U.S. video games sales rose 9 percent in August from a year earlier, marking the smallest monthly sales increase in more than two years, according to data from research firm NPD on Thursday.
U.S. sales of video game hardware, software, and accessories totaled $1.08 billion in August with software sales growing 13 percent and hardware sales rising 3 percent, NPD said.
Helped by a steady flow of blockbuster titles, the video game industry has proved resilient to the economic hardships hitting other industries. August's sales increase, however, is the first rise below 10 percent in 27 months, NPD said.


NPD analyst Anita Frazier expects hardware sales to continue to grow due in part to Microsoft Corp's decision to cut prices for its Xbox 360 game console last week. It lowered the price of the entry-level Xbox 360 Arcade, which comes without a hard drive, to $199.

The Xbox 360 outsold Sony Corp's PlayStaion 3 in August, selling 195,200 Xbox 360s versus 185,400 PS3 consoles in the United States. Nintendo Co Ltd's Wii outsold both systems combined, tallying 453,000 units sold during he month.

For the handhelds, Nintendo's DS sold 518,300 units versus 253,000 units Sony's PlayStation Portable.

The top selling game was Electronic Arts Inc's popular American football franchise "Madden NFL 09," which debuted in August. It sold one million units for the Xbox 360, 643,000 units for the PS3 and 424,500 units for the PlayStation 2.

(Reporting by Daisuke Wakabayashi; Editing by Andre Grenon)
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