The video games industry witnessed 10 percent year-over-year sales surge in February, 2009, 10.5 percent up from January, 2009 - says a study released by the Port Washington, New York based global market research company, The NPD Group, on Thursday.

The NPD Group's study states that the video games industry recorded sales of $1.47 billion in February, 2009, up from $1.34 billion in February, 2008 and also up from $1.33 billion January, 2009. The study states that the revenue from video game software grew 9% to $733.5 million in February, 2009, as the sales surged due to the popular titles such as Street Fighter and Killzone, while the sales of hardware and accessories generated $532.7 million and $207.1 million, respectively.

According to NPD study, Nintendo gave the best overall performance in February. The company sold 753,000 Wii consoles, and 588,000 Nintendo DS unites last month; the sales of Wii and Nintendo DS were up 10.8 percent and 15.1 percent, respectively, from January, 2009. Microsoft's Xbox 360 was the second best last month; the company sold 391,000 units of Xbox 360. But, Sony's PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 2 didn't have good time in February. Sony sold 276,000 units of PS3 and 131,000 units of PS2, but still the sales were up 35.8 percent and 29.4 percent, respectively from January, 2009. In February, 2009, 199,000 units of Sony's PSP were sold.

The NPD's February raking of game consoles based on hardware sales is - No. 1- Wii (753,000), No. 2 - Nintendo DS (588,000), No. 3 - Xbox 360 (391,000), No. 4 - PlayStation 3 (276,000), No. 5 - PSP (199,000), and No. 6 - PlayStation 2 (131,000).

The NPD study articulates that Nintendo dominated in video game software sales; 6 of the top 10 best-selling titles in February were for either the Wii or the DS, including the repeat No. 1 performer, Nintendo's "Wii Fit". Street Fighter IV and Killzone 2 were other two popular titles in February. Street Fighter IV, a fighting game from Capcom sold 849,000 copies, and Killzone 2, a gritty action game from Sony Corp. sold 323,000 copies.

The NPD's February raking of video game software based on sales is -

1. Wii Fit (Wii) - 644,000
2. Street Fighter IV (360) - 446,000
3. Street Fighter IV (PS3) - 403,000
4. Wii Play (Wii) - 386,000
5. Killzone 2 (PS3) - 323,000
6. Mario Kart Wii (Wii) - 263,000
7. Call of Duty: World at War (360) - 193,000
8. Mario Kart DS (DS) - 145,000
9. New Super Mario Bros. (DS) - 144,000
10. Guitar Hero World Tour (Wii) - 136,000

Anita Frazier, an analyst with NPD Group, said, "Consumers picked up nearly 20 million units of video game software in February, a 14% increase. The average retail price for games is 4% lower than last year, which is why the dollar sales increase is not quite keeping in pace with the increase in unit sales." Frazier added, "The sheer quantity of great content coming to market early in the year should keep industry sales humming throughout 2009."