According to foreign media reports, a report released by the market research company NPD Group Inc. showed that in October, Microsoft's Xbox 360 video game console saw its sales volume in the U.S. retail channels increase by more than 20% compared to the same period last year. In a market where all gaming hardware and software performed averagely, this was indeed a highlight. The NPD Company stated that in U.S. retail stores, the total sales of all video games, consoles, and accessories increased by 1%, reaching $1.08 billion. The total sales of all gaming hardware increased by 6%, reaching $295.6 million.
Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console, although a mature product, has continued to see its sales driven by its motion-sensing peripheral Kinect. This Kinect device was launched a year ago and had sold 10 million units by March this year. Yesterday, Microsoft cited a research report from NPD Company stating that the Xbox 360 holds a 44% share of the existing gaming console market; the Xbox 360 game console sold 393,000 units in October, maintaining its position as the top-selling console in the U.S. Microsoft also cited NPD data saying that consumer spending on the Xbox 360 platform, including gaming hardware, software, and accessories, reached $490 million, higher than consumer spending on any other gaming console in the U.S.
"We feel good about it," said David Dennis, a spokesperson for Microsoft, "This is a good start to the holiday season."
In addition, Microsoft also claimed that the Xbox 360 game console owns six of the top ten best-selling games, including *Battlefield 3*, *Batman: Arkham City*, *NBA 2K12*, *Rage*, as well as Xbox 360 exclusive games *Forza Motorsport 4* and *Gears of War 3*.