Holiday sales figures for gaming console hardware were predictable. Nintendo Wii was at the top, Xbox 360 somewhere in the middle and the PlayStation 3 near the bottom. But 2008 is a new year and so far looks nothing at all like 2007 – except, of course, the Wii is still number one.

Nintendo’s console sold the most in North America with 274,000 units, likely still selling out whatever is shipped to retailers.

Believe it or not, second place belongs to the PlayStation 3, selling 269,000, just 5,000 fewer units than the Wii. The PS2 wasn’t far behind either, with 264,000.

The handheld systems occupied places fourth and fifth, with the Nintendo DS moving 251,000 and the PSP doing 230,000.

Surprisingly, the Xbox 360 tied for last place with 230,000 units for the month. Microsoft told the press before the release of NPD data that its console recently experienced shortages.

“You could say we misjudged demand … We’re literally out of stock in many stores,” Jeff Bell, head of global marketing for Microsoft’s games business, said in Reuters story. “We think this will have an impact on our sales. It may cause the overall industry number to be down a little bit … Retailers have been really upset, they are on allocation. It is a lag I think we’re seeing in January and that may continue into February, then as spring ramps up, we’ll be able to meet that demand.”

Source: DailyTech