According to data released by the NPD group for the US in July, Nintendo’s consoles shared once again the podium. The Wii sold 425,000units, followed closely by the DS handheld (405,000 units). The third place went to Sony’s PlayStation 2, with nearly half the sales of the first two: 222,000 units. Still, this is a great figure for a console that’s been on the market for so many years.

The PlayStation Portable comes on fourth with 214,000 units.

The battle between Sony’s and Microsoft’s top consoles was fought on the fifth and sixth steps of the ladder. The PlayStation 3 nearly succeeded in taking the lead and it would’ve certainly done so if Microsoft hadn’t performed a price cut of its own. The final score for July is 170,000 – 159,000 and the 360 holds on to its current position. Still, it’s rather humiliating to be outsold by the old PlayStation 2. As for Sony, the company can at least be happy to have sorted out the conflict with Game Boy Advance (87,000)

Hardware sales in July:

– Wii: 425,000
– Nintendo DS: 405,000
– PlayStation 2: 222,000
– PlayStation Portable: 214,000
– Xbox 360: 170,000
– PlayStation 3: 159,000
– Game Boy Advance: 87,000

All in all, July was a good month for the game industry. Sales figures ($925.5 million) saw a 37% increase over the same period in 2006, while hardware sales ( $380.8 million) increased 77%. Software sales ($419.9 million) had the smaller increase of only 11%. Last but not least, accessories were up 51% to a hefty $125.4 million.