According to a recent report , analysts had expected a very healthy September in the video game industry. And now that the NPD Group has released their monthly statistics, it appears they were correct.
September game sales jumped by a huge 38% compared to September 2005; total video game sales hit $777 million for the month, up from $563 million in September of last year. Furthermore, the industry is up 11% year-to-date, according to videogame analyst Anita Frazier, who added that a record year for the industry is "a given."
Hardware sales rose 71% to $244 million from last year's $143 million, and the retail leader was the Nintendo DS, which sold more than 400,000 units, bringing the grand U.S. total to 6.3 million. Software sales rocketed 29% to $446 million from $347 million the year-ago period, and accessory sales number leaped 21% to $88 million from $73 million. Therefore, in terms of total dollar sales, this was the best September in the industry's history, as Frazier indicated.
And of course, Sony and Nintendo are about to leap into the next generation in one month's time, and not surprisingly, Frazier predicts that all available inventory for the two consoles will sell out. Overall, it seems the business news for video games keeps getting better and better.