The NPD Group returns with its console hardware and software sales breakdown for the month of January, heralding the start of a brand new year for the industry. Hardware and software sales didn't quite reach the billions like they did back in December 2008, but that doesn't mean the industry is all the weaker for it.

January 2009 US Games Industry Summary
Total Sales - $1.33 billion USD (+13%)
Hardware Sales - $445.5 million USD (+17%)
Software Sales - $676.6 million USD (+10%)
Accessory Sales - $209.8 million USD (+11%)

Despite the traditionally slower sales following the Holiday shopping season, this year coupled with the ongoing economic gloom, the video game industry started its new year on better footing than it did back at the start of 2008. For example, total industry sales were up 13 percent; console hardware sales were up 17 percent from the year before, while software sales saw a 10 percent year-on-year increase. How do these all break down?

Compared to the madness of the 2008 Holiday shopping season, January's hardware sales chart saw no million sellers, and certainly none which surpassed any monthly records set in December 2008. Nintendo's Wii still starts the year with a comfortable lead over the competition, not to mention a 147 percent increase over its own performance back when 2008 was still a newborn babe. Whether or not it can keep this momentum for the rest of 2009 will be a point of interest. The Wii and DS are getting close to 20 million and 30 million units sold in North America, respectively, so 2009 ought to bring further milestones for Nintendo.

Microsoft's Xbox 360 also enjoyed growth last month compared to January 2008, but the console will bask in greater visibility on the software chart further below. Unlike Nintendo and Microsoft, Sony's consoles didn't benefit from year-on-year growth for January, in fact all three of its platforms sold even less last month compared to the year before. The PS3 and PSP saw a 25 percent sales decline. Interestingly, the PS2 still tracks on the hardware chart despite sales for the legacy platform slumping nearly 62 percent.

The Xbox 360 and Wii continue to be a major presences in NPD's software sales chart, with titles for both platforms taking up most of January's spots. Wii Fit in particular enjoys its most successful month yet with well over 700,000 units in sales, making it the top game for January 2009. Maybe all them new Wii owners needed to work off those Holiday calories. Only two new titles launched last month made it into NPD's software top ten, and both are EA games for the Xbox 360. They didn't quite reach the level that the top two games for January did, but on the other hand they're not EA Sports titles either.  Incidentally the only other publisher on the January software chart is Activision Blizzard; this trio of Nintendo, EA, and Activision has often proven to be strong players over the past months thanks to the steady sales for their key titles.  With the sequels to both F.E.A.R. and Killzone on the horizon in February, perhaps this list of publishers will be more varied next month.