Games hardware and software sales up 21% in the first half of 2005

Retail sales of US video games hardware, software and accessories rose 21% in the first half of 2005, as the popularity of handheld devices offset a decline in aging game consoles, NPD Group reported. Portable game hardware sales rose 181% over the first half of 2004. Sales of console hardware (Sony PlayStation 2, Nintendo GameCube and Microsoft Xbox), fell 6%. Retail revenue from games for the personal computer fell 10.5% in the first half of 2005.