• by July 17, 2006

U.S. video game sales rose 25 percent in June to $844.5 million, according to market researcher NPD Group. The lift was attributed in part to the strength of Nintendo's dual-screen portable players and THQ Inc.'s "Cars" video game.

Anita Frazier, an NPD analyst, told Reuters: "Normally, we expect good things in June with graduation and Father's Day gifts helping to spur retail sales, but this performance goes beyond typical lift from those occasions."

Game sales increased 15 percent to $444.4 million, while hardware sales grew to $297.8 million from $200.7 a year earlier, according to NPD.

THQ's "Cars" video game sold around 646,000 units in its first month at retail, outperforming the launches of "Finding Nemo" and "The Incredibles." Both of those games were based on popular Disney and Pixar films.

NPD also reported that Microsoft's Xbox 360 sold 277,000 units in June. The unit has been in short supply because of production issues. Nintendo's DS and DS Lite were the top-selling portable systems in June. Nintendo reported that combined sales of both devices reached nearly 600,000 in June.

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