Video Game Sales Boomed in March

The gaming industry saw sales leap to $1.7 billion in March, a 57 percent increase from last year.

The holiday season may be months in the past, but video games are still flying off shelves in the United States. The market research firm NPD Group released its results for March on Thursday, revealing that sales were up an impressive 57 percent from the same time last year, according to Reuters.

All told, the industry raked in $1.7 billion, including both hardware and software sales. The Nintendo Wii once again claimed the crown for leading console, with 721,000 units sold, tailed by closely by Nintendo’s mobile console, the DS, which sold 698,000 units. Microsoft barely edged out Sony with 262,000 Xbox 360 sales to 257,000 PlayStation 3 systems.

"You’d never know that the U.S. economy was under distress by looking at the video games industry sales figures," said Anita Frazier, an NPD analyst, in a statement.

The release of Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. Brawl, which set all-time sales records for the company, may have helped contributed to March’s above-average numbers. Grand Theft Auto IV, set for release on April 29, is widely expected to account for yet another sales boom.