The economic downturn notwithstanding, the gaming industry grew by leaps and bounds throughout 2008 - video games sustained their record sales, with Nintendo dominating software and hardware charts.

The data from market researcher NPD Group shows that last year $21.33 billion worth of video game systems, accessories and software were purchased by the Americans. Indicating a significant increase from the earlier year's roughly $18 billion, the present figures are just under the NPD's projected $22 billion.

While the year-over-year hardware sales increased 11 percent to $7.81 billion, software sales increased by 26 percent to $10.96 billion. The unprecedented single-month revenue in December, topping $5 billion, was a record of sorts for the gaming industry - the Wii software 'Play with Wii Remote' alone sold a record 5.28 million units!

Though the sales at record levels were advanced by the popularity of the Nintendo Wii and best-selling games like 'Grand Theft Auto IV,' the most expensive console, Sony's PS 3, still trailed behind its less pricey rivals, the Wii and Microsoft's Xbox 360.

In an e-mail statement, NPD analyst Anita Frazier addressed the apparently bizarre increase of layoffs and studio closures that have weighed down the industry all through the year 2008. She said: "While industry growth has not continued at the blistering pace we saw during the second and third quarters, December's 9 percent increase over last December brings the year in 19 percent ahead of last year, and sets a new record for total industry sales."