The NPD has released US hardware sales figures for January 2009 and there's one big surprise: Playstation 3 sales during the month were actually 24% lower than the January 2008 figures.

According to GI.biz, sales for the PSP and PS2 experienced declines of 25% and 62% (respectively) compared to last January. The PSP/PS2 figures are a little less surprising, though, considering that they're longer in the tooth than the PS3.

The Xbox 360, meanwhile, saw a jump of 25% in sales compared to January 2008. The Wii put both systems to shame, though, with sales jumping 59.5%. Here are the figures for the three major console sales for January 2008 and January 2009:

January 2008

• Playstation 3 - 269,000
• Xbox 360 - 230,000
• Wii - 274,000

January 2009

• Playstation 3 - 203,2000
• Xbox 360 - 309,000
• Wii - 676,000

Though "Playstation 3 vs. Xbox 360" makes for a more compelling story, the fact remains that the Wii, that "casual, gimmicky system with the crappy graphics," is destroying both of its competitors. The Wii's sales for January 2009 are a great deal more than the sales for the PS3 and Xbox 360 combined. Oh, and the Nintendo DS' sales were up 99% compared to last January.