Video Games: Jan. Hardware Up 17%; Software Up 10%

Even amid the ugliest economic downturn in decades, the video game busienss continues to grow. In January, according to the market research firm NPD Group , video game hardware sales grew 17% from a year earlier, while software sales increased 10%. Accessories grew 11. Overall, the industry expanded 13%. Nintendo continued to dominate the hardware business, selling 679,200 Wii consoles, more than the Microsoft (MSFT) Xbox 360 (309,000) and the Sony Playstation 3 (203,200) combined. (Sony also sold 101,200 Playstation 2 boxes.) In the handheld category, Nintendo sold 510,800 DS units, while Sony sold 172,300 PSPs. Nintendo also continued to dominate the list of the top 10 best selling software titles: Wii Fit , from Nintendo , for the Wii, 777,000 units. Wii Play , Nintendo , Wii, 415,000 units. Mario Kart , Nintendo , Wi, 292,000 units Left 4 Dead , Electronics Arts , Xbox, 243,000 units. Call of Duty: World At War , Activision , Xbox 235,000 units. Skate 2 ,  ... (link)