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October video game sales jump 18 percent. |
Fatal Rocko Willis
Fleet Admiral
Fatal Squadron
Joined: March 01, 2003
Posts: 1336
From: Kentucky
|  Posted: 2008-11-14 11:29
People flocked to buy video games in October despite a drop in consumer confidence to a historic low, spending $1.31 billion in U.S. retail stores on hardware, software and accessories.
That's a gain of 18 percent from the same month a year ago, according to data from market researcher NPD Group.
Hardware sales climbed 5 percent to $494.7 million, led by the Nintendo Wii, which far outsold every other game machine. Cammie Dunaway, an executive vice president at Nintendo, said it was the biggest October ever for the Wii, which sold 803,000 units during the month.
The $250 console has been plagued by retail shortages since its launch two years ago, but Nintendo recently boosted production levels. While the Wii continues to sell out quickly, Dunaway said consumers who pay attention to ads and visit stores early in the week should be able to grab one.
Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 sold 371,000 units. The console's sales were boosted by a significant price cut in early September. Microsoft spokesman David Dennis said he remains "cautiously optimistic" about the holidays, when video game companies make most of their money. Sony Corp.'s PlayStation 3 sold 190,000 units.
Software sales grew 35 percent to $696.8 million, while sales of accessories, which include peripherals for music games like "Guitar Hero," declined 8 percent to $120.3 million.
Microsoft's epic role-playing game "Fable II" was the month's best-selling title with 790,000 units sold, followed by Nintendo's "Wii Fit" exercise game with 487,000 copies. Other games in the top 10 included Sony's "Little Big Planet," Nintendo's "Wii Play" and "Mario Kart" for the Wii, as well as "Fallout 3" from Bethesda Softworks and "Rock Band 2" from Electronic Arts Inc. and MTV.
The games industry is optimistic about the coming weeks even amid bad news from electronics retailers, with Circuit City filing for bankruptcy and Best Buy Co. slashing its guidance and calling the current retail climate the worst it's ever seen.
Video games, Dunaway said, continue to be attractive to consumers in part because of their relatively low price compared with other forms of entertainment.
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Winters Rapture
Fleet Admiral
United Nations Space Command
Joined: December 09, 2007
Posts: 355
| Posted: 2008-11-14 16:21
Wohoo! i am helping the economy!
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Time for revenge. . .
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codenemesis
Admiral
Joined: June 10, 2007
Posts: 185
| Posted: 2008-11-14 23:52
Hoorah fallout 3! I can't stop playing! 
Pics later.
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Winters Rapture
Fleet Admiral
United Nations Space Command
Joined: December 09, 2007
Posts: 355
| Posted: 2008-11-15 16:12
Omg! that game is amazing.
all in all i think i spent somewhere near 250-300 $ in video games alone this month.
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Time for revenge. . .
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Griffinhawk
Vice Admiral
Joined: January 20, 2003
Posts: 137
From: Barberton, Ohio
| Posted: 2008-11-16 02:29
yeah i am tapped out on video games for the moment...
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Coeus
Grand Admiral
Sundered Weimeriners
Joined: March 22, 2006
Posts: 2815
From: Philly
| Posted: 2008-11-20 09:12
Tapped out? Ya wrestling them or something?
Still considering left4dead... that'd be my contribution.
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