Gamers have been complaining there is an overall lack of desirable titles for 2009, especially with the overwhelming rush we saw around this time in 2008.  Yet analysts say the gaming industry is doing well this fall, even after a year filled with negative financial reports, up until August.  Thanks to price cuts and solid products, the US side has cruised through September.

Two leading analysts -- Michael Pachter and Jesse Divnich -- have predicted double-digit growth, which they attribute to games like Batman: Arkham Asylum, Halo 3: ODST, The Beatles: Rockband, and Wii Sports Resort.  Bungie's ODST game has already brought in $125 million in sales with 2.5 million copies sold, and that's a definite sign of life in the industry.

Meanwhile, the PlayStation 3 is surging ahead in hardware sales with its recent price drop.  Microsoft's Xbox 360 saw a small increase to 350,000 units last month, behind the PS3's 410,000 units, which is a 76 percent increase over last year.  In contrast, the Wii has been seeing a steady decline and drops to an estimated 390,000 -- a 43 percent decrease year on year.  And while Sony reports the PSP is doing quite well, Patcher claims its overall sales are down 22 percent, while the DS goes up by 21 percent. 

All in all, Patcher expects software sales have increased 21 percent to $750 million USD in September.  Combined hardware sales are an improvement but may have dropped five percent since September 2008.  Guess we'll see if these analysts are worth their sale when September NPD data is released on October 15.