UPDATE: Microsoft Xbox 360 Kinect A Big Winner In November -NPD

Microsoft Corp.'s (MSFT) Xbox 360 Kinect motion-based game controller was a top-seller in November as industry sales picked up, potentially foretelling increased consumer demand in the holiday shopping season.

Sales of the Xbox 360 Kinect made it the hottest-selling video game accessory so far this year, according to market research firm NPD Group.

The data released Thursday underscore a recent announcement from Microsoft that it had sold 2.5 million of the devices world-wide in its first 25 days on the market. The Redmond, Wash.-based technology company said it expects to sell up to 5 million units by the end of the year.

The strong showing for Microsoft may help to settle investor concerns about potentially soft holiday video-game sales this year, after weak sales during the summer and back-to-school period.

The video game industry has been suffering as recession-weary customers have reduced spending by purchasing used games rather than new ones, playing games on popular websites such as Facebook or downloading cheaper games to their mobile devices, like Apple Inc.'s (AAPL) iPhone.

While sales of new video-game hardware, software and accessories in the U.S. have been disappointing throughout much of this year, NPD analyst Anita Frazier said November has marked a potential turnaround.

"November sales represent the best November on record in terms of new physical retail sales," she said in a statement.

Industry sales rose 8% to $2.99 billion in November from the same time a year ago. Those gains, Frazier said, were enough to offset a good portion of the year's declines. Cumulative sales from the beginning of the year through November are still down 5% from the year-ago period.

NPD's results count new retail sales in brick-and-mortar stores, but not electronic, used game and mobile app sales, which account for nearly one third of total industry sales.

Activision Blizzard Inc.'s (ATVI) "Call of Duty: Black Ops" shot its way to the top spot this month after selling 8.4 million units in U.S. retail locations, making it the seventh best-selling game ever based on first-month sales. The second and third best-selling games in November were "Assassin's Creed: Brotherhood" and "Just Dance 2," both from Ubisoft Entertainment SA (UBI.FR).

Notably, no Xbox 360 Kinect nor Sony Corp. (SNE, 6758.TO) PlayStation Move-related video games made the top charts despite strong initial sales for both controllers. Motion controllers designed for the PlayStation and Xbox were released in time for the holiday season in a bid to capture some of Nintendo Co.'s (NTDOY, 7974.TO) success with its popular Wii.

-By Ian Sherr, Dow Jones Newswires; 415-439-6455; ian.sherr@dowjones.com

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