Even though the struggling global economy has taken its toll on entertainment spending, the video game industry has seen solid console and game sales over the past year.
Research group NPD indicates both the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii had year-over-year sale increases, while the Sony PlayStation 3 sales figures dropped from 269,000 down to 203,200.
PS3 supporters have long said the PS3's superior hardware power will help generate sales later down the road, but Sony has had a very difficult time selling its next-generation console to gamers.
Microsoft saw its sales figures increase from 230,000 up to 309,000, while Nintendo had a massive gain from 274,000 up to 676,000. Although the Wii continues to rack up impressive sales numbers, most game publishers are releasing titles aimed at the "core" gamers on the Xbox 360, which has drastically helped sales numbers.
Analysts predict 2009 will be similar to 2008, and the Wii will continue to sell good numbers as they've apparently fixed their supply issues.
