There’s a new king in the U.S. video game market, and it’s not exactly good news for the industry’s efforts to make itself more family friendly.
“Call of Duty: Black Ops” was once again atop the list of best-sellers in the U.S. — continuing a streak that started with its November release — when the NPD Group released its sales data for February yesterday afternoon. That was enough to make the Activision title the best-selling game in U.S. history, surpassing Wii Play, according to the research firm.
Here’s the rest of the top 10 for the month, as reported by NPD
- Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC)
- Marvel vs. Capcom 3: Fate of Two Worlds (360, PS3)
- Just Dance 2 (Wii)
- NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, PS2, Wii, PSP, PC
- Dead Space 2 (360, PS3, PC)
- Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, 360, PS3)
- Bulletstorm (360, PS3, PC)
- Killzone 3 (PS3)
- Michael Jackson The Experience (WII, DS, PSP)
- Mario Sports Mix (Wii)
Across the U.S. industry, combined sales of game hardware, software and accessories in physical retail stores were up 3 percent for the month, to $1.36 billion. As reported yesterday, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 led the U.S. market with its biggest non-holiday month ever.