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Video Game Sales Shatter Annual Record
Despite softening economy, $18B total in US marks 43% jump
By Laila Weir
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Posted Jan 18, 08 10:23 AM CST
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(Newser)
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More video games were sold in 2007 than ever before, with a total of $17.94 billion marking a 43% increase over 2006, reports the AP. Much of the growth came from sales of Nintendo's chronically undersupplied Wii and Microsoft's Halo 3, market researcher NPD Group said. Nintendo dominated gaming system sales, moving 6.3 million Wii units and 8.5 million of the most popular system, the portable DS.
The bestselling game, Halo 3, helped drive sales of the Xbox 360 to 4.6 million units. Sony’s PlayStation 3 lagged but reached 2.6 million by year’s end. "I think the industry has become much more generally accepted as a mainstream form of entertainment over the last couple of years, and that sets it up well for future expansion," said an NPD analyst.