If you had to boil down this month’s NPD numbers to one statement, it wouldn’t be about any particular system (despite how my headline reads). "Videogames are blowing up" would probably be the best summary. The industry as a total is up 34 percent, hitting $1.33 billion. Gamers laugh in the face of recessions!

Sony did it again, and Microsoft called it. Sony’s press release used the word "eclipse" when referring to its sales against Xbox 360’s. At first, I thought it was funny, and maybe too strong of a word. But, year-to-year sales have doubled, and they managed to move 280,800 systems to Microsoft’s 254,600. If you want to talk "eclipse," check out the PlayStation 2’s numbers: 351,000 systems were sold in Feburary. That makes this oldie-but-goodie the next best selling system to the Wii (432,000)! Let’s not forget the PSP: February was a great month for the portable, with 243,100 systems sold. 

Microsoft’s monthly release on the NPD figures opens with the sentence: "For February’s NPD reporting period, Xbox 360 remained in a supply constrained situation." Yeah, we’ve heard! While they don’t have the hardware numbers to brag about, they do have the majority of the top ranked and best selling software titles. Devil May Cry 4, Turok, and Lost Odyssey moved many a copy, and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare continued to kick ass for Microsoft this month. Ars Technica says that Microsoft should be worried about these figures. I don’t think so, but I do think they’ll continue to be outsold for at least next couple of months.

The last word from Microsoft in their release is a p.s. that states that they "are not in talks with Sony or the Blu-ray Disc Association regarding integrating Blu-ray in to the Xbox 360 experience." So that’s that.

Finally, Nintendo kicks ass in February. Who’s surprised? The DS absolutely dominates for the month. That explains why I had a very difficult time finding one for a friend’s birthday gift. The portable moved 587,600 units, up from 251,000. Wii came in at number two with 432,000 units sold, and I bet half of that was the "wait for Brawl" crowd. Of course, titles like Mario and Sonic: Olympic Games and Guitar Hero III helped Nintendo rule the overall software sales for the month. 

All in all, this month’s figures read a lot like last month’s. I expect that the next few months will play out the same way. I don’t see any of the big three’s courses changing any time soon. What do you think?

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