Video game sales soar in September

updated 11:54 a.m. ET Oct. 13, 2006

NEW YORK - September's video game sales jumped by a whopping 38 percent compared with the year-ago period, according to data from the NPD Group, a market research company.

Year-to-date, the industry is up 11 percent and there are no signs of slowing down, according to video game analyst Anita Frazier, who added that a record year for the industry "is a given."

Total video game sales were $777 million for the month, up from $563 million in September of last year.

Hardware sales rose 71 percent to $244 million from last year's $143 million, led by the Nintendo DS, which sold more than 400,000 units, bringing its U.S. total to 6.3 million.

Software sales climbed 29 percent to $446 million from $347 million in the year-ago period, and sales of accessories jumped 21 percent to $88 million from $73 million.

In terms of dollar sales, this was the best September in the industry's history, Frazier said.

Sony and Nintendo are both set to release much-awaited next-generation consoles in November.  Frazier said she expects the available inventory for both PlayStation 3 and the Wii to sell out.

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