Video Games Continue Strong Sales in February

March 20, 2009
The -game industry is one of the few bright spots in an otherwise grim economic environment. According to figures compiled by market firm NPD Group, sales of and hardware were 10 percent higher in February compared to a year before, bringing in a robust $1.47 billion in revenue.

That good news follows a similar increase in January, when U.S. retailers reported a 13 percent rise. Altogether, the industry has generated nearly $3 billion in sales in the first two months of this year.

In an e-mail to media late Thursday, NPD Group analyst Anita Frazier said that despite the tough economy, "the U.S. -game industry continues to post strong year-over-year comps. Unit sales increased even more than dollar sales did, reflecting a slightly lower average retail price for all categories as compared to last year."

Wii Remains Ahead

The leader of the pack in the game-console battle once again was Nintendo, which sold a remarkable 753,000 Wiis in February alone. The company was also strong in the handheld market, selling 588,000 DS devices.

finished in second place for the month, moving 391,000 Xbox 360 units, while Sony once again brought up the rear with 276,000 PlayStation 3 sales.

Taken together, hardware sales increased slightly more than the -game sector as a whole, rising 11 percent over the same period last year.

Sony's solid position at the back of the console pack has lent credibility to rumors that the company is planning a price reduction (estimated to be $100 off the PS3's $399 price) to regain market share. News on whether the company will go through with a price drop and how much it will be is expected at the end of next week.

America Getting in Shape?

Nintendo also took top honors in the segment -- the Wii Fit with Balance Board sold 644,000... Tags: , , , ,














Video games inspired by TV, movies, board games (AP)

January 6, 2009

This screen grab released by Ubisoft shows insane bunnies taking over the TV schedule in ”Rayman Raving Rabbids TV Party”. (AP Photo/Ubisoft)AP - Like so many American creations — baseball, comic books, rock 'n' roll — the game is a mongrel art form. Literature, , art and film all get jumbled together in this relatively new medium, but even that isn't enough: Designers have to figure out how to make the whole package interactive as well.


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Activision Buys Budcat Creations

November 10, 2008
Santa Monica-based Activision Publishing, a publisher of , announced this morning that it has acquired Budcat Creations, a game developer based in Iowa City, Iowa. Financial details of the buy were not disclosed. Budcat Creations develops Wii and Nintendo DS titles for the home game market. Activision said that it has worked with Budcat Creations for the of multiple in its Guitar Hero franchise. Budcat Creations will become a wholly owned subsidiary of Activision Publishing, with Budcat's management team also signing multi-year employment contracts. Budcat will remain in Iowa City. READ MORE>> Tags: , ,