U.S. video game sales up 10 percent in February to $1.47 Bln

The U.S. video game industry continued to sail smoothly above the economic downturn in February, with sales up 10% from a year ago to $1.47 billion, led, once again, by strong sales of Nintendo's Wii and DS systems, according to a report from market research firm NPD Group.

"The U.S. video games industry continues to post strong year-over-year comps despite the tough economy. Unit sales increased even more than dollar sales did, reflecting a slightly lower average retail price for all categories as compared to last year," said NPD analyst Anita Frazier.

Nintendo's sold 753,000 Wii units which helped push game hardware sales up 11% in February, to $481.4 million. Meanwhile, the company's DS handheld also sold 588,000 units.

Nintendo's "Wii Fit" sold 644,000 units last month; the company had a total of five of the ten top-selling titles.

"They're (Nintendo) finally getting product into the market," ABI Research analyst Jason Blackwell told the E-Commerce Times.

"There was a significant shortage of Wiis in the stores, but now you go to Costco or Wal-Mart and you see Wiis on the shelves, so now there's actual inventory."

Meanwhile, Microsoft sold 391,000 Xbox 360 consoles last month, while Sony's PlayStation 3 sold 276,000 units.

The top-selling game in February was Capcom's "Street Fighter IV," which sold 446,000 units for the Xbox 360 and 403,000 for the PlayStation 3.

"A long-established video game franchise, the Street Fighter property continues to generate impressive sales results. The great performance of the new title, Street Fighter IV, on both the PS3 and Xbox 360, is a testament to the power of carefully cultivating evergreen properties," added Frazier.

Total game software sales were up 9% in February, to $673.3 million.