Microsoft’s Xbox 360 topped the U.S. sales charts again in May.

Market research company NPD released its latest sales figures on Monday. Despite a temporary slip in December (due to shortages), Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console has dominated the charts for 11 out of 12 months. The Xbox 360 outsold both the Wii and Sony PlayStation 3 in May with 270,000 units. The sales figures are up 39% from the same period last year, the largest growth of any current generation console on the market. “Now in the seventh year of its lifecycle, Xbox 360 is on pace to have the biggest year in its history, a feat never achieved by any console in history,” said Microsoft’s Jeff Meisner.

Microsoft’s Kinect accessory is the likely reason the Xbox sold well in recent months. The company experienced some shipment issues in December which meant it failed to secure the top spot. Microsoft launched its controller-less console accessory for the Xbox 360 across the world in November. The Kinect sensor is a horizontal bar that sits at the base of your TV. The device has an RGB camera, depth sensor and multi-array microphone which runs proprietary software. Kinect allows for full-body 3D motion capture, facial recognition, and voice recognition. Owners will be able to interact with games titles using just their body. Pausing TV and fast forwarding movies can be achieved using a mix of hand movements and voice control.

Microsoft’s Xbox 360 gaming console dominated U.S. charts in 2010. Microsoft revealed at CES in January that the company has sold over 50 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide since launch. Microsoft also has 30 million active Xbox LIVE members and has sold 10 million Kinect sensors in just 60 days on the market.

May highlights from NPD Group include:

Xbox 360 sold 270,000 units in May, maintaining the number-one console spot in the U.S.
Xbox 360 console sales during May were up 39 percent year over year, the largest growth of any current generation console on the market. May also marked the seventeenth month of year-over-year hardware sales increases.
Xbox 360 game sales reached $140 million.
Total retail spend on the Xbox 360 platform in May (hardware, software and accessories) reached $265 million, still the highest among current generation consoles.
During the month of May, four of the top 10 console game titles were for Xbox 360 including: “L.A. Noire,” “Portal 2,” “Mortal Kombat,” and “Brink.”

Posted: Jun 14, 2011 3:16 pm

Source: http://www.winrumors.com/xbox-360-tops-u-s-console-sales-again-in-may-a-year-of-rule/