Gamers Like (ATVI)(CCOEF)(UBSFF)(MSFT)(SNE) Could Get Boost on Stonger-Than-Expected Sales

Software sales from gaming companies came in higher than expected last month, as hardware sale soared beyond projections, with companies like Activision-Blizzard (NASDAQ:ATVI), Unisoft (UBSFF), Capcom (CCOEF), Sony (NYSE:SNE) and Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) expected to benefit.

Gaming sales in February fell by 5 percent from last year, but analysts had been looking for a drop of 6 to 10 percent.

Activision-Blizzard's "Call of Duty: Black Ops" was again the top selling game for the fourth consecutive month. Capcom (CCOEF) battled its way into the number two with its new release "Marvel vs. Capcom 3," while Ubisoft's (UBSFF) "Just Dance 2" dropped to third place.

With hardware sales soaring, analysts say it could result in the gaming side getting more robust.

Another unknown is the impact the release of Nintendo's (NTDOY) 3DS system will have on the software side of the business. It has been a huge hit in Japan, and will be released in the latter part of March.

For the overall sector, sales rose by 4 percent over February 2010.