New York - U.S. video game sales rose 49% in May, to $815 million, spurred by sales of Nintendo's DS handheld, Wii console and "Pokemon" game franchise, according to various reports that cited sales data from market research firm NPD Group.

Hardware sales totaled $221 million in May, an increase of 79% over the same period a year ago.

Nintendo's DS handheld led all hardware sales, with 423,000 units, while among consoles, Nintendo's Wii once again bested competitors with sales of 338,000 units -- compared with 155,000 for Microsoft's Xbox 360 and 82,000 for Sony's PlayStation 3.

Rounding out hardware, the Sony PSP sold 221,000 units, while Sony's PlayStation 2 continued its run, selling 188,000 units in May.

Nintendo also dominated game software sales during May, taking four of the top five spots. "Pokemon Diamond" was the top-seller, moving 331,000 units, and was joined in the top five by "Mario Party 8," "Pokemon Pearl" and "Wii Play."

Related Links:
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php?story=14333

http://tinyurl.com/3y8cn3 (Bloomberg)

http://biz.gamedaily.com/industry/feature/?id=16507

http://www.npd.com