Industry tracking firm NPD has reported that during the first ten months of 2002, the total U.S. retail sales of video game hardware, software and accessories surpassed $6 billion -- a 25 percent increase over last year.
Because 2001 holds the record as the best year ever for game industry sales ($9.4 billion), NPD believes that 2002 will crush that record. Year-to-date (January through October) 2002 sales of console hardware shot up by 29 percent over last year. Another bright spot for the industry was the category of console accessories (DVD remotes, controllers/gamepads and Internet adapters) which increased 27 percent in dollar volume over last year. Reflecting the aging market of gamers and its changing tastes, NPDFunworld reports that the share of "mature"-rated video games has more than doubled, from 6% of all software sold in the U.S. last year (October 2000 to October 2001) to 13% of all software sold in the U.S. for the past 12 months. Hits like Grand Theft Auto 3 and its successor, GTA3: Vice City, are a large contributor to that statistic.
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