The March 2009 hardware sales figures haven't been released yet, so you can expect Michael Pachter and EEDAR to throw in their pre-NPD report forecasts. Some numbers for their projected sales of consoles during last month may vary, but one thing remains similar: the Wii may still be on the lead, but the gap between the PS3 and Xbox 360 seems to be thinning down.

Did you have yourself a Mario little Christmas? (I can hear you groaning.) Analyst Jesse Divnich says that "Nintendo saved Christmas," with Wii sales on an all-time high for December. Without these sales, he says, the industry would have felt "the full wrath of the recession."

Despite the brave front that Sony is putting up, analysts from the industry are seeing right through it, saying that the gaming giant does have something to be worried about with their flag-bearer, the PS3. Three of them - Cole, Divnich, and Pachter - shared their thoughts on the matter, and you need only click on the full article to check it out.

We already know that Microsoft had a stellar Black Friday with Xbox 360 sales, but this time, EEDAR reports that Xbox 360 has gotten more hits than its rival, Sony's PS3, for this year, 2008. Read up on more inside.

A few days ago, a study conducted by EEDAR revealed that only 4% of video games ever make a profit. If you were skeptical of that number, then you are justified somewhat. Because of widespread misinterpretation at that 4% figure, EEDAR gave a follow-up explanation, clarifying on some matters.

Read more after the link.

Well no wonder you've got layoffs in the industry recently - not to mention the shutting down of certain studios and whatnot. According to research conducted by EEDAR, only 4% of the total games out in the market ever make a profit - all other 96% just either break even or lose money. Yeouch.

With the state of the economy as it is, people keep throwing the question, is the games industry recession proof? Well not entirely, not according to some analysts at least, who believe that certain game titles will have disappointing sales.

Sony got the worst out of economic turbulence, says EEDAR director of analytical services Jesse Divnich. Presenting his study of hardware and software trends to Gamasutra, the Sony brands were seen to be bottom-dwellers.

EEDAR reported that over 50 percent of games across most genres allow for players to select a female avatar. What does this mean? Well, for one, there are more manginas than ever before, but more importantly, it means that developers are finding it worth spending a little bit more time and money to ensure that girl gamers are taken into consideration when they designing games. See the figures in the full story.

Time for our monthly dosage of analyst guesstimates.

Ahead of the official sales numbers of the NPD Group, both analyst firms Wedbush Morgan (with posterboy Michael Pachter) and EEDAR predict that the Xbox 360 whooped the PlayStation 3 for the month of September. Surprise?