Video Game Sales Rise Ahead Of PlayStation 4, Xbox One Release

After two years of declines, the video game industry is beginning to rebound. According to

, sales of new hardware (consoles like Xbox 360 and handhelds like Nintendo 3DS), new software and accessories have risen one percent in the United States. The collective sales of these items reached $521 million, while game sales alone came in at $305 million (a 21 percent increase).

became the nation's best-selling game after selling

.

, which was picked up by Deep Silver after

filed for bankruptcy, ranked second after selling several hundred thousand copies on

and

.

, a game that incorporates interactive elements with real plastic toys, was the third most popular game in August.

was largely inspired by

series, which will receive a new installment this October for PlayStation 3, Wii U, Wii and Xbox 360. That game -- along with

and dozens of others -- will arrive on

PlayStation 4 and

Xbox One when the new consoles are released in November.

While

Wii U was unable to reinvigorate the game industry, Sony and Microsoft's new consoles are expected to bring consumers back to gaming. That's not to say that consumers ever really left. The older game consoles are still selling millions of units every year. But Xbox 360 came out in 2005; PlayStation 3 and the original Wii were released in 2006. Gamers inevitably lose interest when hardware ages. Sony's

may have sold

in three weeks, but that doesn't change the fact that PlayStation 3 is seven years old. New hardware excites consumers. It revitalizes the game industry and inspires game developers to build bigger and better worlds. In the best-case scenario, new consoles lead to the birth of entirely new game ideas. Wii U could have helped the industry grow in 2012. The initial sales were

, but its success did not last.

Earlier this year, Wii U sales dropped from roughly three million units during the fourth quarter of 2012 to a mere

during the first quarter of 2013. During the second quarter -- which came after a nationwide Wii U demo event at more than 100

locations -- Nintendo sold

. The original Wii actually sold more, moving 210,000 units during the same period. PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are expected to perform much better at retail. In fact, Sony has already pre-sold

.

has currently stopped taking pre-order of both machines, but eager customers can still pre-order an Xbox One from

. Disclosure: