The latest figures from NPD Group, a market research firm that tracks various sales in the USA, say that in April among new-generation video game consoles Nintendo Wii was the indisputable leader, whose sales even left behind the popular Sony PlayStation 2. Meanwhile, Microsoft Xbox 360 continues to outsell Sony’s PlayStation 3.

Recently releases numbers from NPD claim that back in April Nintendo sold 360 thousand Wii consoles and 13 thousand GameCube consoles, Microsoft sold 174 thousand of Xbox 360 game machines, while Sony sold 82 thousand of PlayStation 3 and 194 thousand PlayStation 2 game consoles. Total market for non-portable game consoles was approximately 823 thousand units.

Among handheld gaming devices in April Nintendo also maintained its lead with 471 thousand Nintendo DS and 84 thousand Game Boy Advance sold, while only 183 thousand preferred Sony PlayStation Portable.

Back in March the picture was similar, but not exactly the same: at that time PlayStation 2 leaded game console sales with 280 thousand units, Wii was No. 2 with 259 thousand, Microsoft sold 199 thousand of Xbox 360, Sony PS3 was chosen by 130 thousand of gamers, while GameCube was last with 22 thousand units. U.S. total market for non-portable game consoles was approximately 890 thousand units in March.

Keeping in mind that Sony sells its PlayStation 3 game consoles at $499 or even $599 depending on configuration, while the Xbox 360 is priced at $299, $399 or $479 and Wii is sold for $249, it is hardly surprising that the PS3 receives relatively tepid welcome.

Unexpectedly high sales of Nintendo Wii, moderate sales of Microsoft Xbox 360 and weak sales of Sony PlayStation 3 may catalyze game developers to refocus their development priorities.