Video game market up in first quarter

The figures represent an increase of 18 percent over the last quarter of 2004, and growth of 23 percent over the same period last year, the market researcher said. Total unit sales rose to 63 million units. The revenue figure includes retail sales of portable and console hardware, software and accessories.

Console hardware and software saw the lowest percentage increases of 8 percent and 7 percent, respectively, but in terms of dollars, console software brought in the most revenue of all categories, generating more than $1bn, NDP said. $293m of portable game hardware was sold, representing growth of 162 percent compared to the same period last year.

Anita Frazier, an entertainment industry analyst at NPD, said in a statement: "While we expected to see impressive sales in the portable categories, the fact that all categories saw positive sales growth in terms of both dollars and units is a real testament to the broadening appeal of video games as a form of entertainment."

Sony launched its PlayStation Portable in March, and had sold 620,000 units of hardware and 1.1 million pieces of software during that month, NPD said earlier. The PSP is scheduled to make its UK debut on 1 September.