Pachter: Strong October Games Lineup Drove October U.S. Retail Sales

Ahead of the October 2011 NPD Group results later this week, industry analyst group Wedbush Securities has forecast that video game software sales will be up compared to October of last year. With data from the NPD expected on November 10, Wedbush's Michael Pachter said software sales in the U.S. will total $690 million, up 14 percent compared to last year's $605 million. He explained that this was down to strong releases this October, including Battlefield 3, NBA 2K12, and Batman: Arkham City. He also noted continued strong sales from Gears of War 3. Pachter went as far as to say that the release line-up for this year's October and November period is "one of the strongest in history." In terms of hardware sales, Pachter expects 180,000 Nintendo Wii units sold during October, down 22 percent year-over-year; 350,000 Xbox 360 units sold, up 8 percent year-over-year; 265,000 PS3 units, up 6 percent; 140,000 DS units, down 59 percent; and 250,000 3DS units in total. He noted that hardware unit sales during October will be flat compared to October of last year, although handheld sales were up 8 percent thanks to the Nintendo 3DS.