Industry will crush all records, says analyst

As US retailers shift into high gear the day after Thanksgiving, Wedbush Morgan Securities analyst Michael Pachter is expecting impressive results.

"The industry will crush all records," he told GamesIndustry.biz. "Hardware should be up 15 per cent over last year, and software around the same."

While noting the positive effect of recent price cuts, Pachter nevertheless expects Nintendo to remain the hardware sales leader.

"I think the Nintendo DS will sell the most units, followed by the Wii," he said.

Most publishers have now released their titles for the busy Christmas sales period, making it a crucial time for them. When the dust settles, Pachter expects Electronic Arts to come out on top with respect to software sales.

But which game will be number one this holiday season?

"Depending on when we start counting, Guitar Hero has a chance to be number one," said Pachter. "If we start back in September, Halo 3 has a shot."