The video game industry is confident of a strong holiday season performance following strong sales of top video games recently released. New titles from popular franchises are boosting confidence in holiday sales. After Halo Reach made $200 million in its first day on sale, Electronic Arts' FIFA 11 went on to become the fastest-selling sports game ever.
U.S. games industry figures for September are due out next week from NPD, which will help to give a clearer picture. Arvind Bhatia, a Sterne Agee analyst, expects the numbers to be better than August's dismal 10 percent hardware and software sales drop.
"It's a tough economy, but the overall picture for video games is starting to look a little bit better," Bhatia said. Activision also revealed this week that its online RPG, World of Warcraft, has 12 million subscribers which is the most it has ever had at any given time.
"When you look at how the industry looks today, we are seeing the top products doing really well," said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Activision's Blizzard Entertainment.
U.S. video game sales are down 8 percent so far this year, following an 8 percent drop in 2009, worrying the $60.4 billion global industry.
"It's a tough economy, but the overall picture for video games is starting to look a little bit better," Bhatia said. Activision also revealed this week that its online RPG, World of Warcraft, has 12 million subscribers which is the most it has ever had at any given time.
"When you look at how the industry looks today, we are seeing the top products doing really well," said Paul Sams, chief operating officer of Activision's Blizzard Entertainment.
U.S. video game sales are down 8 percent so far this year, following an 8 percent drop in 2009, worrying the $60.4 billion global industry.
