PS2 and GBA are pre-Christmas best-sellers

Credit Suisse First Bank has released its latest report on video game hardware sales for December 16 through December 22. The report, which is based on NPD TRST research and retailer surveys, shows that the Sony PlayStation 2 continued its strong pre-Christmas sales during that week. According to the report, Sony sold 596,000 units of the PlayStation 2 in that time period, bringing the total North American PS2 console sales to more than 6.6 million units. Despite the strong sales of the PS2, the Microsoft Xbox and the Nintendo GameCube both continued to fly off retailer shelves. During the week of December 16, Microsoft sold 165,000 units of the Xbox, while Nintendo saw an increase in GameCube sales with 259,000 units sold that week. CSFB reports that the current installed base for the Xbox and the GameCube are 1.3 million and 1.2 million units, respectively.

Although all three console platforms sold well during the week, the best-selling hardware unit for the period was Nintendo's Game Boy Advance handheld. A total of 639,000 units of the Game Boy Advance were sold during the week, bringing the North American installed base to more than 4.6 million units.