US Video-Game Sales Expected To Recover After Slump

Sales of video-game software have been on the decline for six consecutive months, but analysts expect a return to positive growth when sales data for September are reported Thursday afternoon.

U.S. game sales in the month of September will be released late in the day Thursday by the NPD Group. On average, analysts are expecting software sales to grow about 15% compared with the same period last year, according to a tally of forecasts by MarketWatch.

Game sales have been showing declines for the last six months, as the slumping economy and tough comparisons have made the current year a difficult one for the industry.

By the end of August, total industry sales were $9.07 billion, according to NPD data. That's down 14% from sales for the same period last year.