NPD May 2011: We won edition

Folks, before we get down to the NPD numbers themselves, 2 things. First, in terms of the Supreme Court case involving video games....well VIDEO GAMES won

The United States Supreme Court has ruled in favor of the video game industry and retailers in Brown v. Entertainment Merchants Association (formerly known as Schwarzenegger v. Entertainment Merchants Association). The full opinion can be found here. According to Justice Scalia, who wrote the opinion: "the act forbidding sale or rental of violent games to minors does not comport with the 1st Amendment." Alito concurred with the judgment, joined by the Chief Justice. Justices Thomas and Breyer dissent, in an opinion by Thomas - according to SCOTUSBlog.

The court had to decide if a state law restricting the sale of violent video games to minors violated the First Amendment right to free speech. The Ninth Circuit Court ruled in favor of the EMA, saying that the law violated the First Amendment.

The law was written by California State Senator (D-San Francisco) Leland Yee and signed into law by California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger in 2005. The law was immediately challenged by the video game industry and retail advocacy groups in the United States District Court for the Northern District of California. A judge put a permanent injunction on the law, ruling that it was unconstitutional because it violated rights protected by the First Amendment.

Take that California, even though I happen to live there.

Also, I know you are all upset at Nintendo over not willing to port Last Story, Xenoblade and Pandora's Tower to North America. And alot of you are furious about it. So to calm your nerves, here's what a Shareholder has to say about Nintendo

"I’m concerned about the falling stock price. I own stock, but I don’t own a single Nintendo product," said the shareholder. "I believe games are a waste of time. By the way, the reason I own Nintendo stock is because the name is nice, it’s in Kyoto and it was listed in the year of my birth."

Exactly. Why bother with Nintendo when they are a waste of time? Heck, if you're a shareholder, why bother with video games at all? It's not like they had alot of value.

And now folks, the moment of zen, the NPD of May 2011. Only without PSP and DS sales.

Xbox 360: 270K (+39%)
PlayStation 3: 177K (+15%)
Wii - 236K (-30%)
Nintendo 3DS - 97K

Now you're thinking "Oh, but it seems the 3DS is failing and Nintendo refuses to release the DS Numbers." But there's something else to point at. The PS3 sales are behind the Wii sales. Sony, I thought you had Nintendo under your thumb. What happened? You were so close to the 360 and then Nintendo came up and pulled the rug from underneath you again. And they're laughing at you.

Oh and yes, 360 sales are once again number one.

As for hardware?

01. L.A. Noire (360, PS3) Take 2 Interactive - 899K
02. Brink (360, PS3, PC) Bethesda Softworks - 401K [360/PS3 Only]
03. Lego Pirates of the Caribbean: The Video Game (Wii, 360, NDS, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) Disney Interactive Studios
04. Portal 2 (360, PS3, PC) Electronic Arts
05. Mortal Kombat 2011 (PS3, 360) Warner Bros. Interactive - 292K
06. Call of Duty: Black Ops (360, PS3, Wii, NDS, PC) Activision Blizzard
07. Zumba Fitness: Join the Party (Wii, 360, PS3) Majesco
08. NBA 2K11 (360, PS3, Wii, PS2, PSP, PC) Take 2 Interactive
09. Just Dance 2 (Wii) Ubisoft
10. Lego Star Wars III: The Clone Wars (Wii, NDS, 360, PS3, 3DS, PSP, PC) Lucasarts

First up, LA Noire scores at number 1, though with less than expected numbers. Disappointing for a game long in development. But a much better outlook than Duke Nukem Forever. Brink, despite its criticism, made it onto number 2. A Pirate's Life is for me with Lego Pirates at 3 and Portal 2 at 4. Mortal Kombat slipped behind with Call of Duty at 6. Zumba Fitness is the new dance craze at 7 and NBA 2K11 at Number 8. Rounding out the Top 10 are Just Dance 2 and Lego Star Wars III

A dark cloud is approaching. Rumor has it the Wii's price drop is causing an increase in sales and with the release of Ocarina of Time 3D, the 3DS is rumored to be making a comeback. Unless Sony and Microsoft does something, they may be doomed.
Works Cited:
Game Politics
Destructoid