The North American games market enjoyed a record month in December, with monthly overall revenue hitting $5.1bn – the first time any single month in the region has passed the $5bn mark and an increase of nine per cent compared to the same month in 2007, stats from NPD confirm.

As seems more or less a given now, Nintendo dominated the North American December hardware sales, lead by handheld console the DS which shifted 3.04m units. The Wii was not far behind with 2.15m units sold.

Microsoft claimed third position after Xbox 360, which enjoyed another record-breaking month for the firm, sold 1.44m units.

Sony’s PSP was the star performer from its stable with unit sales of 1.02m units sold. PS3 shifted 726,000 units whilst the reliable PS2 sold 410,000 machines.

“The DS captures the top-spot for hardware sales this month, marking the first time that any hardware system has sold in excess of three million units in any single month,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier stated.

“This month marks the first time that industry revenue has topped $5bn in any single month. In 1997, annual revenues were $5.1bn, and now a single month has realized that level of sales.”