San Francisco - Spurred by continued strong sales of Nintendo's Wii and DS systems, U.S. video game sales were up 20% in April from the same period a year ago, Reuters reported, citing industry sales data compiled by market research firm NPD Group.

Nintendo's DS outsold all other hardware during April, the release of two "Pokemon" titles driving sales of 471,000 units of the handheld.

The company's Wii also bested its next-generation console competitors for the fourth month in a row, selling 360,000 units during April, compared to 174,000 for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and 82,000 for Sony's PlayStation 3.

Overall, the Xbox 360 now commands 59% market share among new consoles, while the Wii holds 27% and PlayStation 3 14%.

Along with the company's "Pokemon Diamond" and "Pokemon Pearl" titles for the DS -- which sold a combined 1.7 million copies -- Nintendo also took the next two top sales spots in April, with the Wii titles "Super Paper Mario" (352,000 copies) and "Wii Play" (249,000 copies).

Related Links:
http://tinyurl.com/2lq2lk (Reuters)

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=25104

http://www.npd.com