Splinter Cell: Conviction Leads April Sales, But Video Games Aren't Doing Very Well

Congrats, Ubisoft. Splinter Cell: Conviction was the top-selling game in April, with the Xbox 360 exclusive moving 486,100 copies during the month. The industry as a whole whole, however, didn't do so well, according to the hardware and software numbers for April 2010, released by the NPD Group. The full breakdown is below, complete with the software top ten and a hardware sales rundown.

Starting this month, the NPD Group is no longer releasing sales date for the complete top 10. No reason was provided by the NPD Group for the change, but going forward, it's the top five.

Video Game Software Sales, April 2010:

1. 360 -- Splinter Cell: Conviction, Ubisoft, 486,1000
2. DS -- Pokemon Soul Silver, Nintendo, 242,900
3. Wii -- New Super Mario Bros. Wii, Nintendo, 200,3000
4. DS -- Pokemon Heart Gold, Nintendo, 192,600
5. PS3 -- God of War III, Sony, 180,300
6. Wii -- Wii Sports Resort w/ MotionPlus, Nintendo
7. 360 -- Battlefield: Bad Company 2, Electronic Arts
8. Wii -- Wii Fit Plus w/ Balance Board, Nintendo
9. Wii -- Just Dance, Ubisoft
10. PS3 -- Super Street Fighter IV, Capcom

Video Game Hardware Sales, April 2010:

• Nintendo DS -- 440,800
• Wii -- 277,200
• Xbox 360 -- 185,400
• PlayStation 3 -- 180,800
• PSP -- 65,500

"The industry experienced its worst year-over-year decline in April since July '09, and the fourth largest year-over-year percentage decline ever after September 2000, June '09 and July '09," said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier in comments included alongside the numbers. "Some of the decline is explained by the shift of Easter timing. In April '09, consumers attributed $55 million of industry sales to Easter as a purchase occasion, which would account for about 21% of the decline from last year since Easter purchasing happened in March this year."

Frazier did note PlayStation 3 is the only platform to have seen positive growth year-over-year and year-to-date and the decline in overall handheld sales heavily contributed to the overall decline.

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