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The analyst firm released numbers for December and 2010 overall, and found that by year's end, the Nintendo DS user base hit 47 million, exceeding PlayStation 2 numbers. In 2010, however, Microsoft's Xbox 360 was the only system with a year-over-year increase in unit sales compared to 2009.
In terms of physical video game sales, the Wii and Xbox 360 platforms generated the greatest dollar sales, with 32 percent and 31 percent of sales, respectively. But overall, the video game industry - including hardware, software, and accessories - took in $18.58 billion last year, down from $19.7 billion in 2009.
The Microsoft Kinect sensor for the Xbox 360 was the best-selling accessory for the second month in a row. Microsoft said at CES that Kinect sold 8 million units in its first 60 days.
Total consumer spend on games content - which includes physical and PC games, rentals, downloads, subscriptions, mobile game apps, and more - was between $15.4 billion and $15.6 billion in 2010, which was flat compared to last year.
Physical PC game sales, however, were up 3 percent, and NPD saw an increase in the purchase of digital downloads, mobile gaming apps, social network games, and used games.
"Call of Duty: Black Ops" was the most popular game for December and 2010. It has sold more than 12 million units since its November 9 launch, which is twice as many as the second best-selling title in 2010, "Madden NFL '11."
"This might lead some to think the industry is becoming more hit-driven with sales more concentrated among the top titles, but in fact, sales of the top 10 titles this year represented about the same percentage of total unit sales as they did last year," NPD said.
Rounding out the top five video games in 2010 were "Halo: Reach," "New Super Mario Bros. Wii," and "Red Dead Redemption."
The top five games in December were "Call of Duty: Black Ops," "Just Dance 2," "World of Warcraft: Cataclysm," "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood," and "Donkey Kong Country Returns."
"PC game dollar sales were up 62 percent in December led by sales of 'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' expansion pack," NPD said. "For 2010 new physical PC game sales, 'StarCraft II: Wings of Liberty' and 'World of Warcraft: Cataclysm' are the best-selling games, representing 14 percent of total pc game unit sales for the year."
More detailed information will be available in March when NPD releases its 2010 Games Industry Total Consumer Spend report.
