Video Game Sales Turning Upward
Video game sales showed small signs of rebounding in September, according to a new market report.
Market research firm NPD Group reported Monday that the video games sector saw growth of 1 percent following six consecutive months of declines.
Video game sales in the US increased from $1.27 billion in September 2008 to $1.28 billion this year.
"The increase in revenues is driven by a rise in average retail prices in all categories with the exception of console hardware, in which the average retail price decreased 8 percent from last September," said NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier.
She added that September was “the first month that PS3 has captured the top spot in console hardware sales."
The PS3 sold more units than both competitors Nintendo Wii and Microsoft Xbox 360. In August, Sony slashed the price of its PS3 console by $100. Later that month, Microsoft followed suit and Nintendo cut its Wii prices by $50 in September.
"This portrays a very strong consumer reaction to the price decrease, as August and September both realized a lift of more than 70 percent over the prior month," said Frazier.
Last month, the best-selling title was Microsoft’s Halo 3: ODST, which helped push software sales 5 percent higher to $649.3 million.
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