. Thinking ofthe options available to you, selling games comes to mind. But, you have no experience in retail. Of course having been on a career path for seven years you have settled down, started a family and advanced in pay to a point that is beyond the base starting salary of any career path selling games provides.

Then you consider reviewing games. Having played them all your life you feel you have a better than average understanding of them. Yet you haven't done any real writing since you were in high school, 13 years ago. Hearing a lot ofreviewers in the industry mention they have a college education starts to lead you down the path of realizing you have a one in a million shot of going that route.

Now you come to designing games. Again, a college education plays a key role. Knowledge of a number of computer programs is also a key asset you do not retain. Besides the fact you really don't believe you would be very goodat the design process. Maybe the ability to build an interesting story, but not creating the actual game.

So, what do you do? What are your options? What do you do to turn your career dreams into a reality?

I don't have the answer. Do you?

LordCrom

NPD AUGUST 2007 US HARDWARE FIGURES (All figures approximate)
Wii: 403,600 (4 million LTD)
DS: 383,300 (12.7 million LTD)
Xbox 360: 276,700 (6.3 million LTD)
PlayStation 2: 202,000 (39.1 million LTD)
PlayStation Portable: 151,200 (8.3 million LTD)
PlayStation 3: 130,600 (1.75 million LTD)

NPD AUGUST 2007 US SOFTWARE FIGURES
1) Madden NFL 08 / 360 / Electronic Arts / Aug-07 / (E) / 896,600
2) Madden NFL 08 / PS2 / Electronic Arts / Aug-07 / (E) / 643,000
3) BioShock / 360 / 2K Games / Aug-07 / (M) / 490,900
4) Madden NFL 08 / PS3 / Electronic Arts / Aug-07 / (E) / 336,200
5) Wii Play (with remote) / Wii / Nintendo / Feb-07 / (E) / 256,800
6) Metroid Prime 3: Corruption / Wii / Nintendo / Aug-07 / (T) / 218,100
7) Mario Strikers: Charged / Wii / Nintendo / Jul-07 / 10+ (E10+) / 147,400
8) Guitar Hero II (with guitar) / PS2 / Activision / Nov-06 / (T) / 145,400
9) Mario Party 8 / Wii / Nintendo / May-07 / (E) / 138,300
10) Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The 80s / PS2 / Activision / Jul-07 / (T) / 127,100

1) NCAA Football 08 - Xbox 360 - Electronic Arts - 397,000
2) Guitar Hero Encore: Rocks The '80s - PS2 - Activision - 339,000
3) Wii Play (with Wii Remote) - Wii - Nintendo - 278,000
4) NCAA Football 08 - PS2 - Electronic Arts - 236,000
5) Wii Mario Party 8 - Wii - Nintendo - 177,000
6) NCAA Football 08 - PS3 - Electronic Arts - 156,000
7) Pokemon Diamond Version - DS - Nintendo- 144,000
8) Transformers: The Game - PS2 - Activision - 143,000
9) Guitar Hero II (with guitar) - PS2 - Activision - 138,000
10) Guitar Hero II (with guitar) - 360 - Activision - 108,000

MAY 2007 US RETAIL HARDWARE SALES (All numbers approximate)
1) DS: 423,000
2) Wii: 338,000
3) PlayStation Portable: 221,000
4) PlayStation 2: 188,000
5) Xbox 360: 155,000
6) PlayStation 3: 82,000
7) Game Boy Advance: 81,000

MAY 2007 US RETAIL SOFTWARE SALES (By volume; all numbers approximate)
1) Pokémon Diamond (DS - Nintendo) 331,200
2) Mario Party 8 (Wii - Nintendo) 314,400
3) Spider-Man 3 (PS2 - Activision) 248,700
4) Pokémon Pearl (DS - Nintendo) 238,000
5) Wii Play (with Wii Remote - Wii) 249,000
6) Forza Motorsport 2 (360 - Microsoft) 217,300
7) Guitar Hero II (with Guitar - Xbox 360 - Activision) 183,600
8) Spider-Man 3 (360 - Activision) 139,800
9) Command & Conquer 3 Tiberium Wars (360 - Electronic Arts) 137,700
10) Guitar Hero II (with Guitar - PS2 - Activision) 130,900

MAY 2007 US SOFTWARE MARKET
Publisher / Market Share / YOY Revenue Change
1) Nintendo / 22% / 139%
2) Activision / 20% / 151%
3) Electronic Arts / 17% / -10% /
4) Microsoft / 7% / 408%
5) Sony 6% / 18%
6) Ubisoft 5% / 2%
7) Take-Two 4% / -43%
8) THQ 3% / -4%
9) Disney 3% / 298%
10) Sega 2% / 31%