According to Wedbush Morgan's analyst Michael Pachter, it's all sunshine and roses for the console hardware sales this year. That would be thanks to the recent success of Bungie Studios' Halo 3 for the Xbox 360 (which moved a lot of Microsoft Xbox 360 units) and the entry of Sony's new 40GB PS3, PSP Slim units into the market. Pachter said that there will be a considerable increase in hardware sales due to the new options available to gamers.

He also opined that there will be no more price cuts for the remainder of the year, but there's a chance that the release of Nintendo's much-awaited Super Smash Bros. Brawl for the Wii will spark a hardware price cut. "We do not expect a price cut for the Wii until supply and demand are in balance, but believe that the launch of Super Smash Brothers Brawl on February 10, 2008 presents an opportunity to adjust pricing," said Pachter.

Beefed up with an all-star cast and its fans further worked up by a release date delay, it's no wonder that Super Smash Bros. Brawl (you can check out how epic the game will turn out in this video) alone will manage to make an impact on the gaming market, aside from Halo 3.

The NPD Group has just released the retail sales numbers of Canada's video game industry, and for the month of September, hardware sales of the Microsoft Xbox 360 have jumped to 51,200 units. The rise was attributed to the September 25 release of Bungie Studios' Halo 3, published by Microsoft. Over all, the game industry was reported to have met a 96% increase in total sales from US$ 66.2 million to US$ 129.7 million, year on year.

Throughout the retail sale categories that the NPD report covered, console hardware sales have more than doubled for the month alone, confirming Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter's prediction. The revenue hit a high of 244% from US$ 13 million in September last year to US$ 44.7 million in September this year.

With it, console software sales rose 79% year-on-year, from US$ 27.8 million to US$ 49.9 million in revenue. Handhelds in contrast performed in the lowest margins, though both software and hardware revenue increased according to NPD's numbers.

Handhelds sold in the nation hiked up 29% from US$ 9 million in September last year to US$ 11.7 million this year, while handheld video games rose by a slim 2% from last year - US$ 9.5 million to US$ 9.7 million. The hardware sales ranked by most unit sales for the month of September stood as:

• Microsoft Xbox 360 - 51,200
• Nintendo DS - 45,000
• Nintendo Wii - 42,900
• Sony PSP - 2,200
• Sony PS2 - 16,500
• Sony PS3 - 15,600
• Nintendo GBA - 8,600

You can also see the top 10 video games for September 2007 ranked by most unit sales at the full article.