Leveling Down

April 2009 US Software Sales
Rank | Platform | Title | Units Sold | Last Month | Lifetime to Date
01 Wii Wii Fit 471,000 541,000 6,958,900
02 NDS Pokemon Platinum 433,000 805,000 1,238,000
03 Wii Mario Kart 210,000 278,000 5,934,000
04 Wii Wii Play 170,000 281,000 10,469,396 10,639,396
05 360 The Godfather II 155,000 n/a 155,000
06 360 Resident Evil 5 122,000 938,000 1,060,000
07 NDS New Super Mario Bros. 119,000 unknown 119,000+
08 NDS Mario Kart 112,000 unknown 112,000+
09 360 Guitar Hero Aerosmith 110,000 unknown 110,000+
10 PS3 The Godfather II 91,000 n/a 91,000

April 2009 US Hardware Sales
Rank | Platform | Units Sold | Last Month | Lifetime to Date
01 Nintendo DS 1,040,000 563,000 30,241,900
02 Nintendo Wii 340,000 601,000 20,025,900
03 Xbox 360 175,000 330,000 15,061,400
04 Playstation 2 172,000 112,000 46,000,000+
05 Playstation 3 127,000 218,000 7,615,100
06 Playstation Portable 116,000 168,000 14,994,900

Nothing really big launched last month except for the DSi, which helped the DS sales jump to over a million last month. The PS2 also sees a large sales jump due to the price cut. Other than that, all other consoles decreased compared to March. With The Godfather II being the only notable major release last month, the top 10 software sales was primarily made up of the Wii and NDS staple games. Guitar Hero Aerosmith also made its way back into the top 10 last month, most likely due to several retailers selling it at the $10 clearance price point.

NPD Sales Results for April 2009 [NeoGAF]

To take a chance or not with Sacred 2…

Man I am really starting to feel like I’m “leveling down” on my gaming as of late. With my new locale, job, and commute, I’m pretty fried when I get home and have only a couple of hours to play something but mentally I’m not even “there”. I started Conan on the 360 this past week, but it’s really only been a decent title at best. Instead, I’ve spent most of my gaming these past few days on Defense Grid and Starcraft (just beat the vanilla campaign, so I’ll start up on Brood War at some point in the near future). I’m not sure, but even with my huge 360 backlog, nothing is really standing out much that I want to play immediately. Part of me doesn’t even want to play a hardcore game these days, just because I need to veg out or something each night. I wonder if this means I’m growing out of gaming?

Or, it could very well just be that I’m currently on a gaming “low”, as there’s just nothing out or coming out that I’m super interested in playing right now. Give me Starcraft 2, Bioshock 2, Final Fantasy XIII, Modern Warfare 2, Dragon Age, Bayonetta…any of these!! Instead I have to wait at least another half year for all the awesome titles. Why can’t they stagger it a bit more so we get big titles for the summer too? Oh well. Hopefully I get into the Starcraft 2 beta this summer. And if all else fails, maybe I’ll finally dive into the definitive version of Team Fortress 2: the PC version.

Still, I’m looking into Sacred 2, which just released on the 360/PS3 this past week. It’s gotten hammered in reviews, but this is perhaps the best implementation of a 4 player online co-op Diablo style game on the 360. But the thing is, am I going to spend my gaming time playing another mediocre title? And will I even be able to find a core group of players to play it together with each night? At least there’s Mother 3 to keep me busy on the subway, as I’m only about a quarter way through the game…