The NPD Group recently released their tracked sales numbers for April 2008, for the four week tracking period that ends on May 3rd, 2008. Many thanks to sonycowboy at NeoGAF and the NPD Group for the numbers.

April saw the release of two major games: Grand Theft Auto IV, which shattered industry records, and Mario Kart Wii, the latest installment in Nintendo's Mario Kart franchise. You would think that there would be strong sales all around for the three current generation consoles, but that is not the case.

Nintendo leads the month yet again, with the Wii garnering sales of just over 714,000 thousand units, and the DS with close to 415,000. The real shocker is what follows: PlayStation 3: 187.1k, Xbox 360: 188k, both abysmal sales, with both consoles selling less per week than in March. Grand Theft Auto IV was predicted by many to increase the sales of both the PS3 and the 360.

Console lifetime to date values have been pegged at the following:
PS2: 42,001,818
DS: 19,541,658
PSP: 11,474,836
360: 10,059,486
PS3: 4,243,196
Wii: 9,510,581

While the 360 has reached the 10 million mark, it has limped in, with the Wii roughly 500k back, and is in prime position to overtake in May. The DS is set to reach the 20 million mark in the next couple of months. Also, with this month's numbers, the PlayStation 2 has now sold over 42 million units in the United States.

Software-wise, Grand Theft Auto IV had destroyed records worldwide. 2.85 million copies of the games were sold in the US, with a ratio of 1.85:1, 360 to PS3, taking the #1 and #3 spots respectively. Mario Kart Wii sells 1.12 million copies, taking the #2 spot. Following the top three, the rest of the numbers drop considerably, and feature more of the familiar faces: Wii Play (Wii - #4 - 360k), Super Smash Bros. Brawl (Wii - #5 - 326k), Guitar Hero III: Legends of Rock (Wii - #9 - 152k) and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare (360 - #10 - 141k). New releases Gran Turismo 5: Prologue (PS3 - #6 - 224k) and Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of Darkness (DS - #7 - 202k) and Explorers of Time (DS - #8 - 202k) round out the top ten of this month's software sales.

Other sales from April revealed via thesimExchange:
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (360) - 103,500
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) - 64,000
The World Ends With You (DS) - 43,000
Ninja Gaiden Dragon Sword (DS) - 23,700

Some LTDs for software gathered:
Wii Play (Wii) - 5,470,757
Call of Duty 4 (360) - 4,040,504
Super Smash Bros Brawl (Wii) - 3,026,000
Guitar Hero 3 (Wii) - 2,136,100
Rainbow Six Vegas 2 (360) - 855,800
God of War: Chains of Olympus (PSP) - 400,500

Industry-wise, revenue decreased from the monstrously-large March, with the industry producing $1.23 billion in sales for hardware, software and accessories, which is a 47% increase over last year's amount of $839 million.

Things to look for in May:

The April 2008 NPD only tracked Grand Theft Auto IV's first five days in the market. While the number of preorders most likely exhausted itself in the first week, expect GTAIV to stay near the top of the software sales charts for next month. We can also get a better view on GTAIV's effect on PS3/360 sales, with the game being available for the entire month.

Wii Fit releases next week: May 19, 2008. Already a commercial success in both Japan and Europe, expect it to follow suit in the US.

Depending on GTAIV, Wii Fit, and general Wii demand, the Wii may overtake the 360 in US sales this month.