Nintendo Wii for Sale

While other sectors were hitting the reset button during the bleak holiday season, the video game industry rang up a 9% increase in U.S. sales during December, NPD Group said today. The gain was led by a 15% uptick in sales of software including Call of Duty: World at War, Wii Fit, Mario Kart and Guitar Hero World Tour. For 2008, sales of games, consoles and accessories grew 19% to $21.33 billion from $17.98 billion in 2007.
The relatively rosy numbers are a stark contrast to the layoffs and studio closures made last year by THQ and Electronic Arts, two of the biggest players in the industry. "This is not a case of the rising tide lifting all boats," said Anita Frazier, an analyst at NPD Group.Among the winners were Nintendo, whose Wii and DS consoles continue to run out of stock in stores, and Activision Blizzard, a Santa Monica company whose big bets on the Guitar Hero and Call of Duty franchises have paid off handsomely. 

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