TORONTO, July 23, 2007 – According to The NPD Group, a leading provider of retail and market information, Canadian video game retailers saw year-to-date 2007 (YTD’07) retail sales of video games reach $498 million, a 61 percent increase over $310 million generated during the same time period last year. According to NPD, all categories experienced exponential growth for the first half of 2007 (Jan. – June). Sales of video game hardware, which includes console and portable products, exceeded $205 million, a 111 percent increase over YTD’06. Combined video game software sales for portables and consoles reached $205.5 million, accounting for 46 percent of total industry sales in Canada.
The accessories category, which includes products such as controllers and memory cards for consoles and portables, saw an increase of 68 percent, generating $62 million.
"The video game industry in Canada is strong and continues to perform extraordinarily well," said Darrel Ryce, Director of Technology and Entertainment, The NPD Group. "This marks the fifth consecutive mid-year time period in Canada when sales were higher than the same time period from the previous year. What is so exceptional about year-to-date 2007 is that the growth is so significant."
| RANK | TITLE | PLATFORM |
| 1 | WII PLAY W/ REMOTE | WII |
| 2 | POKEMON DIAMOND VERSION | NDS |
| 3 | VALUE PACK | XBX |
| 4 | POKEMON PEARL VERSION | NDS |
| 5 | GOD OF WAR II | PS2 |
| 6 | VALUE PACK | PS2 |
| 7 | LEGEND OF ZELDA: TWILIGHT PRINCESS | WII |
| 8 | NEW SUPER MARIO BROS | NDS |
| 9 | SUPER PAPER MARIO | WII |
| 10 | MARIO PARTY 8 | WII |
About The NPD Group, Inc.
The NPD Group is the leading provider of reliable and comprehensive consumer and retail information for a wide range of industries. Today, more than 1,600 manufacturers, retailers, and service companies rely on NPD to help them drive critical business decisions at the global, national, and local market levels. NPD helps our clients to identify new business opportunities and guide product development, marketing, sales, merchandising, and other functions. Information is available for the following industry sectors: automotive, beauty, consumer technology, commercial technology, entertainment, fashion, food and beverage, foodservice, home, software, sports, toys, and wireless. For more information, visit www.npd.com.