[Note: We have been politely asked to remove some data points from this article because the NPD has discovered errors in its historical data. This affects year-to-date references, install base numbers and the full-year outlook, which this article previously contained. We will replace the missing figures as soon as NPD updates us with the corrected data.]

As expected, The NPD Group has just released its video game sales data for the month of November, and what a month it was! Total industry sales came in at $1.7 billion, up 34 percent year-over-year. U.S. software sales climbed 15 percent to $804 million (with console software at $618 million and portable software at $185 million); hardware sales were way up, totaling $771 million (an increase of 69 percent); and accessories were up 19 percent, totaling $158 million.

All told, year-to-date the video game industry is tracking very well and will almost certainly set a new record when 2006 comes to a close.

Looking at how the new Sony and Nintendo consoles fared, the Wii sold through 476K units in the U.S. while the PS3 sold 197K units. Meanwhile, Microsoft's Xbox 360 (which is in far greater supply) sold 511K units. Interestingly, the PS2 managed to outsell the Xbox 360 yet again. In fact, so did the old Game Boy. The PS2 and Game Boy sold a respective 664K and 641K units. Sony's PSP managed to sell 412K units. But the real winner continues to be the Nintendo DS, which sold a whopping 918K units. It's as if we say this every month, but people really can't get enough of the dual-screen portable it seems.

On the software front, Gears of War took top honors, selling one million units and grossing sales of $61.5 million (including the collector's edition) for Microsoft. Following closely behind with 896K units was Square Enix's Final Fantasy XII, which raked in $49 million. In third place was Nintendo's Zelda: Twilight Princess with 412K units and $20.2 million. RedOctane/Activision also did quite well with Guitar Hero II which took fourth place, selling 356K units for a total of $28 million. Completing the top ten were WWE Smackdown vs. Raw 2007 (THQ), Call of Duty 3 on 360 (Activision), Madden NFL 2007 on PS2 (EA), Need for Speed: Carbon on PS2 (EA), Nintendogs: Dalmation & Friends on DS (NOA) and Pokemon Ranger on DS (NOA).

We'll soon have more insight on the latest data from NPD entertainment industry analyst Anita Frazier. Stay tuned!

[UPDATE] GameDaily BIZ caught up with NPD's Frazier to talk about this exciting month for the video game industry.

"It's clear to me that 2006 is set to be a record-breaking year by a wide margin. With the industry up year-to-date, we're on track to achieving that $13 billion we talked about before, and maybe even closer to $14 billion," she began enthusiastically.

"There is a lot of news this month. Obviously, the release of the last two systems that completes the next-gen cycle was on top of everyone's minds, but in the end, given inventory constraints, this ends up being the least surprising of the results," she continued. "I think a major story this month is 'price.' The performance of the GBA, without being driven by any new top-selling content, was very interesting. But, with a $50 price advantage over the next lowest selling systems, I think this platform becomes a 'no-brainer' item for gift givers. And there is so much appropriate and well-priced content available for that system, particularly when thinking of kids, this is a great platform to consider. And I think that's what we're seeing with the GBA numbers."

And Nintendo's longstanding dominance of the portable market with the Game Boy would appear to have translated to its DS as well. Said Frazier, "I personally know a lot of people that have the DS on their Christmas wish-lists, and the numbers sold in November speak for themselves. Pokemon Ranger certainly contributed to this, but the continued breadth and strength of NDS software overall is adding to that platform's continued growth."

Frazier was also thoroughly impressed with the PS2's continued strong performance, calling it "amazing."

"Here, you have a combination of a price and content story. Final Fantasy XII on the PS2 was the second best selling game for the month, with an amazing 896K units sold. That's the best launch of a Final Fantasy game yet, and there are some big shoes to fill there. The PS2 is also at a terrific price point when compared to the price of the next-gen systems," she explained.

With all the talk of the constrained supply for PS3 and Wii, many analysts expected the Xbox 360 to benefit, and while it looks like Microsoft's system did benefit, Frazier thought it could have done better. "I was a little surprised that we didn't see bigger sales for the 360, given the anticipation surrounding Gears of War, and COD3 as well," she said. "Those two games made the top 10 list for the month, and Gears of War at over 1 million units (including the Collector's Edition) lived up to the very lofty expectations for its performance."