14 DAY TRIAL // The NPD Group has announced that the Xbox 360 home gaming console from Microsoft is the only gaming device tracked by the firm which has seen an increase in sales when compared to the October of 2009, with the Nintendo DS managing to still be the best selling platform for the same month.
Overall the video game industry has continued its decline, seeing a drop of four percent when compared to the same period of last year.
Video games sales actually increased but hardware dragged the percentages down, seeing a decrease in the value of sales of 26%, which can be mostly blamed on the price cuts that Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo have enacted in the year that has gone by.
Sales of gaming consoles brought in 280 million dollars, down from 381.
The NPD Group is no longer offering actual sales numbers for each device or a clear order, in order to not depress various players on the market, but the company has confirmed that the Nintendo DS is still the best seller, although it has seen a decline in sales.
Microsoft must be proud to see that the Xbox 360 is increasing sales when compared to 2009, especially seeing as how numbers will be boosted once the Kinect, which launched in early November, is taken into account.
The Xbox 360 is this year's best selling home console so far in 2010.
The industry has been boosted by numbers coming from the accessory market, which saw an increase of 18% over 2009, with the Move and the associated PlayStation Eye being the main reasons for the increase.
Another push up is expected in the November figures, which will take Kinect, the motion tracking system from Microsoft, into account.
Anita Frazier, an analyst for the NPD Group, stated, “Due to the success of the Move at retail, and the reported success of the Kinect early in its launch at retail, Specialty Controller items should contribute significantly to industry sales during the holiday.”