Analysts expect February sales spike

The industry-tracking NPD Group is expected to release its US retail sales figures for the month of February later this week, and a pair of analysts are expecting the industry's run of growing months to continue. Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter and Pacific Crest Securities' Evan Wilson sent investors their expectations today, and their predictions are more in line with each other this month than last.

For the month of February, Pachter is predicting US retail software sales were up 20 percent year-over-year to $415 million. Wilson is a little more bullish, pegging sales up 25 percent to $430 million. Both analysts noted growing sales of games for "next-gen" systems like the Xbox 360, Wii, and PlayStation 3, as well as continued strength in the PlayStation 2 market.

Wilson noted that his retail checks showed Wiis remained difficult to obtain in stores and predicted that shipments of the system might not improve until April. As for the PS3, Wilson said that sell-through on the system has picked up slightly, but added, "It is evident that growth will not accelerate until prices are reduced and the lineup of games improves."

Pachter said that February's software sales were driven by the continued success of Activision's Guitar Hero II and other releases from the last holiday season. As for more current releases, he specified the multiplatform MLB 2K7, Virtua Fighter 5 for the PS3, Crackdown for the Xbox 360, and The Sims 2 Seasons for PC as the month's biggest newcomers.