Microsoft dominates console sales for 26th straight month while Wii U falters

Microsoft dominates console sales for 26th straight month while Wii U falters

Surprising almost no one, Microsoft announced its Xbox 360 was once again the No. 1 console in the U.S. for the month of February.

That takes Microsoft's continuing streak of sales domination to 26 straight months of championing the top slot against competitors Sony and Nintendo.

During that 28-day span in February, Microsoft reported it sold 302,000 Xbox 360s, which helped the company hold onto its overall 41 percent console market share.

Even though Microsoft did manage to continue its reign, the console market took another significant drop, with revenue falling 36 percent from where it was just one year ago.

Nintendon't sell

Even with that major dip, video game hardware still accounted for $ 244 million in revenue last month.

That said, some consoles, like Nintendo's Wii U, are feeling the market pains more than others, and have struggled to find an audience.

Though the Wii U sales weren't consistently impressive in 2012, the console is faltering more and more as 2013 continues.

Official sales numbers weren't disclosed, but the NPD Group indicated Wii U sales only increased 40 percent from January, which would put the console around 64,000 units sold.

Nintendo still isn't interested in dropping the price of the Wii U, but even that move may not help the system pull in 360-like numbers on a monthly basis.

Down year

Last year wasn't anything to write home about from a sales perspective for the video game industry, as it saw decreases across the board from 2011.

Even if Nintendo was able to release some bigger games to help convince consumers to pick up a Wii U, the overall impact would likely be minimal based on how 2013 started out.

Console games pulled in $ 352 million in February, but that was a 36 percent drop-off from February of last year.

Major new releases like Dead Space 3, Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance, and Aliens: Colonial Marines could barely move the needle, as attention turned towards Sony's PlayStation 4 news, and what lies ahead for late 2013.

Microsoft is also expected to enter the equation with a next generation console of its own (possibly called the Xbox 720), and with the two biggest dogs continuing to fight for the top spot, Nintendo may just have to continue being satisfied with the scraps.

Via Gamasutra